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The Ontario Infant Hearing Program: A Parent’s Guide to Newborn Hearing Screening

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash Few things matter more to new parents than knowing their baby is healthy. Among the screening tests offered shortly after birth, the newborn hearing screening is one of the most important yet often overlooked. Hearing plays a critical role in a child’s early development, supporting speech and language acquisition, communication, learning, and social interaction. Identifying any hearing differences as early as possible gives families and healthcare professionals the best opportunity to provide timely support. Ontario has had a universal newborn hearing screening program in place since the early 2000s, delivered through the Infant Hearing Program

What Your Audiologist Needs to Know About Your Health and Daily Life

A hearing test is an important part of understanding your hearing, but it doesn’t tell your audiologist everything. Your health, daily routine, listening environments, and personal goals can all influence the type of hearing care that may work best for you. Knowing what to tell your audiologist helps them see the full picture. A recent health change, a new challenge at work, or difficulty following conversations in restaurants may seem unrelated to your appointment, but these details can provide useful context. The more specific you can be, the easier it is to build a hearing care plan around your real life.

A man holding his ear, showing signs of Tinnitus pain

Understanding Tinnitus And Why It Happens

Tinnitus is often described as ringing in the ears, but it can sound different from person to person. Some people hear buzzing, humming, hissing, clicking, or even a whooshing sound, even when there is no outside noise causing it. For some, it comes and goes. For others, it can become a constant background sound. Tinnitus is also more common than many people realize. More than 40% of Canadians will experience tinnitus at some point in their lives, and for some, it can become bothersome enough to affect sleep, concentration, mood, and daily comfort. Understanding tinnitus means looking at what it is,

Elderly woman with short white hair, wearing a light blue jacket, leans forward with a hand to her ear, struggling with hearing loss.

How Do You Know If You Have Hearing Loss

Have you started asking people to repeat themselves more often? Maybe conversations in busy restaurants feel harder to follow, or you’ve noticed the television volume creeping higher than everyone else prefers. Hearing loss often develops gradually, which can make the early signs easy to dismiss. What feels like occasional mishearing or background noise frustration may actually be the beginning of a change in your hearing. Because hearing loss can happen slowly, many people do not realize how much they have been missing until someone else points it out. Recognizing the signs early can help you take action sooner, making it easier

The Hidden Impact of Headphones: Are You Listening Safely in 2026?

Headphones have become part of daily life. They’re on during commutes, at the gym, through the workday, and well into the evening. For many people, including teenagers and young adults, they’re in use for several hours a day. Yet very few people think about what prolonged listening at high volumes is doing to their hearing over time. This post explains how headphone use can affect your hearing, what the warning signs look like, and what safe listening means in practice. Can Headphones Cause Permanent Hearing Loss? Yes. Repeated exposure to loud sound through headphones can permanently damage the hair cells of

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DO YOU HAVE A MUSICAL EAR?

If you are a musician, you should know that recent research shows that musicians top the charts when it comes to hearing loss. In fact, an analysis of the insurance records of seven million people shows that professional musicians are nearly four times more likely to suffer noise-induced deafness. Moreover, the study indicated that musicians were also about 57 percent more likely to suffer from “tinnitus,” which is ringing in the ears associated with hearing loss. A symphony orchestra can hit 120-137 decibels, and a rock concert can top 150 decibels. Over time, loud music takes its toll. Musicians of all

EXPLAINING GENDER BIAS

Studies indicate that men are twice as likely to develop hearing loss as women, especially those between the ages of 20-69. One of the many possible explanations for this difference involves the “female sex hormone” estradiol, which is found in both men and women. In women, estradiol functions as a growth hormone for tissues of the reproductive organs and plays a critical role in sexual development. In men, the hormone is generated in testosterone by aromatase, a protein which is found throughout the male reproductive system. Estradiol is also known to affect other organs. Of particular interest to hearing specialists is

OVER-THE-COUNTER HEARING LOSS

While past studies have largely focused on men with hearing loss related to taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers, a more recent study concerns women with the same problem. According to a large Harvard study involving middle-aged female nurses, those taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen on a regular basis experienced a 20 percent higher risk of hearing loss. Curiously, the study did not show that aspirin produced the same effect even though it is the only OTC pain reliever to carry a warning of potential hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) on its label. Hearing loss that does not go away

RUPTURED EARDRUM

The eardrum, a thin layer of tissue that separates the ear canal from the middle ear, vibrates when sound waves hit it. In turn, those vibrations pass through the bones of the middle ear and are transformed into electrical signals that are sent to the brain. When the eardrum ruptures (due to very loud noises, ear infections, pressure changes between the inside and outside of the eardrum, injury, and foreign objects inserted into the ear), hearing loss, earache, discharge, and/or loud buzzing noises can result. Inspection of the ear with a otoscope can help determine the extent of damage. Fortunately, any

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