The Health Benefits of Better Hearing

September 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Family at the beach

It’s commonly suggested that we don’t completely appreciate the things we have until they’re gone, and this appears to be specifically true of our ability to hear. Hearing loss is not only difficult to detect; it’s also hard to appreciate just how much hearing enhances our lives.

As one of our chief senses, along with vision, hearing effects our mental, social, and physical health, so when we lose our hearing, we put our overall wellness in jeopardy. But restoring our hearing can have several health benefits that we never really give much thought to.

Here are three ways restoring your ability to hear can strengthen your social, mental, and physical health.

Hearing and Relationships

The foundation of any good relationship is communication, and with hearing loss, that foundation is compromised. Miscommunication, hard-feelings, and avoidance can all occur from hearing loss and the barrier to communication it produces.

Hearing loss can be particularly disruptive to a marriage, as Julie and Charlie Kraft had to find out the hard way.

For most of Charlie’s adult life, he has had a common form of hearing loss known as high-frequency hearing loss, in which he has trouble hearing high-pitched sounds. And since the female voice is higher-pitched than the male voice, Charlie had an especially challenging time hearing his wife.

But because Charlie wasn’t conscious of his hearing loss, he thought his wife Julie just talked too quietly, which was aggravating for him. At the same time, Julie thought Charlie spoke too loudly—not to mention that she constantly had to repeat herself—which was frustrating for her.

In this way, hearing loss creates a frustrating barrier to communication where both parties harbor bad feelings towards one another.

In Charlie and Julie’s case, they had the awareness to recognize the hearing loss and to take action to deal with it. After Charlie began wearing hearing aids, he no longer had to speak so loud, and he began hearing new sounds, like the sounds of birds on the golf course. But the one perk he claimed he cherished the most was the improved communication he had with his wife.

Julie agreed, and both conveyed how much stronger their relationship is without the stress of hearing loss.

Hearing and Physical Health

Does wearing hearing aids tend to make you more active?

The answer is yes, according to a survey conducted by Hear The World Foundation, which revealed that 21 percent of those interviewed reported that they exercised more after purchasing hearing aids. Additionally, 34 percent said they regularly take part in sports at least once per week, and 69 percent believe that their hearing aids have a favorable effect on their overall health.

Hearing loss can make communication difficult to the point where people are inclined to avoid the social events and activities that they used to enjoy. With hearing aids, you can pursue these activities more confidently, resulting in more exercise and improved physical health.

Hearing and Mental Health

In a recent study, researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) discovered a strong connection between hearing loss and depression among US adults of all ages.

Other studies by Johns Hopkins University have connected hearing loss to general cognitive decline, including memory issues as well as an enhanced risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Clearly, the lack of sound stimulation to the brain with hearing loss causes several negative effects, ultimately causing an increased risk of depression, social isolation, and mental decline. But the good news is, studies have also shown that using hearing aids can reverse or prevent many of these problems.

How Has Better Hearing Improved YOUR Life?

Statistics are one thing; stories of actual people enjoying the benefits of improved hearing are quite another.

If you use hearing aids, let us know in a comment below how your life, relationships, and/or physical or mental health has improved! You may find yourself inspiring someone else to take the first steps toward better hearing.

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, Hearing, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss

6 Encouraging Things Wearing Hearing Aids Says About You

September 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Family at the beach

It remains a puzzle as to why wearing glasses—which improve vision impairment—is perceived as an indication of intelligence, while wearing hearing aids—which correct hearing impairment—has been perceived as a sign of old age.

Perhaps it’s about time the stigma of hearing loss is corrected, and we redefine what it means for our bodies to collaborate with technology.

The question is, when you see someone wearing a pair of hearing aids, what do you think?

Here are 6 of the positive things we think wearing hearing aids says about you.

1. You love living an active life

Most social events and activities demand healthy hearing, while hanging out alone in your home does not. Wearing hearing aids is therefore an indicator that you like to be active and social, and that you’re not going to permit hearing loss stop you from pursuing your favorite experiences.

2. You’re an proactive, open-minded problem solver

When you’re confronted with difficult problems or obstacles, you find ways to overcome them. You don’t wait around feeling sorry for yourself or sustain a stubborn denial of the problem—you’re broad-minded enough to admit to your hearing loss and practical enough to treat it.

3. You’re tech-savvy

Today’s digital hearing aids are like mini computers, equipped with remarkable capabilities like wireless connections, bluetooth streaming, directional microphones, and background noise reduction.

