PeopleHearingBetter - People Hearing Better—your community for hearing health.

Signia's New Hearing Aid is Smooth as Silk

01/03/2017 - 10:24

Signia--one of the world's top hearing aid manufacturers-- has just introduced Silk™ a new completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid that fits 80% of ear canals right out of the box. This new style means in order to wear these nearly invisible hearing aids you don't need to go through the extra step of having them measured for your specific ear canal. This immediate availability is sure to please hearing aid users who want discretion without the wait.

How Your Ears Communicate

12/29/2016 - 11:54

If you've ever sung to a child and had them put their fingers in their ears, you can stop feeling offended. It might not be the quality of your vocals but how loud you were singing that caused the reaction. You see, when the ears sense something is dangerous to hearing, it doesn't send out a pain signal--like when you cut your finger. Instead, it sends out that feeling of discomfort. This feeling can take the form of pressure, unease, or even sensitivity to noise. Basically, when you find a sound disturbing it could be because your ears are trying to tell you something.

Beware Loud Toys For the 2016 Holidays!

12/08/2016 - 10:27

Permanent damage to hearing from noise is known as noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). NIHL can come from listening to something that is too loud, positioned too close to the ears, or from listening to a sound for too long. (NIHL) might seem like something only adults who go to concerts or work around loud equipment need to worry about, but children are at risk too. And one of the hazards is something most wouldn't consider dangerous--toys.

Can Your Ears Help You Taste?

12/06/2016 - 10:31

You probably don't realize it but your sense of taste doesn't reside completely in your mouth. Taste involves a number of senses including smell and feel. And, as scientist are now discovering, sounds can play a large role in how we perceive the taste of food.

Speaking Up About Hearing Loss

12/01/2016 - 07:59

Receiving a diagnosis of hearing loss requires a shift in lifestyle and sometimes of self-identity. Facing hearing loss and sharing the journey of change and new experiences with others is a truly courageous thing. Sarah Wegley also known as the blogger the Speak Up Librarian is just such a courageous person. Sarah Wegley learned that she had hearing loss at forty years old. At first, she felt very alone, but quickly became part of the online deaf and hard of hearing community. Being a librarian, Sarah had a keen thirst for knowledge and so started on a path that would give her the information she needed and in the process inform and befriend others on the same journey. People Hearing Better is proud to be able to share guest blogger Sarah Wegley’s hearing loss story with you today.

Videos to Fill the Hearts of Our Hearing Loss Community

11/23/2016 - 10:36

A recent blog post on PHB discussing inclusive toys for the holidays inspired us! So we've found some videos that reminded everyone, no matter how tough life seems, there are good people out there ready to welcome you and your diff:ability into their lives and hearts.

Useful Apps for Tinnitus Management

11/17/2016 - 12:02

The ears might seem hardy, but your hearing can be damaged for any number of reasons. Often this damage can lead to symptoms of hearing loss that include tinnitus. If you have tinnitus, it means that you hear phantom sounds. People with tinnitus describe the sounds in a number of ways--hissing, whining, ringing, and buzzing are the more common ones. These sounds can range from mildly annoying to distracting to debilitating. Tinnitus isn't always permanent, but for millions of people it is. Although there is no pill to cure tinnitus there are ways to manage it. A newer technique involves the use of tinnitus apps, either on their own or paired with a hearing aid.

Can Telehealth Expand Hearing Healthcare?

11/15/2016 - 10:28

People sometimes wonder why hearing aids aren't as easy and inexpensive to pick up as reading glasses. The truth is hearing aids aren't the same as glasses, but this does raise an interesting question. Is there a way to make it less expensive and easier for people who can't get help for their hearing loss due to cost, distance, and time? Telehealth--the use of electronic information, video, and computer technology (like remote programming) to treat people at home--might be the answer to expanding hearing healthcare.

Inclusive Toys for the Holidays

11/03/2016 - 10:40

A group of mothers have started a movement for representation of diff:abled or differently abled children within the toy industry. Their rallying cry is the same as their website, #ToyLikeMe. Their goal is inclusion and representations that helps put an end to the marginilaztion of diff:abled children.

Personal Sound Amplification Products aren't a Treatment for Hearing Loss

11/01/2016 - 10:46

People assume that having hearing loss is kind of like when you can't hear the volume on your television. You just need to turn the dial up. But often someone with hearing loss can hear some sounds really well, but others not so much. So it's more like when you're listening to an old movie and turn up the dial and then suddenly the sound track switches and it's too loud and you startle and quick turn down the dial. This misunderstanding about hearing loss is why the government has issued a warning to let consumers know that products that merely turn the sound up, what's called a personal sound amplification product (PSAP), aren't a treatment for hearing loss.

Hearing Aids That Use A Laser?

10/27/2016 - 10:21

You know that old saying, "Don't stick anything in your ear, unless it's a laser." Okay, that's not exactly how the saying goes. And you might be a little worried about the idea of a laser in your ears, but hearing aids that use laser diode technology are safe, have been approved by the FDA, and are available now.

Getting Someone You Love Help for Hearing Loss

10/25/2016 - 11:04

If you love someone with hearing loss who refuses to seek help for changes in their hearing, it can be worse than frustrating. It can be heartbreaking. Sadly, the stigma attached to hearing loss continues to plague certain people in our society. But sharing the good news about hearing aids and hearing health can help encourage those we love to seek help for this entirely treatable condition.

How to Keep Your Hearing Aids Working Their Best

10/18/2016 - 09:35

Hearing aids are wonderful pieces of technology. New discoveries about pitch perception, speech, and sound location means the latest technology is super refined. All of this advanced technology means that hearing aids are a big and worthwhile investment, so in order to keep your hearing aid investment working at its best, you might want to follow these few simple guidelines.

Using Hearing Aids Can Reset the Brain

10/11/2016 - 09:42

It turns out that age related hearing loss isn't just in your ears. Although in the past, researchers blamed hearing loss solely on damage within the inner ear, they now say problems with age related hearing also happens within the brain. Researchers at the University of Zurich have shown that as people age, the auditory cortex things and the brain has to work harder to decode certain sounds. This happens in older people with and without hearing loss. But there's good news for the brains of people who use hearing aids.

Speech to Text Apps for People with Hearing Loss

10/06/2016 - 08:39

People who have hearing challenges have long been early adapters of technology to help them communicate. It's no wonder that smart phones have become so popular among this segment of the population. One of the best ways to improve your smart phone is by adding apps. For people with hearing loss apps that convert speech to text, though not perfect, can help offset mental exhaustion or cognitive overload by serving as an extra "ear."

For the Child in Children's Hearing Loss

10/04/2016 - 09:42

32 million children around the world have some kind of hearing loss. That means that these children have extra challenges with communication and some big issues with stereotypes. But People Hearing Better knows that any child or teen with hearing loss is first and foremost an individual. So today we've compiled a list of fun and joyful ways to help throw off stereotypes and reclaim and individualize your child or teens hearing loss experience.

Can Earplugs Protect Hearing and Let You Hear?

09/29/2016 - 08:57

Most people wouldn't stand anywhere near a jumbo jet engine without earplugs, but they'd casually enter stadiums and concerts just as loud. Even recommendation by audiologist to wear hearing protection or earplugs to these events often gets ignored. After all, you go there to hear the music or be part of the sporting event and don't want to "muffle" the experience. But what if earplugs not only protected your hearing, but allowed you to hear and enjoy the event?

Free Hearing Aids for People in Need

09/27/2016 - 09:21

You recycle your garbage, you donate your old clothes, but what is a person to do with their old hearing aids? How about donating them to a charity that will see they get into the hands of less fortunate people? Global initiatives that strive to reduce the impact of hearing loss on disadvantaged segments of society are doing important work to empower the less fortunate in our hearing loss communities. So how can you help create free hearing aids for people in need?

Hearing Aids Help Brain Functions of People with Hearing Loss

09/22/2016 - 09:26

Research on the detrimental affects of hearing loss on the brain have led to studies analyzing if hearing aids can counteract that negative mental impact. Today there is more research that indicates that, yes, hearing aids can help the cognitive functions of people with hearing loss.

The Hidden Hearing Loss Generation

09/20/2016 - 10:07

When loud noise damages hair cells within the inner ear it's called noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Many tests can detect this damage to hair cells from noise, but there's another, hidden way loud sounds can damage hearing. Before loud noises damage hair cells, they can already have damaged the extremely sensitive nerve fibers inside the ear. This hearing damage is prevalent in young people, but isn't so easy to detect and is rarely tested. That's why it is called hidden hearing loss.

What is High Frequency Hearing Loss?

09/15/2016 - 09:16

It's natural for people to assume that hearing loss is a very straight forward proposition. You can't hear the things around you. The truth is more complicated. In fact, someone with hearing loss might be able to hear some things just fine, but have a problem with hearing others things. Such is the case with high frequency hearing loss.

How do hearing aids tell the difference between sounds?

09/08/2016 - 09:18

Today's hearing aids are designed not just to amplify sounds, but to recognize different sounds, and to deliver to the user those sounds that they want to hear. Not only can they sort through different acoustics and wanted and unwanted noises, but they can help focus on one speaker over another speaker. So how can hearing aids tell the difference between sounds? Well, in part, they do this by using digital processing algorithms.

Hearing Aids with Great Sound and Less Bells and Whistles

09/06/2016 - 09:44

As the technology on hearing aids grows sophisticated enough to turn on the lights in your house and notify you when someone is at the door, some people with hearing loss are feeling overwhelmed. They want hearing technology that works, but doesn't include or rely on features that they will never use. Well, we've compiled a short list of some great hearing aids with less bells and whistles.

Can Binaural Beats Ease Tinnitus?

09/01/2016 - 09:27

Tinnitus is a buzzing, whistling, or whining sound within the brain. It is a sound without a noise present just as some chronic pain is sensation with no physical source. Although these sounds are called "phantom" they are created within the brain and are very real to the person hearing them. Interestingly enough binaural beats are an auditory illusion created by the brain when it tries to reconcile two competing frequencies. So can an auditory illusion, binaural beats, ease a phantom sound, tinnitus?

Do School Hearing Tests Work?

08/23/2016 - 20:00

Each year 24,000 newborns are diagnosed with hearing loss, but this is only a portion of the children who develop hearing loss after school begins. Childhood hearing loss, especially noise induced hearing loss, continues to rise among children and adolescents, and now a new study casts doubt on whether or not these children are being properly diagnosed and treated.

Sleep Better, Hear Better

08/16/2016 - 09:11

If you want to keep your hearing in top shape, first try getting a good night's sleep. Researchers have discovered that interrupted sleep, like what happens when you have sleep apnea, can damage hearing.

Does Caffeine Improve or Worsen Tinnitus?

08/11/2016 - 00:00

Tinnitus is the presence of sounds with no discernible source. There is no known cure for the phantom buzzing, whistling, whining sounds associated with tinnitus. There are, however, many different and effective ways to manage tinnitus, and in the past a reduction of caffeine was often recommended as one such way. But a new study might be tossing this old guideline out the window.

Is White Noise Safe for Baby's Hearing?

07/28/2016 - 00:00

Sound machines, white noise apps, a vacuum cleaner sound played on an eight hour Youtube stream are all helpful tools used by sleep-deprived parents. And while these sounds truly do help soothe a cranky baby, when it comes to walking the line between helping baby sleep and caring for baby's hearing parents need to learn the three D's.

Hearing Aid Technology Takes on the Wind

07/12/2016 - 00:00

Over 70% of all hearing aids sold today are the behind-the-ear (BTE) style of hearing aids. The increasing popularity of this style is due in part to increased battery life and discretion, but there is a downside. Wind noise. But a new hearing aid is taking on this problem.

Undiagnosed hearing loss leads to isolation

07/05/2016 - 08:42

There are even more reasons to have an annual hearing loss test. Not only does it help to keep your hearing health and help you to diagnose problems--hearing and whole body--but it turns out undiagnosed hearing loss can lead to isolation and cognitive decline.

How the little world of nanotechnology protects hearing aids

06/28/2016 - 13:29

Nanotechnology studies and manufacturers very small materials. Not just small. Little. Tiny. Itty bitty. Still the uses for these minuscule materials is big. Huge. Gigantic. Especially when it comes to protecting the delicate and sophisticated parts inside a hearing aid.

Five surprising things that can cause hearing loss

06/21/2016 - 13:17

Over 40 million Americans have hearing loss. And though most people assume hearing loss is related to aging or to noise there are many different ways to get hearing loss, some you might not have considered. In fact, we can think of at least five things that cause hearing loss that might surprise you.

A new app can help determine how well your ears are aging

06/14/2016 - 12:25

Loud sounds at work or play can cause the temporary sensations of muffled ears and tinnitus or ringing of the ears. These temporary responses are called temporary threshold shift (TTS). Although temporary this change in hearing could play a significant part in determining how your ears age. The greater the shift the faster your ears age. So how can you determine how great the TTS in your hearing is? Well, there's an app for that.

Global Study Highlights Hearing Aid Benefits

06/09/2016 - 12:23

A survey of 120,000 hearing aid users from around the world shows the benefits of hearing aids go above and beyond merely improved hearing.

Meditation for Better Hearing

06/02/2016 - 08:45

Your hearing is a wonderful and important part of your whole body health. This fact has been proven again and again through multiple studies that show the connection of hearing to heart, head, and lifestyle. So it makes sense that things that are good for your body are good for your hearing and vice versa. The unquestionable depth of this relationship has been shown in a new study that suggest meditation is not only good for your body, it can improve your hearing.

The Higher Healthcare Costs of Hearing Loss

05/31/2016 - 09:00

There was a time when medical professionals routinely divided the body up into parts--heart, lungs, liver. Today, doctors are more conscious that the body is one system, and what is happening in one part can be indicative of what is happening to the body as a whole. No place is this connection more evident than with the ears. In fact, the state of your ears can predict future problems with your heart and your head. Maybe that's why a new study shows that people with hearing loss have higher medical bills.

We're Making Noise for National Tinnitus Awareness Week!

05/19/2016 - 08:30

May 16 to the 20th is National Tinnitus Awareness Week. Tinnitus impacts over 50 million Americans. Of this 50 million, nearly 20 million experience tinnitus chronically and two million classify the phantom whistling, buzzing, or whining sounds as debilitating. This year's theme is "Make some noise" about tinnitus to raise awareness. And that's just what we'd like to do. So here are the top five things you might not know about tinnitus.

When to See an Audiologist

05/17/2016 - 08:50

Hearing loss is the third most common health problem in the United States, the number one birth defect, and the number one reported work-related injury. Despite this, many people don’t understand when to see an audiologist.

Moderate Exercise Can Keep Hearing Healthy

05/12/2016 - 10:07

A recent study showed that a fifty-year-old person who exercised and ate healthy could have the same level of hearing as someone twenty years younger. But exercisers take note, the type of exercise you do might actually do more harm than good.

Rechargeable Hearing Aid Batteries are Here

05/05/2016 - 09:10

Rechargeable batteries for hearing aids haven't been as universally available as they are with other products. That's mostly because of the safety, capacity, and energy requirements of today's advanced hearing aids. Still, with the awarding of the bronze for the 2016 Edison Award to the ZPower Rechargeable System for hearing aids, the future of rechargeable hearing aid batteries is looking brighter.

Test Your Hearing for Better Hearing & Speech Month!

05/03/2016 - 09:56

May brings us more than spring flowers, it brings us an opportunity to appreciate and care for our hearing. May is Better Hearing & Speech Month (BHSM)! The American Speech-Hearing-Language Association has themed this BHSM, "Communication takes care." That's because taking care of your ears isn't just about your ears. Having an annual hearing test impacts your whole body health, including your brain.

Want to hear better? Get out more!

04/28/2016 - 15:53

A recent study shows that you can improve your hearing skills by being more social and engaging with more people. For some time, scientist have known the importance of social interaction for mood and happiness. Well, it turns out that this isn't just good for your emotional state, and your love life, but your hearing too.

The Good News About Hearing Loss

04/26/2016 - 09:26

A flurry of research has led to increased awareness about hearing loss's impact on whole body health. But sometimes people get caught in the doom-and-gloom statistics and forget there is positive news too. Although we at PHB have done our best to explain how hearing aids can improve not just hearing loss but whole body health, today we'd like to show you just how good this good news is!

Oticon's Opn Helps the Brain Hear

04/21/2016 - 13:50

In today's distractible world, listening or paying attention can be a challenge for the average adult, but add in hearing loss and listening can require genuine strain. This strain, often called a cognitive overload, can create hearing loss fatigue. How well a hearing aid relieves this stress and fatigue is usually something measured subjectively. But Oticon recently employed an ingenious new way of measuring how well their latest hearing aid, Opn, relieves the stress of listening and the resulting fatigue.

Oticon's Opn is Open for Business

04/19/2016 - 09:30

If you're a hearing aid enthusiast or savvy consumer looking for a new hearing aid in 2016, you're in luck. This May Oticon will release Opn™ a hearing aid that uses their Velox™ platform, both of which have the Internet abuzz. And, we'll admit, more than a few hearing aid tech geeks at PHB are drooling. So what makes Opn so exciting?

Audina's Latest Hearing Aid Captures Wide Frequencies

04/14/2016 - 09:23

Spring has sprung! And if you're looking for hearing aids or just browsing the latest tech, you might be aware that manufacturers are releasing their spring lineup at the AudiologyNOW! convention. In the next few weeks, PHB will go over a couple of the new releases and introduce you to some of the manufacturers. We'd like to start with a Florida based company called Audina.

Earplugs and Noise Induced Hearing Loss

04/12/2016 - 09:20

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.1 billion young people worldwide are at risk of hearing loss due to unsafe exposure to damaging levels of sound. But there's good news in the fight against Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). A new research study suggests earplugs can be a real protection against these damaging noise levels.

The Relationship Between Hearing Loss and Stress

04/07/2016 - 10:39

The fight or flight response to stressors in the environment played an essential role in the survival of our species. It increased chemicals in the body that allowed for greater speed and strength. But that once necessary reaction to immediate stress is not as beneficial for a modern society that may produce stressors on a daily or hourly basis. This exposure to chronic stress can play a big part in the deterioration of the body. And, as it turns out, chronic stress can actually cause or worsen hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Military Battles Hearing Loss

04/05/2016 - 11:09

Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is often preventable by taking a few simple precautions like using earplugs or limiting exposure to loud noise. But putting limits on exposure to loud noise and wearing earplugs isn't always possible for active service members who need to hear to keep themselves and others safe. That's probably why some estimates say 60% of returning veterans have hearing damage. In order to take on this startling trend, the military has invested in a unique formula-- a micronutrient that could protect hearing.

The Pros and Cons of Multiple Hearing Aid Channels

03/29/2016 - 10:52

For some people with hearing loss terms like channel and band are exciting discoveries in hearing modification. But for the average person with hearing loss sorting through these terms can be confusing. So if you're having problems figuring out how many channels are optimal in a hearing aid or even what a channel is and how it's different from hearing aid "band" read on because People Hearing Better has your answers!

Two Weeks Of Hearing Aid Use Improves Concentration

03/24/2016 - 08:33

If the average American knew there was a new treatment that increased health, mood, and improved brain function they'd be lining up. Believe it or not, research has tied these exact benefits to hearing aid use. But despite the facts many people with hearing loss still don't understand the importance of improved hearing health. The latest study on hearing aid benefits might just change that. This study showed improved mental performance not after years of hearing aid use, but after two weeks.

Hearing Aids Technology that Tackles Background Noise

03/22/2016 - 08:53

Back in the day, The Bionic Woman used her super hearing to save the world. And sometimes a cat. In the 70’s it seemed futuristic that someone could focus hearing technology on something they specifically wanted to hear. Well, the future is here. Today's hearing technologies have made amazing strides in working with natural hearing to compensate for challenging background listening environments.

The Do's and Don'ts of Earplug Use

03/15/2016 - 10:23

Earplugs have long been promoted as a way to help avoid noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) and to protect the ears from noise trauma. Many people use earplugs during sleep either because of a loud snoring spouse or because of hypersensitivity to nighttime noises. These people are to by admired for their dedication to their ears--hooray for you! But proper earplug use and awareness of restrictions and care is also an important part of your hearing health.

Is My Hearing Changing?

03/10/2016 - 13:14

American society, in general, is very open to differences. We understand people have different preferences in ice cream, different fashions, different abilities. Not everyone can be a baseball star. But we're not always sure how to comprehend the differences we can't see, like changes in our ability to hear. Thankfully, there are actually some pretty easy ways to determine changes in your hearing.

It's International Ear and Hearing Day!

03/03/2016 - 09:49

March 3rd is International Ear and Hearing Day AKA World Hearing Day! It's time to take notice of those adorable sound catchers perched on the side of your head. Or what hearing health professionals like to call ears. International Ear and Hearing Day is sponsored by the World Health Organization to bring attention to hearing loss issues not just in the USA but around the world.

Can Sounds Support Brain Health?

03/01/2016 - 09:59

If you've ever spent any time on Youtube looking for relaxing music, you've probably come across binaural beats and alpha wave music that is supposed to do everything from open your third eye to making you a better, more efficient student. Okay, yeah, I'm listening to some right now. Although the jury is still out on what, if anything, these musical elixirs actually do, there is new research suggesting sound can help increase brain health.

Which Country Has the Most Hearing Loss?

02/25/2016 - 09:32

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over five percent of the entire world population, that's 360 million people globally, live with disabling hearing loss. 32 million of these people are children under the age of 15. And the numbers of people in danger of hearing loss continue to grow annually. So which country has the most hearing loss? Well, the answer might surprise you.

How Algorithms Overcome Background Noise

02/23/2016 - 11:12

Hearing aids have advanced to such a degree as to be compared to minicomputers. That's not far from the truth. Today's hearing aids are designed not just to amplify sounds, but to process sound, and to allow the user to hear what they want to hear even with competing background noise. Not only can they sort through different acoustics and wanted and unwanted noises, but they can help focus on one speaker over another speaker. They do this, in part, by using digital processing algorithms.

Preventing Antibiotic Related Hearing Loss

02/18/2016 - 01:00

In 1928 Richard Flemming discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic. Since then a whole range of antibiotics have been developed to treat bacterial infections and generally make our lives easier. That's not to say antibiotics haven't created their own set of problems. Some antibiotics can cause permanent hearing loss. So how can you tell if your antibiotic could damage your hearing?

Magnetic Brain Stimulation Eases Tinnitus

02/16/2016 - 18:44

It is estimated that 45 million Americans suffer from tinnitus. Tinnitus is a condition where no discernible noise is present but people hear a phantom buzzing, whistling, humming, or beeping sound. Although these noises seem to be in the ears, they actually originate within the brain. It's not surprising therefore that new research has focused on the brain. In a recent study, repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation or rTMS showed promise in treating tinnitus.

New Treatment for Meniere's Disease

02/11/2016 - 09:45

Named after French physician Prosper Meniere, Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear. Symptoms may include incapacitating vertigo, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in ears), ear pressure, and varying degrees of hearing loss. Meniere's can happen to people of any age, but becomes more common with age. Treatments for Meniere's have been hard to come by, but now the clinical trials of a new drug OTO-104 shows potential promise.

Three Ways Hearing Aids Help Your Brain

02/09/2016 - 09:34

Hearing and the brain are tied together. Your brain identifies and decodes sounds, determines distance, and helps your ears focus on particular sounds. But as much as your brain helps you hear, your ears can help your brain too. For the person with average hearing this is automatic, but for the person with hearing loss this symbiotic relationship can be disrupted. There's good news. Using hearing aids to compensate for decreases in hearing helps support the hearing-brain relationship.

