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
lynn
Stepping Up to the Challenges of an Aging Body
The basic goal of aging individuals is to age gracefully or to age well. Aging well requires stimulating the brain and using the body in a manner that keeps it strong. Basic everyday activities are not enough to keep both body and mind in a stable functioning state. We all become “set” in our ways and usually do not seek out new, challenging activities. We park in the same area of the parking lot of a store we frequent so we do not need to look around for the car. If you take off your socks, you … [Read more...] about Stepping Up to the Challenges of an Aging Body
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 Lyric Extended Wear Hearing Aid
The Lyric is a hearing aid that is housed inside the ear canal for extended periods of time. You do not change a battery or put the hearing aid in a recharging device at night. All you need to do is go to your audiologist and ask to try a pair of them! Discreet Amplification The most amazing consequence of wearing the Lyric is that you are a “normal” person. You do not have to be careful with your hearing aids around the house so the dog or cat does not eat them when you take … [Read more...] about The Lyric Extended Wear Hearing Aid
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
Coaching Ourselves in the Aftermath of Elections
I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted! I am thankful that my life will not be bombarded by TV, radio and newspaper ads about how to vote. Now it is time for me to sit down and think about what needs to be done next. How am I going to react to either having the people I supported elected or how do I react to the people I wanted in office not winning their elections? Am I setting a healthy example of managing myself to my family and friends? How can the children in my family learn from how I … [Read more...] about Coaching Ourselves in the Aftermath of Elections
The Trinity of Hearing: Part One, The Family
This is part one 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. I was asked to repeat this series by some of my QCBN readers. “I have watched the relationship of my family shift from loving and charismatic to cordial and formal. Every interaction has to be directed … [Read more...] about The Trinity of Hearing: Part One, The Family
Supporting the Increasing Number of Unpaid Caregivers
Recent literature reviews report that there are 65.7 million unpaid caregivers in the United States. This number reveals the explosion of older adults needing the care of family members. Unpaid caregivers account for 90 percent of the people providing long-term care. According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, 85 percent of the unpaid caregivers are taking care of a friend or relative: 49 percent are taking care of a parent, 15 percent are caring for friends and 14 percent are caring for … [Read more...] about Supporting the Increasing Number of Unpaid Caregivers
Creating Your Legacy
Each day you open your eyes in the morning you have the opportunity to create a legacy. You don’t have to be a superhero or famous actor to leave an example of a well-lived life. You and I influence each person we talk to on the phone, the people we pass on the street and even the people driving the car behind us. Our influence is wide and varied. So the question is: how do you want people to remember you? This is not a question of what your eulogy will focus on or what is said in the newspaper … [Read more...] about Creating Your Legacy
The Art of Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication can be more powerful – and often, even more influential – than what we say with words. It can have a tremendous impact on how our friends and family understand us. Experts in interpersonal communication have estimated that nonverbal communication constitutes approximately 70 percent of what is involved in communication. In other words, only about 30 percent of communication involves the actual words that we use. To me, this information is remarkable. As parents, we … [Read more...] about The Art of Nonverbal Communication