By sporting a pair of modern hearing aids, it demonstrates that you are on the leading-edge of technology, ready to enjoy the benefits that new technology has to offer.

4. You’re health conscious

Several new studies, especially from Jonhs Hopkins University, have linked hearing loss to serious medical ailments including depression, general cognitive decline, memory issues, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Wearing hearing aids shows that you value living an overall healthy lifestyle, proactively taking the steps required for a lengthy, healthy life—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

5. You treasure your relationships

You know that the framework for any healthy relationship is strong communication, and you’re not going to let hearing loss create a barrier between you and those you love.

Your relationships are simply too important to allow hearing loss to create occasions of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and the stress of others always needing to repeat themselves.

6. You’re self-confident

You’re not attempting to conceal the fact that you wear hearing aids—you’re proud of it. You love to live an active, sociable life and you’re proud that you’ve taken the actions to secure your own quality of life.

In fact, many hearing aid users have reported stronger performance at work, and research by the Better Hearing Institute reveals that hearing aid users reported higher household income than those with untreated hearing loss.

What do hearing aids say about you?

What did we forget? What would you include in the list?

There are numerous reasons to proudly wear hearing aids: Tell us in a comment some of the reasons you wear hearing aids so we can keep the list going.

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, Hearing, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss

4 Reasons to Upgrade Your Hearing Aids

September 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Hearing Aids

When should I upgrade my hearing aids?

This is a frequent question we hear from our patients, and the answer demands some thought. While hearing aids ordinarily have a life-span of 3-7 years, there are several scenarios in which you may desire to upgrade sooner.

Here are 4 reasons you may want to consider a hearing aid upgrade.

1. Your hearing aids are no longer working well

If your hearing aids are not performing as effectively as they once did, the first thing to look into is cleaning or repair.

Hearing aids are exposed to earwax, humidity, and other particles, so your hearing aids may merely require a cleaning. In other cases, the electronics within the hearing aids need repair, but otherwise the hearing aids remain effective.

If your hearing aids are damaged beyond repair, on the other hand, or if they are beyond their regular life-span, you might want to upgrade to a new pair.

2. Your hearing needs are not being fulfilled

Let’s say you land a new job that necessitates a lot of speaking on the phone, which has regularly been a problem for you with your present hearing aids. You hear about a new kind of hearing aid that can stream calls wirelessly from your iPhone directly to your hearing aids, giving you clear sound that you can freely adjust. In this scenario, you may want to upgrade your hearing aids to satisfy your new hearing requirements.

It’s a smart idea to make a list of all the scenarios in which your existing hearing aids are not operating to your liking. Then, by speaking with a hearing specialist, you can discover the hearing aids that can better meet your requirements.

3. Your hearing has changed

Hearing can and does change through the years, and it’s possible that your present hearing aids, while initially sufficient, are now incapable of handling your hearing loss. If this is the situation, you will require a new hearing test and a new pair of hearing aids programmed to match your hearing loss.

4. You want to take advantage of the latest technology

Hearing aid technology is evolving rapidly; just 10 years ago it would have seemed like science-fiction to expect that you could stream music wirelessly from your iPod to your hearing aids. Every year, amazing new functionality is added to new hearing aid models, and you may find that you’d like to take advantage of the new technology.

For example, maybe you just bought a new Apple Watch and you learned that a few of the new hearing aid models are compatible. If you wish to control your hearing aids with the watch, you would need to upgrade to a appropriate model.

The decision to upgrade your hearing aids in the end comes down to answering two questions:

  1. Are my current hearing aids fulfilling all of my listening needs?
  2. Is there new technology or functionality that I would like to benefit from?

Hearing aid technology is advancing rapidly, and most of our patients are surprised to find out what the new hearing aid models are capable of. And the fact is, you can’t really answer the second question without knowing what’s available.

If you would like to know what some of your options are, give us a call today and we’ll explain to you all the available technology and how it could make your life better and easier. You might be surprised at what you discover.

Filed Under: Articles, Choosing a Hearing Aid, Featured, Hearing, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss

Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Treat Your Hearing Loss

August 27, 2015 By Leave a Comment

We all procrastinate, regularly talking ourselves out of complex or unpleasant activities in favor of something more pleasing or fun. Distractions abound as we tell ourselves that we will some day get around to whatever we’re currently working to avoid.

