Yes – hearing aids can help A LOT. Why? Because we are meant to hear with two ears. Binaural hearing (hearing with both ears) is essential for hearing in noise, maintaining our natural perception of loudness, and it is how we effectively localize or maintain spatial awareness and feel immersed in our surroundings. So even if you feel you can “get by” with one ear, there are challenges you will face that can be helped with ...
Have you set a goal to get healthier this year? Are you going to the gym or perhaps a workout class a few times a week? Congratulations on setting your goal and taking steps to reach it! With the rising popularity of fitness classes and niche workout gyms, loud music goes in parallel with the workout, sweat, and pounding heart rates. However, instructors and participants of these classes may be at risk of damaging their ...
Tinnitus is defined as “the hearing of sound when no external sound is present.” It is one of the most common complaints reported to hearing healthcare professionals. Certainly, tinnitus is associated with hearing loss. That doesn’t mean, though, that if one has tinnitus, hearing loss is also present. Why tinnitus and hearing loss typically come as a matched set To hear, sound is funneled through the outer and middle ear to the inner ear ...
Purchasing hearing aids for the first time starts an individual on a path of rehabilitation similar to other conditions that require the person to learn a set of skills in a new way. Very commonly, a person with hearing loss has forgotten specific sounds both wanted (a loved one’s voice) and unwanted (noise) that an individual with normal hearing experiences every day. Aural rehabilitation assists them in becoming familiar with these sounds again, and ...
Open any magazine and you’re bound to find an article on how to turn back the hands of time. Posts on health and wellness are among the most popular on social media. Many of us hope to age gracefully and happily by looking and feeling our best. But is worrying about looking older delaying our decision to get hearing aids? If so, The Harvard Study of Adult Development should change our minds. For 75 ...
Hearing and sight are arguably our two most important senses. Yet, if and when either starts to fail us (and both usually do as we age), we react to each quite differently. Look around at all the people with glasses, contacts, Lasik surgery or just cheaters, and it’s obvious that we have no problem or hesitation with treating vision issues. But when it comes to treating hearing loss, we don’t seem to be ...
A study published in The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals, called dementia “the greatest global challenge for health and social care in the 21st century.” The study, conducted by The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention and Care, noted that 50 million people have dementia worldwide — and that the number is expected to triple by 2050. The commission’s purpose was to provide recommendations for prevention and management of dementia. The need ...
So you’ve got a little hearing loss. What’s the big deal, right? It happens to almost all of us as we age. FACT: 37.5 million Americans 18 and older have hearing loss, including one out of every three, 60 and older. You can cope, you’ve decided. You’ll just turn the TV up a little louder. Ask people to speak up or repeat what they said. And hey, the quiet can ...
Treating hearing loss has been proven to provide many benefits, like better hearing, improved communication and confidence, and reduced risk of cognitive decline, to name a few. But friends and family get to enjoy the benefits of their loved one wearing hearing aids, too. Some benefits, like closer relationships, less worry, and increased participation are huge. Others, like noticing faucets that need to be fixed, aren’t as obvious.
Have you heard the saying, “it’s funny because it’s true”? This cartoon definitely falls under that category (though, admittedly, funny is a subjective concept). If you’re close to someone with hearing loss, it should at least resonate. We’ve all been there — acting as the translator…the repeater. If you have hearing loss, it should feel familiar, too. Asking people to repeat themselves isn’t just frustrating for you — it’s equally ...
