Posts by Monique Hammond
Navigating Vestibular Symptoms
I woke up and knew at once that this would be an inner-ear “off day.” I would need all my self-help tactics for navigating unwelcome vestibular symptoms. My left ear – my problem ear – felt totally stuffed up. The tinnitus was in uproar – much louder than usual with very high-pitched, rapid-fire morse-code dits.…
Read MoreBetter Hearing and Speech Improve Communication
Every year the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) dedicates the month of May to raising public awareness about communication disorders related to hearing and speech. This year’s theme – “Connecting People” –recognizes once more that hearing and speech are essential components for effective communication at any age. And so, those whose lives are affected by struggles…
Read MoreResistance to Hearing Aid Use
Why do so many people who need hearing help resist the use of hearing aids? Fast-paced technology advances certainly offer chances for so much better hearing. Yet, marketing surveys and research studies continue to explore possible reasons for customer resistance to hearing aid use. Is it all about price? Although price is often cited as…
Read MorePreventive Hearing Care is a Life-long Commitment
Save natural hearing Hearing is the sense that is all too often taken for granted – until it goes away. Even as the notion of “prevention” is all the rage in health care, preventive hearing care to save natural hearing is not a major concern. Only when the effects of damage and neglect become…
Read MoreMaking the Most of DIY Hearing Care
Over-simplifying hearing loss? The son who had accompanied his mother to a hearing loss meeting shared confidentially that he liked his music loud and that he did not worry about hearing damage. He felt that he heard enough and that nowadays hearing loss is easy. “With all of that technology out there, you fix it…
Read MoreCoronavirus and Tele-health
Most people prefer hands-on health care by seeking medical opinions from “live” professionals– at the doctor’s office, the Urgent Care Clinic, the Emergency Room or wherever medical help is offered. Then times change courtesy of an encapsulated smidgen of RNA known as COVID-19, the dreaded, potentially aggressive member of the Coronavirus family. Sorting out symptoms…
Read MoreNano Technology for Drug Delivery to the Ears
Research into tiny particles with big potential Nano research works with extremely teensy and invisible particles whose diameters are measured in nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. For comparison, a half-inch (1.27centimeters) is roughly one hundredth of a meter Because of their super small sizes, such particles could serve as future payload carriers for drug delivery…
Read MoreImproved Communication Year-round
Be included, not excluded! There is no time like the Holidays to remind those with hearing loss of the dreaded oncoming communication crunch. The struggle to understand speech in noisy groups and places makes it hard to participate in conversations and activities. And so. it is easy to feel excluded rather than included during the peak…
Read MoreOTC Hearing Aids Public Comment Period
OTC hearing aids will be “self-fitting,” non-prescription devices. They will be regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but people can buy them Over-the-Counter without a prescription or the input of any professional help. Would-be users will be on their own when it comes to deciding if they qualify for these devices because they are…
Read MoreThe Phantom Sounds of Subjective Tinnitus
Subjective Tinnitus, the infamous “ringing in the ears” derives its name from the Latin verb tinnire, which means “to ring.” It is said to be a symptom of an underlying process rather than a condition in itself. Usually simply referred to as “Tinnitus,” it is defined as the perception of sound in the absence of an outside noise…
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