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A matter of choice? Worldwide, the two leading causes for hearing loss are Aging and Excessively Loud Sound, in that order.  While noise-induced hearing loss is preventable, people cannot help the fact that they are aging. Yet, by using hearing loss prevention strategies that apply to everybody – no matter what the age – they…

Beyond snoring: a threat to health and hearing My dad never slept well. Sleeping time turned into a fight for air and breath. As a child, I was scared for him. Never able to get proper rest, he often fell asleep in the living room chair. Pretty soon he would snore loudly. Then, his breathing…

 Stay ahead of the competition: Prevent “click-offs” Spoken communication can include or exclude people from important company messages. Nowadays the inclusion of narrated videos and YouTube pieces are all the rage for making business websites trendy and attractive to the visitors.  Then there are the over 20% of potential clients who feel left out because…

In my time of working with community and industry groups on hearing loss issues, I have heard plenty of clichéd hearing-loss jokes. Comments made with forced smiles brush aside the obvious and are meant to be humorous: “My problem is that I have selective hearing when it comes to my wife,” or “I hear what…

  The classic struggle of hearing loss Those with hearing loss tend to state their frustration with words like: “I don’t hear in this loud place!” What they really mean is that they hear plenty of sound—otherwise they would not perceive the place as loud—but they can’t understand what anybody is saying against the background din. In quiet settings, one-on-one…

  Safety training? Pay it forward Hearing practices that are learned during on-the-job Safety Training translate very well to the home front. Mother Nature does not care where the ear-killing din comes from. The bottom line is that repeated exposures to excessive sound levels lead to permanent inner-ear and nerve damage that so far cannot be…

A recent study by the International Campaign for Better Hearing found that among the respondents from 10 countries, 74% stated that they have been embarrassed by their hearing loss.  It’s actually amazing that the figure is not higher.  So, what or who makes people feel that way? Hearing loss itself or the attitudes of those around them? …

 Consider the industry Safety slogan: 10 fingers, 10 toes, 2 eyes, 1 nose—Safety counts. What about the ears? Don’t they count? Hello!   Although noise-induced Hearing Loss Prevention and Hearing Conservation are part of company Safety Training Programs, they might not be given the full attention they deserve. How often is the hearing portion of…

How long had this been going on?  After Jane’s longtime physician retired, her new doctor warned her that she would have to take prophylactic antibiotics before having dental work done. When she wondered why, she was told that she had a “noisy” heart valve and would not want to risk bacterial endocarditis. Often detected during…

 On average, it takes between 7 and 10 years before people act on a known or suspected hearing loss. A lot can happen to the hearing nerves and to the hearing center in the brain during that time. Due to a lack of sound stimulation, the systems become sluggish, weaken and ultimately atrophy. They fall…