Our Favorite I-Can-Hear Videos!

02/05/2016 - 18:03

With the advances in hearing technologies, there has been a lot of videos showing the moment when people who have lost their hearing or who have never heard before can suddenly hear. So many wonderful and inspiring videos that we decided to comb Youtube--yes this did give us an excuse to watch videos at work--simply to find you our favorite I-can-hear videos!

Hearing Aids: A New Health Craze?

02/02/2016 - 10:29

There is a new breed of person with hearing loss. They aren't shy about embracing their hearing loss, hearing technologies, or discussing the benefits of hearing aids. In fact, they'll talk your ear off if you let them! They know about and are eager to learn more about algorithms, background noise and connectivity features. They can quote studies on how hearing helps the body, mind, and increases social interactions. These people are the Jack Lalanne's of hearing loss, leading the way toward a new health craze--one that focuses on hearing aids the way previous movements have focused on juicing.

Help With Hearing Loss Fatigue

01/28/2016 - 10:38

If you have hearing loss, you are probably well aware that you can become tired more easily than someone without hearing loss. PHB has compiled a list of ways to help you cope with this hearing loss fatigue.

Keeping Your Ears Warm Matters

01/26/2016 - 09:57

Inside your brain the hypothalamus monitors weather ready to implement emergency measures to protect you from extreme cold. The hypothalamus is so determined to keep essential organs found within your core warm, that it will sacrifice extremities by lowering blood flow to those areas. If you work, play, or live in places with cold weather, you know to keep an eye on toes or fingers that have gone numb, but did you know you should also be thinking about your ears?

Could A Cow Help Prevent Noise Induced Hearing Loss?

01/21/2016 - 10:58

Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is preventable with precautions like noise canceling headphones, earplugs, or limiting exposure to loud noises. But for active service members hearing health often takes a backseat to personal safety or the safety of others. Perhaps that's why, in some estimates, 60% of returning veterans have hearing damage. But now, there's a micronutrient found in dairy that might provide a simple solution for the problematic choice military personnel make every day--your hearing or your life.

Can Your Ears Tell You How You Feel?

01/19/2016 - 10:05

Treating hearing loss has been shown to have a positive impact on brain health, on anxiety, and on depression. And if this weren't compelling enough to drive people toward treating their hearing loss, new research indicates that people use hearing to understand their own emotions.

The Future Fit of Hearing Technology

01/14/2016 - 09:00

With all the advances in hearing aid technology, it would seem that more features and connectivity would top the list of things to shout about. Though these things are noteworthy there's another, quieter future for hearing aids. It turns out, the future of hearing aids is all about the fit.

What Are Hearables?

01/12/2016 - 09:21

If something is able to be heard by a person, it can be defined as hearable. Simple enough. But there is another definition of hearable that is emerging from the new trend toward wearable technology.

Exercising Your Brain May Help Tinnitus Sufferers

01/05/2016 - 09:16

Tinnitus is the presence of noise when no sound is present. This phantom noise can include buzzing, whining, and whistling and is thought to be a symptom of hearing loss. Though there is no cure for tinnitus, there are multiple stratgies for helping to decrease the severity of tinnitus symptoms. And now new research suggests increased activity in the frontal region of the brain may provide a coping mechanisms for people dealing with tinnitus.

Connectivity for the New Year

12/29/2015 - 09:49

The holidays are a wonderful time, a time to get together with family and close friends. And to get presents. If you have hearing loss and you've gotten some nifty new gadgets this holiday season, you might be worried about getting the most out of your technology. But today's assistive listening devices are designed to help you get connected for the New Year.

Hearing Health Professionals Answer Your Burning Questions!

12/17/2015 - 11:47

This year People Hearing Better asked its community what top hearing aid questions they most needed answered. A majority of respondents wanted to know how to hear better in a noisy situation and how to determine what hearing aid was right for them. Well, we've sought out the professionals and have answers to all your burning hearing aid questions!

Can the Flu Cause Hearing Loss?

12/10/2015 - 10:15

Influenza or the flu has many well-known symptoms including fever, headache, runny nose, sore throat, coughing, and exhaustion. But did you know the flu can also affect your hearing? People with the flu can experience hearing loss that can be either temporary or permanent.

Do Hearing Aids Live Up to the Hype?

12/04/2015 - 11:24

If you have hearing loss or love someone who has hearing loss, you have no doubt heard a lot of things about hearing aid technologies. Apparently hearing aids can turn you into a super ninja with special hearing powers. Okay, that's mostly not true. And because some advertising might seem like hype or pie in the sky promises, let's take a look at what hearing aids can and can't do.

Can Hearing Aids Improve Balance?

12/01/2015 - 14:27

A few years ago, a study conducted by Johns Hopkins and funded by the National Institute of Health, showed people who didn't hear that well had an increased likelihood of falls. This risk increased manifold with increased hearing loss. This information led researchers to wonder if hearing aids held the key to better balance for people with hearing loss. A small study seems to indicate this is the case and the use of hearing aids improves balance.

Hearing Aids Help Kids Hear and Learn Better

11/27/2015 - 10:53

Most parents who have children with mild to severe hearing loss are well aware of studies showing diminished hearing's impact on language and brain development. Knowing this may have led to anxiety and uncertainty about the success of hearing interventions like hearing aids. But there's good news. A new longterm study has shown hearing aids help diminish the learning gap and provide social benefits for children.

Getting to Know Your Hearing Loss

11/19/2015 - 17:34

On the surface hearing loss might seem a straight up proposition—you don’t hear as well—but if you’ve recently been diagnosed with hearing loss you’re probably beginning to realize it’s not always that straightforward. Degree of hearing loss, type, symmetrical v unsymmetrical, fluctuating v stable are just a few of the things you might be beginning to wonder about. Feeling overwhelmed? No worries. People Hearing Better is here to simplify and help you understand your hearing loss.

Hearing Aids Focused on the Brain

11/17/2015 - 14:55

Hopefully you've heard the exciting news that hearing aids have been shown to halt cognitive decline and in one small study repair cognitive decline. That’s incredible news, and it comes at a time when hearing technology is in sync with the research, creating advanced features that speak directly to the brain or are designed to initiate auditory brain functions.

How to Train a Hearing Aid

11/13/2015 - 10:14

How do you train a hearing aid?

Practice. Practice. Practice.

It sounds like a joke, but it is true. The way we train hearing aids to recognize the thousands of sound situations you hear every day – and respond appropriately to them – is to expose them to those situations.

Hearing Aids Help Brain Resist Cognitive Decline

11/05/2015 - 10:10

You probably aren't aware of it, but you do much of your hearing with your brain. It's true. Your ears deliver sound to your brain, but your brain is the one making sense of it all. In fact, hearing loss--which essentially denies sound stimulation to the brain--is associated with brain atrophy and cognitive decline, like dementia and Alzheimer's. Knowing this, scientist set out to discover if using hearing aids could help offset this cognitive decline. The results are in and they are incredibly hopeful and positive for people with hearing loss who use hearing aids!

Common Pain Medication and Hearing Loss

11/03/2015 - 09:27

Using common anti-inflammatory medicines or Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) to relieve a headache or back pain can have long term side effects for your hearing. In fact, NSAIDS have been shown to be detrimental to both male and female hearing.

The Tinnitus Gateway

10/29/2015 - 18:56

Every day your brain automatically tunes out distracting or disturbing sounds, but what if your brain is responsible for these annoying sounds? New evidence suggests that tinnitus--phantom buzzing, whistling, and whining sounds--is due to a broken gateway within the brain.

A New Way to Help Patients Adjust Hearing Aids

10/27/2015 - 09:34

Though hearing aids dramatically improve the lives of people with hearing loss, these medical devices can't be slipped on out of a box. Adjustments need to be made by a hearing health professional. Learning individual preferences for sounds is a process that makes hearing aids more complicated than say putting on a pair of glasses. That's why fine tuning hearing aids continues to evolve into a collaboration between patient and practitioner.

Hearing Aids Help A Young Mother With Hearing Loss

10/22/2015 - 23:00

Patricia Leavitt-Crosby, a young mother with a hearing loss, worried that using hearing aids would make her look old. She soon discovered the benefits of hearing aids—being able to understand the doctor and enjoy a trip to the grocery store, actually made her feel younger and more in tune with the world.

Could Your Cell Phone Damage Your Hearing?

10/20/2015 - 08:21

In the days before cell phones, getting lost, your car breaking down, and many day-to-day tasks were way more complicated to resolve. Cell phones aka smart phones have made life easier, but could they be harming your hearing?

Your Ears Talk to Each Other

10/13/2015 - 08:54

You ears work together to do more than just hear. They talk to each other, so they can categorize sounds, lower interfering sounds, focus on essential sounds, and determine where a sound is coming from. The system your ears use to communicate all of this is called the olivocochlear system. And for years scientist have been trying to unravel its mysteries.

Hearing Loss and Osteoporosis

10/06/2015 - 10:07

54 million Americans have low bone mass also known as osteoporosis. Osteoporosis happens when your body loses too much bone mass or doesn't make enough bone mass creating porous bones. In addition to the problems associated with this condition, people who have osteoporosis are also more likely to experience sudden hearing loss.

How to Determine Decibel Level

09/22/2015 - 09:07

A decibel isn't just a convenient way to measure sound, but a tool that could come in handy in our everyday lives. Using the decibel scale to determine if a sound is going to hurt your ears isn't as easy as knowing that the higher the number of decibels the more damage the sound can do to your hearing. That's because you don't have an automatic sensor that tells you what decibel level a sound is at. No worries. There's an app for that.

The Hearing Health Revolution

09/17/2015 - 09:02

Modern health practices have enabled baby boomers to live more active and fuller lives. The plethora of science, nutrition, and fitness information has advanced to allow individual health practices to become more personal and efficient. These advances combined with the awareness of today’s savvy older Americans means that a hearing health revolution is on its way! Just take it from David Hill, whose experience with hearing aids changed his life.

You often hear in the news the words “a new definition of aging.” For some people this isn’t just a catchy phrase, but a way they have decided to live their lives. These health conscious people are meeting the challenges of aging, recognizing the importance of whole body health—that the body is a system that needs to work together--by embracing modern health technologies, including hearing aids.

In today's blog post active and savvy senior David Hill tells People Hearing better about his experience with Audiology Experts and his first day with his new hearing aids.

The Trials of Sound Travel

09/15/2015 - 08:16

Ever wonder why the simple act of sound traveling through such a relatively small space as your ear to your brain can go wrong in so many ways? Wonder no more. Today People Hearing Better is providing a quick reference on how sound travels and where it can get lost on its journey.

Exercises for Your Ears

09/10/2015 - 08:24

How often have you misheard the lyrics in a song or something someone has said? It happens all the time. And not just to people with hearing loss. Everyone knows the saying, listening is a skill, but most people without hearing loss take that skill for granted. Few people understand or attempt to sharpen that skill through exercise, but now Phonak has introduced The Listening Room a website that helps people exercise their ability to listen.

Read My Lips

09/08/2015 - 09:29

Most people consider lipreading something done consciously by someone with hearing loss or a really good spy. But the McGurk effect--a perceptional phenomenon discovered long ago--shows that most everyone's hearing relies, in some way, on lipreading.

New Suspect in Age Related Hearing Loss

08/25/2015 - 08:36

The cause of age related hearing loss has been long studied. Recently the belief that age related hearing loss is entirely the result of the death of hair cells is being challenged. It turns out that it's not just too little hair cells that can cause hearing loss it's too many of the wrong sort of nerve connections.

The Art of American Sign Language

08/20/2015 - 08:45

Sign language is an artistic way to communicate. It involves intelligence and creativity and context. American sign language (ASL) is thought to be the fourth most used language in the United States, behind English, Spanish, and Chinese. It is considered easier to learn than most languages and is a valuable skill to add to any resume. But that's not all. There are many important and beneficial reasons to choose to learn this artistic form of communication.

Can You Hear Through Your Mouth?

08/18/2015 - 16:45

When there is a problem with hearing, the ears are the first thing people think about. Helping people who cannot hear or who have hearing impairment revolves around the ears. And that makes sense, because the ears are how people hear. There is, however, and interesting twist on the restoration of hearing, one that involves your mouth and tongue.

Can Your Tinnitus Be Heard by Others?

08/11/2015 - 08:27

26 million Americans suffer from the phantom buzzing, whistling, whining, or screeching noise of tinnitus. In almost all cases, there is no way for someone outside of the sufferer to hear these sounds, but there is another form of tinnitus, and this one can be heard by doctors.

Can A Hearing Test Make You Happier?

07/29/2015 - 20:00

In the past, it was generally accepted that as people age they became less outgoing and consequently less happy. But this is no longer the norm, and individuals who have overturned this image have led scientist to ask why some people are less outgoing and happy as they age. It turns out hearing impairment may have something to do with it.

Lyme Disease Can Cause Hearing Loss

07/23/2015 - 08:59

As warmer weather starts to increase across the country, so too does the population of ticks. This increase in ticks, specifically deer ticks, can lead to an increase in Lyme disease; which, in addition to its many other symptoms, can lead to sudden hearing loss and tinnitus.

Five Mistakes People Make When Buying Hearing Aids

07/09/2015 - 16:53

Hearing aids can help provide a better quality of life. They are shown to aid relationships and help in work and in social settings, but many people find themselves overwhelmed with the information and choices available when it comes to buying a hearing aid. Before you buy your first or next set of hearing aids, makes sure you know the five mistakes people make when buying hearing aids.

Summer Camps for Kids with Hearing Loss

06/30/2015 - 08:08

The 24,000 babies born each year with hearing loss are only a portion of the children living with hearing loss every day. Childhood hearing loss is the number one birth defect in the United States, and is also on the rise among children and adolescents. Children with hearing loss have to navigate a hearing world and there are many unique skills that they have to develop in order to assist them with this task. That's why it's so important for them to mix and mingle with other children who have hearing loss. Today, there are many options for summer camps for kids with hearing loss.

Your Ears Can Tell Time

06/25/2015 - 09:20

There are some people who don't need an alarm clock to wake up at the same time every day. They have what those of us who need an alarm call a good, "internal clock." It turns out that your ears also have a good internal clock. Your ears know when to go to sleep at night and when to wake up.

Any Degree of Hearing Loss Changes the Brain

06/18/2015 - 09:30

Studies have shown a correlation between hearing loss and dementia and Alzheimer's. The reasons for this may be related to changes in the brain. A new study has shown that even with mild hearing loss, the brain reorganizes itself to compensate.

Are You a Good Listener?

06/16/2015 - 07:55

According to some studies adults spend almost half of their waking lives listening. That doesn't necessarily mean they are hearing what is being said. It's not just someone with hearing loss who might need to learn to be actively engaged in trying to listen. So what are the keys to successful listening for those with and without hearing loss?

Seven Surprising Ways to Keep Hearing Health!

06/11/2015 - 08:42

Our hearing is an important sense that helps connect us with the world. It allows us to understand others and to be understood by others. Working to keep your hearing healthy as you age has many physical and emotional benefits. Some surprising lifestyle factors can help you to keep and even strengthen your hearing health.

The Benefit of Bugs to Hearing Aids

06/09/2015 - 08:24

Today's hearing aids are one of the most sophisticated technologies commercially available to the individual. Not only do they allow people to hear what is around them, but they help with a sense of location, direction, and balance. Still when it comes to hearing, there is much scientist can learn from insects.

Summer Care for Hearing Aids

06/04/2015 - 10:48

Summer can involve a lot of outdoor activities and traveling. This can bring up issues that hearing aid users need to consider--like traveling with hearing aids or having a hearing aid clogged with excess moisture or sand. Finding ways to protect your hearing aids this summer can help ensure that you have hassle-free fun in the sun.

Should You Learn Sign Language?

06/02/2015 - 11:01

Sign language is thought to be the fourth most used language in the United States, behind English, Spanish, and Chinese. It is considered easier to learn than most languages, is a valuable skill to add to any resume, and yet many people hesitate to learn it. Perhaps that's because sign language is thought to be something only for people with a hearing challenge or those who are related to someone with hearing problems. But there are a lot of important reasons why those with traditional hearing or even those with aided hearing should consider learning sign language.

Osteoporosis Increases Risk of Sudden Hearing Loss

05/28/2015 - 08:22

New research indicates that people who have osteoporosis have a greater chance of having an incident of sudden hearing loss. Osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones decline in strength and can be more easily broken. So what is the relationship of this condition to a sudden loss of hearing and how can someone with osteoporosis protect their hearing?

When It Comes to Pain Listen to the Ears

05/19/2015 - 09:09

It's not always easy as a parent to tell when our child's pain requires immediate attention. When it comes to making the decision to take them to the doctor or a hearing health specialist, the ears have a lot to say. Pain within the ears is not something to be dismissed or taken lightly. Any pain inside their ears could be a sign of a middle ear infection. If left untreated a middle ear infection may cause hearing loss. So when it comes to pain, it's best to listen to the ears.

Your Ears Protect You From Noise

05/12/2015 - 07:56

People who go to concerts or other noisy events can probably relate to the stuffed up feeling inside the ears after the experience. It was thought that this muffling was an early sign of a potential long term problems or hearing loss. It turns out what had previously been seen as the first stages of noise induced hearing loss may be a way the ears protect you from noise.

Sleep Apnea Can Cause Hearing Loss

05/07/2015 - 08:18

Recent studies have linked lack of sleep with hearing loss, and now new studies support the theory that interrupted sleep and hearing problems are related. A study involving nearly 14,000 individuals has found that people with untreated sleep apnea were more likely to have hearing loss.

Top Five Bad Habits of People with Hearing Loss

05/05/2015 - 08:26

There are ways people with untreated hearing loss compensate for their deficit. Not all of them are useful. In fact, some of these habits can lead to significant communicative difficulties, social isolation, frustration, depression, and delays in treatment. So what are the top five bad habits of people with untreated hearing loss?

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month!

04/30/2015 - 08:18

From the first moments of life, people strive to communicate. It's how humans express likes, dislikes, joys, thoughts, and worries. Communication makes life easier. People who have problems with hearing and speech not only have a hard time relating their inner lives to others, but communicating simple needs--like where they want the taxi driver to take them. Better Hearing and Speech Month is a public health campaign that has focused awareness on the problems and solutions of speech, language, and hearing since 1927.

Could Better Hearing Delay Dementia?

04/28/2015 - 08:50

It’s been reported for some time that hearing loss can impact brain function. Denying sound to parts of the brain that need sound stimulation to function allows those parts to atrophy. Hearing loss has therefore been linked with Alzheimer's and dementia. So does using hearing technologies that deliver sound and stimulate those regions decrease the likelihood of dementia? The tentative answer appears to be yes.

How to Tell if Your Child has Hearing Loss

04/23/2015 - 12:43

Without the proper facts, it’s not always easy to determine if a child or student has hearing loss and would do better in school, socially, and emotionally by using a hearing aid. Familiarity with the signs of childhood hearing loss is important, because hearing loss can be dismissed as normal childhood behavior and often the child is unaware he or she has a problem.

Your Ears and Balance

04/21/2015 - 08:13

The hair cells inside your ears change sound to a language the brain can understand. This is how the brain not only identifies a sound, but also can tell how far away the sound is and where it is coming from. In other words, our eyes aren't the only sense to aid in spacial recognition. That's one of the reasons why people who have problems with hearing might also have balance or location issues.

Training Your Ears to Hear Better

04/14/2015 - 09:11

For those with hearing loss, trying to hear others speaking in a difficult listening situations is anything but a game. And yet, playing a game might just hold the answer for clearer hearing.

Vertigo, Balance, and Your Ears

04/07/2015 - 08:47

Balance is a complicated process involving different parts of the ear working in conjunction. The three main divisions of the ear, -outer, middle, and inner, work with the brain to decipher signals and determine the position of the head. Still, one of the most crucial roles in balance is played within the inner ear's vestibular system.

Hearing Equality, Technology, and Consumerism

04/02/2015 - 07:51

As more and more people begin to experience changes in their hearing, the marketplace slowly adapts around them. Not only are there a growing number of hearing inclusive restaurants and theaters, but technology now provides some of the greatest benefits to those with hearing loss or impairment.

Virus Causes Hearing Loss in Children

03/30/2015 - 20:00

A common global virus, experienced by up to 80% of the population, called Cytomegalovirus (CMV) can cause hearing loss among children. The CMV virus is related to chicken pox and mononucleosis. In addition to hearing loss the virus can cause other serious health problems.

NYPD Lifts Hearing Aid Ban

03/26/2015 - 08:35

Hearing loss among police officers and military people who use weapons in their line of work is common. It make sense. Hearing loss can come from exposure to loud noises. These loud sounds destroy the delicate hair cells of the inner ear. Today there are proven ways to compensate for this deficit through the use of sophisticated hearing technologies. So why would any NYPD officer be banned from using a hearing aid while serving?

The Hearing Brain Connection

03/24/2015 - 10:36

Despite popular perception, hearing isn't something that happens only in your ears. Your brain plays a huge part in decoding sounds. In fact, when sounds are not present parts of the brain can stop working. That's why simply increasing sounds--which is what hearing aids used to do--didn't fully solve the problem of helping people to recognize speech, especially with a noisy background. So what do today's hearing aids do differently?

Can Your Ears Really Show Your Age?

03/16/2015 - 20:00

Hearing loss isn't always obvious. A lot of people dismiss the symptoms thinking that they're too young to have hearing loss. But is your chronological age an accurate way to determine how well your ears work?

Playing Sports with Hearing Loss

03/10/2015 - 09:56

In addition to the common risks people who play sports face, children and adults with hearing loss, like football star Derrick Coleman, face unusual challenges in being athletic. These challenges include communication, safety, and keeping hearing instruments from being damaged.

A Protein That Protects Your Hearing

03/03/2015 - 10:27

The ears and their primary function of hearing have long held mysteries that scientist cannot unravel. As scientist delve into these mysteries they are discovering some surprising and beneficial things about hearing. One of the newest discoveries is that a protein helps protect your ears from hearing loss.

Violent Sports May Cause Hearing Loss

02/24/2015 - 11:38

Hearing loss is known to occur from age, trauma, loud music, and now it may also be a condition associated with aggressive sports. A recent investigation into hearing loss has revealed anecdotal evidence that supports the claim that violent sports that cause head trauma, specifically concussions, may lead to a greater incidence of hearing loss and tinnitus.

Understanding Auditory Processing Disorder

02/12/2015 - 09:44

Children who have difficulty with learning and language may have an auditory processing disorder (APD) or what is also called a central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). An APD prohibits children from understanding and processing language in the average or expected way and is often compared to having dyslexia of the ear. There are specific tests and emerging treatments to help people with central auditory processing disorders.

Lowering Tinnitus Sounds

02/10/2015 - 10:31

Tinnitus is the presence of buzzing, whistling, humming, or beeping sounds in the ears that have no discernible source. People often refer to it as phantom noises. The sounds are very real to the person hearing them and can be both agitating and disheartening. There is no known cure for tinnitus, but new research has shed light on the condition and on possible ways to reduce the perception of noise level.

Finding Greater Satisfaction with Your Hearing Aids!

02/05/2015 - 10:00

Many people with hearing loss who get hearing aids find they are suddenly overwhelmed with sound. They quickly tire from trying to hear too much for too long. They become dissatisfied with their hearing aids and stop using them. Now a new study has shown a little support, slowing down, and realistic expectations can make all the difference in hearing aid satisfaction.

