Health Conditions Linked to Hearing Loss

Hearing Loss and the Holidays

What to look for in loved ones who may be hiding a hearing loss, how to talk to them about it. Prior to diagnosis, those with hearing loss may be a little embarrassed to admit that they are hard of hearing, could be in denial of their loss, or not want to even accept it all. And just like the six stages of grieving, an individual must also go through the six stages of hearing loss. These six stages are: denial, anger, awareness, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. A person must, in a sense, go through all six stages before they [...]

One-Sided Hearing Loss

Being able to determine the direction of sounds is diminished with one-sided hearing loss. Loss of hearing is a condition that can occur with varying degrees of severity and can be one-sided. This may sound strange, but it is not an unusual occurrence. People with hearing damage in only one ear can have either regular hearing in the other or can have varying degrees of hearing loss in their other ear as well. How can you tell if you have one-sided hearing loss? A few ways you can tell are: You are unable to locate the source of [...]

Surprising everyday sounds that cause Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Facts about Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Author | American Academy of Audiology A concert is a great place to suffer from Noise-Induced hearing loss. Approximately 40 million American adults may have hearing loss resulting from noise exposure.[1] Noise-induced hearing loss is caused by damage to the hair cells found in the inner ear. Hair cells are small sensory cells that convert the sounds we hear (sound energy) into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Once damaged, our hair cells cannot grow back, which results in permanent hearing loss. Hearing protection decreases the intensity, or loudness, of noise and [...]

Listening Fatigue is Real

Author | American Academy of Audiology What is Listening Fatigue? Hearing loss leads to communication difficulties. To maintain optimal understanding, listeners with hearing loss must allocate more cognitive resources, or brain power, to listening than do listeners without hearing loss. This increase in cognitive resources required to listen to speech has been referred to as an increase in listening effort. Cognitive resources are not unlimited; using additional cognitive resources to listen leaves fewer resources available for other tasks. For example, to maintain optimal understanding in a challenging situation, persons with hearing loss may need to shift more resources from other ongoing [...]

Ototoxicity and Hearing Loss

Author | American Academy of Audiology Up to 80% of adults have hearing loss after chemotherapy[1] Ototoxicity refers to damage to the hearing and/or balance organs that occurs after exposure to medications or chemicals that affect the inner ear. Ototoxic medications can damage hearing, balance, or both. • Hearing System Sounds travel from the outer ear through the ear canal and eardrum, through the middle ear, and finally to the hearing organ located in the inner ear. From here, sounds are converted into neural impulses that travel to the brain. The ears are fully formed at birth but mature through childhood. [...]

Tinnitus Management & Definition

Author | American Academy of Audiology • What is Tinnitus? The perception of noises within the ears or head (e.g., ringing, buzzing, whooshing, roaring, crickets, etc.) in the absence of an external sound. Candidates for Tinnitus Management Approximately 30 million Americans experience tinnitus on a regular basis. However, approximately 1-2% of the population have tinnitus severe enough that may lead to the following: anxiety, depression, problems with family and friends, an inability to concentrate and lack of sleep. Audiologists work with people with debilitating tinnitus for management of their symptoms. There is no one-size-fits-all program for tinnitus management. In general, most [...]

5 signs you may be losing your hearing

You might think of hearing loss as something that only elderly people need to worry about. After all, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), age-related hearing degeneration (also known as presbycusis) affects one in three U.S. adults. However, scientists at Johns Hopkins University have found that 20 percent of Americans over the age of 12 experience some degree of hearing loss. The notion that hearing loss is exclusively age-related keeps many older adults from seeking help for what is a very treatable condition. Only 30 percent of Americans who need a hearing aid actually use one. [...]

Medical Screenings: You should get as you age

Our health needs change quite a bit as we age. Barring an emergency, most of us can get by on a yearly checkup when we’re young. But, as we grow older, it's important we begin taking preventative health measures more seriously with these medical screenings. While it’s easy to associate a visit to the doctor's office with bad news, the opposite is actually true. By regularly consulting with your primary care physician and their staff, you'll enable them to form an accurate and ongoing understanding of your medical needs. That understanding is vital to your staying healthy, active and independent [...]

6 Things a Hearing Loss affects in your life.

As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 15 percent of US adults have some degree of hearing loss. Sadly, according to the "Journal of American Medicine," only 33 percent of those afflicted treat their condition with the use of the hearing aid. There is a group of people nearly the population of Texas goes through their days without the full use of one of their five senses. Consequently, these individuals have effectively opted out on some of life’s most pleasurable experiences. Here are six things you may be missing out on by turning down the help offered by a [...]

Medical Insurance and your hearing

There are several reasons why hearing aids aren’t more widely adopted, but one significant factor is their perceived high cost. According to one 2017 study, only 33 percent of Americans who could benefit from a hearing aid actually use one. However, the truth is that, in many cases, health insurance can make the purchase of a hearing aid more affordable. Medicare and Other Government Programs Currently, Medicare does not cover hearing tests, individual devices or fittings. Yet older Texans can still save on their hearing care costs thanks to two special state-operated assistance programs. The Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) [...]