Hearing loss can be caused by several different factors including aging, injury, noise exposure, and even heredity. Those factors affect the auditory nerve, causing sensorineural hearing loss, which is the most common type of hearing loss. But there is a second, less common type of hearing loss, known as conductive hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss […]
Until recently, if you wanted to be treated for hearing loss or get hearing aids, you had one choice — see an audiologist or other licensed hearing healthcare professional. Today, the options have definitely gotten more complicated, with online-only retailers, big-box stores, and numerous new or unexpected companies now advertising hearing loss solutions. Here’s the […]
Loneliness and social isolation have been getting their fair share of attention lately. For good reason. Covid has made both more prevalent. And both are increasingly linked to numerous physical and mental health issues, including:• 50 percent increased risk of dementia• 32 percent increased risk of stroke• 29 percent increased risk of heart disease• Higher […]
Exposure to loud noise is the second leading cause of hearing loss — after aging. It’s also one of the only causes that are preventable. We can’t do anything about aging or heredity. But we can minimize our exposure to noise, or at least take steps to protect our hearing. As a society, we’ve come […]
When people find out I’m a hearing professional, they’ll often ask me some version of the following: “I can’t hear the kids in the backseat when we’re in the car. They’re trying to tell me about their day or ask me questions, but all I can do is nod and smile. Is there anything I […]
For those who need convincing that hearing aids are worth the investment, today’s hearing statistic is one data point among many that should help convince you they are.A recent investigation on healthcare cost trends concluded that older adults with untreated hearing loss used healthcare services more — and subsequently spent more on healthcare — […]
The best place to buy new hearing aids has always been and probably will always be in person from a hearing professional. Hearing-care services are almost always bundled in with the cost of hearing aids when you buy them from a hearing professional. That’s because hearing professionals know that getting used to wearing hearing aids […]
OK, think back to a year or so ago. Remember when you would go to a matinee and then after, when it ended and you left the theater, the daylight would overwhelm you temporarily? Well, the same thing happens when you first start wearing hearing aids. Your brain has gotten used to the quiet. It […]
There are many signs of hearing loss — but one of the first signs that your hearing is going is if you can hear fine in quiet environments yet struggle to hear in noise. Here’s why. Even for people with normal hearing, noisy settings can be tricky to navigate when trying to make out speech. […]
Hearing and sight are arguably our two most important senses (despite taste getting a lot of attention these past 18 months). Yet, if and when either starts to fail us — and both typically do as we age — we react to each very differently. You can tell by all the people with glasses, contacts, […]
