hearing loss
During the month of May, people are called upon to raise awareness on many diverse topics. It is also my birth month. But I never ever thought that May would become important to me as “Better Hearing and Speech” Month. Connections through Communication Every year since 1927, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) dedicates the month…
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Yes, hearing loss is often called a “a hidden or a silent disability.” Invisible to outsiders, it causes all sorts of challenges for daily life but when it comes to travel, it can lead to anxiety and panic situations. Hearing loss has certainly put a serious crimp into my own travel experiences. It all starts…
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Fast, noticeable losses For me, a sudden left-sided deafness became a scary and life-altering event. The longer name for this condition is Sudden SensoriNeural Hearing Loss (SSNHL). “Sensori” refers to damage to the inner-ear cochlear hearing cells and “neural” refers to damage to the hearing nerve. Although both ears may be involved, in most cases…
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Bone-anchored hearing system (picture: en.wikipedia.org) There are three main types of hearing loss: Sensorineural hearing loss – the most wide-spread; conductive hearing loss – often underrated and neglected; mixed hearing loss – a combination of sensorineural and conductive. Do you know your type? Conductive hearing loss due to obstructed sound flow For normal hearing, sound…
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No place to hide Yes, hearing loss became truly a family affair during COVID isolation and quarantine. There was no way to hide 24/7 when conversations became labored for those with hearing loss. Family members grew weary in a hurry of having to confront the communication struggles every single day. One lady shared that she…
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Been there! Do not delay seeking help Vertigo! The world begins to look like the above picture. Dizziness, spinning or whirling sensations related to inner ear problems tend to happen suddenly. They can range from mild to incapacitating. Hearing changes, hearing loss, ear fullness, tinnitus or buzzing in the ears and stability and balance problems…
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Worn out by the struggle to hear? The effort of trying to follow a conversation tends to leave people with hearing loss exhausted, anxious and plenty stressed. Yet, the ties between hearing loss and fatigue are all too often under-appreciated by patients and medical specialists alike. One strains to hear, to speech-or lipread and to…
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Loss is loss Grieving one’s hearing? Don’t the notions of Grief and Loss only apply to losing living creatures, like people and pets? Not exactly. I certainly got a crash course on the issue when a sudden hearing loss totally upended my life and changed it forever. “Loss is loss,” a nurse once told me…
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What did you say? Old problem gets a name An almost standard comment from people with hearing loss goes like this: “If only I could turn the speakers’ voices up louder, I would be able to hear and understand better over the room noise.” The issue of not understanding speech in background sound is known…
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Virtual technology for communication access People with hearing challenges tend to dread the Holiday Season, the peak socializing time of the year. It is a frustrating and even depressing time when many feel excluded from conversations and activities as they struggle to hear and understand in noisy places. However, new ways of communicating might actually…
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