The Effects of Loud Noise on the Ear

01/27/2015 - 09:47

For a long time government and doctors have rightly warned about the dangers of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). NIHL is caused when the delicate hairs within the inner ear are damaged by sound, so sound measurements called decibels are used to determine if certain sounds will damage hearing. As it turns out, there may be an even more delicate part of the ear that needs to be protected and the standards previously in effect to guard against NIHL may need to be reevaluated.

The Difference Between an Audiologist and an ENT

01/22/2015 - 14:39

Hearing is a complex sense with lots of different causes and treatments. Sometimes it’s difficult for patients to determine what type of hearing health professional can best handle their hearing problem. This educational blogpost explains the difference between an audiologist and an ENT and provides different examples to help you determine when it’s more appropriate to see one or the other.

Eating Fish May Help Prevent Hearing Loss

01/15/2015 - 09:49

Hearing loss was once considered a normal part of aging, but that's no longer the case. Not only are there ways to protect ears from noise induced hearing loss, studies indicate that changes in diet can protect hearing longterm. In fact, a recent study indicates consumption of fish twice a week by women can reduce the risk of hearing loss.

A Vitamin That Prevents Hearing Loss?

01/08/2015 - 10:38

There is a potential new treatment for hearing loss due to noise and aging. Though researchers have known for some time that certain vitamins and a healthier lifestyle can keep hearing health, they have now discovered that the vitamin B3 might play a role in reversing damage to hearing or preventing it altogether.

Do Your Ears Sleep?

01/06/2015 - 10:27

The ears and their primary function of hearing have long held mysteries that scientist cannot unravel. As scientist delve into these mysteries they are discovering some surprising and beneficial things about hearing. One of the newest discoveries is that your ears know what time of day it is and adjust their abilities accordingly.

A New Year, A Better You!

12/30/2014 - 09:22

The start of a new year is the perfect opportunity to take stock of your life and to recognize areas that might be keeping you from being your best self. Questions like, "When was the last time I had my hearing checked?" can help to uncover ignored or potential issues. Hearing loss, even mild hearing loss, may have unknowingly crept into your life. Now is the time to treat it. Treating hearing loss has been shown to improve life, both emotional and physical.

Presents for People with Hearing Loss

12/23/2014 - 08:30

Shopping for people you love this time of year can be difficult. It can be even more trying if the person you love has hearing loss and hearing aids that make things like even buying a hat or gloves something you need to consider. People Hearing Better has compiled a list of items that you can give people who have hearing loss and hearing aids.

Hearing Loss Linked to Obesity in Adolescents

12/15/2014 - 20:00

There has been a thirty percent increase in hearing loss among adolescents over the past twenty years. Though the majority of the blame has fallen on the widespread use of MP3 players and earbuds, there now appears to be a new suspect in this dramatic increase in hearing loss among adolescents—obesity.

Antioxidants Could Prevent Hearing Loss

12/11/2014 - 08:47

The percentage of antioxidants present in what people eat can have long-term consequences on protecting hearing. A recent study reported has shown that diets high in Vitamin E, C, Beta Carotene, and Magnesium can not only reduce the effects of loud sounds when taken before and after exposure to loud noise, but can help reduce hearing loss long term.

Blockage Within the Middle Ear

12/08/2014 - 20:00

Within the middle ear is a tube called the Eustachian tube. It regulates pressure in the air but can be blocked or have problems. When flying if you've ever swallowed or yawned to contract muscles in your throat and "pop" your ears, you were doing so to relieve pressure in that tube. This doesn't always work. And the fullness or the feeling that you can't hear properly can be a sign of a more serious blockage within the middle ear.

NSAIDS and Hearing Loss

12/03/2014 - 20:00

Taking Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) to relieve a headache or back pain is common, but over use of these medications can have long term side effects. It has now been shown that these common medications can harm hearing in both men and women.

Hearing Loss Symptoms

12/01/2014 - 20:00

Hearing loss isn't always obvious. The lack of awareness around signs of hearing loss means a television turned up to high levels is more likely to be defined as a bad habit or rudeness instead of a hearing loss symptom. This happens at home, work, and in school--where a teacher may misunderstand why a child asks to have something repeated. So what are the symptoms of hearing loss and how can you recognize them?

Identifying Hearing Loss in At Risk Teens

11/24/2014 - 22:35

Hearing is among the one aspect of health that has the greatest impact on whole body health. It affects both mental and physical aspects. And, yet, there is little attention paid to this expanding condition, school hearing tests are inadequate, and routine hearing tests are often not sought out by parents, especially parents of older children.

Are Loud Sounds Addicting?

11/20/2014 - 09:34

Just as the stars in the night sky are no longer clear on most places on Earth, quiet is no longer quiet. According to the BBC, researchers have learned that, "What we think of as pleasant background setting our forebears would consider exceptionally voluble." So what is all this silence invading noise doing to us? And can loud sounds become addicting?

The Hidden Danger of Children's Toys

11/18/2014 - 09:40

Did you know that some children's toys create sounds loud enough to damage your child's hearing? It's true. In fact, some sounds from toys are greater than the siren from an ambulance. There are ways to recognize sounds that are too loud. And there are also ways for parents to protect and care for their children's hearing.

Restoring Lost Hearing

11/13/2014 - 08:59

For years researchers have sought to cure hearing loss. In the past, research focused on restoring hair cells, and though this research remains promising, today surprising observations have introduced a new avenue of exploration.

Hearing Colors: Using Sound to Create Colors

11/11/2014 - 09:35

Sight and sound are tied together in many ways. Now, Neil Harbisson, an artist who was born color blind has taken that to a new level, creating a technology that allows him to hear the colors he cannot see.

Is Your Favorite Sporting Event Too Loud?

11/06/2014 - 09:24

Noise induced hearing loss isn't only something that hard-rocking concert attendees need to worry about. It's also something that your average sports fan should take into consideration.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Alta Hearing Devices

11/03/2014 - 20:00

Once upon a time listening devices hired the volume on all sounds, so everything became louder. Scientist quickly learned this wasn't a great idea when someone only needed to hear certain sounds, like someone talking at your restaurant table and not at the table next to you. Today's listening devices are more precise, focused, and directional, and have made great strides in producing what hearing device manufacturer Oticon calls, "personally tailored sound." Among the listening devices that achieve this high standard is Oticon's Alta line.

A Vaccine to Prevent Childhood Ear Infections

10/30/2014 - 08:20

Acute otitis media or middle ear infections are a leading cause of stress, trauma, and expense in early childhood. In addition, acute otitis media can lead to hearing loss causing children to have delays with their speech and language development and to miss key aspects of their schooling. Now, a vaccine gives hope that acute childhood ear infections, those requiring antibiotics, might be a thing of the past.

Hearing Loss: Coping with Denial

10/23/2014 - 17:41

Coping with the denial of a loved one's hearing loss can be frustrating. So what can a family member, friend, or spouse who recognizes the hearing loss long before their loved one do to convince them they need to see an audiologist?

iPhone: The Next Big Thing in Hearing Aids

10/21/2014 - 08:41

The recent release of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has created a fury amongst consumers attracted by the apps, camera, and style. People with hearing loss are no exception. That's why hearing aid manufacturers like Oticon and ReSound are going out of their way to create hearing aid products that have iPhone connectivity.

How Hearing Helps People See Better

10/16/2014 - 08:12

Sound is translated by hair cells into the language of the ears. This language gives the brain an adequate interpretation of the noise and its source but also of the spatial environment. In other words, our ears are helpful in spatial recognition, something that many people consider to be the job of the eyes. This defining of the spatial environment is one of the reasons people who have problems with hearing might also have balance or location issues.

Gene Therapy on Mice for Human Hearing Loss

10/14/2014 - 08:00

Severe hearing loss is experienced by a majority of people over 65 and is also the number one birth defect. Researchers have found that a majority of this hearing loss is due to a genetic mutation That's why researchers are seeking a way to prevent hearing loss by using mice to discover the benefits of targeted gene therapy.

Students with Learning Disability Likely Have Hearing Loss

10/09/2014 - 08:06

International research has shown that forty percent of students with learning disabilities are likely to have hearing loss. Unfortunately, these students are also unlikely to recognize the condition, compounding a problem and creating a lifetime of difficulty.

Can You Hear Me Now? Roger That!

10/07/2014 - 08:35

In Staefa, Switzerland a group of engineers and audiologists has spent the last seven years developing an astounding new technology for Phonak. This advanced technology, with the unassuming name Roger, allows people with hearing loss to hear as well or better than those without hearing loss in some of the most challenging listening environments. In other words, this new technology finally and triumphantly provides the solution for the long-time problem of people with hearing loss--how to hear in background noise.

How to Prevent Hearing Loss

10/02/2014 - 10:33

Despite the rapid growth of hearing loss—which is now the third most common health problem in the United States, there is little national attention. Many people don’t understand how to avoid or prevent damage to hearing, how to recognize subtle changes in hearing, or even how often to see an audiologist. Below are tips for three key areas, prevention, symptoms, and nutrition that everyone should be made aware of when it comes to hearing loss.

Hearing Healthcare for Remote Areas

09/25/2014 - 21:08

Approximately 12,000 babies each year are born with some form of permanent hearing loss. It is the most common birth anomaly in America. Children with hearing loss who have follow up care and receive treatment and intervention can achieve developmental milestones in accord with hearing children. But what if a child cannot receive that care because a parent lives far from services and cannot afford the days off of work necessary to travel and receive treatment? Today's technology might have a solution.

Hearing Loss Statistics

09/23/2014 - 13:54

As new insights into how we hear continues to make news, the delicate and complex parts of our ears take on greater significance. Recent discoveries show numerous ways hearing can be compromised and more detailed hearing loss statistics indicate that hearing loss is common amongst the general population.

The Mystery of Hidden Hearing Loss

09/18/2014 - 07:51

For years, hearing health professionals have advised patients to guard the hair cells within the inner ear and have warned of sounds that can damage these cells. Until now, no one has understood that along with protecting these hair cells there are even more delicate areas of the ear known as nerve fibers and these areas can be more easily damaged. In fact, up until now that damage and the level of hearing loss occurring within these fibers has remained hidden.

Hearing Health and Education

09/15/2014 - 20:00

The Mozart Effect is a much touted finding that showed listening to Mozart could make people and specifically children and infants smarter. Now new research suggests that listening to music, not just Mozart, can have more to do with hearing health and education than previously thought. The idea that music can improve hearing and education was shown by testing students with hearing deficits and learning disabilities. It turns out, if listening is a skill, improving that skill can greatly enhance a child's attention and ability to discern sounds, resulting in better education.

What Type of Hearing Aid is Right for You?

09/11/2014 - 10:02

Most people are familiar with the styles and options for glasses, contacts, and even LASIK surgery, but the choices available for hearing aids aren't as widely known. Since treating hearing loss sooner rather than later is shown to improve mental and physical health as we age, it's important to know what kinds of hearing aids are best suited for your needs.

Mumbler, Low-Talker, or Hearing Loss?

09/09/2014 - 07:48

There are instances in life where everyone's hearing is going to be inadequate. For example, if you're at a loud venue, concert or club, have a bad cold, or are engaging with someone who might not talk loud enough to be heard. So how can you tell if your trouble with hearing is due to a mumbler, low-talker, or is something more serious like hearing loss?

Epidemic Hearing Loss Among Young

09/04/2014 - 13:38

One out of five U.S. teens has some form of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Although hearing loss is on the rise among children and adolescents, a child who can't hear often goes unrecognized. That's because the symptoms of childhood hearing loss mimic normal childhood behaviors—like trouble paying attention or not responding when called upon. Becoming familiar with why children don't hear is one of the best ways to recognize, treat, and even help prevent childhood hearing loss.

Identifying Students with Hearing Problems

09/02/2014 - 07:46

As students head back to school with renewed energy for the new year, it's important that parents and teachers to learn to recognize when a child's problems with learning are really the result of hearing loss. Childhood hearing loss isn’t always easy to recognize, but there are ways parents and teachers can determine if a child has hearing loss.

Hearing Aids and Your Active Lifestyle

08/26/2014 - 07:53

Modern hearing aids are designed to be water and dust resistance and to better keep up with the active lifestyle of today's hearing aid users. That means that sports that might have been off limits because of damage to hearing aids can now be played. In addition, there are a few tips people can use to make it easier to play sports while protecting hearing aids.

Your Aging Ears

08/21/2014 - 07:34

Different lifestyle factors can lead to premature aging of the ear. In addition to modern technologies like earbuds and MP3 players, there are medications that people take, dietary considerations, where your work, and other health conditions like diabetes that can affect how your ears age. Knowing all of these can help you determine hold old your ears are and keep your ears from aging prematurely.

Hearing Conservation in the Workplace

08/18/2014 - 20:00

According to the Center for Disease Control, “30 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job and an additional nine million are at risk for hearing loss from other agents such as solvents and metals.” Hearing loss in the workplace is the number one reported work related injury in the United States. That's why National Hearing Conservation Association has developed guidelines to help workers recognize the dangers of noise at work.

Help with Hearing Aid Use

08/14/2014 - 09:11

It takes time to get comfortable with using a hearing aid to hear again, especially when people aren't used to the higher level of sound. When people lose their hearing they become conditioned to silence, so everyday sounds, returned through the use of a hearing aid, can seem too loud, even overwhelming. Getting used to hearing aids means remembering a few simple rules.

Balance, Vertigo, and Hearing Health

08/12/2014 - 08:44

Equilibrium or the center of balance is located within the inner ear. Issues within the ear, as in excess fluid, can cause problems with balance and result in vertigo. Balance, vertigo, and unexpected falls have been tied to hearing loss, even mild hearing loss. So what are the different ways that hearing and balance interact?

Bullies and Hearing Differences

08/07/2014 - 13:17

Bullying can cause a loss of interest in education, feelings of isolation, and low self-esteem. As difficult and unacceptable as this behavior is for a hearing student, it can be worse for a student who already has to bridge a barrier with the world of education, a child with hearing loss.

Improving Hearing Aid Sound

08/04/2014 - 20:00

Getting the best sound from a hearing aid while diminishing background noise and meeting the needs of individual hearing loss is a complicated problem with new solutions. Manufacturers of hearing aids are using a variety of scientific research to come up with incredible and personalized solutions. Today's hearing aids have targeted the thus far unattainable, as hearing aid manufacturer Widex has dubbed it, "personally tailored sound."

Hearing Loss Help and Inspiration Online

07/29/2014 - 08:02

The Internet, fueled by the ingenuity of its users, keeps finding ways to make life for people with physical differences easier and more connected. When it comes to hearing loss that connection can do a lot to bridge gaps. From Ted Talks that inspire and websites that connect, here are a few of the Internet's offerings for people with hearing loss.

Tips for Cruise Travel With Hearing Loss

07/22/2014 - 07:49

Cruises provide a comfortable way to visit a variety of places in a relatively short time. They can be great fun for people with or without hearing loss. If you have hearing loss and are planning a cruise, we have a few helpful tips that can make your cruise more enjoyable and hassle free.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Shows Promise in Treating Tinnitus

07/17/2014 - 17:36

Tinnitus impacts over 12 million Americans, nearly two million of which classify the phantom whistling, buzzing, or whining sounds as debilitating. No cure exists for tinnitus, but new treatments are being discovered that show huge promise. One of these treatments is vagus nerve stimulation (VNS).

Hearing Health Contributes to Happiness as People Age

07/14/2014 - 20:00

The evidence surrounding the importance of good hearing health continues to rise. Recent research indicates that personality changes that sometimes come with aging are increased among people who have issues with their hearing.

Hearing Aids for High Frequency Hearing Loss

07/07/2014 - 20:00

Fitting hearing aids for any hearing loss is a scientific process that can take an audiologist a few visits and adjustments to get correct. It can be even more difficult if the patient has high frequency hearing loss. But with the latest technology and the hope of frequency lowering hearing aids patients with high frequency hearing loss may have better options.

Summer Activities Can Damage Hearing

07/03/2014 - 08:04

Summer activities like concerts, swimming and diving--especially in colder waters, fireworks, and outdoor yard work like mowing can cause damage to the ears and your hearing. In order to protect your ears from permanent damage caused by summer activities, it is important to know what activities to avoid, when to wear protective earplugs, and when to see an audiologist.

Today's Hearing Aids

06/30/2014 - 20:00

Hearing aid technology continues to advance. In the last quarter century increased knowledge about the nuanced ranges of hearing have allowed for extraordinary acoustical evolutions in the auditory health field, making today’s hearing aids one of the most sophisticated technologies available.

Reaching Teens with Hearing Loss

06/25/2014 - 20:00

A thirty percent rise in hearing loss among teens in the last fifteen years has led to campaigns to raise awareness about noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). It has also led to a response from hearing aid manufacturer Phonak to reach out to those teens who've already experienced hearing loss in order to stress to them the difference hearing instruments can make in their lives.

Passive Smokers at Risk for Hearing Loss

06/19/2014 - 07:48

Hearing is dependent on the small hair cells within the ear. Exposure to toxins that destroy these hair cells could damage hearing. Thus a study indicating smokers are more likely to develop hearing loss is not surprising. However, the study also found that passive smokers had an increased risk of developing hearing loss.

Tips for Playing Sports with Hearing Aids

06/17/2014 - 08:18

Hearing Test for Newborns

06/12/2014 - 08:27

Hearing loss is the number one birth defect in newborns. Until a short while ago, routine test for hearing weren't given to newborns at birth. This meant that a child's hearing loss could go undetected for a considerable time. Not recognizing hearing loss in a newborn meant that their language and speech development was delayed. Today, there are standard test preformed on newborns before they leave the hospital.

Swimmer's Ear and Hearing Loss

06/03/2014 - 07:38

As the warmer weather eases into summer, people around the country are heading to the pool, the lake, or the beach. Swimming is great exercise and a wonderful sport, but exposure to water for longer periods of time can lead to swimmers ear, an infection of the outer ear and ear canal or what is medically referred to as otitis externa.

Amazing Benefits of Good Hearing

05/22/2014 - 06:52

Your hearing is amazing! Think about all the things that go into making sure you are able to pick up subtle fluctuations in sound every day. Your ears identify frequency, pitch, location, and many other details instantly. That’s because all the delicate parts of your ears, and your brain, work together to bring you the wonderful and complex sounds that make up your environment. Not surprisingly, studies show taking care of your hearing has a greater impact on your overall health than previously understood.

The Good News About Hearing Aids

05/14/2014 - 20:00

Often for those with hearing loss there doesn't seem to be a lot of good news. Thanks to changes in today's technology the good news is pouring in. Today, hearing aid users report higher satisfaction and happier lives. In fact, global studies show people who wear hearing aids are more active, social, and happy than those who don't. And that's just the tip of the good news iceberg when it comes to hearing aids.

May is Better Hearing & Speech Month!

05/08/2014 - 07:04

Since 1927 the public health campaign that is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) has focused awareness on the problems and solutions of speech, language, and hearing. Difficulty with communication affects every aspect of a person's life-- relationships, work, and everyday chores. That’s why it's so important to have a month dedicated to making people aware of hearing loss, its symptoms, and solutions.

Hearing Loss Can be Caused by Medication

05/06/2014 - 07:39

Side effects of medication aren’t uncommon, but many people are unaware of what ototoxicity is or that there are medications that can cause hearing loss. Hearing loss that is brought on as a side effect of medications is called Ototoxicity. Ototoxicity is typically bilateral—in both ears, but can damage hearing unilaterally in one ear. Hearing loss caused by medications can be temporary and curable or incurable and permanent.

How the Ear Tells Time

04/30/2014 - 20:00

The ears and their primary function of hearing have long held mysteries that scientist cannot unravel. As scientist delve into these mysteries they are discovering some surprising and beneficial things about hearing. One of the newest discoveries is that your ears know what time of day it is and adjust their abilities accordingly.

2014 Hearing Aids Better Than Just A Few Years Ago

04/29/2014 - 08:10

In the past, hearing technologies were mocked for their clunky appearance and limited functions, but that all changed with advances in technology and greater understanding on how hearing works. Today's 2014 hearing technology has improved so greatly that it leaves even the technology of a few years ago in the dust.

Sleepless Nights Can Damage Hearing

04/24/2014 - 07:39

Sleepless nights or lack of sleep has long been known to contribute to heart health problems and emotional problems, but it is now thought to also contribute to issues with hearing. So how can a sleepless night damage hearing?

Noise Induced Hearing Loss Rising in Kids

04/21/2014 - 20:31

Over five million children have hearing changes that are the result of noise. Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the top contributors to hearing loss, but for many years adults have had more incidents than children. That is slowly changing. There has been an increase of noise induced hearing loss among kids. This increase is due to noise exposure that is a result of many things including technology, loud toys, and the use of in the ear headphones.

Summer Camps for Kids with Hearing Loss

04/17/2014 - 14:56

Your Ears Help You Think

04/15/2014 - 09:31

For a long time the ears have gotten short changed. They decode the environment in a hundred different subtle ways and the most attention we give to them is a Q-tip. But it turns out that’s a mistake. That’s because, what’s between your ears depends a lot on your ears. Your ears help you think.

The Truth About Hearing Loss

04/10/2014 - 07:43

In the not too distant past, hearing wasn't understood to be as important to whole body health as it is today. That means that a lot of people grew up neglecting this important sense instead of having routine visit for hearing as most do with eye care. Despite the recent studies that show how critical hearing well is to overall health, there are still a series of untruths that persist about the importance of treating hearing loss.

Changes in Hearing Impact Whole Body Health

04/08/2014 - 07:31

Healthy hearing continues to be shown to have a vast impact on whole body health, both mental and physical. In the past, studies have tied changes in hearing to an increased likelihood of falls and mental decline. The most recent study supports a growing body of knowledge that indicates a shift in hearing is also tied to a decline in overall health and even with an increase in length of illnesses and visits to the hospital.

Childhood Hearing Affects Brain Development

04/02/2014 - 22:01

Maintaining good hearing in childhood helps support developmental processes in the brain. A new study shows temporary hearing fluctuations during a child’s critical development periods may permanently affect the brain’s ability to interpret sound even after hearing returns to common levels.

Hearing Aid Reviews: New ReSound Technology

03/27/2014 - 16:36

Hearing aid manufacturer ReSound has developed a hearing aid that couples with today's technology in order to, "help people rediscover hearing." Their attempt to not only make the life of someone with hearing loss easier, but to merge hearing technology with the profound new technologies available today comes in the form of ReSound’s LiNX.

Discovering Hearing Loss

03/25/2014 - 07:37

Although tens of millions of Americans have some form of hearing loss, discovering hearing loss is still a widely misunderstood experience. Unlike other physical changes in a person’s body, the changes that occur with hearing loss can be subtle. So subtle that discovering hearing loss can be compared to noticing a loss of something that you weren’t even aware was missing.

Understanding Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss

03/20/2014 - 14:32

The severity of hearing loss depends on its degree. A degree of hearing loss is determined by the range of decibels or the softest sounds that a person can hear. Mild to moderate hearing losses are very common. Seventy percent of hearing aid users have hearing loss in the mild to moderate range

Is Hearing Loss Hereditary?

03/18/2014 - 10:03

Hearing loss can be inherited from one or both parents who may or may not experience hearing loss themselves. Estimates predict nearly half of those with hearing loss have genetically inherited it. Genetic hearing loss can be present at birth or can show up later in life in one or both ears. Hearing loss that is inherited varies in severity from total hearing loss, deafness, to mild hearing loss and can be associated with other physical conditions.