Sometimes, procrastination is relatively harmless. We might plan to clear out the basement, for instance, by throwing out or donating the items we seldom use. A clean basement sounds good, but the work of actually hauling things to the donation center is not so satisfying. In the interest of short-term pleasure, it’s very easy to find myriad alternatives that would be more pleasant—so you put it off.

Other times, procrastination is not so benign, and when it comes to hearing loss, it could be downright hazardous. While no one’s idea of a good time is getting a hearing test, recent research reveals that neglected hearing loss has serious physical, mental, and social consequences.

To understand why, you need to start with the impact of hearing loss on the brain itself. Here’s a popular analogy: if any of you have ever broken a bone, let’s say your leg, you know what happens just after you take the cast off. You’ve lost muscle size and strength from inactivity, because if you don’t repeatedly use your muscles, they get weaker.

The same occurs with your brain. If you under-utilize the part of your brain that processes sounds, your capacity to process auditory information grows weaker. Researchers even have a term for this: they refer to it as “auditory deprivation.”

Returning to the broken leg example. Let’s say you took the cast off your leg but persisted to not make use of the muscles, relying on crutches to get around the same as before. What would happen? Your leg muscles would get increasingly weaker. The same happens with your brain; the longer you go with hearing loss, the a smaller amount of sound stimulation your brain gets, and the worse your hearing gets.

That, in essence, is auditory deprivation, which creates a host of additional disorders present research is continuing to unearth. For instance, a study directed by Johns Hopkins University revealed that those with hearing loss encounter a 40% decrease in cognitive function compared to those with normal hearing, as well as an enhanced risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.

Generalized cognitive decline also triggers significant mental and social consequences. A leading study by The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) revealed that those with neglected hearing loss were much more likely to report depression, anxiety, and paranoia, and were less likely to participate in social activities, compared to those who wear hearing aids.

So what begins as an inconvenience—not having the capability hear people clearly—leads to a downward spiral that affects all aspects of your health. The sequence of events is clear: Hearing loss leads to auditory deprivation, which produces general cognitive decline, which leads to psychological harm, including depression and anxiety, which ultimately leads to social isolation, strained relationships, and an increased risk of developing serious medical issues.

The Benefits of Hearing Aids

So that was the bad news. The good news is equally encouraging. Let’s visit the broken leg illustration one last time. Just after the cast comes off, you start exercising and stimulating the muscles, and over time, you recover your muscle mass and strength.

The same process once again applies to hearing. If you enhance the stimulation of sound to your brain with hearing aids, you can regain your brain’s ability to process and understand sound. This leads to better communication, better psychological health, and ultimately to better relationships. And, in fact, as reported by The National Council on the Aging, hearing aid users report improvements in almost every area of their lives.

Are you ready to accomplish the same improvement?

Filed Under: Anatomy and Physiology, Articles, Common Conditions of the Ear, Hearing, Hearing Loss, Preventative Care

6 Ways Your Brain Transforms Sound Into Emotion

August 13, 2015 By Leave a Comment

It has long been known that there are strong connections among sound, music, emotion, and memory, and that our personal experiences and preferences determine the type and intensity of emotional reaction we have to various sounds.

For example, research has revealed these prevalent associations between certain sounds and emotions:

  • The sound of a thunderstorm evokes a feeling of either relaxation or anxiety, depending on the individual
  • Wind chimes commonly provoke a restless feeling
  • Rain evokes a feeling of relaxation
  • Fireworks evoke a feeling of nostalgia and pleasurable memories
  • The vibrations of a cell phone are often perceived as irritating

Other sounds have a more universal identity. UCLA researchers have observed that the sound of laughter is universally identified as a positive sound signifying enjoyment, while other sounds are globally associated with fear, anger, disgust, sadness, and surprise.

So why are we susceptible to particular emotional responses in the presence of certain sounds? And why does the response tend to differ between individuals?

Although the answer is still effectively a mystery, current research by Sweden’s Lund University provides some fascinating insights into how sound and sound environments can affect humans on personal, emotional, and psychological levels.

Here are six psychological mechanisms through which sound may stir up emotions:

1. Brain-Stem Reflex

You’re seated quietly in your office when all of a sudden you hear a loud, sudden crash. What’s your response? If you’re like most, you become emotionally aroused and compelled to investigate. This kind of impulse is subconscious and hard-wired into your brain to warn you to possibly critical or life-threatening sounds.

