Are Portable Music Players Putting Your Ears at Risk?

Turn the Music Up, Dude — But Not Past 85 Decibels

On October 15th, 2018 | by | in Hearing, Hearing Health, Hearing Loss, Tips & Tricks

You probably use your tablet or smartphone often to stream music, TV shows, or movies. In fact, many websites these days auto-play videos regardless of whether you want them to.

Smartphones, tablets, and other types of portable music players (PMPs) are now commonplace, as are earbuds and headphones. But if your PMP is turned up too loud while wearing earbuds or headphones, you can damage your hearing quickly. Let’s look at why.

NIHL

This isn’t some new sports league — NIHL stands for noise-induced hearing loss, and it’s the second-largest cause of hearing loss worldwide.

You’re able to hear because of hair cells in your inner ear. These cells convert sound signals to electrical signals and send them to your brain, where they’re interpreted as sounds. But loud sounds can actually damage or destroy your hair cells.

Every time a hair cell gets damaged, you lose a little bit …

Is Weight Connected to Hearing Loss?

Is Weight Connected to Hearing Loss?

On October 1st, 2018 | by | in Comorbidity, Hearing Health, Hearing Loss

Studies about weight often concern its relation to overall health. Common connections include weight and the risk for or prevalence of heart disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea, to name a few. One topic that doesn’t get as much attention is the connection between weight and risk for hearing loss. But is there a connection?

To understand how weight affects hearing, you need to know about something tiny but important in your inner ear: the hair cell.

The Hair Cell

Your brain doesn’t understand sound waves. Tiny, hair-like structures in your inner ear, called hair cells, translate sound waves into a language — electrical signals — your brain understands. It sends those signals to your brain through the auditory nerve, and your brain interprets the signals as sound information.

Care and Feeding of Your Hair Cells

Hair cells need plenty of oxygen, which they get from strong, rich blood flow. …

an african american man smiles as he touches his wine glass to that of his wife as they dine free of hearing difficulties

Noise Impacts Hearing—and Food Choices

On September 25th, 2018 | by | in Comorbidity, Hearing Health, News

How’s this for a New Year’s resolution twofer: Dialing down loud sounds could help an individual’s hearing health and their waistline!

Excess noise can lead to ear pain, ringing or other unwanted head sounds, and even permanent hearing impairment. It’s one of the leading — and most preventable — causes of hearing loss, with populations such as noise-exposed workers, power-tool users, and a growing number of young people affected.

Now researchers have also reported a link between hearing loud music and choosing more calorie-heavy menu options that can, ahem, expand one’s girth. Scientists published their results in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science earlier this spring.

The study, “Ambient Music and Food Choices: Can Music Volume Level Nudge Healthier Choices?” involved a series of field and lab investigations that turned up some interesting findings:

Lower-volume music, which can have a relaxing effect, leads to healthier …

an elderly asian couple stand atop a mountain surrounded by fog, proud of overcoming hearing loss

Myth Busting: 5 Facts About Your Hearing Health

On September 25th, 2018 | by | in Hearing Health, Hearing Loss, Tinnitus

Is hearing loss an isolated issue that doesn’t affect my overall health? Can a simple sound amplifier take the place of hearing aids? Is there nothing I can do about that ringing in my ears?

Nearly all hearing problems can be effectively managed, but misconceptions can get in the way of continuing the journey to better hearing health. We’re busting five myths with facts to help you stay on track!   Myth: Hearing impairment simply comes with aging. Fact: “Age is the strongest predictor of hearing loss” for 20- to 69-year-olds, per the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, but did you know that about two to three of every 1,000 U.S. kids enter the world with a detectable impairment? In Canada, an estimated 4 out of 1,000 children are born with some form of hearing loss or will develop it early. Plus, noise-related hearing damage — …

Hearing Aid Use Might Equal Fewer ER Visits

Putting Off That Hearing Test? Here’s Another Reason to Hear Your Best!

On September 15th, 2018 | by | in Hearing Aids, News

It’s no surprise that getting hearing help can make communicating and connecting with the world around you so much easier, but did you know that using hearing aids might also have a hand in cutting down emergency-room visits and hospital stays?

In a study published earlier this year in the medical journal JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, University of Michigan researchers investigating connections among hearing technology, health care consumption, and spending linked seniors’ self-reported use of hearing aids to changes such as the following:

Reduced ER visits and hospitalizations — each by 2 percentage points Decreases in overnight hospital stays by about 0.46 nights A reduction in Medicare spending — by approximately $71

So … less hospital food? Add that to the ever-growing list of better-hearing benefits. (Just kidding; some hospitals bring their A-game to patient meals!)