The Benefits of In-The-Ear Hearing Aids

03/13/2014 - 08:34

In-the-Ear (ITE) hearing aids are sophisticated instruments uniquely fitted to the individual. This customization means that they can vary greatly physically and in their functional features. Understanding the In-The-Ear hearing aid requires looking at their basic styles, the available features and functions, and examining the pros and cons of this miniature technology.

One in Five Americans Have Hearing Loss

03/11/2014 - 15:34

Research shows hearing loss affects one in five Americans and is the most common condition after arthritis and heart disease. A similar study by the National Council on Aging found that an estimated 19 million adults from age 45 and up have hearing loss and though fewer than half use hearing aids, that statistic is changing as old hearing aid myths are debunked.

Causes of Childhood Hearing Loss

03/06/2014 - 10:29

Although hearing loss is on the rise among children and adolescents, a child who can't hear often goes unrecognized. That's because the symptoms of childhood hearing loss mimic normal childhood behaviors—like trouble paying attention or not responding when called upon. Becoming familiar with why children don't hear is one of the best ways to recognize, treat, and even help prevent childhood hearing loss.

Symptoms of Hearing Loss

03/04/2014 - 09:00

Hearing loss isn't always obvious. In fact, many people often dismiss the symptoms of hearing loss. The lack of awareness around signs of hearing loss means a television turned up to high levels is more likely to be defined as a bad habit or rudeness instead of a hearing loss symptom. This happens at home, work, and in school--where a teacher may misunderstand why a child asks to have something repeated. So what are the symptoms of hearing loss and how can you recognize them?

Hearing Health Important for Whole Body Health

02/27/2014 - 08:27

Multiple studies confirm the absolute importance of good hearing health in promoting whole body health, emotional and physical, as people age. The significant findings of these studies suggest, just as the standards for eye care and dentistry have become routine in America, so too should hearing health.

Hearing Aids and Safety

02/25/2014 - 08:54

It’s well known that hearing aids promote a better quality of life. Not only do they help with communication, they ease social awkwardness, inspire interaction, and contribute to physical health throughout the body. There is another, lesser known, benefit to using hearing aids—the increased safety that comes from awareness of one’s environment.

Pediatric Hearing Aids Review

02/20/2014 - 08:55

Today's advanced technology has made pediatric hearing aids both comfortable and stylish. Many pediatric hearing aids come in a series of different designs and colors. The best models of pediatric hearing aids are those that have an ease of use, future flexibility, and are both dependable and safe.

New Technology for Assistive Listening Devices

02/18/2014 - 14:02

For someone with hearing loss, person-to-person communication can sometimes be difficult due to poor room acoustics, a greater distance to the speaker, and background noise. In these situations, hiring the volume isn’t going to make things clearer. Today’s advances in assistive listening devices (ALD) have lead to a revolution of products that can help filter unwanted noise and deliver conversation directly from person to person.

Upgrading Hearing Aids for Better Hearing

02/13/2014 - 08:53

Tips For Purchasing Hearing Aids

02/11/2014 - 08:36

Hearing aids can help provide a better quality of life. They are shown to aid relationships and help in work and in social settings, but before you buy your first or next set of hearing aids, make sure you know these five tips.

Lack of Sleep Can Lead to Hearing Loss

02/04/2014 - 08:34

Lack of sleep has long been known to contribute to heart health problems and emotional problems, but it is now thought to also contribute to issues with hearing. So how does a lack of sleep lead to hearing loss?

Hearing Aids for Unilateral Hearing Loss

01/30/2014 - 08:44

Hearing bilaterally, with both ears, helps people automatically determine distance to the sound, where a noise is coming from, and gives a greater sense of balance. When a person suffers from unilateral hearing loss, judging distance and noise location becomes a challenge that can compromise balance. People with unilateral hearing loss, learn to angle their head toward the sound to compensate, but today's hearing aids have a better solution. It's called Contralateral Routing of Signal (CROS).

The Amazing Science of Hearing Aid Technology

01/23/2014 - 08:53

Hearing aid technology isn’t merely amplifying sound; it’s trying to recreate natural hearing. Our natural hearing automatically sorts out speech from background noise, but people with hearing loss have a harder time honing in on these sounds. That’s why researchers have gone to amazing lengths to develop hearing aids that mimic natural hearing in noisy situations. One of these extreme scientific measures is taking place in a quiet corner of Binghampton University.

When Should I Have My Hearing Checked?

01/21/2014 - 08:20

Despite the rapid growth of hearing loss—which is now the third most common health condition in the United States--there is little national attention to good hearing. Many people don’t understand how to avoid or prevent damage to hearing, how to recognize subtle changes in hearing, or even when to see an audiologist.

The Hidden Benefits of Ears and Hearing!

01/16/2014 - 17:52

Speech, Language, and Hearing Loss

01/14/2014 - 08:23

The 24,000 babies born each year with hearing loss are only a portion of the children living with hearing loss every day. Childhood hearing loss is the number one birth defect in the United States, and is also on the rise among children and adolescents. Children with hearing loss often require help from professionals in order to acquire language at the same pace as their hearing peers. In these situations, parents might want to consider if their child needs to see a speech-language therapist.

Hearing Loss and the Risk of Unexpected Falls

01/09/2014 - 09:21

In a recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins and funded by the National Institute of Health, untreated hearing loss has been linked to an increased likelihood of falls. Even people with mild hearing loss were shown to have a greater chance of losing their balance. This correlation has surprised some people and confused others. So how is hearing related to balance and what are some of the reasons for the greater likelihood of falling because of hearing loss?

Insurance for Hearing Health

01/07/2014 - 18:55

Often people are confused or mislead about what their insurance will cover when it comes to hearing aids. This confusion can lead them to hold off on treating hearing loss. Untreated hearing loss has implications on mental and physical health and treatment should not be delayed. Though any initial outlay is compensated for in long term benefits of hearing aids, that doesn't mean you need to take on the entire expense. Understanding insurance policies can help individuals find unused coverage for their hearing health care.

Childhood Hearing Loss Misconception

01/02/2014 - 12:27

Hearing loss is sometimes misdiagnosed or misunderstood by professionals and teachers. Often this misunderstanding can result in individuals with hearing loss being diagnosed with a developmental disability. This happened to April Uncapher. She might have been doomed to never recognize her potential, if it wasn't for her mother's refusal to accept the doctor’s diagnoses.

Hearing Loss Denial Uncovered

12/31/2013 - 12:47

The family member, friend, or spouse who recognize the hearing loss, long before their loved one, can have a hard time convincing them they need to see an audiologist. Hearing loss symptoms aren’t always obvious. Issues like depression, anxiety, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and paranoia increase dramatically with hearing loss but aren’t typically associated with it. If you're dealing with a loved one who has hearing loss

Living with Hearing Loss

12/26/2013 - 09:08

Living with hearing loss creates many stresses. It can affect mood, interest in life, education, and job performance. It not only puts up barriers that must be navigated on a daily basis, but it requires forethought. Living with hearing loss means adapting to changes in hearing and taking positive steps to overcome limitations.

Loud Toys and Childhood Hearing Loss

12/24/2013 - 11:27

Your child’s blaringly loud toy might be more than just aggravating. It could harm their hearing. Unlike other safety aspects for toys, sound level is not regulated in the United States and manufacturers are not pressured to follow even basic standards when it comes to noise. In fact, twenty of this year's toys tested by Sight and Sound Hearing Association can cause hearing loss within fifteen minutes.

New Insight into Preventing Hearing Loss

12/17/2013 - 08:23

Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School researchers have discovered a gene in mice that can prevent age related hearing loss and noise induced hearing loss. This exciting study heralds hope that not only will their one day be a way to prevent these types of hearing loss in humans, but that there may also be a way to correct them.

Hearing Loss and Obesity

12/12/2013 - 08:31

It is now more widely known that hearing loss can occur because of lack of blood flow to the delicate hairs within the inner ear. Hearing loss due to diabetes and Meniere’s are both conditions where lack of blood flow is thought to be to blame. Now, researchers have found that obesity—another condition where a lack of blood flow could be a factor—creates a higher risk of hearing loss.

New Meniere’s Discovery and Treatment

12/10/2013 - 08:14

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can leave those afflicted battling vertigo so severe they can end up wheelchair bound. Meniere’s disease has long been considered a mysterious condition, as the exact reasons for it were unknown. Now, new research is leading to answers and hopes for better treatment.

Is Your Phone Damaging Your Ears?

12/03/2013 - 08:12

Recently a member of the People Hearing Better staff had been listening to an Audible book on their phone when their phone informed them that they had been listening with earbuds at an unacceptable level. It then said that--for this person's own good--it was lowering the sound. All freaky references to the singularity aside, this really surprised our staffer. Not just because this person had no idea their phone cared so much, but because this person had not thought the phone sound was that high. But, then again, how was this person to know how high they had the phone? The little line on the phone screen doesn't tell deciBel levels. So how can anyone tell if our technology is hurting our ears?

Best Food for Hearing Health

11/26/2013 - 08:54

Recent studies have revealed that maintaining good hearing is one of the most important things people can do to stay healthy as they age. Hearing loss can lead to depression as well as other mental and physical conditions. It's important to maintain good hearing. One of the first steps is to be evaluated by a hearing health professional and to treat any hearing loss, but few people realize the food they eat can support and maintain good hearing.

What Is Hyperacusis?

11/21/2013 - 08:33

Hyperacusis is an unusual and reactive sensitivity to various frequencies of sound. It can occur, just like Hearing loss, after sudden or prolonged exposure to loud sounds. Unlike Noise Induced Hearing Loss, however, it is thought that the cause of this sound sensitivity lies not in the delicate hairs within the inner ear, but the more complex system of auditory processing within the brain.

How to Save Money on Hearing Aids

11/19/2013 - 09:06

Hearing aids are an important investment. They enable better communication and can make life easier and more enjoyable, but where are the best deals in hearing aids and what style might save consumers the most money?

Middle Ear Problems

11/14/2013 - 08:36

There are several severe conditions that can cause problems with the middle ear. Illness within the middle ear can affect balance, cause staggering pain, headaches, and permanent hearing loss. So what are the more common problems that can arise within the middle ear?

Equal Access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing

11/12/2013 - 11:18

People who have hearing loss can have difficulties navigating the hearing world.
The everyday activities that some people take for granted—conversing on the phone, sitting at a meeting, traveling, going to a movie can present difficulties for someone with hearing loss. That’s why equal access has become such an important issues for deaf and hard of hearing individuals and for those who understand the importance of equality for all.

Hearing Loss Statistics

11/07/2013 - 08:30

Untreated hearing loss has been shown to reduce alertness, impair memory, cause depression and isolation, interfere with relationships, reduce job performance and compensation, and to diminish overall health, both mental and physical. That’s why treating hearing loss is now known to be one of the best things people can do to stay healthy and happy as they age. And yet, the statistics of hearing loss indicate that few are aware of the seriousness of this condition.

Five Hearing Loss Facts You Should Know

11/05/2013 - 11:07

Most doctors aren’t as familiar with the intricacies of hearing loss as an audiologist, and therefore there are things you might not know if consulting him or her about your hearing loss. So what are five things you should know about hearing loss that your doctor might not tell you?

How to Hear Better Now

10/31/2013 - 07:48

Hearing loss affects millions of Americans every year. Recent studies show that the risk of hearing loss is rising among younger and younger age groups. Here's what you can do to help yourself or a loved one hear better now.

Does Your Child Need A Speech-Language Therapist?

10/29/2013 - 08:06

The 24,000 babies born each year with hearing loss are only a portion of the children living with hearing loss every day. Childhood hearing loss is the number one birth defect in the United States, and is also on the rise among children and adolescents. Children with hearing loss often require help from professionals in order to acquire language at the same pace as their hearing peers. In these situations, parents might want to consider if their child needs to see a speech-language therapist.

Myths About Hearing Loss

10/24/2013 - 07:59

The average person waits years before treating their hearing loss or upgrading their hearing aid. Although most people claim to know the importance of hearing health, many of them still hold fast to hearing loss myths that hold them back from accepting and treating their hearing loss.

Recognizing an Auditory Processing Disorder

10/17/2013 - 17:27

If a child has an auditory processing disorder (APD) it means he/she has a problem discerning sounds, like those in a classroom, or understanding language the way an average student might. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of this deficit of language and hearing is key to getting a proper diagnosis and the correct treatment.

Hearing Aids for Tinnitus

10/15/2013 - 07:38

Tinnitus can be a symptom of underlying problems with hearing. Using hearing aids is thought to help tinnitus by returning normal sounds, thus diminishing the awareness of tinnitus sounds. In addition, today’s hearing aids not only help with hearing loss, but are designed specifically with listening programs that ease tinnitus. We’ve reviewed a few of these hearing aids and their features to help you get started.

Hearing Loss Prevention, Symptoms, and Nutrition

10/10/2013 - 19:14

It's not always easy to figure out how to avoid or prevent damage to hearing, how to recognize subtle changes in hearing, or when to see an audiologist. Below are tips for these key areas, prevention, symptoms, and nutrition that everyone should be made aware of when it comes to hearing loss.

What Are the Symptoms of Meniere's Disease?

10/08/2013 - 08:01

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear. Meniere's can afflict people with this condition with such severe vertigo it can even leave them wheelchair bound. Meniere’s disease is a mysterious condition that has varying degrees of serious and physically draining symptoms.

Six Things To Consider Before You Purchase Hearing Aids

10/03/2013 - 16:20

Hearing aids enable better communication and can make life easier and more enjoyable, but where you shop for your hearing aids is almost as important as what type of hearing aid you purchase. There are six important things to consider when weighing your options on where to buy.

Education, Childhood Bullies, and Hearing Loss

09/25/2013 - 20:00

Children with childhood hearing loss are challenged by many barriers to learning, including language and social communication. The additional stress of bullying can increase the social and emotional difficulties of getting an education. But there are tactics that can help and empower children with functional differences as they cope with these challenges.

Childhood Hearing Loss, Hyperactivity, and Education

09/24/2013 - 15:37

Recent studies have linked hearing loss to conditions not typically associated with hearing loss. For example, the likelihood of dementia and Alzheimer’s were found to increase in those that have hearing loss. Now, researchers have uncovered another link between hearing and molecular changes in the brain. It has been found that children with hearing loss may exhibit signs of hyperactivity due to an imbalance of proteins within the inner ear.

Your Ears Hold the Secret to Aging Well

09/19/2013 - 16:05

Studies now show hearing health has a greater impact on overall health as people age than previously understood. That’s because not only does hearing affect many aspects of a person’s life, but its subtle impacts can have staggering long term consequences on the whole body.

Treating Hearing Loss

09/12/2013 - 08:10

Hearing loss can be caused by any number of reasons—genetics, diabetes, autoimmune disease, Meniere's, age, or sudden hearing loss to name a few. Despite the different reasons for hearing loss, overwhelmingly people tend to share one common response--delay. Procrastination in seeking hearing loss help is common with some people wait as long as seven years to get help. That’s because many people don’t understand the overall impact untreated hearing loss has an overall health, including mental and physical complications.

Signs and Symptoms of Hearing Loss

09/10/2013 - 07:32

Hearing loss affects millions of men, women, and children every year. Hearing loss is a sudden or gradual decrease in a person’s ability to detect sounds, pitch, frequency, or words. It can be related to aging, noise, disease, or heredity. The common signs and symptoms of hearing loss aren't always recognized for what they are. Learning the signs and symptoms of hearing loss can help you and your loved ones to recognize this condition.

2013 Hearing Technology to Fit Your Active Lifestyle!

09/05/2013 - 07:32

Once upon a time, hearing technologies were mocked for their clunky appearance and limited functions, but no longer. 2013 hearing technologies have advanced by leaps and bounds with enough creative innovations to make even the most technologically savvy consumer stand and applaud. And applaud they have. These sophisticated hearing technologies have won awards globally for some mind-blowing inventions while being recognized in prominent publications, like the New York Times, for their superior contribution to active and healthy lifestyles.

Seven Surprising Things About Hearing Loss

09/03/2013 - 07:22

Millions of Americans confront hearing loss every day. Hearing loss can be sudden or gradual and can be mild or severe. Although many things about hearing loss are well known and understood by audiologists, there are still some surprising facts that have only recently been discovered.

Five Things to Know Before Buying Hearing Aids

08/29/2013 - 19:12

Today there are many options for purchasing hearing aids, including online and in shopping stores. Confusion about the individualized nature of this important health technology and the necessity of having hearing aids fitted for the individual is causing a lot of confusion and unhappy customers. Here are five things to consider before buying hearing aids.

How to Improve Hearing

08/27/2013 - 07:50

Improving hearing is important for emotional as well as physical health. Properly fitted and adjusted hearing aids can be a big part of improving hearing. Unfortunately, people continue to buy hearing aids online or in other venues that don't allow for repeated visits and adjustments--a necessary aspect of getting hearing aids aligned with individual hearing loss. Not adjusting hearing aids or getting them properly fitted by a hearing health professional can mean frustration and time and can be an impediment to improving hearing.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Hearing Loss?

08/21/2013 - 07:10

Hearing loss is a sudden or gradual decrease in a person’s ability to detect sounds, pitch, frequency, or words. It is a common problem and can be related to aging, noise, disease, or heredity, but they are common signs and symptoms of hearing loss.

All About Hearing Loss

08/19/2013 - 13:37

The Internet is filled with useful information for people with hearing loss, but sometimes finding that information means wading through some not so helpful things. People Hearing Better has put together a list of informative websites and blogs that are all about hearing loss!

Understanding Hearing Loss

08/16/2013 - 07:23

Hearing loss is a sudden or gradual decrease in a person’s ability to detect sounds, pitch, frequency, or words. It is a common problem and can be related to aging, noise, disease, or heredity. Although hearing is complicated, People Hearing Better has broken down the basics to help you better understand hearing loss.

What is Ototoxicity?

08/14/2013 - 19:29

Three Important Reasons to Treat Hearing Loss Now!

08/12/2013 - 19:08

The slow or sudden transformation that occurs with hearing loss—whether to an individual or to family or friends of someone with hearing loss, can take its toll on mood and vitality. Although there is an overwhelming amount of data showing that treating hearing loss is one of the most important things people can do to stay healthy as they age, there are three important reasons to treat hearing loss now.

Review of Hearing Aid Manufacturer Phonak

08/09/2013 - 07:25

There are a lot of choices when it comes to hearing aids and hearing aid manufacturers, so what are companies like Phonak doing to set themselves apart in the world of hearing health technologies?

Four Secrets Everyone with Hearing Loss Should Know

08/07/2013 - 16:41

Top Hearing Loss Causes in Children

08/05/2013 - 12:28

Hearing loss is on the rise among children and adolescents, but is often missed by parents and teachers. Hearing loss goes unnoticed perhaps because the symptoms mimic normal childhood behaviors—like trouble paying attention or not responding when called upon.

Hearing Loss in the Workplace

08/02/2013 - 17:57

What is a Speech-Language Therapist?

07/31/2013 - 17:13

The 24,000 babies born each year with hearing loss are only a portion of the children living with hearing loss every day. Childhood hearing loss is the number one birth defect in the United States, and is also on the rise among children and adolescents. Children with hearing loss often require help from professionals in order to acquire language at the same pace as their hearing peers. In these situations, parents might want to take their child to a speech-language therapist.

Five Ways to Hear Better Now

07/29/2013 - 14:32

Hearing loss affects millions of Americans every year. Recent studies show that the risk of hearing loss is rising among younger and younger age groups. So what can people with hearing loss do to help them hear better now?

Hearing Aid Manufacturer Unitron Reviewed

07/26/2013 - 07:29

There are more than a handful of hearing aid manufacturers adding to the exciting new technologies available today for people with hearing loss. In an effort to help consumers better understand who is making what, People Hearing Better is providing hearing aid manufacturer reviews. This week, we'll be looking at hearing aid manufacturer Unitron.

Statistics of Hearing Loss

07/24/2013 - 17:04

Hearing loss isolates people, creating depression and impacting overall quality of life. That’s why treating hearing loss is now known to be one of the best things people can do to stay healthy and happy as they age. And yet, the statistics of hearing loss indicate that few are aware of the seriousness of this condition.

Ten Facts Your Doctor Might Not Tell You About Hearing Loss

07/22/2013 - 20:32

Most doctors aren’t as familiar with the intricacies of hearing loss as an audiologist, and therefore there are things you might not know if consulting him or her about your hearing loss. So what are the top ten things your doctor might not tell you about your hearing loss?

How Old Are Your Ears?

07/19/2013 - 07:54

There are many different lifestyle factors that can lead to premature aging of the ear. In addition to modern technologies like earbuds and MP3 players, there are medications that people take, dietary considerations, where your work, and other health conditions like diabetes that can affect how your ears age. So how do you keep your ears from aging prematurely and how can you determine how old your ears are right now?

Five Benefits of Treating Hearing Loss

07/17/2013 - 18:20

Even though the latest evidence shows that good hearing health is part of whole body and mind health, some people are still reluctant to treat their hearing loss. For some it's the stigma associated with hearing loss, for others the expense, but when it comes to the true stigma and cost of hearing loss, it turns out it's in NOT treating hearing.

Surprising Hearing Loss Statistics

07/12/2013 - 10:31

Hearing loss is more prevalent in America today than thirty years ago and the incidence continues to increase. Now, new statistics lead to a deeper understanding of who is more likely to suffer from hearing loss, what part of the country experiences more hearing loss, how many children have unilateral hearing loss, and many other hearing loss statistics that might surprise you.

Four Hearing Loss Myths That Hold You Back

07/10/2013 - 14:06

Hearing Aid Care and Cleaning

07/08/2013 - 19:52

The best way to keep your hearing aids working well and lasting longer is to take good care of them. Hearing aid care and cleaning is an easy and a positive way to ensure your investment and keep good hearing health.

Hearing Aid Manufacturer Oticon Reviewed

07/05/2013 - 19:28

Personalized sound has become the new standard for hearing aid manufacturers. Company's like Oticon have not only developed hearing aids with features that work to make listening in all situations easier, but they have developed software along with their product that assist audiologist in achieving a never before seen level of individualized hearing.

Hearing Conservation this Summer

07/03/2013 - 22:43

Hearing loss can happen over time or in an instant, but the danger from sudden or noise induced hearing loss can increase during summer activities. It’s not just the loud outdoor concerts, but swimming, diving, fireworks, and common yard work activities that can damage hearing. There are precautions everyone should follow for good hearing conservation this summer.

Hearing Aid Manufacturers Reviewed

07/01/2013 - 07:04

Advances in hearing aid technology have been spurred on by the unique perspectives and goals of hearing aid manufacturers throughout the world. Their efforts mean that a person with hearing loss has a lot more choices when it comes to correcting their hearing loss, but with so much choice can come confusion. It can help to know who some of the top manufacturers of hearing aids are, what technologies they offer, and what features have they designed to help people with hearing loss return to hearing health.

Hearing Aid Manufacturer: Widex

06/28/2013 - 14:50

A global innovator and manufacturer of hearing instruments, Widex created the world’s first fully digital in-the-ear hearing aid, as well as other revolutionary wireless technology. They've not only received awards for their latest technologies, but have introduced a 3D digital process that provides a perfect fit for In-the-Ear (ITE) and their latest Invisible-in-Canal (IIC) hearing aids. So what has Widex done to earn these awards and does it translate into a better product?