2. Evaluative Conditioning

People frequently associate sounds with selected emotions based on the context in which the sound was heard. For example, hearing a song previously played on your wedding day may produce feelings of joy, while the same song first heard by someone during a bad breakup may create the opposing feelings of sadness.

3. Emotional Contagion

When someone smiles or starts laughing, it’s difficult to not start smiling and laughing yourself. Research carried out in the 1990s revealed that the brain may contain what are referred to as “mirror neurons” that are active both when you are carrying out a task AND when you are observing someone else perform the task. When we hear someone speaking while crying, for example, it can be challenging to not also experience the corresponding feelings of sadness.

4. Visual Imagery

Let’s say you love listening to CDs that contain exclusively the sounds of nature. Why do you like it? Presumably because it evokes a positive emotional experience, and, taking that even further, it most likely evokes some robust visual images of the natural surroundings in which the sounds are heard. Case in point, try listening to the sounds of waves crashing and NOT visualizing yourself relaxing at the beach.

5. Episodic Memory

Sounds can stimulate emotionally powerful memories, both good and bad. The sounds of rain can stir up memories of a pleasurable day spent at home, while the sound of thunder may lead to memories affiliated with combat experience, as seen in post-traumatic stress disorder.

6. Music Expectancy

Music has been depicted as the universal language, which seems logical the more you consider it. Music is, after all, simply a random assortment of sounds, and is pleasing only because the brain imposes order to the sounds and interprets the order in a specified way. It is, in fact, your expectations about the rhythm and melody of the music that trigger an emotional response.

Sound, Emotion, and Hearing Loss

Irrespective of your specific responses to different sounds, what is certain is that your emotions are directly involved. With hearing loss, you not only lose the capacity to hear particular sounds, you also lose the emotional impact tied to the sounds you can either no longer hear or can no longer hear well.

With hearing loss, for instance, nature walks become less pleasant when you can no longer hear the faint sounds of running water; music loses its emotional punch when you can’t differentiate specific instruments; and you place yourself at greater risk when you can’t hear fire alarms or other alerts to danger.

The truth is that hearing is more vital to our lives—and to our emotional lives—than we most likely realize. It also indicates that treating your hearing loss will probably have a greater impact than you realize, too.

What are some of your favorite sounds? What emotions do they evoke?

Are there any particular sounds or songs that make you feel happy, angry, annoyed, sad, or excited? Let us know in a comment.

Filed Under: Anatomy and Physiology, Articles, Common Conditions of the Ear, Hearing, Hearing Loss

6 Ways to Lose Your Hearing

August 6, 2015 By Leave a Comment

The strange part of hearing loss is that we don’t seem to start appreciating our favorite sounds until after we’ve lost the capability to clearly hear them. We don’t pause to contemplate, for instance, how much we enjoy a good conversation with a close friend until we have to recurrently ask them to repeat themselves.

Whether it’s your favorite Mozart album or the sounds of a Bluejay first thing in the morning, your total well being is directly tied to your ability to hear—whether you realize it or not. And if you wait until after you’ve lost your hearing to come to this awareness, you’re going to dedicate a good deal of time and effort working to get it back.

So how can you conserve your ability to hear?

Here are 6 ways you could lose your hearing and what you can do about it.

1. Genetics and aging

Age-related hearing loss, also called presbycusis, is the loss of hearing that slowly and gradually occurs as we grow old. Combined with presbycusis, there is also some evidence indicating that genetics plays a role, and that some of us are more prone to hearing loss than others.

While there’s not much you can do to prevent the process of getting older or adjust your genetics, you can protect against noise-induced hearing loss from the other causes mentioned below. And keep in mind that age-related hearing loss is significantly more difficult to treat if made worse by avoidable damage.

2. Traveling

Regular exposure to sound levels above 85 decibels can result in permanent hearing loss, which is not-so-good news if you happen to drive a convertible. New research shows that driving a convertible with the top down at excessive speeds generates an average sound volume level of 90 decibels. Motorcyclists experience even higher sounds and those who use the subway are at risk as well.

So does everybody either have to forego travel or live with permanent earplugs? Not exactly, but you should look for ways to reduce your collective noise exposure during travel. If you drive a convertible, roll up your windows and drive a little slower; if you own a motorcycle, put on a helmet and consider earplugs; and if you use the subway, consider buying noise-canceling headphones.

3. Going to work

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 22 million employees in the US are subjected to potentially harmful noise volumes on the job. The highest risk careers are in manufacturing, farming, construction, the military, and the music industry.

