The World Health Organization estimates that 1.1 billion people are at an increased risk for noise-induced hearing loss, caused by exposure to substantial sound levels from personal audio devices and noisy environments such as clubs, bars, concerts, and sporting events. An projected 26 million Americans currently suffer from the condition. If noise-induced hearing loss occurs
If we really want to understand hearing loss, we need to understand both the physical side, which makes hearing progressively difficult, and the psychological side, which includes the lesser-known emotional responses to the loss of hearing. In concert, the two sides of hearing loss can wreak havoc on a person’s quality of life, as the
Many people are surprised to hear how young the discipline of audiology really is, and just how recently its founding father established the profession. To put this in perspective, if you wanted to find the founding father of biology, for example, you’d have to go back in time by 2,300 years and read the The
When it’s time to buy a car, most of us know exactly what to do. We carry out some research, assess options, and compile a list of questions to ask the dealership. We do this so that by the time we’re set to stop by the dealership, we have an idea of what we’re looking
You’ve without doubt heard that today’s hearing aids are “not your grandfather’s hearing aids,” or that hearing aid technology is light-years ahead of where it used to be, even as recently as 5 to 10 years ago. But what makes modern technology so much better? And what exactly can modern hearing aids accomplish that couldn’t
Sometimes, it seems like we love to deceive ourselves. Wikipedia has an entry named “List of common misconceptions” that contains hundreds of universally-held but false beliefs. Yes, I understand it’s Wikipedia, but take a look at the bottom of the webpage and you’ll see around 385 references to credible sources. For instance, did you know
You have just finished your hearing test. The hearing specialist is now entering the room and presents you with a graph, like the one above, except that it has all of these characters, colors, and lines. This is designed to highlight to you the exact, mathematically precise attributes of your hearing loss, but to you
We don’t need to tell you the signs and symptoms of hearing loss; you already know them all too well. You have a completely different kind of problem: persuading someone you care about to get their hearing screened and treated. But how are you expected to get through to someone who denies there is even
It takes the average person with hearing loss 5 to 7 years before getting a professional diagnosis, in spite of the fact that the signs and symptoms of hearing loss are transparent to others. But are those with hearing loss just too stubborn to get help? No, actually, and for a few specific reasons. Maybe
If the unfamiliar creates anxiety, then a trip to the hearing specialist is especially stressful. While the majority of us have experience with the family physician and the local dentist, the visit to the hearing specialist could be a first. It certainly would be useful to have someone teach you the process beforehand, wouldn’t it?
While the majority of us remain up to date with our yearly physical, dental cleaning, and eye examination, we generally forget to give consideration to the well-being of our hearing. And when our hearing does begin to diminish, it appears so slowly and gradually that we scarcely notice and neglect to take action. It’s this
Do you remember the Q-Ray Bracelets? You know, the magnetized wristbands that vowed to provide immediate and significant pain relief from arthritis and other chronic ailments? Well, you won’t see much of that marketing anymore; in 2008, the producers of the Q-Ray Bracelets were legally required to give back customers a maximum of $87 million