Hearing Health Care

06/26/2013 - 21:19

Spot Signs of Hearing Loss

06/24/2013 - 19:03

People with untreated hearing loss use a variety of coping strategies to compensate for their hearing loss. Many of these habits can be destructive and worsen the situation leading to significant communicative difficulties, social isolation, frustration, depression, and delays in treatment. A loved one or caregiver can learn to spot signs of hearing loss by recognizing these subtle habits used to compensate for poor hearing.

Assistive Technology to Help Hearing

06/21/2013 - 17:44

Hearing aids aren’t the only hearing loss technology that can go through radical changes and improvements. Assistive technology also known as Assistive Listening Devices (ALD) are regularly improved and upgraded by manufacturers to keep up with the scientific advances. The latest assistive technologies can aid hearing by seamlessly streaming content from television, phone, and just about any sound source.

Assistive Listening Devices

06/19/2013 - 16:30

Assistive listening devices (ALD) are useful to help those with hearing loss in situations where a greater distance to the sound source impeded sound, background noise is louder than the sound source, room acoustics muffle or distort sounds, or the vibrations in the room create distraction or entirely disrupt sound. There are many new and technologically advanced options for ALDs on the market today.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Equal Access

06/17/2013 - 20:53

Hearing Loss Solutions

06/14/2013 - 17:25

Often people seeking solutions for hearing loss overlook the obvious benefits of today's advanced technologies. Hearing aids help people reconnect with their families, friends, and the world around them, and yet the average person waits ten years before correcting hearing loss. The benefits of using hearing aids are touted by manufacturers and audiologist alike, but what do patients say about this hearing loss solution?

Nine Ways to Live Simply with Hearing Loss

06/12/2013 - 15:00

Living with hearing loss creates many stresses. It can affect mood, interest in life, education, and job performance. It not only puts up barriers that must be navigated on a daily basis, but it requires forethought. So what rules can you begin to use in your life to live more simply with hearing loss?

Seven Surprising Facts About Hearing Loss

06/10/2013 - 07:45

Hearing Aid Reviews: Phonak

06/07/2013 - 18:03

There are a lot of choices when it comes to hearing aids and hearing aid manufacturers, but not all companies or hearing aids are created equally. According to hearing aid manufacturer, Phonak their “life is on” mission, aligns with their goal to, “improve the quality of life of people with hearing loss." So how are they doing? Do their products, reputation, and support of those with hearing loss match up to their goal?

Loss of Hearing

06/05/2013 - 18:10

A loss of hearing can happen suddenly or over time. It often comes with a lot of questions and challenges as someone who has hearing loss tries to navigate the hearing world. We've found the answers to the most common questions people with a loss of hearing ask.

What is hearing loss?

06/03/2013 - 19:38

Hearing loss is a sudden or gradual decrease in a person’s ability to detect noise, voices, tones, pitch, frequency, or language. This deficit can be severe and very noticeable or mild and easily missed or mistaken. Hearing loss is a common problem and can be related to aging, noise, disease, or heredity, but there are many factors surrounding this complex condition that can better answer the question of what is hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Unilateral Hearing Aids

05/31/2013 - 15:01

Hearing bilaterally, with both ears, helps people automatically determine distance to the sound, where a noise is coming from, and gives a greater sense of balance. But when a person suffers from unilateral hearing loss or deafness in one ear judging distance and where noise is coming from becomes a challenge and can even pose danger to balance. People with unilateral hearing loss or deafness in one ear, learn to angle their head toward the sound to try and compensate for the problem, but today's hearing aid manufacturers have come up with another solution. It's called Contralateral Routing of Signal (CROS).

Central Auditory Processing Disorder Tests and Treatments

05/29/2013 - 07:39

Children who have difficulty with learning and language may have a central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) or what is also called an auditory processing disorder (APD). A CAPD prohibits children from understanding and processing language in the average or expected way and is often compared to having dyslexia of the ear. There are specific tests and emerging treatments to help people with central auditory processing disorders.

Central Auditory Processing Disorder

05/27/2013 - 07:46

Central auditory processing disorder also known as auditory processing disorder makes it harder for children to discern, recognize, group and organize sounds the way an average student might. These children will have more problems in school, because of this deficit and the way it complicates a child's recognition of speech sounds. Although they vary from individual to individual, there are some key signs and symptoms of this language recognition deficit.

In-the-Ear Hearing Aid Reviews

05/24/2013 - 21:45

Hearing aids are a big investment in overall health and well being, but in addition to these benefits some people want their hearing aids to be discreet. That’s why In-the-Ear (ITE) hearing aids have become so popular. In-the-ear hearing aids are discreet, technologically advanced, and fitted for the individual. This customization means that they can vary greatly physically and in their functional features.

Middle Ear Infection Symptoms

05/22/2013 - 22:57

Middle ear infections can cause extreme pain and discomfort. These problems are more common in children and Native Americans. In addition to the pain of middle ear infections there may be hearing loss that can be temporary, if treated, but may become permanent if left untreated. Symptoms of middle ear infections range from mild to severe.

Blocked Eustachian Tube

05/20/2013 - 16:55

The Eustachian tube regulates pressure in the middle ear and connects the middle ear, throat, and nose. A blockage of the Eustachian tubes prevents it from properly regulating air causing pain, a popping sensation, higher infection risk, and hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Advice

05/17/2013 - 16:28

Hearing aids help to bridge the gap with communication and makes every day interactions easier, but there can be challenges when someone with hearing loss travels. Advice on how to travel with hearing aids is important to keep your vacation hassle free and your investment in hearing aid technology safe. Though there is a strong push for equal access for deaf and hard of hearing people, there are a few key pieces of hearing aid advice that can help to make the journey easier.

Getting Kids to Use Hearing Aids

05/15/2013 - 16:45

It is as important to have your child use hearing aids as it is to have them uses glasses to correct faulty vision. Hearing loss and the myriad of condition associated with untreated hearing loss can spiral into bigger problems if not corrected early. Studies show the use of hearing aids by kids with hearing loss, even unilateral hearing loss, is important to keep the mind active, results in better self-esteem, and helps children achieve developmental markers. So how do you get your kids-- baby, child, or adolescent to use hearing aids?

Hearing Aids for Tinnitus

05/10/2013 - 16:13

Tinnitus is not a condition on its own but a symptom of an underlying problem. It is often related to hearing loss, and using hearing aids to help drown out tinnitus noises and to distract the mind through new hearing aid features can help relieve this symptom. Some of today’s hearing aids are designed specifically with listening programs that ease tinnitus. We’ve reviewed a few of these hearing aids and their features to help you get started in finding hearing aids for tinnitus.

How to Protect Hearing

05/08/2013 - 16:50

Hearing loss can happen in an instant or slowly due to overexposure to loud noise. These dangers can increase during summer activities. It’s not just the loud outdoor concerts, but swimming, diving, fireworks, and common yard work activities that can damage hearing instantly or over time. There are things everyone should know about protecting their and their loved ones hearing during summer months.

Hearing Aid Care

05/06/2013 - 15:20

Making sure your hearing aids are protected from sand and water is one of the best ways to ensure a hassle-free summer. Although many of today's hearing aids have some level of water-resistant properties, there are steps necessary to care for hearing aids that will keep these valuable technologies in top shape.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Water-Resistant Hearing Aids

05/03/2013 - 15:55

People with hearing loss are presented with unique challenges as summer comes around. Swimming, sweating, and the ever present moisture in some climates means that someone with hearing loss has to take extra precautions to keep their hearing aids dry. Manufacturers have therefore begun to create water-resistant hearing aids to help those with hearing loss enjoy their listening lives even in the summer!

Hearing Loss Problems

05/01/2013 - 15:23

Problems with hearing loss range from the mild to severe, and yet many times the impact on everyday life goes unrecognized. The slow decline that often happens with hearing loss is why many people remain unaware of the problems with hearing loss and the detrimental impact not treating hearing loss has on economic, emotional, and personal health.

Celebrate Better Hearing and Speech Month!

04/29/2013 - 19:48

Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) is a public health campaign that has focused awareness on the problems and solutions of speech, language, and hearing since 1927. Difficulty with communication affects every aspect of a person's life-- relationships, work, and everyday chores. That’s why it's so important to have a month dedicated to making people aware of hearing loss, its symptoms, and solutions.

Pediatric Hearing Aid Reviews

04/26/2013 - 16:34

Today's advanced technology has made pediatric hearing aids both comfortable and stylish. Kids aren't typically self-conscious about showing them off, so many pediatric hearing aids come in a series of different designs and colors. The best models of pediatric hearing aids are those that have an ease of use, future flexibility, and are both dependable and safe.

Hearing Loss Statistics

04/24/2013 - 15:30

39 million people suffer from hearing loss in the United States and 500 million people worldwide. As hearing loss among Americans rises, so too do the statistics surrounding it. This data tells an interesting and often surprising story about the people with hearing loss.

Hearing Loss Symptoms

04/22/2013 - 16:41

People with untreated hearing loss use a variety of coping strategies to compensate for their hearing deficit. Many of these habits can worsen the situation leading to significant communicative difficulties, depression, and delays in treatment. These habits are so widely used that they can be considered hearing loss symptoms.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Best Buys

04/19/2013 - 17:36

Hearing aids are an important investment. They enable better communication and can make life easier and more enjoyable, but where you buy hearing aids can be as important as the type of hearing aid your purchase when it comes to price.

Children with Hearing Loss

04/17/2013 - 14:26

Hearing loss is on the rise among children and is now the most common birth defect in the United States. Delays in diagnosing and even misdiagnosis of infant or childhood hearing loss can negatively impact language skills, social development, and education. Having your infant or child tested for hearing loss is critical to minimize the detrimental effects of undiagnosed hearing loss.

Resources for Kids with Hearing Loss

04/15/2013 - 00:00

Sorting through the wealth of information available for kids with hearing loss can be a full-time job. Fortunately, People Hearing Better is an online community that supports people of all ages who have hearing loss and their families. We've researched top resources for kids with hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Behind-the-Ear for Children

04/12/2013 - 13:33

Because children with hearing loss are still growing, they are most often fitted with a behind-the-ear hearing aid, so that the mold can be replaced as the child gets bigger. There are several benefits to this type of hearing aid that aren't found in other styles of hearing aids.

Hyperacusis

04/10/2013 - 10:01

About Hearing Loss

04/08/2013 - 15:57

39 million Americans have some form of hearing loss. Untreated hearing loss impacts every aspect of a person's life. It can have a serious impact on health, income, relationships, and mood. All of our senses are personal, but hearing is personal and complex. Still, few people are familiar with the facts or take time to learn about hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Accessories

04/05/2013 - 17:29

Poor room acoustics, a greater distance to the speaker, and background noise can all interfere with the quality of hearing aid sound. In these situations, hiring the volume in isn’t going to make things clearer. Assistive listening devices (ALD) allows hard of hearing people to enjoy various acoustical environments without distracting background noise and acoustical reverberations. Today's assistive listening devices are smaller, easier to use, and offer a better filtering system for unwanted noises.

Help with Hearing Loss

04/03/2013 - 07:56

Even mild hearing loss can affect mood, interest in life, education, and job performance. Finding help with hearing loss can be a simple as finding a support group. Support groups for people with hearing loss provide them with unique opportunities and a broader range of information.

Hearing Loss Support Groups

04/01/2013 - 12:18

Hearing loss brings with it a lot of necessary changes and questions about an individual's place in the world. People worry about their jobs, communication, and ability to perform certain auditory tasks. The stress of hearing loss can increase with these doubts and worries. That is why it is important to seek answers from hearing loss support groups to interact with individuals who have already been through the process of reconfiguring their life to include hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: What's New in Technology?

03/29/2013 - 14:22

Twenty-five years ago custom fit hearing aids, in-the-ear hearing aids and wax guards had just come on the market. Today’s hearing aids have built on these innovative features and thrived from exciting new technologies based on important discoveries about how our hearing works.

Do I Have Hearing Loss?

03/27/2013 - 12:01

Hearing loss can happen to anyone at any time. It can be genetic or instant and everyone is at risk for developing some form of hearing loss. The risk increases with age, but isn’t exclusive to any particular age. There are some simple ways to recognize if you have hearing loss.

Signs of Hearing Loss

03/25/2013 - 09:34

If you’re not sure whether or not you have hearing loss, you’re not alone. Although it would seem easy to determine diminished hearing, the signs, especially when happening over time, are often subtle. So subtle that people compensate for hearing loss without even recognizing what they are doing. That's why it's important to know the signs of hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Improving Sound

03/22/2013 - 15:06

Getting the best sound from a hearing aid while diminishing background noise and meeting the needs of individual hearing loss is a complicated problem. Manufacturers of hearing aids are using a variety of scientific research to come up with incredible and personalized solutions. Today's hearing aids have targeted the thus far unattainable, as hearing aid manufacturer Widex has dubbed it, "personally tailored sound."

The Truth About Hearing Loss

03/20/2013 - 18:14

Hearing loss is now the third most common health problem in the United States, affecting nearly 30 million people, and yet many people don’t understand the basic truths about hearing loss--how to prevent damage to hearing, recognize hearing loss, or what mild, moderate, or severe hearing loss actually means.

Hearing Loss and Stress

03/18/2013 - 14:46

The slow or sudden transformation that occurs with hearing loss—whether to an individual or to family or friends of someone with hearing loss, can take its toll on mood and vitality. It isn’t merely adjusting to a single deficit, but how that new reality impacts every day. It is a whole body, whole mind, whole life transition that can cause much stress and lead to depression.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Different Styles

03/15/2013 - 07:48

Before you buy your first or next pair of hearing aids, make sure you're aware of what different styles of hearing aids are on the market. Hearing loss is specific to each individual, so the options that work for one person may not work for another. It's not just a matter of finding the features you need, but also knowing what styles are compatible with your hearing loss and which ones you'll be most comfortable using.

Hearing Loss Effects

03/13/2013 - 13:36

There are a lot of reasons that people with hearing loss refuse to seek treatment. Sometimes it's a misconception about stigma of wearing hearing aids, sometimes it's financial, but often people are simply unaware of the serious effects of hearing loss.

Middle Ear Hearing Loss

03/11/2013 - 09:38

If you've ever had the experience of having your ears pop, you know part of what the eustachian tube of the middle ear does--regulates pressure within the ears. The eustachian tube connects the middle ear, throat, and nose. When the eustachian tube is blocked, it can't regulate air properly so there is pain, popping, and an increased risk of infection and hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Behind-the-Ear Pros and Cons

03/08/2013 - 13:48

The largest hearing instrument on the market, the Behind-The-Ear style of hearing aids is better able to accommodate the large size 13 batteries allowing for the strongest amplification and longest battery life. Although BTE hearing aids have seen competition from more discreet models, like Completely-in-Canal (CIC) and In-the-Canal (ITC) hearing aids, they continue to be a trusted and affordable style of hearing aids with many pros and few cons adding to their steady popularity.

Treating Sensorineural Hearing Loss

03/06/2013 - 18:16

Sudden Senorieneural Hearing Loss (SSHL) has a short onset, typically within 72 hours. Alarmingly, this condition also has a short time window to get successful treatment. Sensorineural hearing loss is considered an emergency and an audiologist or ENT should be consulted as soon as possible in order to avoid permanent hearing loss. In the past these hearing health providers treated sensorineural hearing loss with oral steroids, but the latest option, though unorthodox, is providing better results.

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

03/04/2013 - 11:31

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is an unexpected loss of most or all hearing in one or both ears occurring within 3 days or less. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is considered an emergency, and those experiencing it should call a hearing health provider immediately. Unfortunately, the tendency with sudden sensorineural hearing loss is to delay, thinking it will clear up on its own. Waiting to treat SSHL often results in permanent hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: CROS and BiCROS

03/01/2013 - 11:37

When you hear with both ears your brain can tell where a sound is coming from and even how far away it is. But when you have unilateral hearing loss or deafness in one ear judging distance and where noise is coming from is a challenge. Known as the head shadowing effect, having only one working ear can interfere with the surround sound experience normally associated with binaural hearing or hearing with two ears. In the past, a person with unilateral hearing loss would have to angle their head toward the sound source to try and make up for this shadowing. That’s why CROS and BiCROS (Contralateral Routing of Signal) hearing aids were invented.

What is the Best Way to Clean Your Ears?

02/26/2013 - 16:09

In addition to being kind of gooey, earwax also known as cerumen is essential for healthy hearing. Produced by glands within the ear canal, cerumen is part of the ear's natural self-cleaning process. It protects the inner ear, moisturizes the ear canal and has anti-biotic properties, meaning germs don't get through. But too much earwax can cause buildup and hearing issues. So what is the best way to safely keep your ears clean?

Unilateral Hearing Loss in Children

02/25/2013 - 12:38

One in 20 school age children suffer from unilateral hearing loss or hearing loss in one ear. In the past, people questioned whether or not to treat hearing loss in one ear. The assumption was that the one “normal” ear would compensate for the loss. A recent study at Washington University School of Medicine has proven that myths claiming unilateral hearing loss doesn't hinder a child are false. Loss of hearing in one ear inhibits a child in school and keeps them from using and recognizing language.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Best Advances

02/22/2013 - 12:23

Solutions for treating individual hearing loss can be as varied as the problem, but technology and research has advanced to meet the challenge. With all the features and styles of hearing aids, buying hearing aids can sometimes lead to confusion. But much of today's new features can be boiled down to one big advance, digital technology. In fact no review of hearing aids is complete without looking at digital technology.

Meniere's Treatments

02/20/2013 - 14:31

People afflicted with the mysterious condition of Meniere's have to cope with sudden and debilitating bouts of vertigo. There are surgical and non-surgical treatments for Meniere's. Generally if the disease can be managed with non-surgical treatments then surgery is not undergone, and though there is no known cure, there are some proven methods for treating symptoms.

Symptoms of Meniere's Disease

02/18/2013 - 14:29

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can leave people afflicted with the disease battling vertigo so severe it can even leave them wheelchair bound. Meniere’s disease is a mysterious condition that has varying degrees of serious and physically draining symptoms.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Big Chain Stores

02/15/2013 - 16:51

Hearing aids are an important investment. They enable better communication and can make life easier and more enjoyable, but where you shop for your hearing aids is almost as important as what type of hearing aid your purchase. The reviews are in in and there seems to be pros and cons with buying hearing aids from big chain stores.

Hearing Loss Signs and Symptoms

02/13/2013 - 12:54

There are many things people do, like listening to an MP3 with ear-buds on and the volume high that harms hearing. In fact, the number one cause of hearing loss is noise, Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). But recognizing this type of hearing loss and others depends on knowing the signs and symptoms of hearing loss.

Effects of Hearing Loss

02/11/2013 - 13:01

Despite research that shows the importance of hearing, many people downplay their hearing loss and push off seeking treatment. This mistake costs people in ways they don't expect--creating an isolation that leads to greater mental health issues, like depression.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Completely-in-the-Canal (CIC)

02/08/2013 - 16:53

As hearing aid technology has advanced, like most technology, it has tended to get smaller. Completely-in-the-Canal (CIC) hearing aids or what some manufacturers call Invisible-in-the-Canal (IIC) is a popular and ever advancing style of hearing aid, but there are distinct pros and cons for the average user who wants a CIC hearing aid.

Surgery for Otosclerosis

02/06/2013 - 14:45

Surgical treatments for otosclerosis have been around for over a hundred years. Originally the limited knowledge of middle ear functions meant that often these surgeries developed complications or were not successful at all. A wealth of new information, advanced equipment, and medical techniques now mean that 9 out of 10 people who undergo surgery for otosclerosis obtain a successful return of hearing.

What is Otosclerosis Hearing Loss?

02/04/2013 - 14:43

Hearing is the result of tiny and delicate instruments within the ears working with larger parts. When any one of these complex parts becomes damaged hearing loss can happen. Most hearing loss is often well understood, but the abnormal bone growth associated with otosclerosis is somewhat of a mystery.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Batteries

02/01/2013 - 10:07

Hearing aid users have to take their battery choices a lot more seriously than the average consumer. So knowing how to take proper care of batteries to help them last longer is almost as important as finding the most reliable and longest lasting batter. Taking care of a hearing aid battery can help to increase their longevity, but some batteries have simply proven themselves to last longer.

Audiologist Advice on Buying a Hearing Aid

01/30/2013 - 18:06

As with a decline in eyesight, hearing loss can have a profoundly negative influence on your or a loved one’s life. But unlike eyesight and the purchase of glasses, buying hearing aids can be confusing. No one knows this better than an audiologist. So what kind of advice do audiologists give about buying a hearing aid?

What Audiologists Know For Sure About Hearing

01/28/2013 - 16:08

An audiologist is a hearing health professional with eight years or more of education in hearing and rehabilitation of hearing. They are well trained and familiar with hearing loss and the many questions people who have hearing loss ask. What leading audiologists know for sure about hearing loss, hearing, and hearing aids is often different than the typical information provided by health care providers.

Hearing Aid Reviews: What's New and Improved

01/25/2013 - 18:00

Hearing is not only a very personalized sense but it's also complex. Hearing technology therefore has a near impossible job, because it has to provide comfort, increase sound, decrease background noise and a hundred other small details that make your hearing unique to you. Fortunately, hearing aid manufacturers are up to the task and some of the new and improved advances in hearing aids are creating a lot of interest.

Caregivers: Top Warning Signs of Hearing Loss

01/23/2013 - 11:08

Knowing the top warning signs of hearing loss can help caregivers identify a problem with a loved one and also help them when it comes to dealing with a loved one's denial. Initial evidence that there is a hearing problem can be the first step in getting someone you love to face their hearing loss.

Caregiver Support: Hearing Loss and Denial

01/21/2013 - 12:48

Seeking help for hearing loss is the most important and most decisive way for a caregiver to help a loved one to live an easier, more engaged life. But knowing and admitting to hearing loss can be difficult for some family members to accept. This denial is equally difficult for caregivers. It might seem impossible, but there are a few simple ways to encourage a loved one to face their hearing loss denial.

Hearing Aid Reviews: In-the-Ear (ITE)

01/18/2013 - 18:48

In-the-Ear (ITE) hearing aids are sophisticated instruments uniquely fitted to the individual. This customization means that they can vary greatly physically and in their functional features. Fully reviewing the In-The-Ear hearing aid requires looking at their basic styles, the available features and functions, and examining the pros and cons of this miniature technology.

The Hearing Problem Fix

01/16/2013 - 15:43

Hearing problems have long created difficult and embarrassing situations for those with hearing loss. It's no surprise that people with hearing loss withdraw from social situations, but the latest hearing technologies seeks to change that in a big way. Today's hearing aids aren't just offering amplification or a host of new features, they have targeted the thus far unattainable, as hearing aid manufacturer Widex has dubbed it, "personally tailored sound."

Fitting A Hearing Aid

01/14/2013 - 15:28

Getting the right fit for your hearing aid is essential for optimal hearing and comfort. Hearing aids are complicated and technical instruments and should be fitted and adjusted to each individual. Though there are similar types of hearing loss, each person hears in specific ways. Hearing aids typically require several professional adjustments before they are aligned for an individual’s precise needs. So what's the best way to make sure your hearing aids have the right fit?

Child Hearing Aids Reviewed

01/11/2013 - 16:44

The implementation of infant screenings in hospitals has lead to greater diagnosis of children with hearing loss. This means children as young as three months can be confidently fitted for a hearing aid, and with proper testing by an audiologist can have their hearing aid adjusted as they age to meet their hearing loss needs. But what does a parent look for in a child's hearing aid and which pediatric hearing aids are best?

