Celebrate Lawn & Garden Month by Protecting Your Hearing

April Is National Lawn and Garden Month

On April 15th, 2018 | by | in Hearing Health, Hearing Loss, Hearing Protection

Celebrate by Protecting Your Hearing

Spring has sprung, and so has the annual spring cornucopia of sounds: birds singing, children laughing, neighbors chatting — and lawn equipment.

Maintaining your burgeoning plant life is a noisy affair. Once you’ve used the mower, leaf blower, chain saw, and string trimmer, your ears have put up with quite a racket.

With noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) affecting one in four U.S. adults ages 20 to 69, according to the Centers for Disease Control, it might be worth exploring the question, “But how dangerous is all that noise, really?”  

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Hearing happens when the hair cells in your inner ear convert sound signals to electrical signals, and these electrical signals get sent to your brain to be interpreted as sounds. Every hair cell that gets damaged, therefore, means a reduction in your ability to hear. NIHL, then, is hearing damage …

Diabetes, Hearing Loss & You

Diabetes & Hearing Loss: What’s the Deal?

On April 1st, 2018 | by | in Comorbidity, Disorders, Hearing Loss

Are hearing impairment and diabetes connected? More than you might think.

Hearing loss — which affects an estimated one of every five Americans — is twice as common among people living with diabetes, making healthy habits and regular hearing checkups all the more important for overall wellness.

Some 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, a chronic metabolic disease that isn’t yet curable but can be managed. Controlling blood sugar is crucial to managing the condition, which, if uncontrolled, can lead over time to other problems such as cardiovascular disease, kidney damage, and hearing loss.

Much like age-related hearing loss, diabetes-related hearing issues commonly take a toll on higher-frequency hearing. In addition, people with diabetes can have a harder time hearing speech in noisy environments such as restaurants and parties.

What’s the link between the two conditions?

It’s not yet known …

Handling background noise just got easier

From Grilling to Graduation: Tips for Hearing Well With Friends and Family

On March 28th, 2018 | by | in Communication Tips, Hearing Loss, Tips & Tricks

You watch the road while listening to music in the car. You listen to your cousin’s crazy stories while playing board games with nieces and nephews. You’re a pro at listening while your eyes are focused on something else, right?

Not so, according to a recent study in Scientific Reports, which found that not looking at what you’re listening to slows your reaction time and increases the strain on your brain as it tries to process sound. Simply put: It pays to look at what you’re listening to. And that becomes harder in a group.  

Spring Is Here, and So Are Get-Togethers

Spring and summer are for graduations, grilling, and family reunions — in short, lots of distracting background noise. Inspired by the above study, we’ve gathered some effective communication tips for when you find yourself in a group.  

Tell others how best to talk …

Doesn’t Mom deserve the best?

Give Mom the Gift of Better Hearing This Mother’s Day

On March 28th, 2018 | by | in Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Holidays

Moms are a busy bunch.

Those duty-juggling, many-hats-wearing wonders cherish time for themselves. Whether on a walk, behind an easel with a paintbrush, or climbing a rock wall, those moments are even better when they can enjoy every sound. Is your mom — or a mom you know — not savoring the sounds of her life?  

Recognizable Signs

Does she not engage with conversations like she used to? Maybe she’s not as quick to laugh? Perhaps she looks at you more intently when you’re talking? These are common signs of hearing loss. She might not even realize she’s pulling away from her life. And it takes, on average, seven years for someone to seek treatment once they do suspect they have a hearing loss. Maybe she just needs a nudge in the right direction.  

Better Hearing, Better Life

The benefits of seeking hearing care go far beyond better …

Chemotherapy can impact your hearing health, but science is on the case.

Chemotherapy Drugs: A Threat to Healthy Hearing?

On March 28th, 2018 | by | in Chemotherapy Drugs, Hearing Health, Ototoxicity

With 14 million new cases worldwide in 2012 alone and an expected 21 million in 2030, cancer touches nearly everyone personally or through a loved one, keeping the push for new treatments, cures, and prevention strategies top of mind.

Across the U.S., some 650,000 cancer patients undergo chemotherapy in outpatient oncology clinics every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though potentially lifesaving, some chemotherapy drugs can lead to complications such as permanent and possibly total hearing loss.

In the January 2018 Hearing Journal article, “Chemo-Induced Hearing Loss: Help Patients Cope With the Aural Effects of Cancer Treatment,” a reported half to two-thirds of cancer survivors who had been treated with selected platinum-based chemotherapy medications such as cisplatin and carboplatin have permanent hearing loss potentially caused by damage to hair cells or cilia in the inner ear.