An estimated 466 million children and adults around the globe …

Hearing Loss: One More Reason Not to Smoke

How Are Smoking and Hearing Loss Related?

On September 1st, 2018 | by | in Comorbidity, Hearing Health

The connection between smoking and heart disease, cancer, and respiratory problems gets all the attention, but the effects of smoking on hearing have long been known. If you’re one of the 40 million U.S. adults who smokes cigarettes — or someone who lives with a smoker — read on to find out how smoking is linked to hearing loss.

Some Facts

How does smoking affect hearing?

Compared to nonsmokers, smokers have a 70% greater chance of developing hearing loss. Nonsmokers are twice as likely to develop hearing loss if they live with a smoker. The greater your daily average of cigarettes, the greater your risk of developing hearing loss. Mothers who smoke during pregnancy increase their child’s risk for developing speech-language problems. If you work around high levels of occupational noise, smoking increases your risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Adolescents exposed to secondhand smoke are 2 to 3 times …

4 Things to Know About Swimmers’ Earplugs

Hitting the Water? Don’t Forget These Little Gems for Ear Protection!

On August 15th, 2018 | by | in Hearing Health, Hearing Protection

You’ve packed the swimsuits, floats, safety vests, caps, goggles, kids, and snacks for a summer afternoon at the lake or neighborhood pool, but what about the earplugs?

These small accessories can make a big difference in keeping the good times going during family fun in the water. Before you go, here are four things to know about swimmers’ earplugs:

They Help Protect Against Ear Infection

Ears and moisture don’t always mix. Otitis externa, an outer-ear infection also known as “swimmer’s ear,” is typically caused by bacterial or fungal growth when the skin in the ear canal potentially becomes irritated from activities such as swimming. Though treatable, the condition can lead to temporary hearing loss and other problems, so prevention matters. Using quality, properly inserted earplugs helps keep the water — and the threat of infection — out of your ears.

They Can Be Off the Shelf or Customized

It’s always …

The Inner Ear: A Tale of Two Systems

Are Balance Problems Related to Hearing Loss?

On August 1st, 2018 | by | in Balance, Comorbidity, Disorders, Hearing

It’s common for people with hearing loss to have balance issues, and vice versa.

This phenomenon might even affect you or a loved one. Do they occur together as a coincidence, or are hearing and balance actually related? It turns out the answer is, “It depends.” Let’s look at some basics first.  

The Inner Ear

The inner ear is also known as the bony labyrinth, and it consists of both the cochlea and the vestibular system.  

The cochlea (hearing): The cochlea is where sound signals are captured, converted to electrical signals, and sent to the brain to be interpreted as sound. The vestibular system (balance): This comprises three bony canals and two pouches. These work together to tell your brain where your head is in space, as well as when and how it’s moving.

 

Hearing and Balance Problems

Both hearing and balance depend heavily on the status …

Humidity — Hearing Aid Kryptonite?

Does High Humidity Affect My Hearing Aids?

On July 15th, 2018 | by | in Hearing Aid Maintenance, Hearing Aid Repair, Hearing Aids, Tips & Tricks

One of the great things about starting your better-hearing journey is that your world is more enjoyable when you can hear all those sounds you’ve been missing.

That might also mean you’re getting outside more, possibly exposing your hearing devices to humidity. Your hearing aids are tiny computers, and just like with laptops and tablets, moisture can present a challenge.

Humidity

Let’s discuss humidity first. Simply put, humidity is a measurement of the amount of water vapor in the air.

Hot air can hold a lot of water vapor, but cold air cannot. When hot air meets cold air, the drop in temperature means a drop in how much water vapor the air can hold.

Let’s consider a can of soda pop: When humid air makes contact with a cold can of soda pop, the air temperature around the can drops quickly. Any water vapor from the humid air …

Eyes and Ears: More in Common Than You Think!

Eyes and Ears: More in Common Than You Think!

On July 1st, 2018 | by | in Comorbidity, Disorders, Hearing Health

4 Reasons to Keep Your Hearing and Vision in Check

We all know that eyes and ears play a huge role in helping people — and animals, too! — experience life’s adventures. Seeing or hearing the people, places, and moments that matter can make for wonderful, lasting memories.

But did you know that seeing and hearing have more in common than just their rock-star status? Here are four reasons to make regular checkups for hearing and vision an important part of your overall health and wellness:

Hearing actually enhances the sense of sight, according to a UCLA study, with both working as a team to help you perceive and participate in the world around you. In the study, which ran participants through a series of trials to correctly identify the direction in which a display of dots were moving, hearing the direction in which the dots …