Recognizing Students with Hearing Loss

01/07/2013 - 12:41

Hearing loss among U.S. adolescents and younger children has risen thirty percent in recent years. Unfortunately, recognizing students with hearing loss is often a difficult and confusing task. The lack of information around childhood hearing loss means that many years can pass before a student is diagnosed and treated.

Hearing Aid Reviews: A True Story

01/04/2013 - 16:09

Stereotypes of people with hearing loss define those who wear hearing aids as out of touch. Studies have shown, these stereotypes are not true. People who treat their hearing loss with hearing aids feel and act younger, and as the true story of Connie Cross shows are seen as more in touch.

Getting Insurance for Hearing Health

01/02/2013 - 11:55

Many employers remain unaware of how hearing health coverage can benefit them, increase productivity, and encourage employee satisfaction and a higher quality of life. Often times an active and interested employee can encourage their employer toward adding this important benefit to their insurance plan by making them aware of a few pertinent statistics.

The Cost of Hearing Aids Explained

12/31/2012 - 11:52

When broken down hearing aids cost only pennies a day, but many people faced with hearing loss are confused about the initial expense of hearing aids. That's often because people think of hearing aids as mere amplifiers, but hearing aids do more than just make things louder. The cost of hearing aids has a lot to do with the advanced technology. A hearing aid isn’t simply manufactured, but researched, designed, and tested over many years.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Tinnitus Features

12/28/2012 - 08:37

It is well known that using a hearing aid can help to relieve tinnitus, but which kind of hearing aids work best? Today there are many hearing aids that help tinnitus not only because they relieve the underlying cause, hearing loss, but because they have added features that work to distract the mind from tinnitus.

Three Rules for Hearing Aid Success

12/26/2012 - 08:22

Getting comfortable with using a hearing aid to hear again, especially when people aren't used to the higher level of sound, can be a challenge. Hearing loss means people get used to silence, so everyday sounds, returned through the use of a hearing aid, can seem too loud, even overwhelming. Getting used to sound means remembering three simple rules for learning to use a hearing aid.

Hearing Aids: Getting Used to Sound Again

12/24/2012 - 07:44

Despite the many benefits of hearing aids they introduce a new challenge--getting used to sound again. Silence is less abrasive than sound, so the return of noise can be startling to someone with a new hearing aid. This adjustment is normal. Not realizing time and adjustment is needed when first using hearing aids can cause some people to turn off their hearing aids and subsequently the world.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Digital Technology

12/21/2012 - 19:05

Solutions for treating individual hearing loss can be as varied as the problem, but technology and research has advanced to meet the challenge. With all the advances and styles of hearing aids, buying hearing aids in today's crowded market can sometimes lead to confusion. But much of today's new features can be boiled down to one big advance, digital technology. In fact no review of hearing aids is complete without an understanding digital technology.

Financing Hearing Aids and Flexible Spending Accounts

12/19/2012 - 11:54

26 million people live with untreated hearing loss and many more live with older hearing devices no longer appropriate for their hearing loss. A majority of these people cite the high cost of hearing aids as the reason for refusing treatment or upgrading a hearing aid, but there are numerous ways to finance hearing aids, including using a flexible spending account (FSA).

Hearing Aids: Understanding Insurance Coverage

12/17/2012 - 11:53

Often people are confused or mislead about what their insurance will cover when it comes to hearing aids. This confusion can lead them to hold off on treating hearing loss. Untreated hearing loss has implications on mental and physical health and treatment should not be delayed. Though any initial outlay is compensated for in long term benefits of hearing aids, that doesn't mean you need to take on the entire expense. Understanding your private insurance policy can help you find coverage for your hearing aids.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Understanding In-The-Ear (ITE)

12/14/2012 - 20:51

In-the-Ear (ITE) hearing aids are sophisticated instruments uniquely fitted to the individual. This customization means that they can vary greatly physically and in their functional features. Fully reviewing the In-The-Ear hearing aid requires looking at their basic styles, the available features and functions, and examining the pros and cons of this miniature technology.

Hearing Aid Financing Solutions

12/12/2012 - 11:56

Treating hearing loss is important and shouldn't be delayed for financial reasons, so what are some options for financing hearing aids? Everyone has heard of credit cards, but fewer people are aware of health credit cards. These cards work exactly like credit cards. Many are low interest and easy to apply for. Best of all, most hearing health professionals offer help with applications and can explain the numerous financing options available to today’s consumer.

Childhood Hearing Loss: Beware Noisy Toys

12/10/2012 - 18:47

Hearing Aid Reviews: Tinnitus Relieving Features

12/07/2012 - 08:44

It has been shown that a hearing aid can help to relieve tinnitus. That's because tinnitus is often the result of hearing loss. A hearing aid helps because it relieves hearing loss and distracts the brain by using other sounds to drown out tinnitus noises, but newer hearing aids are also designed with features that provide additional relief. These hearing aids not only help with hearing loss, but are designed specifically with listening programs that ease tinnitus.

Hearing Loss and Balance

12/05/2012 - 15:16

According to a study by Johns Hopkins and funded by the National Institute of Health, untreated hearing loss leads to an increased likelihood of falls. Even people with mild hearing loss were shown to have a greater chance of losing their balance.

Caregivers: Hearing Loss Contributes to Falls

12/03/2012 - 11:09

Unexpected falls are common in seniors and can cause damage to back, muscles, the neck, and can even be fatal. And yet many caregivers remain unaware of the startling truth that hearing loss can contribute to these falls. A study conducted by Johns Hopkins and funded by the National Institute on Health found that untreated hearing loss led to a 3x greater likelihood of falls and that this likelihood continued to increase dramatically with greater levels of hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Background Noise Features

11/30/2012 - 13:10

People with hearing loss have a harder time understanding speech in a noisy situation--at a restaurant, mall, social or work setting. In fact, a recent People Hearing Better poll showed a majority of people found, "Conversing in a large group" the most challenging aspects of their hearing loss. Today's hearing aids come with features like directional microphones and remote controls to help overcome challenging listening environments, including poor room acoustics, greater distance to the speaker, and background noise. So what are some of the newer and more useful features to combat background noise?

Audiologist Office: The Best Place for Hearing Health

11/28/2012 - 09:44

Today there are many options for purchasing hearing aids, including online and in shopping stores. This is causing a lot of confusion and unhappy customers. Here are some facts to consider before purchasing hearing aids from an audiologist office, online, or someplace else.

Audiologist, Audiology, and Hearing Tests

11/26/2012 - 17:00

Most states now recognize the detrimental effects of undiagnosed hearing loss on individual members of our society and society as a whole. This awareness comes from repeated studies showing people with untreated hearing loss are more likely to have speech, language, social, emotional, and physical repercussions. A comprehensive evaluation by a Doctor of Audiology can more thoroughly examine the nuanced ranges of hearing loss. But what exactly is an Audiologist, what tests do they perform, and why are they so important to hearing health?

Hearing Aid Reviews: Benefits of Bluetooth

11/23/2012 - 08:21

Bluetooth technology works to allow two hearing aids to wirelessly communicate with each other and also allows user to connect to devices in their home and car, like a DVD player, computer, GPS, and cell phone. Today we review the many other other benefits of having hearing aids that use Bluetooth technology.

Caregivers: Senior Hearing Loss Creates Social Anxiety

11/21/2012 - 16:21

Seniors with untreated hearing loss often avoid social settings, because it's exhausting. Trying to concentrate on what people are saying, answering incorrectly, or looking out of touch when the conversation is misunderstood creates huge social anxiety for seniors with untreated hearing loss. Hearing aids can help these social anxieties.

Hearing Loss at Work

11/19/2012 - 17:48

Hearing loss at work can be caused by harmful noise levels, explosions, injury or even from exposure to dangerous chemicals. Preserving hearing in all these situations can be as simple as wearing hearing protection.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Types of Hearing Aids

11/16/2012 - 16:48

Before you buy your first or next pair of hearing aids, make sure you're aware of what types of hearing aids are on the market. Hearing loss is specific to each individual, so the options that work for one person may not work for another. It's not just a matter of finding the features you need, but also knowing what types are compatible with your hearing loss and which ones you'll be most comfortable using. Since treating hearing loss sooner rather than later is shown to improve mental and physical health as we age, it's important to review types of hearing aids to find which are best suited for your needs.

Caregiver Support: Four Tips to Stop Hearing Loss Denial

11/14/2012 - 10:53

Hearing loss is an emotional and physical journey. A hard of hearing person needs to overcome stereotypes, their own fears, and societal barriers. But it's not just the person with hearing loss who is challenged. A decline in a loved one’s hearing can be stressful and emotional for caregivers. One of the most frustrating aspects of hearing loss for caregivers is their loved one's denial of the condition or even the severity of the impairment. There are four positive strategies caregivers can use to help someone they love face their denial.

Hearing Loss Effects

11/12/2012 - 16:11

Hearing loss can happen to anyone at any time. It can be genetic or instant and everyone is at risk for developing some form of hearing loss. The risk increases with age, but isn’t exclusive to any particular age. Untreated hearing loss has effects in health, both emotional and physical, and has been shown to even impact income.

Hearing Aid Reviews: What Real People Say About Upgrades

11/09/2012 - 19:52

Hearing loss can worsen over time, so that someone who treated their hearing loss can now be using a device that is less clear. Just like with the original loss of hearing this decline sometimes goes unnoticed, and when recognized individuals comfortable with their hearing aids resist upgrading to a new one. People resists because they fear the new aid will not work as well or be as comfortable or won't be enough of an improvement to be worth the price. Not only can this delay cause the same isolation, depression, and cognitive problems as untreated hearing loss, but the fears of upgrading, as real people who've upgraded their hearing aids tell us, aren't justified.

Hearing Alert: Winter Sports Can Damage Hearing

11/07/2012 - 16:09

The fall hunting season is a much anticipated time of year for many avid sports enthusiasts. It’s also a time when many people unwittingly damage their hearing. Despite the rapid growth of hearing loss—which is now the third most common health problem in the United States, there is little national attention on Noise Induced Hearing Loss. Many people don’t understand how to avoid or prevent damage to hearing, especially during the dangerous cold winter sport season.

Warning: Cold Weather Can Cause Hearing Loss

11/05/2012 - 10:46

Sometimes the cause of hearing loss is something that could have been avoided, like noise, diet, or even cold weather. In the winter, it is important to protect you ears, especially when doing outdoor activities. Abnormal growth of bone into the outer ear canal happens with cold weather sports. This growth blocks the ear, causes ear infections, and can also result in hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: What Real People Say About Their Hearing Aid

11/02/2012 - 17:43

Hearing aids help people reconnect with their families, friends, and the world around them, but often people with hearing loss hold back from seeking treatment. Reasons are varied, but the average person waits ten years before correcting hearing loss. This wasted time is stressful for spouse and family, requiring exhaustive interactions and can lead to other complications like depression and brain atrophy. It is difficult for a person with mild to moderate hearing loss to imagine the improvement in their lives a hearing aid can bring. But as numerous people have written to tell People Hearing Better, hearing aids can change your life for the better.

Consequences of Ignoring Hearing Loss

10/29/2012 - 10:06

A study by the National Council on Aging found that an estimated 19 million adults from age 45 and up have hearing loss but fewer than half use hearing aids. The study aimed at discovering the consequences of untreated hearing loss for older adults found that untreated hearing loss has economic, emotional, and health consequences.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Bluetooth Pros and Cons

10/26/2012 - 18:29

Bluetooth technology is the most recent advance in hearing aids. It is a way to send digital information wirelessly over short distances. Bluetooth technology works to allow two hearing aids to wirelessly communicate with each other and also allows user to connect to devices in their home and car, like a DVD player, computer, GPS, and cell phone. There are pros and cons to having this type of technology in a hearing aid.

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Treatment

10/24/2012 - 13:03

Sudden Senorieneural Hearing Loss (SSHL) has a short onset, typically within 72 hours and a short treatment window. Sudden hearing loss is an emergency and an audiologist or ENT should be consulted within the first 24 to 48 hours. In the past these hearing health providers treated sudden hearing loss with oral steroids. Now there is a new option for treating sudden hearing loss, and it runs counter to everything you might have been taught about sticking things in your ear.

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

10/22/2012 - 18:12

Most of the time people are born with hearing loss or they develop it over time, but sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) happens all at once and often without any pain at all. This unexpected loss of hearing can happen in one or both ears and is considered an emergency. The tendency with sudden hearing loss is to wait and see if it clears up, but waiting to treat SSHL often results in permanent hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Today's Features

10/19/2012 - 17:57

Today, more than ever, hearing aid users report higher satisfaction with listening technologies. This is due, in part, to better counseling by experienced hearing health professionals like an audiologist, but it's also due to some amazing advances in hearing aid features like directional microphones.

Audiologist: A Hearing Doctor

10/17/2012 - 15:24

The difference between an audiologist, ENT, and a hearing aid dispenser is sometimes confusing to people. They each perform vital functions in the hearing health field, but there are distinct differences among them. Knowing the difference can help you find the right hearing health professional.

Improve Your Hearing

10/15/2012 - 15:12

Treating hearing loss with hearing aids has been shown to improve job performance and compensation, create healthier communication and relationships. In fact, it is now believed that improving hearing can be one of the greatest contributors to health as people age. That doesn't mean getting help for your hearing loss and purchasing the right hearing aid is always easy. A few simple guidelines can help.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Behind-The-Ear

10/12/2012 - 09:10

Most people are familiar with the styles and options for glasses, contacts, and even LASIK surgery, but the choices available for hearing aids including the advanced features aren't as widely known. Since treating hearing loss sooner rather than later is shown to improve mental and physical health as we age, it's important to understand features, comfort, and style before you purchase or upgrade your device. To help with this, every Friday People Hearing Better reviews different types of hearing aids, features and models. Today, we’re looking at Behind-The-Ear hearing aids, popular because of their ease of adjustment and larger battery.

Coping with Hearing Loss

10/10/2012 - 10:44

Hearing is a remarkable ability and the result of delicate instruments within the ears working with larger parts to produce signals the brain interprets as sound. Coping with hearing loss can require a multipronged approach that includes therapy, listening strategies, hearing aids, and in difficult environments an assistive listening device.

The Rising Solutions of Hearing Loss

10/08/2012 - 08:47

Hearing loss is unique to each individual, even for those that share the same degree and type of impairment. Solutions for treating individual hearing loss can be as varied as the problem, but technology and research has advanced to meet the challenge. New technology, looming medical interventions, and the latest on nutrition are all part of the rising solutions for hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Reviews: Features for Tinnitus

10/05/2012 - 15:16

Using a hearing aid can help to relieve tinnitus, but which hearing aid provides the most relief? To answer this question, you need to understand that many times tinnitus is the result of hearing loss. It is thought a hearing aid helps because it relieves hearing loss and distracts the brain by using other sounds to drown out tinnitus noises. Some hearing aids not only help with this hearing loss, but are designed specifically with listening programs to help ease tinnitus.

Tinnitus: News and Helpful Links

10/03/2012 - 13:57

The news for tinnitus sufferers is constantly changing to accommodate broad studies and the latest information. For example, recent studies suggest a cure can be found by retraining the brain, using noise to match the sound of tinnitus. It is also believed help with tinnitus can be found by using a hearing aid to combat the hearing loss that often causes tinnitus and to introduce distracting sound.

Manage Tinnitus with a Hearing Aid

10/01/2012 - 06:43

The buzzing, clicking, and whining sounds associated with tinnitus may be related to hearing loss and a reintroduction of sound through a hearing aid is just one of the ways a hearing aid can help to manage symptoms.

In-the-Ear Hearing Aid Reviews

09/28/2012 - 15:51

Despite the fact that 27 million people in the US wear hearing aids, and 65% of those are under the age of 65, there is still the stigma that people who wear a hearing aid are “old.” The stubbornness of this stereotype means that people with hearing loss want hearing aids that are discreet, if not invisible. That’s where In-The-Ear (ITE) hearing aids come into play.

Learning to Use a Hearing Aid

09/26/2012 - 13:19

The Hearing Aid Sound Factor

09/24/2012 - 06:53

Despite the many hearing aid benefits, adjusting to these technological wonders presents an unusual problem—sound. Silence is less noticeable than noise, so the return of regular sounds can seem overwhelming. The beep on a microwave or the ringing of a phone can startle someone with a new hearing aid. This adjustment period is normal.

Hearing Aid Review: CROS/BiCROS

09/21/2012 - 08:41

When you hear with both ears your brain can tell where a sound is coming from and even how far it is. But when you have hearing loss or deafness in one ear judging distance and where noise is coming from can be hard. In the past, a person would have to angle their head toward the sound source to try and make up for this problem. That’s why Contralateral Routing of Signal (CROS) hearing aids were invented.

Unilateral Hearing Loss: Audiologist and Treatments

09/19/2012 - 16:42

Treating unilateral hearing loss is essential for children to reach developmental milestones in communication, education, and socialization. Unilateral hearing loss differs in treatment options from traditional hearing loss in that a traditional hearing aid is not always recommended. Use of a traditional hearing aid depends on the level of hearing loss in the impaired ear. Other options such as hearing aids designed specifically for severe unilateral hearing loss and FM systems for classrooms may be more appropriate.

Hearing Aid for Unilateral Hearing Loss

09/17/2012 - 20:05

One in 20 school age children have hearing loss in one ear or unilateral hearing loss. In the past, it was common practice not to treat unilateral hearing loss. The assumption was that the one “normal” ear would compensate for the loss. A new study at Washington University School of Medicine has proven that long established myths claiming unilateral hearing loss does not hinder a child’s performance in school are false.

Hearing Aid Benefits

09/14/2012 - 11:12

There is a myth around hearing loss that suggests treating it is not necessary to live a fully engaged life. This isn’t true. The benefits of a hearing aid are well documented and not surprisingly, as found by the Hearing is Living study, people fitted with a hearing aid report an increased sense of happiness, improved relationships, and overall wellbeing. What is surprising is that people often wait a long time before correcting something that benefits their health and relationships.

Why Children Don't Hear

09/12/2012 - 14:12

Misconceptions about Childhood Hearing Loss

09/10/2012 - 19:06

12,000 babies are born each year with hearing loss; making childhood hearing loss the number one birth defect in the United States. Hearing loss is also on the rise among children and adolescents, including a noticeable increase in noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). As Janice Schacter Lintz Chair of the Hearing Access Program explained in a recent interview on Hearing Health Matters, children with hearing loss are often overlooked or mistreated due to misconceptions about their abilities.

Living with Hearing Loss

09/07/2012 - 12:51

2,200 Americans were interviewed in a joint AARP and American Speech-Hearing-Language Association Study and despite eighty percent stating they considered hearing health extremely important over 50% admitted to not treating their hearing loss. Of the reasons given, the most easily dispelled is the one many seniors cling to stubbornly--the myth that hearing aids make them look older.

Treating Otosclerosis

09/05/2012 - 06:55

Otosclerosis is a mysterious condition in which the formation of bone, usually within the middle ear, impedes hearing and causes hearing loss. Although it is not known why this abnormal bone growth occurs, there are factors like pregnancy, virus, and genetics thought to contribute to its likelihood. Treatment and surgeries for otosclerosis varies and can depend on the severity of the condition and other underlying problems.

Hearing Loss and Otosclerosis

09/03/2012 - 15:42

Sometimes the cause of hearing loss is something that could have been avoided, like noise, and sometimes it's something no one could have foreseen, like the mysterious bone growth of the middle ear called otosclerosis.

Hearing Aids Make a Big Difference

08/31/2012 - 17:54

The separation those with hearing loss experience from the outside world increases stress, depression, and can have a profound impact on the way the mind works. It is no surprise then that people fitted with hearing aids often experience great relief and joy. Such was the case with David Hill, who wrote his audiologist at Audiology Experts to describe his amazing experiences on his first day with hearing aids.

Hearing Aids Help Relieve Social Anxiety

08/29/2012 - 13:23

Untreated hearing loss often leads to social withdrawal. People with untreated hearing loss say they avoid social settings, because it's exhausting trying to concentrate on what people are saying, they fear answering incorrectly, or they fear looking out of touch when they can't understand the conversation. Hearing aids can help these social anxieties. Advances in hearing aid technology, like Speech Guard in Oticon's Chili, make it easier to hear in social settings thus making listening and responding to conversations more comfortable and relieving social anxiety.

Hearing Aids Improve Health and Wellbeing

08/27/2012 - 16:13

Rapid advancement in hearing aid technology means the old stereotypes of hearing aids have not caught up with the sleek new options now available. Not surprisingly, a majority of people still believe that hearing aids cannot be worn while exercising. When in fact, not only do most people with hearing loss wear hearing aids to exercise, but with todays advanced technologies it is now possible for swimmers to wear their hearing aids in the pool.

Denying Hearing Loss

08/24/2012 - 12:29

Despite research that shows the importance of hearing, many people downplay their hearing loss and push off seeking treatment. This mistake costs people in many ways they don't even realize--creating an isolation that often goes unnoticed. Jennifer Yeaton knows all about deciding to live with hearing loss. This mistake cost her time and allowed parts of her world to quietly slip away.

Tinnitus Cure Sought: News and Links

08/22/2012 - 10:03

The idea that tinnitus is actually the result of hearing less not more and that this hearing loss affects how neurons in the brain fire, causing tinnitus, is becoming widely accepted as research pours in that supports this conclusion. A recent article posted in the UK's Guardian put a spotlight on doctor's trying to cure tinnitus by basing their treatment on this research.

Tinnitus: A Symptom of Hearing Loss

08/20/2012 - 06:43

26 million Americans suffer from a condition called tinnitus, a buzzing, whistling, whining, or screeching noise in head or ears when there is no corresponding noise present. In many cases this condition is a symptom of a bigger problem, like hearing loss, and correcting this underlying issue can help to alleviate the symptom. It seems counterintuitive, but studies confirm that in many cases tinnitus is a symptom of hearing loss and using a hearing aid to increase hearing can and does help relieve the phantom noises.

Hearing Loss and Denial

08/17/2012 - 20:59

One of the most frustrating aspects of hearing loss for family and friends is coping with a loved one's denial. The family member, friend, or spouse who recognizes the hearing loss, long before their loved one, can have a hard time convincing them they need to see an audiologist. Lynda Zacks experienced this frustration first hand. Her 82 year old mother refused to believe she had hearing loss, so Lynda, afraid for the safety of her mother who lived alone, did something drastic.

Diabetes: Preventing Hearing Loss

08/15/2012 - 07:33

Vision problems caused by diabetes are well known, but many people remain unaware of how diabetes impacts hearing. Diabetics experience hearing loss at more than double the rate of those without diabetes. This happens, in part, because of the changes in capillaries due to glucose overload. The slowing of blood flow in diabetics means fewer nutrients to the ear and this can lead to atrophy and destruction of the auditory hair cells. There are steps diabetics can take to help maintain hearing, capillaries, and the flow of nutrients to hair cells.

Hearing Loss: Diabetics at Risk

08/13/2012 - 07:12

Diabetes can cause hearing loss. The same glucose overload that destroys other parts of the body can and does diminish an individual's hearing. According to a study conducted under the National Institute of Health (NIH) by Bainbridge et al. and reported on in the Annals of Internal Medicine, hearing loss is more than twice as likely among diabetics and it's not just older diabetics at risk.

Diabetes can impact hearing at any age.