The last thing you need is to spend your entire work life accumulating hearing loss that will prevent you from enjoying your retirement. Check with your employer about its hearing protection plan, and if they do not have one, consult with your local hearing specialist for personalized solutions.

4. Taking drugs and smoking

Smoking impedes blood flow, among other things, which could enhance your risk of developing hearing loss—if you really required another reason to stop smoking. Antibiotics, strong pain medications, and a significant number of other drugs are “ototoxic,” or toxic to the cells of hearing. In fact, there are more than 200 known ototoxic medications.

The bottom line: avoid taking ototoxic drugs or medications unless completely necessary. Consult with your doctor if you have any questions.

5. Listening to music

85 is turning out to be quite an inconvenient number. Many of our favorite activities yield decibel levels just above this threshold, and any sound over 85 decibels can result in hearing loss. If the threshold were just slightly higher, say 100 decibels, we wouldn’t have to worry about it so much.

But 85 it is. And portable music players at full volume reach more than 100 decibels while rock shows reach more than 110. The solution is straight forward: turn down your iPod, wear earplugs at concerts, and minimize your exposure time to the music.

6. Getting sick or injured

Selected ailments, such as diabetes, along with any traumatic head injuries, places you at greater risk of developing hearing loss. If you have diabetes, regular exercise, a balanced diet, and consistent tracking of glucose levels is critical. And if you ride a motorcycle, wearing a helmet will help protect against traumatic head injuries.

Talk to Your Hearing Specialist

While there are several ways to lose your hearing, a few simple lifestyle alterations can help you safeguard your hearing for life. Keep in mind: the minimal hassle of wearing custom earplugs, driving with the windows up, or turning down your iPod are insignificant in comparison to the substantial inconvenience of hearing loss later in life.

Ready to take your hearing health seriously? Give us a call today.

Filed Under: Anatomy and Physiology, Articles, Common Conditions of the Ear, Hearing, Hearing Loss

Why Choose a Local Hearing Care Provider?

July 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment

The hearing healthcare industry has two barriers that prevent people from achieving healthier hearing:

  1. The inability to detect hearing loss in the first place (because of its slow onset), and
  2. The temptation to find a quick, easy, and inexpensive solution.

Regrettably, countless people who have overcome the first barrier have been lured into the apparently “cheaper and easier” methods of correcting their hearing loss, whether it be through the purchase of hearing aids on the web, the purchase of personal sound amplifiers, or by heading to the big box stores that are much more concerned with profitability than with patient care.

Despite the lure of these quick remedies, the truth is that local hearing care providers are your best option for better hearing, and here are the reasons why.

Local hearing care providers choose to use a customer-centric business model

National chain stores are profitable for one primary reason: they sell a high volume of discounted goods and services at low prices in the name of higher revenues. National chains are focused on efficiency, which is a nice way of saying “get as many people in and out the door as quickly as possible.”

Granted, this profit-centric model works great with most purchases, because you probably don’t require professional, personalized care to help choose your undershirts and bath soap. Consumer support simply doesn’t factor in.

However, problems result when this business model is extended to services that do demand expert, customized care—such as the correction of hearing loss. National chains are not focused on patient outcomes because they can’t be; it’s too time consuming and flies in the face of the high volume “see as many patients as possible” business model.

Local hearing care providers are completely different. They’re not preoccupied with short-term profits because they don’t have a board of directors to answer to. The success of a local practice is influenced by on patient outcomes and quality of care, which leads to satisfied patients who remain faithful to the practice and spread the positive word-of-mouth advertising that leads to more referrals.

Local practices, for that reason, thrive on delivering quality care, which is beneficial both the patient and the practice. By comparison, what occurs if a national chain can’t deliver quality care and satisfied patients? Simple, they use national advertising to get a continuous flow of new patients, vowing the same “quick and cheap fix” that enticed in the original customers.

Local hearing care providers have more experience

Hearing is complex, and like our fingerprints, is unique to everybody, so the frequencies I may have difficulty hearing are distinct from the frequencies you have difficulty hearing. In other words, you can’t just take surrounding sound, make it all louder, and push it into your ears and count on good results. But this is essentially what personal sound amplifiers, along with the cheaper hearing aid models, accomplish.

The truth is, the sounds your hearing aids amplify—AND the sounds they don’t—HAVE to match the way you, and only you, hear. That’s only going to come about by:

  • Having your hearing professionally tested so you know the EXACT characteristics of your hearing loss, and…
  • Having your hearing aids professionally programmed to intensify the sounds you have difficulty hearing while distinguishing and suppressing the sounds you don’t want to hear (such as low-frequency background sound).

