There are a few reasons one might let their hearing loss go untreated, their pride and or their fear of those big bulky hearing aids that they have seen. These two issues normally go hand in hand, but people with these fears no longer have to be worried! With hearing aids out like the Invisible Lyric Hearing Aid, you shouldn’t be worried about anyone knowing you are wearing a hearing aid.

If you ever find yourself struggling to hear what your friends, family, or coworkers are saying it is time to take action. The hearing doctors at HearFlorida Audiology Group are always here to help with hearing loss treatment and or answer any questions or concerns you may have about anything! Many older adults feel as though their hearing loss is not that important as it is a natural coming of age, but at HearFlorida we beg to differ. Just because you have a few more candles on the birthday cake than in past years, doesn’t mean that your hearing and communication skills should be any less important. Your hearing should always be taken care of properly. Let HearFlorida help you. Contact us today to make an appointment.

Click here for information about the types of hearing loss.

Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley recently published their findings on tinnitus and have a few new suggestions for treatment. One of the new treatment ideas was retraining the brain. Loud noises damages to the hair cells in the inner ear which in return leave a gap in frequencies that these hair cells send to the brain. More or less, ringing doesn’t originate in the ear, but in the brain, in areas such as the auditory cortex, which is receiving input from the ear. One theory is that the ringing is a phantom noise made by neurons that have lost their sensory input from the ear, therefore they start firing off spontaneously. By retraining the brain, researchers hope that they could reduce spontaneous firing by giving the cells a new form of input. Through reorganizing the cortical map, researchers believe that this would resolve tinnitus.

Another suggestion to help cure tinnitus was to find a drug that would be able to inhibit the random firing by neurons in the auditory cortex. Through a study done on rats with tinnitus, when the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA was increased, the rat’s tinnitus was cured. Though, there is still much work that must be done before any of this treatment could be used in people, as the side effects of increased GABA currently prohibit its human use.

These steps are huge in finding a treatment for tinnitus and a cure could mean peace for so many people. If you suffer from tinnitus, contact HearFlorida. The hearing care professionals at HearFlorida offer tinnitus treatments.

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With any kind of chance in the senses, in this case hearing, the brain often has to adjust to this change.  With hearing loss, the brain loses part of its density in the auditory section. The study examined the relationship between hearing and brain function by first, measuring the brains response to complex sentences. Next, the brain volume in the auditory cortex was measured. People ages 60-77 that experienced some form of age related hearing loss were also tested to show if people with hearing loss had less of a response to the complex sentences. The results showed that those with hearing loss had less brain activity when listening to the complex sentences.

When thinking about hearing loss prevention, remember to protect your hearing means you will also be protecting the auditory part of your brain. Now there is an entirely new level of importance to protecting your hearing. HearFlorida is here to help; we carry a huge selection of Hearing Aids, including the new Starkey Xino!

The Xino hearing had has so much to offer, while all concealed away in one little package.  If you were put off about hearing aids by their reputation of being bulky and unsightly, it is time to get to know your options. With Xino, you do not need to be worried about your hearing aid being unsightly. Starkey has made sure that Xino is small, yet still extraordinary. Xino has award winning design language, which has received many industry honors. Xino has voice iQ2, which was developed to make listening to your conversation while in a noisy atmosphere easy to do! Starkey also made sure that Xino had a mini RIC with a longer lasting battery. Not only did Starkey take into consideration the style of Xino, but also its comfort.  Of course, these are just a few exciting previews of what Starkey has put into this great hearing aid.

HearFlorida is one of the leading hearing aid providers in Broward County, Florida and we are proud to offer Starkey Hearing Aid Products. For more information on our Hearing Aid Services and the Xino hearing aid, please contact us today!

It is still unknown how exactly hearing loss and dementia are related because otologists and geriatricians had not worked closely together before. There unfortunately hasn’t been a lot of research conducted on how hearing loss can possibly effect cognitive brain function. One theory on how these two are connected through social isolation, hearing loss often leaves its victims feeling alone and vulnerable, this is a known risk factor in dementia and other cognitive disorders. A study conducted between 1990 and 1994 which focused on 639 people, tested them on their hearing and cognitive abilities, was recently released. The people tested were followed and tested every one to two years until 2005, while some had minor hearing loss at the start of the study, none had dementia. In 2005 the study revealed that 58 of them had developed dementia. Those who had suffered from hearing loss in the beginning of the test were among the ones who had the highest risk of dementia.

