Hearing tests

Better Hearing and Speech Improve Communication

By Monique Hammond / May 12, 2022 / Comments Off on Better 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…

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Headphones

Making the Most of DIY Hearing Care

By Monique Hammond / March 2, 2022 / Comments Off on Making 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…

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Improved communication year round

Improved Communication Year-round

By Monique Hammond / December 8, 2021 / Comments Off on Improved 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…

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Subjective Tinnitus

The Phantom Sounds of Subjective Tinnitus

By Monique Hammond / October 19, 2021 / Comments Off on The 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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Lazy Ear in children

Lazy Ear in Children

By Monique Hammond / August 28, 2021 / Comments Off on Lazy Ear in Children

A sound processing disorder The technical term for “Lazy Ear” is ambly-audia, which means dulled or blunted hearing. Although the condition can be genetic, it is often acquired during the phases of hearing development and maturation in infancy and throughout the childhood years.  Lazy Ear or amblyaudia is lopsided, asymmetrical hearing, which results from sound processing challenges…

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Cytomegalovirus and newborn deafness

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Newborn Deafness and Hearing Loss

By Monique Hammond / July 19, 2021 /

The dangers of congenital CMV during pregnancy Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common, non-genetic cause for hearing loss or deafness in newborn babies. If the virus that infects the mother during pregnancy is passed on to the child, he/she will be born with congenital (present at birth) CMV infection. Yet, some 91% of women do not know…

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Sudden Hearing Loss

Sudden Hearing Loss is a Medical Emergency

By Monique Hammond / April 28, 2021 / Comments Off on Sudden Hearing Loss is a Medical Emergency

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

Conductive Hearing Loss: Causes and Treatments

By Monique Hammond / April 12, 2021 / Comments Off on Conductive Hearing Loss: Causes and Treatments

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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Hearing Loss Outed By Covid

Hearing Loss Outed by COVID-19

By Monique Hammond / March 27, 2021 / Comments Off on Hearing Loss Outed by COVID-19

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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SNR Hearing Loss

SNR Hearing Loss

By Monique Hammond / December 17, 2020 / Comments Off on SNR Hearing Loss

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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