Whether it is the smell of pumpkin spice in the air, or bursting displays of trick-or-treat candy, it’s easy to tell when October rolls around. This month isn’t just about autumn traditions though, it is also Protect Your Hearing Month, an important time to raise awareness about hearing health. While most people understand that loud noise is harmful to …
A Brief History of Hearing Loss
People’s eyesight begins to change at around 40, if they haven’t had problems with their vision beforehand. As people started living longer, the effects of aging on the body, including decline of hearing and eyesight, have seemingly become more common. However, it isn’t that vision and hearing challenges didn’t exist earlier in history. Rather, it is likely that it is …
Why Pretending to Hear Doesn’t Help
The temptation sits there asking us to just pretend. Just this one time. Surely you’ll get away with it and no one will be the wiser. Pretending to hear what this person is saying to you — even though you can’t — is a tiny white lie that makes everyone more comfortable. We’ve all done it in one circumstance or …
Ways to Accommodate Your Loved Ones with Hearing Loss
It’s likely that one or more people in your life have challenged hearing. One in eight people over the age of 12 in the United States has hearing loss in both ears. Moreover, people who have close relationships with older adults, whether it be a peer or a family member, are more likely to encounter someone with difficulty hearing. One …
Know Alzheimer’s Disease: Treat Hearing Loss in September during World Alzheimer’s Month
As we say goodbye to the summer, it’s time for World Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in September. Our commitment is to hearing health and treating hearing loss brings significant benefits to one’s life including our brains. Recent studies have indicated that treating hearing loss could also support brain function and potentially reduce the risk for developing dementia – and Alzheimer’s disease. …
Musicians & Hearing Loss
One of the great tragedies of hearing loss is that it can have a powerful effect on those who need it most. Those who use their hearing ability to perform and listen to music cherish the ability to detect nuances of sound. They might pick up on a subtle accent in music or a fascinating frequency combination in sound design. …
Going Digital with Your Hearing Aids
Remember pulling out a map before a road trip to plan your route? You might even have fond memories of this tradition. But it’s unlikely you’ve used a paper map for years, now that the easiest and most relied upon technology for driving to an unfamiliar place is available via the map app right on your smartphone. It’s easy to …
Difficulties with Communication Could Signal a Hearing Loss
It’s no secret that as we age, we tend to seek quieter socializing environments. While our salad days might have been spent comfortably schmoozing at loud clubs or cacophonous parties, the social calendars of our more mature lives are often populated with one-one-one activities or more sedate offerings. That can stem from a multitude of reasons, but one is certainly …
Dealing with Noise Pollution in Your Neighborhood
For just one day, pay attention to the noises of your environment. Underneath the soft birdsong and voices of your neighbors is often a constant hum of traffic or HVAC systems that we’ve become so used to that we barely register the sound anymore. A typical day in an American neighborhood can also include innumerable occurrences of too-loud noise. Beyond …
Getting to Know Your Hearing Aids
The hearing aid market is virtually unrecognizable today compared to what was available to aid in hearing health decades ago. We can thank the computer revolution for much of that progress. As industries boomed with technological advances, hearing aid manufacturers were quick to integrate advancements into their products. Many of the hearing aids we choose from today are like tiny, …