For the hearing care provider, this is no straight forward task. It requires a lot of training and patient care experience to have the ability to perform a hearing test, help patients pick the right hearing aid, skillfully program the hearing aids, and give the patient training and aftercare necessary for optimal hearing. There are no shortcuts to dispensing comprehensive hearing care—but the results are worth the time and energy.

Make your choice

So, who do you want to leave your hearing to? To someone who views you as a transaction, as a customer, and as a means to attaining sales goals? Or to an experienced local professional that cares about the same thing you do—helping you attain the best hearing possible, which, by the way, is the lifeblood of the local practice.

As a general rule, we recommend that you avoid purchasing your hearing aids anywhere you see a sign that reads “10 items or less.” As local, experienced hearing professionals, we provide comprehensive hearing healthcare and the best hearing technology to match your specific needs, lifestyle, and budget.

Still have questions? Give us a call today.

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, Hearing, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, hearing test, Preventative Care

When Should I Get My Hearing Tested?

June 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Most of the time, people are unaware that they have hearing loss. It develops so gradually that it’s typically undetectable, and on top of that, most family doctors do not regularly screen for hearing loss at the yearly physical exam.

Considering these two realities, it’s no surprise that most people first find out they have hearing loss by being told about it from close friends or family members. But once people confront you about your hearing loss, it’s more than likely already relatively advanced. Given that hearing loss gets worse over time—and cannot be fully recovered once lost—it’s critical to treat hearing loss as quickly as possible rather of waiting for it to get bad enough for people to notice.

So when and how often should you get your hearing tested? Here are our suggestions:

Establish a Baseline Early

It’s never too early to consider your first hearing test. The earlier you test your hearing, the sooner you can create a baseline to compare future tests. The only method to determine if your hearing is getting worse is by comparing the results with past testing.

Although it’s true that as you get older you’re more likely to have hearing loss, keep in mind that 26 million people between the age of 20 and 69 have hearing loss. Hearing loss is widespread among all age groups, and exposure to loud noise places everyone at risk regardless of age.

Annual Tests After Age 55

At the age of 65, one out of every three people will have some level of hearing loss. Considering hearing loss is so typical near this age, we advise annual hearing tests to ensure that your hearing is not worsening. Remember, hearing loss is permanent, cumulative, and practically undetectable. However, with once-a-year hearing exams, hearing loss can be identified early, and treatment is always more effective when implemented earlier.

Assess Personal Risk Factors

As reported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, “approximately 15 percent of Americans (26 million people) between the ages of 20 and 69 have high frequency hearing loss due to exposure to noise at work or during leisure activities.”

If you have been subjected to noisy work environments or activities such as music concerts or sporting events, it’s a good idea to have your hearing tested. It’s also a good idea to get an annual hearing test if you consistently expose your hearing to these conditions.

Watch for Signs of Hearing Loss

As we noted earlier, the signs and symptoms of hearing loss are often first detected by others. You should schedule a hearing test if someone has suggested it to you or if you encounter any of these signs or symptoms:

  • Muffled hearing
  • Trouble following what people are saying, especially in loud settings or in groups
  • People commenting on how loud you have the TV or radio
  • Avoiding social situations and conversations
  • Ringing, roaring, hissing, or buzzing in the ear (tinnitus)
  • Ear pain, irritation, or discharge
  • Vertigo, dizziness, or balance problems

Don’t Wait Until the Harm is Done

The bottom line is that hearing loss is prevalent among all age groups and that we all live in the presence of several work-related and everyday risk factors. Seeing that hearing loss is hard to detect, worsens over time, and is best treated early, we highly recommend that you get your hearing tested regularly. You might end up saving your hearing with early intervention, and the worst that can happen is that you find out you have normal hearing.

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, Hearing, Hearing Loss, hearing test, Preventative Care

Understanding Your Treatment Options for Tinnitus

June 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Nearly 45 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, which is the perception of sound where no outside sound source is present. This phantom sound is typically identified as a ringing sound, but can also materialize as a buzzing, hissing, whistling, swooshing, or clicking.

The first thing to know about tinnitus is that it’s a symptom, not a disease. Consequently, tinnitus may signal an underlying health condition that, once cured, cures the tinnitus. Earwax accumulation or other blockages, blood vessel disorders, selected medications, and other underlying disorders can all trigger tinnitus, so the first step is ruling out any ailments that would call for medical or surgical treatment.

