What do Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Eric Clapton, and Ludwig van Beethoven have in common, besides all being musicians? They all suffered permanent hearing loss, directly as a result of playing their music. When I treat musicians, I have to tell them a sad but unavoidable fact of life – the very music they love
Patients frequently inquire why hearing in crowds is especially tough for them. When they are talking to people one-on-one, or in small groups of people there is no problem, and they seem to hear just fine. But when they find themselves in a large crowd they often find it very difficult to understand what the
Hearing aids have not in the past always worked well with mobile phones, because of electronic interference between the two devices that triggered static, whistling or screeching noises, or dropped words. Technology improvements along with new government regulations have largely eliminated this problem. Nowadays cell phone – hearing aid compatibility isn’t the huge problem it
The selection and purchase of a first hearing aid can be an overwhelming task for anyone. The publication Consumer Reports followed a dozen people over a period of six months as they shopped for their first hearing aid, and reported on it. After six months the disappointing results were in: these first-time hearing aid owners
Hearing loss comes in many forms – it might develop gradually (for example, due to aging) or suddenly (as the result of an injury or trauma). The hearing loss itself may be transient or permanent, and may vary from mild (having difficulty understanding conversations) to severe (complete deafness). Either a single ear can be affected
One aspect of hearing loss which is not often addressed is the basic decrease in safety of people who have experienced it. For example, suppose that a fire starts in your house; if you’re like most of us you have smoke detectors to sound an alert so that you and your loved ones can evacuate
Even though it may seem to be a simple question to ask just how long hearing aid batteries are good for, it isn’t. Precisely how long hearing aid batteries last depends on many factors. Battery life will depend on the model of your hearing aid, and may vary widely across unique models developed by the
When trying to understand the difference between analog and digital hearing aids, you need to first appreciate the history of analog vs digital, and the alternative ways that they amplify and process sounds. Analog technology appeared first, and as a result the majority of hearing aids were analog until digital signal processing (DSP) was developed,
Roughly six million teenagers in the United States suffer some type of loss of hearing, and this number has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. While experts say that this hearing loss is in part due to sustained exposure to high volumes of music from portable players and phones, participation in marching band is
When many people think of post-combat injuries among veterans, they think of missing limbs, post-traumatic stress, and brain trauma. What many often don’t consider is hearing loss as a severe combat injury. These 5 facts about veterans and hearing loss may surprise you. The most common post-service malady happens to be hearing damage or loss.
People rely on their ability to hear in a number of situations, making it challenging to perform some basic tasks if your hearing is impaired. Driving a vehicle is one area that can cause problems for many people affected by impaired hearing. However, having hearing problems does not mean you have to give up your
Whether you are young or old, you may experience hearing loss. According to experts at the Academy of Audiology, nearly 12% of younger kids from age 6 through the teen years have hearing loss resulting from noise. The birth defect occurring most frequently in our country is hearing loss. According to the American Speech and