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 ...
Research found that young people with subtle hearing loss are altering their brain function in ways typically only seen in older adults. As a result, they could be paving the way for dementia. Researcher Yune Lee and his team monitored the brain activity of study participants 18 through 41 years of age as they listened to increasingly complex sentences. The team wanted to know if our brains work measurably harder to comprehend more complex messages ...
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 hearing. As we set goals to improve our physical health, it’s important we’re mindful of our overall health, including our hearing, as well. Know safe listening levels The unit of measurement used to express the ...
This is a consistent complaint of individuals who are experiencing the effects of a “sloping high frequency hearing loss.“ What’s happening and why do so many have this complaint? Hearing loss involves not only our ears, but also our brain: where sound waves are coded by the ears and then translated into meaningful words. While hearing loss can present itself in varying degrees of severity in different frequencies, a very common progression of inner ...
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 ...
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 educates them in what is normal and appropriate expectations in the use of their new hearing aids. Prepare for brighter hearing Most individuals seek help with hearing aids only after suffering with varying ...
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 ...
The commission’s purpose was to provide recommendations for prevention and management of dementia. The need is urgent, it determined, as dementia not only affects the person with dementia, it also impacts their family and friends. Be proactive earlier in life to help prevent dementia later The commission’s 24 international experts concluded that one in three cases of dementia could be prevented if people managed just nine lifestyle factors — one of which is managing ...
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 be kind of nice, to be honest. “Why should I treat it,” you wonder? Should you treat or ignore your hearing loss? The decision ...
