Sleep apnea is a common disorder and, according to the National Sleep Foundation, it affects about 18 million Americans. Most of us think of sleep apnea as snoring with periodic gasping or “snorting” noises. This seemingly innocent annoyance interrupts sleep and can cause excessive daytime fatigue and other symptoms such as generalized inflammation, cardiovascular and endocrine problems. It can also affect the way a person thinks and even hears. More than half of individuals with sleep apnea … [Read more...] about Understanding the Connection Between Sleep Apnea and Hearing Loss
audiology
Changes in Hearing After Head Injury
Approximately 1.4 million individuals suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year in the United States. The most common causes of injury are automobile accidents, falls, assaults/blows, sports-related injuries and explosive blasts. Internal causes of brain injury are strokes, edema, meningitis, tumors and even certain medications. The resulting hearing loss symptoms a person suffers are varied depending on the damage. Injury from Automobile Accidents The brain may be shaken … [Read more...] about Changes in Hearing After Head Injury
Understanding Hearing Loss and Associated Comorbidities
I found this article from the CapTel phone organization and liked it so much that I am sharing it with you. In only the last dozen years, many important studies have surfaced linking hearing loss to disabling conditions such as cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease, clinical depression, diabetes, falls among the elderly, heart disease and many more. These linkages are often referred to as “comorbidities,” which is defined as the simultaneous presence of two or more chronic conditions or … [Read more...] about Understanding Hearing Loss and Associated Comorbidities
Understanding Brain Controlled Hearing Aids
One of the most difficult situations in which to hear well is to hear one person in a group of loud-spoken people. Not hearing well in the company of friends and family is a quality of life issue. Without the ability to hear what is going on, you tend to withdraw and become isolated. Rather than giving up on social interaction, I recommend that you try a pair of hearing aids. Hearing aids are outfitted with directional microphones to help you focus in a direction you choose. For instance, if you … [Read more...] about Understanding Brain Controlled Hearing Aids
What is it Like to Have a Hearing Loss?
As an audiologist, I see hearing impaired individuals every day. One of the most rewarding activities of my job is to teach the family members what it is like to have a hearing loss and how to better communicate with hearing impaired people. What can the hearing impaired person hear? I think that understanding what a person really can and can’t hear is the key to successfully living with or working with a hearing impaired person. It is crucial to understand what can change the … [Read more...] about What is it Like to Have a Hearing Loss?
Research Linking Exercise to Reduced Hearing Loss
Researchers have shown us that exercise is good for your hearing! We all know that regular exercise helps reduce weight gain, improves bone density, increases cardiovascular fitness and even helps to support your immune system. Now, the results are showing that lack of aerobic exercise in mice caused the structures inside the hearing organ (cochlea) to collapse or deteriorate. The hair cells or nerves that pick up sound and change it to electrical signal and the strial capillaries, which provide … [Read more...] about Research Linking Exercise to Reduced Hearing Loss
How to Buy Hearing Aids Online
This is a new topic in the world of hearing aids. There is a whole new world out there offering you hearing aids at a price “too good to be true.” You will now see hearing aids sold online and even offered through your insurance company. This new process for obtaining hearing aids is not without a significant set of issues. First, you need to make certain you do not have a hearing loss that needs medical attention. It is important to understand that online aids are not able to be fine-tuned to … [Read more...] about How to Buy Hearing Aids Online
Speech Understanding in Wind
Wind noise has been an ongoing issue since the beginning of hearing aid use. I remember 30 years ago talking to people about managing wind noise when they were wearing a body-worn hearing aid. I asked people to change the direction they were facing so their back was to the wind or stand sideways to the wind. I helped parents design headbands to be worn over the ear level hearing aids to protect the hearing aid on their child from wind exposure. I recommend that people wear baseball caps with … [Read more...] about Speech Understanding in Wind
Hearing in a Noisy Place
Many people say to their audiologist that they are able to hear fine in a quiet room but the minute there is background noise they are not able to hear well. Sometimes it happens while watching a TV program and the background music suddenly gets louder. Difficulty may arise if a conversation is being held in a large room with echo or reverberation. This comment is true for people who hear normally or people with a hearing loss. The Physiology of Hearing All hearing situations are not … [Read more...] about Hearing in a Noisy Place
The Trinity of Hearing: Part Two, The Hearing Impaired
This is part two of a three-part series on hearing loss and the relationship of the three primary elements, or the Trinity of players, involved in facilitating hearing as efficiently as possible. This Trinity includes the family, the hearing-impaired person and the hearing health care provider. Part Two, The Hearing Impaired Person “My family complains that I hear what I want to.” This comment does not occur with normal hearing individuals. With hearing loss, some of the words come … [Read more...] about The Trinity of Hearing: Part Two, The Hearing Impaired