Treating Hearing Loss

08/10/2012 - 21:06

Hearing loss stress can include the fear of not reacting appropriately in a given situation. This worry can cause people to withdraw from social or work situations rather than risk embarrassment. It takes courage to overcome these fears in order to help yourself and be of service and benefit to others. Martin Rogoff showed that kind of courage when he faced his hearing loss, got hearing aids, and took on some of the toughest critics the world has to offer—teenagers.

Best Nutrition for Good Hearing

08/08/2012 - 11:00

Recent studies have revealed that maintaining good hearing is one of the most important things people can do to stay healthy as they age. In addition to being linked to an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s, untreated hearing loss has also been tied to vertigo, tinnitus, and drop-falls that can lead to serious breaks. The first step in good hearing is to be evaluated by a hearing health professional and to treat any hearing loss, but few people realize nutrition can also support good hearing.

Hearing Loss and Nutrition

08/06/2012 - 10:58

Recent studies confirm that hearing loss and poor nutrition go hand and hand. An Australian study reported on in the Journal of Nutrition, has shown that diets high in sugar and carbohydrates detrimentally impacts hearing. A similar study showed that diets high in cholesterol also contribute to hearing loss normally associated with aging. Cutting out sugary and cholesterol rich foods would be a good start to a hearing fitness plan, but good hearing nutrition doesn’t only take into account what a diet includes, but also what is lacking.

Upgrading Hearing Aids Improves Hearing

08/03/2012 - 15:58

Hearing loss can get worse over time. That's why it's important to have your hearing tested regularly by your audiologist. If hearing loss progresses and is not addressed, there remains the same risks of dementia, depression, and isolation. No one knows this truth better than Richard Orcheret, who has spent a lifetime dealing with his hearing loss. Having been left completely deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in another, Richard struggled to keep up with his fellow students in school, but after receiving his first pair of hearing aids his life turned around in exciting and dramatic ways.

Treat Hearing Loss Now

08/01/2012 - 10:08

Dangers of Untreated Hearing Loss

07/30/2012 - 08:37

Treating Hearing Loss with Hearing Aids

07/27/2012 - 11:38

Hearing aids help people reconnect with their families, friends, and the world around them, and this is true of people of every age with hearing loss. It’s hard not to be moved by the joy of a child who can suddenly hear a friend's whisper, their parent’s voice, cars zooming by, and the slam of a bat hitting a ball. Yvette Pinfield’s mother had this experience as a child when she received her first hearing aids.

The Impact of Untreated Hearing Loss

07/25/2012 - 10:05

Hearing loss can have a serious impact on anyone at any stage of their life. It can be genetic, happen over time, or happen in an instant. Though few people are familiar with the ramifications of not treating this condition, everyone is at risk for developing some amount of hearing loss. The risk increases with age, but isn’t exclusive to any particular age. The truth is that many people need to learn that untreated hearing loss impacts health in devastating ways, both emotional and physical.

Hearing Loss: Conditions and Causes

07/23/2012 - 11:26

With noise induced hearing loss on the rise, hearing problems are becoming more widely experienced and known by the general population. There is now a national recognition of the damage that earbuds and other devices that transmit music directly into the ear can cause, but the truth is hearing loss can happen to anyone at any age, and can be the result of a combination of factors like technology, medication, trauma, and diabetes.

Hearing with Hearing Loss

07/20/2012 - 10:44

Having been left completely deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in another, Richard Orcheret struggled to keep up with his fellow students, but after receiving his first pair of hearing aids his life turned around in exciting and dramatic ways. Read on to find out more!

Hearing Loss: Facts and Prevention

07/18/2012 - 09:59

Despite the rapid growth of hearing loss—which is now the third most common health problem in the United States, national attention remains low. Many people still don’t understand how to avoid or prevent damage to hearing, how to recognize subtle changes in hearing, or even how often to see an audiologist.

Treatments for Hearing Loss

07/16/2012 - 10:00

Hearing loss is unique to each individual, even for those that share the same degree and type of impairment. Solutions for treating individual hearing loss can be as varied as the problem. Fortunately, hearing technologies and treatments have advanced dramatically over the years. This is due, in part, to better trained and experienced professionals, but it is also the result of fast moving advances in hearing treatments and technology.

Hearing Aid Benefits

07/14/2012 - 00:00

The average person waits ten years before correcting hearing loss. Not only can this wasted time be stressful for spouse and family, requiring exhaustive interactions—shouting to be heard, repeating things, relating other’s comments, but it can also be dangerous for the person suffering with hearing loss. Shannon Caseber knows exactly how hard it is to watch someone you love slip into silence rather than face the truth about their hearing loss and invest in hearing aids. She also knows exactly how dangerous it can be, because this refusal almost cost her grandmother her life.

Hearing Loss Affects Income

07/11/2012 - 10:02

26 million people live with untreated hearing loss. A majority of those people cite the high cost of hearing aids as the reason for refusing treatment, but individuals and society still pay the cost in lost income, higher health care costs, and lost taxes. Untreated hearing loss costs the average person 12,000 a year, and the collective monitory cost of untreated hearing loss is thought to exceed 100 billion dollars a year.

Hearing Protection: Stop Work-Related Hearing Loss

07/09/2012 - 10:09

According to the Center for Disease Control, “30 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job and an additional nine million are at risk for hearing loss from other agents such as solvents and metals.” Hearing loss at work can result both from harmful noise levels and from exposure to dangerous chemicals. Preserving hearing in these situations can be as simple as wearing hearing protection.

Buying Hearing Aids Online

07/04/2012 - 16:22

The Internet is a great resource for information, but when it comes to prescribing, diagnosing, and treating medical conditions such as hearing loss consumers are losing out. Hearing aids purchased online are costing people with hearing loss more than they know.

Hearing Aids: Purchasing Do's and Don'ts

07/02/2012 - 23:00

When it comes to investing in hearing aids there are a lot of sophisticated choices. Today's hearing aids provide discreet, comfort and advanced features that adjust to a person's environment while storing a users preferences. The amazing advances of hearing aids can make purchasing the right ones seem daunting. Following a few simple do's and don'ts can help make the process easier.

Upgrading Your Listening Devices

06/29/2012 - 10:46

Hearing loss can worsen over time, so that listening devices that once made things clear and intelligible now provides less clarity. Just like with the original loss of hearing this decline sometimes goes unnoticed and individuals comfortable with their listening devices might resist getting their hearing checked, getting hearing aids adjusted, or discovering the benefits of new listening devices. This resistance can cause the same isolation, depression, and cognitive problems as untreated hearing loss. But as one member of our People Hearing Better community tells us, getting new listening devices can make all the difference.

Delays in Seeking Hearing Loss Help

06/27/2012 - 00:00

Whatever the reasons for hearing loss--diabetes, autoimmune disease, Meniere's, age, or sudden hearing loss people tend to share one common symptom--procrastination. Delays in seeking hearing loss help can cause problems to compound and often results in other mental and physical complications.

Hormone Deficit Linked to Hearing Loss

06/25/2012 - 10:39

Researchers have linked a hormone called aldosterone to the quality of people's hearing as they age. This hormone plays crucial roles within the body. It regulates kidney function and is key for signaling two essential chemicals in the nervous system, potassium and sodium. According to recent studies, the more aldosterone hormone a person has in their bloodstream, the better their hearing and the less of the hormone, the worse their hearing.

Musicians and Hearing: The Sound Problem

06/22/2012 - 11:15

Playing music is a joyful and creative outlet, that has been shown to improve the ability to communicate and language skills as people age. Musicians are known to have greater skills at discerning certain sounds, even in background noise, but playing music without protective hearing devices is one of the leading causes of hearing loss and contributes to one of the most annoying symptoms of hearing loss--tinnitus. Today there are many options when it comes to protecting hearing, but as singer Denna Benfante tells us that wasn't the case fifty years ago when her accompanist, Stuie, began his career.

Hearing Loss Solutions on the Rise

06/20/2012 - 10:40

Normally a person has up to 50,000 hair cells within the inner ear that help conduct sound to the brain, but age, noise, and ototoxicity all contribute to breakage of these hair cells, causing hearing loss that up until a short while ago was considered irreversible. Now, researchers on different fronts have hope that they might disprove this belief. Or rather, in one case, transplant it.

Hearing Health News

06/18/2012 - 10:02

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered the hair cells of the inner ear have a previously unknown "root" extension. This root may be responsible for allowing hair cells to communicate with the brain. The brain plays essential parts in hearing and regulating head position. This finding, reported online in advance of print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could help advance hearing health and hearing loss treatments.

Increase Hearing Fitness

06/15/2012 - 07:13

According to the Hearing is Living study, a global study conducted by Hear-the-World people who wear hearing aids are more active and social and happy than those who do not. In part, that's because people with hearing loss tend to withdraw from social situations and other interactions that increase happiness. When the ability to communicate is returned through hearing aids, many times a sense of hearing fitness and openness to the world is also returned.

Protect Your Hearing This Summer

06/11/2012 - 11:16

Benefits of Treating Hearing Loss

06/08/2012 - 10:56

People with untreated hearing loss often experience a separation from the outside world that slowly increases stress, depression, and profoundly impacts daily interactions. Not surprisingly, as found by the Hearing is Living study, people fitted with hearing aids report an increased sense of happiness, improved relationships, and overall wellbeing. As Anita Chambers, who rediscovered freedom and independence after treating her hearing loss said, "It's an unbelievable experience to get your hearing back."

How Hearing and Your Brain Work Together

06/06/2012 - 16:14

People with untreated hearing loss experience a separation from the outside world that slowly increases stress, depression, and can have a profound impact on the way an individual interacts with the world. It is no surprise then that people fitted with hearing aids report an increased sense of happiness and improved relationships, but some might find it surprising that people also report an increased ability to concentrate. It turns out hearing and the brain work together in many subtle and profound ways.

Hearing Better Tied to Higher Self-Esteem

06/04/2012 - 10:20

A recent study supported by Phonak, a hearing aid manufacturer with over sixty years experience in listening acoustics, illustrates the connection between hearing health and good self-esteem. The "Hearing is Living" study was reported on by Hear-the-World global initiative started by Phonak to build awareness about hearing loss and the importance of good hearing health.

Hearing Loss and Relationship Stress

06/01/2012 - 11:02

The stress of hearing loss includes the fear of not being able to react or respond appropriately in a given situation. This worry plays a role in how an individual views themselves and sometimes can cause anxiety based reactions that increase tension between loved ones. Complicating this tension is the common denial and depression associated with untreated hearing loss. A member of the People Hearing Better community, Barbara Reese, knows exactly how stressful hearing loss can be on a relationship and the difference understanding and treatment can make in both partner's lives.

Tips for Traveling with Hearing Aids

05/30/2012 - 12:16

Hearing loss is often called the invisible disability. Not only because it's physically hidden, but because it hinders communication so that individuals with hearing loss find themselves withdrawing from social or traveling opportunities. Investing in hearing aids helps to bridge the gap with communication and socialization, but an added problem then arises with travel--how to travel safely and comfortably with hearing aids. Today, People Hearing Better will give you a few expert tips on just how you can manage a hassle free hearing aid vacation.

Ear Candling: Getting Burned

05/28/2012 - 17:43

Earwax also known as cerumen is essential for hearing health. It is part of the natural cleaning process within the ears, protecting the skin within the ear, lubricating, guarding against bacteria and as counterintuitive as it seems, helping to clean out the ears. There are very few times when a person should attempt to clean the wax from their ears. And, in fact, some of the techniques people use to clean their ears, like ear candling, can cause much more harm than good and have even been reported to cause burns. Unfortunately, like the snake oil salesman of yesteryear, some ear candle manufacturers make unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of cleaning ears with an ear candle.

The Silent Sacrifice of Veterans

05/25/2012 - 09:03

The men and women of our armed services give much to protect the United States, and often times these men and women are not done paying for that service simply because their time in the military has ended. This is the case for both physical and emotional wounds, some of which can go unnoticed for years—as regularly happens with hearing loss. No one understands this better than former 1st Lt. Robert Rock, USA Corps of Engineers. Former 1st Lt. Rock served his country valiantly in WWII, assisting in strategic and dangerous missions that helped clear the way for the troops to advance. His service exposed him to heavy artillery rounds and explosive, concussive sounds that damaged his hearing.

Audiology and Help for Autistic Children

05/23/2012 - 19:42

Children with autism can have a difficulty with learning and language that isn't the direct result of their autism, but of an additional condition known as Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). APD prohibits children from understanding and processing language in the average or expected way. Since this disorder can have many individualized symptoms and components, to get the proper treatment and instruction children must first be evaluated and properly diagnosed by an audiologist.

Autism and Auditory Processing Disorders

05/21/2012 - 09:30

1 in 88 children are now affected by some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Children with autism have significant problems with socialization and language development. One reason for problems with language may be related to an Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). This means that the child has a problem discerning sounds, like those in a classroom, or understanding sounds or language the way an average student might. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of this deficit of language and hearing is key to getting a proper diagnosis and the correct treatment for autistic students.

The Success of Hearing Aids

05/18/2012 - 10:52

A recent study led by Hear the World titled Hearing is Living has provided startling evidence that hearing aid use improves relationships and can even benefit a person's love life. According to the study, "70 percent of all respondents who have hearing aids confirm that their relationship has improved since they’ve been wearing a hearing aid. Over a third (36%) of respondents even report a more fulfilled love life since their hearing has improved." Cleone Mcaplin of Boston, Massachusetts can certainly attest to how hearing aids can help a relationship.

Hearing Health Trends

05/16/2012 - 09:15

In the wake of new data showing that taking care of hearing is one of the most important things people can do to benefit their health as they age, there is a plethora of surveys revealing trends in healthy hearing. These surveys indicate that, though there is an increase in the amount of people with hearing loss, the use of hearing amplification remains stubbornly low.

Hearing Health Misconception

05/14/2012 - 00:00

A recent study run by the AARP and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Assocation (ASHA) yielded some surprising results when it comes to hearing health. It's not shocking that people fifty and older would consider hearing health to be of paramount importance--eighty percent do, but what is surprising is that the same adults that claim to care about their hearing health have a high level of untreated hearing loss. So what hearing health misconception keeps people from treating their hearing loss?

Falls Linked to Hearing Loss

05/09/2012 - 00:00

Untreated Hearing Loss Increases Risk of Falls

05/07/2012 - 00:00

Untreated hearing loss has been linked to cognitive difficulties like Alzheimer's and dementia, an increased risk for social and emotional problems, and now a new study shows it creates a greater likelihood that people will encounter the severe problems associated with sudden falls. The recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins and funded by the National Institute on Health found that untreated hearing loss led to a 3x greater likelihood of falls and that this likelihood continued to increase with every 10 db rise in hearing loss.

Emotional Stress and Hearing Loss

05/04/2012 - 00:00

Typically hearing loss is something people are either born with or develop slowly over time, but sudden sensorieneural hearing loss (SSHL) is an unexpected loss of most or all hearing in one or both ears. Waiting to treat SSHL often results in permanent hearing loss. Sadly, even when a patient gets to the hospital quickly, hearing loss cannot always be reversed, although a portion can typically be maintained. Dealing with this or any type of hearing loss can cause emotional stress and put a strain on relationships. This is what Phyllis G. Pisa discovered when, shortly after being married, she woke up with shooting pain in her right ear.

The Talk of the Town Contest!

05/02/2012 - 00:00

For over 75 years, Better Hearing & Speech Month (BHSM) has served to make people aware of the importance of hearing health and the impact of hearing and speech disorders on people's lives. To honor and support that commitment, Second Sense Hearing Solutions is kicking off their summer contest in May to raise awareness, give away prizes, and help make hearing loss The Talk of the Town!

Cleaning Out Your Ears: Best Practices

04/30/2012 - 00:00

Earwax might seem an annoying and useless function of the ears, but it's actually quite useful. Earwax also known as cerumen is essential for healthy hearing. Cerumen is a result of natural cleaning processes within the ears, produced by glands within the ear canals. Earwax protects the skin of the ears, lubricates, guards against bacteria, and helps clean the ears. But too much earwax can cause a buildup and issues for people, especially someone wearing hearing aids. So what is the best way to clean out excess earwax?

The Importance of Hearing Health as People Age

04/27/2012 - 00:00

Despite recognizing the importance of hearing health as people age, seniors are still reluctant to treat hearing loss. According to an AARP-ASHA Survey: Seniors Choose to Live with Hearing Loss, eighty percent of seniors say that hearing health is important to them, but half of these respondents admitted to having untreated hearing health issues. There are a lot of reasons that people with hearing loss refuse to seek treatment. Sometimes it's a misconception about stigma of wearing hearing aids, sometimes it's fear of technology, and sometimes it's more personal reasons like a feeling of unworthiness. Often it takes a family member or close friend to push someone toward making a decision that will benefit them and their hearing. Such was the case with Trudy Gerson, who at 90 spent a lot of time refusing to treat her hearing loss despite the feelings of isolation.

Hearing Loss Support Groups

04/25/2012 - 00:00

The internet is a wonderful thing, especially for people with hearing loss. It allows an ease of communication that is sometimes difficult in daily interactions with average hearing individuals. It also allows those who have experiences with hearing loss to interact and share their knowledge with others. Today, People Hearing Better is happy to repost an article by Paula Rosenthal that focuses on support groups and online resources for people with hearing loss. Paula knows a lot about hearing loss. Not only does she deal with her own hearing loss in her professions of writer, lawyer, and motivational speaker, but her husband and her daughter also have hearing loss. And as Paula says, if you don't think you need a support group, think again!

Children and Hearing Loss: The Importance of Hearing Aids

04/23/2012 - 12:26

The 24,000 babies born each year with hearing loss are only a portion of the children living with hearing loss every day. Childhood hearing loss is the number one birth defect in the United States, and is also on the rise among children and adolescents. Childhood hearing loss can cause the same kind of emotional stress and isolation as adult hearing loss. Extra care must be taken to help children understand the importance of wearing hearing aids. Not only because they are learning to speak, communicate, and get cues from the world, but because auditory parts of the brain can cease working without the sound impulses delivered through hearing aids.

Discover the Benefits of Hearing Aids

04/20/2012 - 00:00

Untreated hearing loss has significant impact on every aspect of a person’s daily life—emotional and physical. It can increase irritability, workplace accidents, and reduce compensation. In addition to being linked to an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s, untreated hearing loss has also been tied to vertigo, tinnitus, and drop-falls. Though many people don't understand the whole body ramifications of this condition, there is remarkable progress being made to draw attention to the problems of not treating hearing loss. The good news is that studies have shown many of the problems associated with untreated hearing loss can be corrected with hearing aids.

Assistive Listening Devices for Clearer Hearing

04/18/2012 - 09:18

Poor room acoustics, a greater distance to the speaker, and background noise are all elements that can inhibit the sound quality of hearing aids. This means that a higher volume cannot make up for the interference, so understanding what is being said becomes a real chore. In these cases it helps to clarify the signal into your hearing aids by eliminating background noise and acoustical reverberations. This clearer hearing is best accomplished with an assistive listening device (ALD).

What is Better Hearing and Speech Month?

04/17/2012 - 00:00

Communication is an essential human need. It allows for self-expression, interaction, friendship, and makes everyday tasks easier. Difficulty with communication affects every aspect of a person's life--from relationships, work, to going to a grocery store. Better Hearing and Speech Month is a public health campaign that has focused awareness on the problems and solutions of speech, language, and hearing since 1927.

Hearing Aids: Background Noise Solutions

04/16/2012 - 10:44

Thanks to recent technological advances, people with hearing loss have seen the old myths about hearing aids--big and loud with feedback problems, fall by the wayside. Today's sleek and stylish hearing aids are discreet and come with many amazing features like directional microphones and remote controls. But just as distance can impede sight, requiring people to use binoculars, there are situations in which listening, even with today's advanced hearing technologies, becomes difficult. That's why there are systems for delivering sound data that can be paired with hearing aids, compensating for poor room acoustics, greater distance to the speaker, and background noise.

Hearing Aids: Advances over the Years

04/13/2012 - 14:05

In the distant past of hearing aids having, hearing loss could mean wearing indiscreet aids with lots of feedback. Today's hearing aids provide discreet, comfort and advanced features that adjust to a person's environment while storing a users preferences. The amazing advances of hearing aids over the years are perhaps appreciated most by people who have had hearing loss their whole lives and have taken part in this technological evolution. Such was the case with Lisa Wilcox who was diagnosed with hearing loss in kindergarten.

Top Treatments for Otosclerosis

04/11/2012 - 14:46

Otosclerosis: A Hearing Health Mystery

04/09/2012 - 10:47

Our remarkable ability to hear is the result of tiny and delicate instruments within the ears working in conjunction with larger parts. The precision with which these parts work together is an amazing feat that can sometimes go awry. When any one of these complex parts becomes damaged hearing loss can happen. Sometimes the cause of hearing loss is something that could have been avoided, like noise, and sometimes it's something no one could have foreseen, like the mysterious bone growth associated with otosclerosis.

My First Day with Hearing Aids

04/06/2012 - 13:43

Helen Keller once said, "The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex [than blindness]…it means the loss of the most vital stimulus--the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man." The separation those with hearing loss experience from the outside world increases stress, depression, and can have a profound impact on the way the mind works. It is no surprise then that people fitted with hearing aids often experience great relief and joy. Such was the case with David Hill, who wrote his audiologist at Audiology Experts to describe his amazing experiences on his first day with hearing aids.

Finding the Right Hearing Health Professional

04/04/2012 - 10:36

Hearing loss brings with it a lot of questions, concerns, and confusion. There are many choices when it comes to hearing health care, the purchase of hearing aids, and finding the right hearing health professional. One issue is that people are often perplexed by the difference between an audiologist, an ENT, and a hearing aid dispenser. Knowing the difference can help you find the right hearing health professional.

Risks of Buying Hearing Aids Online

04/02/2012 - 10:37

Time and money are two of the benefits to shopping online. It’s also easy to look at and compare products without leaving your home. The Internet is a great resource for information, but when it comes to prescribing, diagnosing, and treating medical conditions such as hearing loss consumers are losing out. Hearing aids purchased online are costing people with hearing loss more than they know.

Hearing Loss: Undiagnosed for Thirty Years

03/30/2012 - 13:35

Despite recognizing the need for specialized healthcare, many people still don't understand the sophisticated training and advanced equipment needed to properly diagnose hearing loss. Often a general practitioner doesn't have experience with or access to the technical audiometric equipment found in an Audiologist or ENT's office. That's why full assessments by an audiologist have been shown to more effectively and accurately identify the nuanced ranges of individual hearing loss. Patients who are not properly tested can waste years, risking serious health complications, before their hearing loss is diagnosed and treated. Such was the case with Cynthia Babb of Royal Oak, Michigan.

Meniere's Disease: Important Treatments

03/28/2012 - 11:32

Meniere’s disease is a mysterious disorder of the inner ear. Symptoms include vertigo, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in ears), fullness in the ears, and hearing loss. No age is immune from this condition, but it becomes more common as people grow older. Causes from Meniere's are debated to this day, and though there is no known cure for this disease, there are some truly effective and important methods for treating symptoms.

Meniere's Disease: Causes and Symptoms

03/26/2012 - 10:43

If you have ever suffered from vertigo—the sense that the world is moving around you, you know there isn’t much you can do until the feeling passes. People afflicted with Meniere’s disease are confronted with severe vertigo that can leave them wheelchair bound. Meniere’s disease (named after French physician Prosper Meniere) is a disorder of the inner ear with symptoms that include incapacitating vertigo, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in ears), pressure in the ears, and varying degrees of intermittent hearing loss. This disease can happen in people of any age, even children, but becomes more common as people grow older. Causes of Meniere's are debated to this day, but medical science leans toward certain discernible factors.

