To start with an attempt at weak humor, the “speech banana” is not a reference to that classic joke, “Speak up…I can’t hear you…I’ve got a banana in my ear.” Speech banana is a reference to the sounds in an audiogram – a graphical rendering of a person’s hearing ability within a range of frequencies
Americans like their guns. Some of this interestin guns originates from television programs and movies where policemen, cowboys and villains are wearing their guns with delight and constantly shooting at each other. The impression from these images must have been powerful, because the US continues to have millions of gun owners who shoot them often,
Have you observed ads for low cost “personal sound amplifiers” (PSAs) on television or in newspapers lately? They are contributing to confusion about the difference between personal sound amplifiers and hearing aids. You generally don’t see similar advertisements for hearing aids because they are medical devices according to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and
For those who have kids that are old enough, they most likely have at least one of the following devices – gaming systems, music players and computers – possibly even all three. If you responded yes, chances are, at some point they will ask for headphones to work with these products. No big shock there.
For people reading this who have suffered some type of hearing impairment, do you ever find yourself needing to work very hard to understand what’s being said to you or around you? This experience of having to work to understand people is common even among people who wear hearing aids, because they need to be
As with most matters in life, the sounds we hear affect us depending on the quality and quantity of them. Listening to music can be calming and enjoyable, but it can also be annoying and aggravating if the volume is excessive. When it comes to music and other sounds, quality is subjective, one that is
One of the more common questions we are asked is, “My older hearing aid is damaged or isn’t functioning the way it used to – do you think I should purchase a new one, or have it repaired?” The answer is “It depends.” The question of whether to repair or replace hinges on many factors,
Acute external otitis or otitis externa – commonly called swimmer’s ear – is an infection that affects the outer ear canal. The infection is known as swimmer’s ear because it frequently comes about due to moisture staying in the ears after swimmingwhich provides a moist environment that encourages the growth of microbes. Swimmer’s ear can
A number of the problems that cause hearing loss for our patients can’t be reversed which is quite frustrating for our hearing specialists. One of the principal reasons for hearing loss, for example, is damage to the tiny hair cells in our inner ears that vibrate in reaction to sound waves. What we think of
A common patient question is whether their hearing aid will increase sounds which can be already excessively loud for them, making those sounds louder still. This is a normal question, one for which there is thankfully a reassuring answer. Put simply, as long as they’re correctly fitted and adjusted today’s hearing aids are made so
Although it might seem to be a simple question to ask how long hearing aid batteries will last, it’s actually not. Precisely how long hearing aid batteries last is dependent upon many variables. Battery life depends on the model of your hearing aid, and may vary widely across models developed by the exact same manufacturer.
Hearing loss may take a variety of forms and arise from many different causes, and to fully understand them you need to understand the way in which we hear. Sound enters through the outer ear, which is the portion of the ear on the exterior of the head, but also encompasses the eardrum and the