The World Health Organization reports that 1.1 billion people are at an increased risk for noise-induced hearing loss, brought about by exposure to elevated sound levels from personal audio devices and noisy settings such as nightclubs, bars, concerts, and sporting events. An projected 26 million Americans already suffer from the condition. If noise-induced hearing loss
If we truly want to understand hearing loss, we need to understand both the physical side, which makes hearing increasingly challenging, and the psychological side, which includes the lesser-known emotional responses to the loss of hearing. In conjunction, the two sides of hearing loss can wreak havoc on a person’s quality of life, as the
The LIAHP- (The Long Island Alliance of Hearing Preservation) launched its 2015 Hearing Loss Seminar series at the South Huntington Library on May 14 where sufferers and info seekers attended to get firsthand understanding and options about their hearing loss. In every event, this educational outreach group provides awareness about hearing loss and disorders, free screening, treatment
Many people are surprised to discover how young the discipline of audiology really is, and just how recently its founding father founded the profession. To put this in perspective, if you wished to find the founding father of biology, for instance, you’d have to go back in time by 2,300 years and read through the
When it’s time to buy a car, most of us know exactly what to do. We do some research, compare options, and compose a list of questions to ask the dealership. We work on 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 probably 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 day hearing aids accomplish that couldn’t
At times, it seems as if we prefer to mislead ourselves. Wikipedia has an entry titled “List of common misconceptions” that contains hundreds of widely-held but false beliefs. Yes, I know it’s Wikipedia, but take a look at the bottom of the web page and you’ll see around 385 credible sources cited. For example, did
You have just concluded your hearing test. The hearing specialist is now entering the room and provides you with a graph, like the one above, except that it has all of these signs, colors, and lines. This is supposed to demonstrate to you the exact, mathematically precise attributes of your hearing loss, but to you
We don’t need to tell you the signs of hearing loss; you already know them all too well. You have a completely different type of challenge: persuading someone you care about to get their hearing assessed and treated. But how are you expected to get through to someone who denies there is even a problem,
It takes the average person with hearing loss 5 to 7 years before getting a professional diagnosis, notwithstanding the fact that the warning signs of hearing loss are obvious to others. But are those with hearing loss just too stubborn to get help? No, actually, and for a few different reasons. Maybe you know someone
If the unknown provokes anxiety, then a visit to the hearing specialist is especially nerve-racking. While nearly all of us have experience with the family doctor and the neighborhood dentist, the trip to the hearing specialist could be a first. It sure would be useful to have someone elaborate on the process ahead of time,
Although most of us remain up to date with our annual physical, dental cleaning, and eye examination, we generally forget to give consideration to the well-being of our hearing. And when our hearing does start to worsen, it appears so slowly and gradually that we scarcely notice and neglect to take action. It’s this lack