Hearing Aids: Rejoining the World

03/23/2012 - 10:55

The men and women of our armed services give much to protect the United States, and often times these men and women are not done paying for that service simply because their time in the military has ended. This is the case for both physical and emotional wounds, some of which can go unnoticed for years—as is regularly the case with hearing loss. No one understands this better than former 1st Lt. Robert Rock, USA Corps of Engineers. Former 1st Lt. Rock served his country valiantly in WWII, assisting in strategic and dangerous missions that helped clear the way for the troops to advance. His service exposed him to heavy artillery rounds and explosive, concussive sounds that damaged his hearing. It was many years before these wounds, combined with infections suffered in childhood and age, took away enough of 1st Lt. Rock’s hearing that he began to feel cut off from the world. Rejoining the world through use of hearing aids would require him to combat his own internal fears.

Ototoxicity: How Medication Damages Hearing

03/21/2012 - 09:40

There is a balancing act between treating an illness or condition and creating another problem through the use of medications. Ototoxicity or what some call ear poisoning is a side effect of taking certain medications, including too much aspirin, and results in damage to hearing.

Top Causes of Hearing Loss

03/19/2012 - 23:00

Hearing loss is on the rise among children, adolescents, middle-aged, and older Americans due to a range of causes-- the advancement of technologies, large tools and trade equipment in the workplace, and increasing use of medications that are toxic to the ears. It is now conservatively estimated that 39 million people suffer from bilateral or unilateral hearing loss in the United States and 500 million people worldwide. Surprisingly, the number one cause of hearing loss is noise. Other top causes of hearing loss are even less well known.

Please Don't Wait: Hear Better Now

03/16/2012 - 00:00

Jennifer Yeaton was 29 when she discovered she had hearing loss. Knowing she had hearing loss didn't inspire her to find a way to hear better immediately. She decided to live with it. This mistake cost her time and allowed parts of her world to quietly slip away.

How Hearing Helps Your Brain

03/14/2012 - 16:37

Hearing is a remarkable ability and the result of tiny and delicate instruments within the ears working in conjunction with larger parts in order to produce electrical signals that are interpreted as a myriad of sounds by the brain. The brain is of prime importance in sorting and categorizing these sounds. Interestingly enough how well the brain functions may also be tied in with the level of sound the ears deliver.

Benefits of Upgrading Hearing Aids

03/09/2012 - 14:07

Hearing loss can worsen over time, so that an older hearing aid that once made things clear and intelligible now provides less clarity. Just like with the original loss of hearing this decline sometimes goes unnoticed and individuals comfortable with their hearing aids might resist getting their hearing checked, getting hearing aids adjusted, or discovering the benefits of new hearing aids. This resistance can cause the same isolation, depression, and cognitive problems as untreated hearing loss. And as one member of our People Hearing Better community tells us, it can also mean the difference between being part of the family or feeling left out.

Childhood Hearing Loss: 9 Step Anti-Bully Plan

03/07/2012 - 14:36

Childhood hearing loss requires children to overcome many barriers with learning, language, and social communication. When a bully is involved, this social gap can be too wide for a child to handle on their own. Developing an anti-bullying plan of action is the best way to help empower children with a functional difference to cope with these challenging situations.

Childhood Hearing Loss, Education, and Bullies

03/05/2012 - 08:17

The impact of bullying on children can be devastating--loss of interest in education, feelings of isolation, and low self-esteem. As difficult and unacceptable as this behavior is for a hearing student, it can be worse for a student who already has to bridge a barrier with the world of education, a child with hearing loss.

Successful Hearing Loss Treatment

03/02/2012 - 01:00

Myths surrounding hearing aids often keep people from seeking treatment for their hearing loss. A recent AARP-ASHA survey reported on by the Hearing Journal found that many seniors had decided to live with hearing loss rather than get corrective treatment. Some respondents said the cost of investing in hearing aids kept them from today's successful hearing loss treatments. But it is also thought seniors declined to treat hearing loss because the true costs, emotional, physical, and mental decline, not to mention the added strain on society and families goes widely unrecognized. Sandra Hildebrant learned all about what hearing loss was costing her. At 72 Sandra was surprised to discover her hearing loss had cut her off from family and friends.

The Costs of Untreated Hearing Loss

02/29/2012 - 01:00

For years hearing loss has been relegated as a naturally degenerative condition of a select few, but hearing loss is growing at a fast pace among children, adolescents, middle-aged, and older Americans due to an aging population, earbuds, large work equipment, and new medications proven toxic to the ears. This increase in hearing loss has not corresponded with an increase in awareness or action. Many people decide not to treat their hearing loss, citing the costs of new hearing aids. It turns out that hearing loss left untreated has far-reaching health, emotional, and financial costs for individuals and society.

Causes of Hearing Problems

02/27/2012 - 08:22

Top hearing news continues to show hearing problems growing increasingly common in today’s modern world. Many people acknowledge that with noise induced hearing loss on the rise, hearing problems are no longer relegated to an aging population. There is now a national recognition of the damage that earbuds and other devices that transmit music directly into the ear can cause, but the real news is that there are many causes for hearing problems not just noise. Hearing problems can happen to anyone at any age, and can be the result of a combination of factors like age, technology, medication, trauma, and noise.

Communication and Hearing Loss

02/24/2012 - 18:21

Hearing loss is often called the invisible disability. Not only because it's physically hidden, but because it hinders communication so that individuals suffering with hearing loss often go unnoticed or are dismissed. Trying to communicate with hearing loss can lead to difficulties with self-expression and a feeling of being outside a group or family activity. This is what happened to Donna Hughes, who like many people trying to communicate with hearing loss, had to overcome her own fears in order to reconnect with life.

Childhood Hearing Loss: Questions and Answers

02/22/2012 - 15:40

12,000 babies are born each year with hearing loss; making childhood hearing loss the number one birth defect in the United States. Hearing loss is also on the rise among children and adolescents, including a noticeable increase in noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). It is well known that childhood hearing loss can cause the same kind of emotional stress and isolation as adult hearing loss, but there is an added complication. Children are learning to speak, communicate, and explore the world, so undetected hearing loss creates deficits in language skills and the average cognitive markers for childhood development.

Tinnitus and the Hearing Aid Solution

02/20/2012 - 01:00

Having a tin ear is an expression used to describe someone unable to grasp certain sounds, either musical or verbal. In contrast to that definition, tinnitus is the inability to stop hearing a phantom noise in one or both ears. So how do these two things relate? Believe it or not, they are both about hearing less than the average person. Studies confirm that in many cases tinnitus is a symptom of hearing loss and using a hearing aid can and does help relieve the phantom noises.

Coping with Hearing Loss

02/17/2012 - 01:00

Childhood Hearing Loss Signs and Solutions

02/15/2012 - 01:00

Parents of school aged children and younger often wonder what constitutes normal behavior and what serves as a sign a child may be having a problem with their hearing. Hearing loss can occur at any age and is the most common birth defect in the United States. Childhood hearing loss isn’t always easy to recognize.

Childhood Hearing Loss, Education, and Early Intervention

02/13/2012 - 09:34

Could your child’s poor performance in school be related to hearing loss?
Recent data indicates a thirty percent rise in hearing loss among U.S. adolescents and younger children. According to the Michigan State University's website, “Every teacher in the early elementary school can expect to have one-fourth to one-third of his or her students without normal hearing on any given day.” Unfortunately, these important facts haven't led to a rise in awareness about childhood hearing loss or its impact on school performance. The lack of information around childhood hearing loss means that many years can pass before a student is diagnosed and treated. Though early intervention is key, in some cases children reach adulthood before the hearing loss is recognized.

Hearing Loss: Misdiagnosed

02/10/2012 - 01:00

Hearing loss is sometimes misdiagnosed or misunderstood by professionals and teachers. Often this misunderstanding can result in individuals with hearing loss being treated as less intelligent. This is cruel when it happens to adults, and devastating when it happens to children. As a child April Uncapher was diagnosed not with the hearing loss that she had, but with a mental disability. She might have been doomed to never recognize her potential, if it wasn't for her mother's refusal to accept the doctor’s diagnoses.

New Treatment for Sudden Hearing Loss

02/08/2012 - 01:00

Sudden hearing loss also known as Sudden Senorieneural Hearing Loss (SSHL) has a short onset, typically within 72 hours. Not surprisingly, this abrupt condition also has a short time window to get successful treatment. Sudden hearing loss is considered an emergency and an audiologist or ENT should be consulted within the first 24 to 48 hours. In the past these hearing health providers treated sudden hearing loss with oral steroids. Now there is a new option for treating sudden hearing loss, and it runs counter to everything you might have been taught about sticking things in your ear.

The Danger of Sudden Hearing Loss

02/06/2012 - 01:00

Typically people who suffer from hearing loss are either born with the condition or develop it over time, but there is another kind of hearing loss that is destructive and abrupt. Sudden sensorieneural hearing loss (SSHL) is an unexpected loss of most or all hearing in one or both ears occurring within 3 days or less. Sudden hearing loss is considered an emergency, but those experiencing it often don't understand they need to call an audiologist immediately. The tendency with sudden hearing loss is to wait and see if it clears up. That's because loss of hearing or a clogged feeling in the ears is mistakingly believed to be temporary, but waiting to treat SSHL often results in permanent hearing loss.

Could Hearing Aids Save Your Life?

02/03/2012 - 14:37

Hearing Loss and Everyday Communication

02/01/2012 - 10:07

People Hearing Better welcomes Dr. Claudia Dewane, DEd, LCSW. Dr. Dewane has agreed to allow People Hearing Better to reprint experts from her article in Social Work Today, Hearing Loss in Older Adults — Its Effect on Mental Health. In her article, Dr. Dewane discusses the transition into hearing loss for late deafened or hard of hearing adults. Difficulties arise with everyday communication and awareness of the difficulties faced can help family and friends to better understand and communicate with a loved one who has hearing loss.

Unilateral Hearing Loss: Do You Hear What I Hear?

01/30/2012 - 01:00

One in 20 school age children suffer from unilateral hearing loss or hearing loss in one ear. In the past, it has been common practice not to treat hearing loss that occurred only in one ear. The assumption was that the one “normal” ear would compensate for the loss. A new study at Washington University School of Medicine has proven that long established myths claiming unilateral hearing loss does not hinder a child’s performance in school are false. Loss of hearing in one ear inhibits a child from using and recognizing language.

Hearing Loss Solutions

01/27/2012 - 01:00

Sometimes people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to hearing loss solutions. Hearing aids are not a magic wand, but an advanced technology that needs to be adjusted and fitted in order to work for an individual’s specific hearing needs. This is important, because untreated hearing loss can lead to isolation, lower the quality of life, and has been linked to Alzheimer's and dementia.

Top Five Methods for Hearing Aid Success

01/25/2012 - 12:23

People often have unrealistic expectations when it comes to their hearing aids. Silence is less abrasive than sound, so a hard of hearing person, conditioned to hearing less, will sometimes give up on their new hearing aids when a few adjustments and some patience could’ve made all the difference.

Listening Devices: The Sound Problem

01/23/2012 - 01:00

Despite the many benefits of hearing aids and other listening devices, they introduce a new problem--finding comfort with sound again. Silence is less abrasive the sound, so the return of noise can be startling to someone using a new listening device. This adjustment period is normal. Hearing loss is unique to each person, so sophisticated listening devices need to be adapted for individual use by an audiologist. Working with an audiologist is key to ensure an individual has their hearing aids set to their preferences. Unrealistic expectations around listening devices mistakingly lead some people to turn off their hearing aids and subsequently the world.

You're Never Too Old For A Better Life!

01/20/2012 - 10:57

In preparation for his 100th birthday celebration, Orville bought new eyeglasses, new dentures, and a new hearing aid. Surprised? Too often seniors will forgo taking care of the essential aspects of their health assuming that these concerns are for younger people. Orville never hesitated to buy the things necessary to improve his quality of life, wanting to get the most out of every day. His story demonstrates that an enriched life doesn't stop at a certain decade, but is essential for every age.

The Hero's Journey (Part 2)

01/19/2012 - 01:00

Part One of Dr. Michael Harvey's talk on hearing loss, No Longer Who I was But Yet Not Who I Will Be discussed how individuals who develop hearing loss or deafness later in life must let go of their prior identity and create a new one. He compares this transition to the "Hero's Journey", a term coined by historian Joseph Campbell. In today's post Dr. Harvey provides tools for the individual to help them with this transformation.

Hearing Loss: The Hero's Journey

01/18/2012 - 11:36

Today Dr. Michael Harvey a psychologist who does workshops, presentations, and training for people coping with deafness or hearing loss is a guest blogger. He has allowed People Hearing Better to reprint parts of his keynote address given for the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) in Orland, Florida. In the first part of this speech he discusses the difficulty of adapting to hearing loss and in the second part, appearing tomorrow, he provides tools that will help individuals in this experience which he compares to the mythical journey of the hero.

Baby Boomers Face Hearing Loss

01/16/2012 - 01:00

In our ever-changing world, baby boomers are a unique generation. Generally, they grew up healthier and wealthier than their parents and with a strong belief in an improving world. As baby boomers have grown older, they have tended to face the changes in their health and bodies with an open and optimistic attitude. The rock and roll generation’s fun-loving and active lifestyles set the tone for those that follow. And so it comes as a surprise that the same is not true of baby boomers with hearing loss.

Gain Freedom with Hearing Loss Solutions

01/13/2012 - 01:00

There is nothing harder than watching a loved one suffer with a condition you know could be improved if they would relent to doing something about it. Tanya Mandel knows what it’s like, because she watched her grandfather become more and more removed from life, friends, and even her as his hearing loss increased. When he finally agreed to find a hearing loss solution, much of his hearing and the freedom he’d been missing was restored to him. Tanya shares her grandfather's story on today's People Hearing Better.

Discover the Top Warning Signs of Hearing Loss

01/11/2012 - 01:00

Hearing loss isn't always easy to recognize. People become conditioned to diminishing sounds and silence is less abrasive then noise, so its presence goes unnoticed. The top warning signs of hearing loss might surprise you, as might the number one cause of hearing loss.

How to Protect Your Hearing in a Noisy World

01/09/2012 - 01:00

For years I have watched my neighbor drive around on his piercingly loud, somewhat antiquated, lawnmower wearing huge, bright yellow protective headphones. I usually have to shut all my windows and doors while he is doing this to block out the explosively loud clamor. I’ve often wondered how he could stand the noise, even with the protective headphones, and hoped that he hadn’t forgotten that childhood admonition, “Too loud, too long, too close.” This oh-so-catchy adage needs to be repeated to ourselves and others, and not just for fun alliteration, but to help create awareness around the only preventable type of hearing loss-- noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

No Silence in the White House

01/06/2012 - 01:00

Often times we think of courage as going into battle and risking your life, but there are many shades of courage and overcoming your own fears in order to be of service and benefit to others is certainly one of them. Martin Rogoff was courageous when he faced his hearing loss, got hearing aids, and took on some of the toughest critics the world has to offer—teenagers.

Is Your Diet Aging Your Ears?

01/04/2012 - 01:00

According to Science Based Health, “Loss of hearing is the most common sensory disorder in the US, affecting more than 36 million people.” It turns out, maybe not surprisingly, that what we eat can have long-term consequences for our hearing. An Australian study reported on in the Journal of Nutrition, has shown that diets high in sugar and carbohydrates detrimentally impacts hearing.

Hearing Loss: Prevention Through Nutrition

01/02/2012 - 01:00

There are many ways to support and maintain healthy hearing--protecting ears from noise pollution, turning down the music, and getting a regular checkup from an audiologist, but nutrition also plays a key part in hearing preservation. Studies confirm that hearing loss and poor nutrition go hand and hand. An Australian study reported on in the Journal of Nutrition, has shown that diets high in sugar and carbohydrates detrimentally impacts hearing. A similar study showed that diets high in cholesterol also contribute to hearing loss normally associated with aging. Cutting out sugary and cholesterol rich foods would be a good start to a hearing fitness plan, but good hearing nutrition doesn’t only take into account what a diet includes, but also what is lacking.

Whispers and Laughter: Correcting Childhood Hearing Loss

12/30/2011 - 10:29

The People Hearing Better blog is proud to share inspiring stories about how hearing aids have helped people reconnect with their families, friends, and the world around them, and there is something truly special about a story of corrected hearing loss that involves a child. It’s hard to top the unqualified joy of a child who can suddenly hear a friend's whisper, their parent’s voice, cars zooming by, and the slam of a bat hitting a ball. Yvette Pinfield’s mother had this experience as a child when she received her first hearing aids.

What Kind of Hearing Aid is Right for You?

12/28/2011 - 13:14

Making Sense of Hearing Loss

12/26/2011 - 10:44

People blessed with sight and hearing sometimes play the “sense game,” wondering which sense would be the worse to lose. It’s a silly diversion with impossible answers. It’s as difficult to imagine being unable to see the sky or a child’s face as it is to imagine being unable to hear a violin playing or a daughter’s sparkling laughter. And since all of our senses are so precious a gift, it is that much harder for people to understand how the loss of a portion of this bounty could happen so gradually as to go unnoticed.

A Young Mother's Hearing Dilemma

12/23/2011 - 14:31

A young mother with a hearing loss, Patricia Leavitt-Crosby worried that using hearing aids would make her look old. She soon discovered the benefits of hearing aids—being able to understand the doctor and enjoy a trip to the grocery store, actually made her feel younger and more in tune with the world. As Patricia pointed out, today’s hearing aids are much more discreet than her prior confusion and frustrating inability to communicate. Keep reading to learn more about Patricia's heartwarming journey to hearing health.

How to Find Hearing Aid Funding

12/21/2011 - 13:59

The main reason people give for not investing in hearing aids or upgrading their current hearing aids is price. Ignoring the facts that untreated hearing loss costs the average person 12,000 a year, and that people who use hearing aids are shown to generate more income, most people are forced to look at the initial outlay and not the long term benefits.

Can Music Ward Off Hearing Loss?

12/19/2011 - 12:28

Warnings against listening to loud music because of its proven connection to hearing loss are well known, but did you know music can be good for your hearing? Music performed or listened to at acceptable levels—perhaps with protective listening devices, can help keep hearing fitness and brain elasticity. So suggests research done by Dr. Nina Kraus of Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience’s department.

Improving Life and Hearing

12/16/2011 - 10:52

Top Causes of Hearing Loss in Children

12/14/2011 - 12:48

Although hearing loss is on the rise among children and adolescents, it often goes unrecognized. Hearing loss is likely to go unnoticed because the symptoms mimic normal childhood behaviors—like trouble paying attention or not responding when called upon.

Children's Toys: The Hidden Danger

12/12/2011 - 01:00

Your child’s blaringly loud toy might be more than just aggravating. It could be harming their hearing. Unlike other aspects of toys, sound level is not regulated in the United States and manufacturers are not required to follow even basic safety standards when it comes to noise.

How a Gym Teacher Obtained Hearing Fitness

12/09/2011 - 12:30

People with hearing loss tend to withdraw from social situations. Many times they will convince themselves they feel more comfortable and truly don’t miss the interaction, but when the ability to communicate with others is returned, the loss they’d been living with becomes apparent.

Powerful Accessories for Hearing Aids

12/07/2011 - 09:40

Hearing aid technology has been vastly improved since the early days of horn and trumpet. With all these advances, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of the many accessories available for connecting hearing aids to modern conveniences. Connecting today’s spiffy devices and electronics with your hearing aids eliminates the background noise in home, car, and office--similar to someone without hearing loss using ear-buds, headphones, or Bluetooth headset to eliminate these noises.

Advances in Hearing Aid Technology

12/05/2011 - 11:06

Hearing Health

Hearing aids have advanced dramatically over the years. Today, more than ever, hearing aid users report higher satisfaction with listening technologies. This is due, in part, to better counseling by experienced professionals, but it is also the result of fast moving advances in hearing technology.

How a Life-Threatening Illness Became a “Lucky Break."

12/02/2011 - 11:27

“I’m thrilled my story will help people with hearing loss.”

Shortly before Stanley D. Katz’s 78th birthday, a regular visit to his cardiologist revealed a life-threatening arterial blockage. The doctor grimly informed Stanley that he would need open heart surgery. How did this dramatic news result in what Stanley--a winner in The Sweet Sounds of Life Contest, calls his, “Lucky break?” Read on to find out.

Hearing Loss: Four Tips on Talking to Your Loved One

11/30/2011 - 14:45

A decline in a loved one’s hearing can be stressful and emotional for everyone. There are four positive tactics family members can take to help someone they love deal with the challenges.

How to Help a Loved One Face Hearing Loss

11/28/2011 - 14:10

Admitting to hearing loss is often the first step in seeking help. There are ways to help a loved one who might be unwilling to face or even completely unaware of their hearing loss.

"Forgive me when you see me draw back when I would have gladly mingled with you. I fear being exposed to the danger that my condition might be noticed."

Ludwig Van Beethoven on his hearing loss

Hearing Aids: Powerful Story of Love and Listening

11/25/2011 - 13:09

How can hearing aids change the life of a loved one in dramatic and essential ways? According to Ellen Cole of Albany, New York, a winner of The Sweet Sounds of Life Contest, “It’s all about conversations.” Read her endearing story to find out more!

“Women often tell me, ‘I wish my husband would do something about his hearing loss.’”

The Hearing Brain: Listening May Help Your Mind

11/23/2011 - 14:19

Sensory input form your ears may help to keep your brain younger and functioning better. Recent studies confirm there is a startling connection between hearing health and brain function.

Improve Memory with a Hearing Aid

11/21/2011 - 10:54

Hearing aids have been shown to improve mood, income, and health. Now studies indicate they may also play a role in how the brain functions.

Hearing Loss: First Steps to Improved Hearing

11/18/2011 - 09:55

“Few people notice I have hearing aids.”

Anyone who openly faces their hearing loss and does something about is to be admired. Connie Cross of South Casco, Maine is no exception. In Connie's winning entry for The Sweet Sounds of Life Contest, she shares her determination to overcome her own individual fears in order to achieve a fuller and more engaged lifestyle.

The Hidden Link: Diabetes and Hearing Loss

11/16/2011 - 14:01

Many people are aware of the dangers diabetes can mean to the physical health of the heart, circulatory system and eyes, but there is a lesser known but equally significant connection with hearing loss.

About

11/16/2011 - 00:03

Welcome to People Hearing Better—your community for hearing health.

About People Hearing Better

People Hearing Better (PHB) is an open community intended to provide support, the latest news, and relevant advice to those whose lives have been touched by hearing loss. Our welcoming environment allows practitioners, patients, and family a place to discuss hearing health and its related topics.

Diabetics: Seven Ways to Hearing Health

11/14/2011 - 15:58

Glucose overload means diabetics are more likely to suffer from hearing loss, but there are proven ways to protect hearing and help prevent hearing loss.

Disclaimer

11/14/2011 - 01:08

Welcome to People Hearing Better—your community for hearing health.

The administrators of People Hearing Better welcome open and respectful communication in this community. Though it is impossible to read every message, we will endeavor to review as many as possible. Still, we must remind members that the views expressed in blog responses reflect only the opinion of the individual and not that of People Hearing Better or SecondSense™ Hearing Solutions.