Currently, researchers say that something as simple as wearing a hearing aid could help prevent dementia. Many options are available to treat hearing loss and not all hearing aids are big, bulky, and obvious. Audiologists in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade County at HearFlorida suggest getting regular hearing tests and if need be, wearing a hearing aid. HearFlorida provides one of the largest selections of hearing aids in South Florida. Contact us today for more information on how to protect your health and hearing!

Starkey Hearing Foundation recently was aired on the August 15th episode of Giuliana&Bill on the STYLE Network. Bill sat down to speak with executive director Steven Sawalich about the hearing mission that was happening in Haiti. Starkey Hearing Foundation will be aired on the show on August 22nd when Bill Rancic will be traveling to Haiti to help. Bill and others who were on the Haiti mission, fitted hundreds of children with Starkey hearing aids. Children and adults got the chance to finally hear someone say “I love you” to them, some for the first time.

Starkey Hearing Foundation believes that: “Alone we can’t do much. But, together we can change the world.”  The program relies on the education of people all around the world about how to protect their hearing or get help for their hearing loss.

If you missed the last episode of Giuliana&Bill that featured the Starkey Hearing Foundation, don’t miss your chance to catch up on the new episode airing on the STYLE Network Monday, August 22nd!

On a recent THE TODAY SHOW episode, Matt Lauer takes a hearing test and discovers surprising results. In addition, Jim McDade, a man with hearing loss, shows his invisible hearing aids, and Dr. Shelley Borgia talks about how small today’s hearing aids are compared to older versions.

The Today Show video talks about Jim McDade, a man who developed hearing loss gradually from wearing headphones while sleeping. During the The Today Show, they talked about how hearing loss problems can affect not only your hearing ability, but your day to day life, such as your communication with others, and other parts of your social life. Worried about being judged, Jim McDade was timid about even the thought of wearing hearing aids. But he soon found that with the Lyric Invisible Hearing Aid, that would not be a big issue.

Wearing custom earplugs can also help combat hearing loss and can help Americans with hearing loss prevention. The audiologists at HearFlorida can offer hearing care solutions for anyone including adults dealing with hearing loss. HearFlorida is proud to be one of the select few Lyric Hearing Aid providers in South Florida. To learn more about Lyric and how it can benefit you, contact us to make an appointment today! To see the Today Show segment featuring the Lyric Hearing Aid, click here.

A national study was conducted that tested newborns’ saliva for a cytomegalovirus infection, which can have serious hearing loss consequences. Cytomegalovirus is one of the most common infections passed from mother to child; roughly 20,000 to 30,000 babies are born infected with it. Up to 50 percent of the newborns infected with cytomegalovirus end up with hearing loss as a consequence. When babies are born, they very rarely show any clinical signs of cytomegalovirus infection, making it hard to detect. With the ability to now simply screen a newborn by taking a swab sample of their saliva, the odds of serious hearing loss are reduced. If a newborn tests positive, doctors can immediately monitor the newborn to see if there is any hearing loss and then if need be, treat them as soon as possible.

To keep your hearing at its best, remember to always keep yourself informed on hearing loss prevention tips. HearFlorida offers advice on how to keep your hearing at its best and also welcomes anyone with questions about hearing loss to make an appointment with one of our experienced audiologists. Don’t wait for hearing loss problems to start, educate yourself on the best ways to keep your ears healthy!

Children with hearing loss issues often experience difficulties when learning communication skills such as word order, grammar, vocabulary, and so on. These kinds of difficulties then leave children feeling left out because they cannot learn as quickly as other children. The most important step to protecting your child’s hearing is education. Parents must be aware that noises such as machinery, traffic noise, loud music, etc is all damaging to their children’s hearing. One way to make sure you are taking care of your child’s ears is to take part in Em’s 4 Kids which provides education to parents and also earmuffs for children.  The program was founded on the belief that hearing is precious and something needing to be protected. The sooner parents and children are educated on proper ear protection, the better for the child.

Hearing loss is a growing concern with the loud world we live in today. Make sure to educate yourself, your family, and your friends on how to protect their hearing. For more hearing loss information and help, contact the  hearing professionals at HearFlorida today.

While most employers will provide hearing protection, most workers do not wear it. The hearing protection blocks out harmful noise, but they also block out important noises. The worker cannot feel as if they are disconnected from the worksite, they need to be able to communicate with other workers. Traditional forms of hearing protection blocks out all noise and does not take into consideration that the worker still needs to be able to hear. Luckily, there are solutions to help prevent hearing loss in loud environments such as the work place.

Custom molded earplugs or earmuffs offer hearing protection and still allow you to communicate at work. Any form of earmuffs would help. Contact HearFlorida and get information about hearing loss prevention.