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 rates of depression and anxiety • Even earlier death Truth be told, as social creatures, humans just aren’t wired to ...
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 a long way in taking hearing protection seriously. Ask an older adult about wearing hearing protection “back in ...
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 can do to hear better in the car?” Hearing in the car is a very ...
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 — than peers without hearing loss over a 10-year period. A New York Times article noted that this 10-year increase amounted to ...
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 takes time, practice and one or more adjustments to get them fine tuned to a wearer’s specific hearing ...
Cerumen, commonly known as earwax, is key to a healthy ear. It collects dirt, debris and bacteria, preventing unwanted foreign bodies from entering the ear. It has lubrication properties to keep the ears from getting dry and itchy. And, it acts as an antifungal and antibacterial, helping to fight infections in and around our ears. But, let’s face it, earwax is also kind of blech, and an unpleasant obstacle to keeping your ears clean ...
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 hasn’t received proper noise signals for as long as you’ve struggled to hear. So, when you begin wearing ...
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. That’s because we all use contextual cues during conversations — or clues from words we do make out — to fill ...
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, Lasik surgery or cheaters that we have no problem or hesitation treating vision issues. But when it comes to treating hearing loss ...
A 2017 study, conducted by The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care, called dementia “the greatest global challenge for health and social care in the 21st century.” But you don’t need a study to tell you that. Ask friends and loved ones of the estimated 50 million people worldwide who have dementia (there’s a good chance you are one), and they’ll tell you about the worry, stress, sadness and devastation ...
