hearing loss
Shortcomings in equitable access Although totally necessary, COVID-19 safety precautions have led to serious communication issues for those with hearing challenges ─ over 20 percent of the population. While all customers and clients need equitable access to communication at any time, the Coronavirus has uncovered the fact that many businesses have few if any ways of…
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For those with hearing loss the struggle to understand speech, especially in background sound is a huge obstacle to communication. People tend to describe what they hear as gibberish. It turns out that the situation can be improved upon by getting hearing help and by becoming better, active listeners. Listening: the secret sauce for good…
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Communications challenges continue The COVID-19 threat is not going away anytime soon. Those with hearing loss have experienced added limitations to communication during these times of social distancing, self-quarantine, masked outings and conversations. Being talked to through plastic or glass partitions further worsens the muffling of sounds. Speechreading (lipreading) has become impossible, which deepens the…
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An overlooked but possible COVID-19 complication It is well-known that many viruses are capable of causing hearing damage and hearing loss. The list of culprits, includes viruses that cause measles, mumps, rubella, the CMV virus (CytoMegaloVirus) as well as viruses in the Herpes family. However, as reports of ear and hearing problems are published, the…
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By now, it is well known that repeated and prolonged exposures to excessively loud sound damage and age ears and hearing permanently and prematurely. This is called Noise-induced Hearing Loss. The damage is cumulative but it is preventable. So, how loud is it? Many people are willing and eager to protect themselves from sound damage but they do…
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Calm and serenity: A silver lining? Like everybody else, I do not enjoy social distancing. After all, I love doing my Safety and hearing loss presentations in person, with actual people! Feelings of isolation? As a person with hearing loss, I have my share of those already. What I do enjoy about this virus-imposed quarantine…
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Those with hearing loss know a thing or two about social isolation. Struggling to understand speech stirs up plenty of feelings of being sidelined during conversations or activities with family, friends and coworkers. Now add to that social distancing ─ which hinders speechreading and tests the distance performance of hearing aids ─ and pretty…
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Permanent but preventable Excessively loud sound prematurely ages the ears. It leads to Noise-induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), which is the second leading cause of hearing loss worldwide, right after aging. It is a major reason why younger and younger people are joining the ranks of those with hearing and communication challenges. The sad part is…
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This year make Valentine’s Day count for those among your friends and loved ones with hearing loss. Remember that their biggest issue is understanding speech in background noise. Yet, just like anybody else, they delight in being told that they are loved and appreciated. Avoid communication glitches Having to ask over and over what was…
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A notion that feeds denial and hinders acceptance Those with hearing loss look just like everybody else as they stand in a crowd. Damage that leads to this communication challenge is invisible to the eye. Ever smaller and invisible hearing aids help them protect their “secret” and so nobody will ever know. Or so one…
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