In most cases of tinnitus, however, no specific cause is discovered. In these instances, tinnitus is presumed to be caused by destruction of the nerve cells of hearing in the inner ear. Noise-induced hearing loss, age-related hearing loss, and one-time exposure to very loud sounds can all cause tinnitus.

Whenever tinnitus is induced by nerve cell damage, or is associated with hearing loss, tinnitus often cannot be cured—but that doesn’t imply that people must suffer without assistance. Although there is no conclusive cure for the majority of instances of chronic tinnitus, various tinnitus treatment options are available that help patients live better, more comfortable, and more productive lives, even if the perception of tinnitus remains.

Here are some of the treatment options for tinnitus:

Hearing Aids

Most cases of tinnitus are linked with some form of hearing loss. In people with hearing loss, a smaller amount of sound stimulation reaches the brain, and in response, investigators believe that the brain changes physically and chemically to accommodate the insufficiency of stimulation. It is this maladaptive reaction to sound deprivation that results in tinnitus.

Tinnitus is intensified with hearing loss because when surrounding sound is muffled, the sounds identified with tinnitus become more notable. But when hearing aids are used, the amplified sound signals cause the sounds of tinnitus to blend into the richer background sounds. Hearing aids for tinnitus patients can then grant multiple benefits, among them enhanced hearing, enhanced auditory stimulation, and a “masking effect” for tinnitus.

Sound Therapy

Sound therapy is a general phrase used to describe a number of approaches to using external sound to “mask” the tinnitus. With time, the brain can learn to recognize the sounds of tinnitus as insignificant in comparison to the competing sound, thereby lessening the intensity level of tinnitus.

Sound therapy can be delivered through masking devices but can also be provided through certain hearing aid models that can stream sound wirelessly by using Bluetooth technology. Some hearing aid models even connect with compatible Apple products, including iPhones, so that any masking sounds downloaded on the Apple devices can be transmitted wirelessly to the hearing aids.

The types of masking sounds used may vary, including white noise, pink noise, nature sounds, and music. Sounds can also be specially designed to match the sound frequency of the patient’s tinnitus, providing individualized masking relief. Since each patient will respond differently to different masking sounds, it’s essential that you work with a experienced hearing professional.

Behavioral Therapies

Numerous behavioral therapies exist to help the patient address the psychological and emotional components of tinnitus. One example is mindfulness-based stress reduction, in which the individual learns to accept the affliction while establishing helpful coping methods.

You may have also heard the term Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), which mixes cognitive-behavioral therapy with sound masking therapy. With Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, patients learn to formulate healthy cognitive and emotional reactions to tinnitus while applying sound therapy to teach their brains to reclassify tinnitus as unimportant, so that it can be consciously ignored.

General Wellness

Together with the more specific sound and behavioral therapies, patients can participate in general wellness activities that frequently reduce the severity of tinnitus. These activities include healthy diets, frequent exercise, social activity, recreational activities, and any other activities that promote improved health and reduced stress.

Drug Therapies

There are presently no FDA-approved medications that have been found to cure or alleviate tinnitus directly, but there are drugs that can treat stress, anxiety, and depression, all of which can make tinnitus worse or are caused by tinnitus itself. In fact, some antidepressant and antianxiety medications have been demonstrated to supply some relief to patients with severe tinnitus.

Experimental Therapies

A flurry of promising research is being performed in labs and universities across the world, as researchers continue to hunt for the underlying neurological cause of tinnitus and its ultimate cure. Although several of these experimental therapies have shown some promise, keep in mind that they are not yet readily available, and that there’s no assurance that they ever will be. People struggling with tinnitus are encouraged to seek out current treatments rather than holding out for any experimental treatment to hit the market.

Here are a few of the experimental therapies presently being evaluated:

  • Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) delivers electromagnetic pulses into the affected brain tissue to lessen the hyperactivity that is believed to cause tinnitus.
  • Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is another means of delivering electromagnetic pulses into the hyperactive brain tissue that is believed to cause tinnitus.
  • Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is similar to the previous therapies in its use of electromagnetic energy, the difference being that DBS is an invasive procedure requiring surgery and the placing of electrodes in the brain tissue.

Other medical, surgical, and pharmacological therapies exist, but the results have been mixed and the risks of invasive procedures quite often outweigh the benefits.

