hearing loss

Five Strategies to Protect and Preserve Hearing

By Monique Hammond / January 22, 2024 / Comments Off on Five Strategies to Protect and Preserve Hearing

Hearing connects us to our social and professional worlds. It allows us to enjoy the sounds of speech, nature, and music. Unfortunately, people all too often fail to appreciate this precious sense. They rarely feel motivated to protect and preserve their hearing. They take it for granted until it fades away and they experience the…

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Don’t Let Hearing Loss Increase Holiday Stress

By Monique Hammond / December 9, 2023 / Comments Off on Don’t Let Hearing Loss Increase Holiday Stress

Why might hearing loss support groups feature mental health speakers around the end-of-the-year Holiday Season? It is expected that such specialists will help strengthen the resolve and self-confidence of their members so that they can “survive” the stress of the Holidays. Hearing loss increases Holiday stress because it is a tiring, chronic communication issue. The…

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Smartphone Sound Level Meter Apps Help Protect Hearing

By Monique Hammond / November 29, 2023 / Comments Off on Smartphone Sound Level Meter Apps Help Protect Hearing

Ever since I got a sound level meter app for my Android phone, I am a lot more confident with decisions regarding sound exposures for my already damaged ears. A click of the button lets me know at once whether I am headed into an overly loud, ear-unfriendly place. And I want to avoid more…

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Hearing Loss Increases Fall Risks

By Monique Hammond / October 27, 2023 / Comments Off on Hearing Loss Increases Fall Risks

To maintain body equilibrium, the brain coordinates input from the eyes and ears and from sensors located throughout the body in the muscles and bones. While normal hearing supports the brain’s balance function, hearing loss has a destabilizing effect and becomes a safety issue.  According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, even a mild hearing loss can…

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Hearing Loss Denial Delays Getting Help

By Monique Hammond / September 19, 2023 / Comments Off on Hearing Loss Denial Delays Getting Help

Many people with hearing loss deny their communication struggles for an average of seven years. They reject the truth and refuse to accept what is often obvious to those round them. Sadly, hearing loss denial delays getting help. It stands in the way of dealing with reality and moving on with life. One could say…

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Unilateral Hearing Loss (UHL) Impacts Quality of Life and Safety

By Monique Hammond / August 22, 2023 / Comments Off on Unilateral Hearing Loss (UHL) Impacts Quality of Life and Safety

Unilateral Hearing Loss (UHL) is also called Single-Sided Hearing Loss, which means that only one ear has some degree of loss. When the loss becomes profound, it is referred to as Single-sided Deafness (SSD). Roughly 7% of adults in the United States have some degree of UHL. We hear our best when the brain gets…

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Auditory Processing Disorder Affects Learning and Communication

By Monique Hammond / July 5, 2023 / Comments Off on Auditory Processing Disorder Affects Learning and Communication

Auditory processing Disorder (APD) affects learning and communication at any age. It is NOT caused by hearing loss. Although many APD-related symptoms appear to be similar to those caused by hearing loss, they happen for different reasons. One might say that APD mimics hearing loss.  APD is due to sound processing problems of the brain…

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Hearing Loss as Risk for Dementia

By Monique Hammond / May 30, 2023 / Comments Off on Hearing Loss as Risk for Dementia

Nerves and brain areas that are not kept active through stimulation and input fall into disuse. They shrink and die off in a process called atrophy. Hearing and its involvement in cognitive functions is no different. Yet, when researchers at Johns Hopkins first published their findings of a link between hearing loss and dementia, it…

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Stress Increases Tinnitus Annoyance. Know your Stress Triggers.

By Monique Hammond / February 11, 2023 / Comments Off on Stress Increases Tinnitus Annoyance. Know your Stress Triggers.

Noises perceived in the ears or head are commonly referred to as Tinnitus. Not all tinnitus is the same. There are different types. A professional evaluation can help find the cause of the din and determine the tinnitus type and possible treatment.   Over 90% of tinnitus cases are tied to hearing loss, but not…

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When Sound Sensitivities Complicate Hearing Loss

By Monique Hammond / January 5, 2023 / Comments Off on When Sound Sensitivities Complicate Hearing Loss

Such a contradiction: Not hearing well and understanding even less, yet being overly sensitive to sound? How can this be? Once more, we are reminded that damaged hearing systems do not behave in a logical fashion. Shortly after my sudden, severe hearing-loss the sounds of everyday life turned into unexpected challenges. What never bothered me…

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