The hearing loss often begins in the higher …

Healthy Hearing = Healthy Brain

Dementia a Real Risk With Hearing Loss

On March 15th, 2018 | by | in Comorbidity, Disorders, Hearing Health

If you think of hearing loss as just an inconsequential part of getting older, you’re not alone.

The truth is, however, that the condition can strike even the youngest among us — more than one in 1,000 babies screened has some form of hearing impairment, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data — and it can trigger other health problems, too.

Take cognitive decline, for example, which can lead to Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Research has long pointed to links between hearing loss and reduced brain functioning over time, but the statistics may surprise you.

Consider these startling findings:

On average, seniors with hearing loss experience significantly reduced cognitive function 3.2 years before their normal-hearing counterparts. Hearing-impaired seniors experience thinking and memory problems 30 to 40 percent faster than their normal-hearing counterparts. Older adults with a hearing disability may lose over …

Reverse-Slope Hearing Loss

Reverse-Slope Hearing Loss

On March 1st, 2018 | by | in Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss

Your Refrigerator Is Running — Can You Hear It?

You’re probably familiar with the many telltale, well-known signs of hearing loss — asking people to repeat themselves frequently, turning up the TV to uncomfortable levels for others in the room, or leaning into a conversation on one side to use your “good ear.”

But what if speech is clear to you and you never turn up the TV — but you can’t hear whether the car you’re standing next to is running? This is an actual type of hearing loss, called reverse-slope hearing loss (RSHL), and people with this type often don’t realize they have a hearing impairment.

What Is Reverse-Slope Hearing Loss?

Hearing Loss Basics

The most common type of hearing loss — the kind most people think of when they think of hearing loss — is characterized by loss of sounds at higher frequencies and is sometimes …

Got earwax? Step away from the cotton swabs.

Earwax Dos & Don’ts. Hint: Hold the Cotton Swabs!

On February 15th, 2018 | by | in Earwax, Hearing Health

Earwax, that yellowish-brown goo, might inspire an “Ick!” or two, but managing it the right way can make a difference in your hearing health.

Here’s a primer on why you have earwax and what to do about it.

Why is earwax in your ear?

Earwax, or “cerumen,” results from secretions by the ceruminous glands in the outer ear canal. The secretions help lubricate the ear canal and help maintain an acidic environment that curbs harmful bacteria and fungi.

Life without earwax would be a lot less comfortable: It not only helps keep the ear canal clean but prevents dirt and other debris from reaching and potentially damaging the eardrum. In addition, earwax can help keep ears from feeling itchy and dry.

When should earwax be removed?

Normally you needn’t remove earwax; your ears will naturally handle that function by pushing out the excess.

Sometimes the glands may …

Celebrate Black History Month 2018

8 Notable African-Americans With Hearing Loss

On February 1st, 2018 | by | in Hearing Loss, News

With an estimated one in five Americans directly touched by hearing loss — a common chronic condition that spans race, gender, age, and socioeconomic status — some icons in pop culture and beyond have experienced this challenge in their own lives.

As the nation celebrates Black History Month this February, take a look at these eight African-American notables who triumphed over hearing impairment to bring their dreams to life.

Whoopi Goldberg

Oscar-winning actress, comedienne, activist, writer, and The View moderator Goldberg cites longtime exposure to loud music for her hearing loss, according to published reports. The Sister Act and Ghost icon, who has collaborated with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, wears hearing aids and has advised others to take care of their hearing health.

Derrick Coleman

As the NFL’s first legally deaf offensive player, Falcons fullback Coleman began tackling adversity at an early …

5 Healthy-Hearing Soup Recipes to Get You in the Spirit

January Is National Soup Month — 5 Healthy-Hearing Soup Recipes to Get You in the Spirit

On January 15th, 2018 | by | in Hearing Health, Nutrition

Nutrition is a great way to prevent hearing loss. Read on for great soup recipes that will get your hearing health on sure footing for the coming year.

It’s National Soup Month! What better way to kick it off than with an old Italian proverb?

“Soup does seven things: It takes away hunger, takes away thirst, fills the stomach, cleans the teeth, makes you sleep, makes you slim, and puts color in your cheeks.”

Not enough reason to ladle out some of the good stuff? Here’s another: Many ingredients that go great in soup are great for hearing health!

Soup Recipes for Maintaining Hearing Health

Savor the taste and the hearing health with these five soups that are rich in folate and omega-3 fatty acids. These nutrients ensure your cochlea — the part of your inner ear where sound is converted to signals that get …