The Best Treatment For Your Tinnitus

The optimum tinnitus treatment for you is based on many factors, and is best appraised by a qualified hearing specialist. As your local hearing care professionals, we’ll do everything we can to help you find relief from your tinnitus. Set up your appointment today and we’ll find the customized solution that works best for you.

Filed Under: Articles, Common Conditions of the Ear, Featured, Hearing, Hearing Loss, Preventative Care, Tinnitus

Getting the Most Out of Your Hearing Aid Batteries

June 11, 2015 By 1 Comment


Hearing Aid Batteries
Zinc-air-battery-types by Marc Andressen is licensed under Attribution CC 2.0

You could make a strong case that the most critical component of your hearing aid is the battery: without it, nothing else works, and if it fails, your hearing fails with it. In this short guide, we’ll present to you everything you need to know about hearing aid batteries so that you can get the maximum benefit out of your hearing aids.

How Hearing Aid Batteries Work

Hearing aids take a unique kind of battery called zinc-air batteries. Each battery has a sticker that covers small holes on the top of the battery. Once the sticker is removed, air enters the battery through the holes, resulting in a chemical reaction that activates the zinc and makes the battery live. When the battery is live, it starts discharging power and reapplying the sticker will have no influence in conserving its life.

Hearing Aid Battery Types

Zinc-air hearing aid batteries come in four standardized sizes, marked with standardized number and color codes. The four sizes, from largest to smallest, are:

  • 675-blue
  • 13-orange
  • 312-brown
  • 10-yellow

Each hearing aid uses only one of the sizes, and your hearing specialist will inform you which size you will be needing. Keep in mind that the numbers and colors above are manufacturer independent, but that manufacturers sometimes add additional letters or numbers to its packaging.

Hearing Aid Battery Life

Hearing aid battery life is reliant on a number of factors. Many patients get up to one week of life out of a battery if they use the hearing aid for 12 or more hours a day, but this will vary depending on:

  • The size of the battery – bigger batteries have a longer life.
  • The level of hearing loss – More severe hearing loss calls for more power.
  • Hearing aid features – wireless functionality, noise reduction programs, and multi-channel processing, for example, demand more power to operate.
  • Temperature – hot and cold temperatures can decrease battery life.

Your hearing specialist will review all of this with you, and can help you find the proper balance between hearing aid capability and battery life.

How to Increase the Life of Your Hearing Aid Batteries

You can effortlessly prolong the life of your hearing aid batteries with one simple trick. As soon as you remove the sticker to activate the battery, wait 5-7 minutes before inserting the battery into your hearing aids. By removing the sticker and laying the battery flat side up for a few minutes, air is able to properly activate the battery before you start using it, which lengthens its life.

A couple of other tips:

  • Keep the batteries away from coins, keys, or other metal objects that could short the battery.
  • When the hearing aid isn’t being used, turn it off and store it with the battery door open. If you don’t plan on using your hearing aids for an extended period of time, remove the batteries completely.
  • Unopened batteries can last for years; still, fresher batteries are preferred because each year that goes by decreases the life of the battery.
  • Store your batteries at room temperature. This rule is so crucial that the next section is dedicated to the topic.

How to Store Your Hearing Aid Batteries

There’s a dangerous myth out there suggesting that storing your batteries in the refrigerator extends their life. This is not only false; it produces the opposite result!

The reasoning behind storing your batteries in the refrigerator is that the cold temperature will slow down the discharge of power. While this may be technically true, the amount of power you will save will be negligible, and the undesirable effects of moisture will produce far greater negative consequences.

Storing zinc-air batteries in a cold environment allows micro condensation to form in an on the battery, resulting in corrosion and a high risk of premature failure. Therefore, for ideal performance, simply keep your batteries away from extreme hot or cold temperatures and store at room temperature.

Maintaining Your Hearing Aid Battery Supply

Once you figure out how long your batteries last, on average, you’ll want to keep a month’s supply. If your batteries last 1 week, and you use 2 batteries (1 for each hearing aid), then you’ll end up using about 8 per month. Simply set 8 as your reorder level, and once you consume your stock down to 8, order another pack. Alternatively, you may want to look into the price savings linked with bulk buys and maintain a supply that lasts a bit longer than one month. If you’re not certain, we are more than happy to help you put together a strategy and will handle all of your hearing aid battery needs. Just give us a call!

Have any other questions? Talk to one of our hearing specialists today!

Filed Under: Articles, Caring for Your Hearing Aid, Featured, Hearing, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Preventative Care
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