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Well Hearing is Well Being

Good hearing and communication are important through all stages of life Statistics Canada reports that 21% of adults have mild hearing loss2 whereas 7% of adults2 experience “moderate or worse” hearing loss. And hearing loss is generally prevalent over age 50. Hearing loss can be avoided through preventative actions like protecting your ears from loud sounds, practicing healthy ear care and keeping up with immunizations. Those at risk of hearing loss should have their hearing checked regularly because hearing loss can be addressed easily when it is identified in a timely manner. How can you take control of your hearing health?

Separate photos of a man playing guitar and a man using binoculars while hunting

Custom Hearing Protection

Did you know that 1.1 billion people around the world are estimated to be at risk of noise-induced hearing loss? While working in a loud environment or being surrounded by noise may not be something you can always avoid, protecting your hearing IS! 50% of young people admit to listening to their music too loudly and 70% of people exposed to loud noise seldom wear hearing protection. And excessive exposure to noises higher than 85dB can damage your hearing. Here’s some common noise decibels for reference… Gun shot: 140 Jackhammer: 130 Motorsport: 100 Hairdryer: 90 Airplane cabin: 80 We’ve all been

Group of people standing together shoulder to shoulder

Gift of Hearing Contest

According to the CDC, the prevalence of hearing loss is twice as common as diabetes or cancer. And although more common in adults ages 50 and up, hearing loss a ects all ages, demographics and people across the globe. About 40 million adults ages 20-69 in the U.S. alone have noise-induced hearing loss, and approximately 3 in every 1,000 babies are born with detectable hearing loss in one or both ears. At Ear and Hearing Clinic, we believe that hearing well is essen al to being able to live life to the fullest! We are dedicated and passionate about crea ng

AN OPEN DISCUSSION

In terms of gaining widespread acceptance by those in need of hearing instruments, the largest strides have been made by recently developed “open-fit” hearing instruments. Not only have these compact instruments proven their ability to help wearers hear better in social settings (which often pose the greatest challenge to hearing instrument users), they are exceedingly comfortable. Open-fit users are particularly enthusiastic about the instruments’ design, which eliminates the need for custom-fitted molds that fit tightly in the ear canal. Instead, open-fit instruments feed processed sound from the small unity, which sits inconspicuously behind the ear, to the ear opening via a

WEIGHING HEAVILY ON THE EARS

Obesity has been linked to an array of health problems, and it seems that impaired hearing is the latest. Analysis of health data of 68,000 women participating in the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study suggests that carrying extra pounds, especially around the waist, may be linked to hearing loss. Researchers found that women who were obese (defined as having BMIs between 30 and 39) were 17 percent to 22 percent more likely to report hearing loss than women whose BMIs were less than 25. (Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a measurement of body fat based on a ratio of height and

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COOL, CALM, AND CONNECTED

As increasing numbers of people have come to view hearing aids as a technology extension of the smartphone, their coolness factor towards hearing aids has also risen. No longer are they regarded simply as a means of improving hearing health. Hearing instruments with Bluetooth connectivity have attained a new status as communication and information-gathering devices. Although they were once only compatible with Apple’s iOS mobile operating systems, newer Bluetooth hearing instruments offer universal connectivity. This makes them usable with an Android device or even a classic flip phone that is Bluetooth-ready. The latest Bluetooth hearing instruments can answer a phone call

STOP THE RINGING

“Tinnitus,” the perception of sound in the head when there is no outside sound source, is a symptom. Causes of tinnitus can include exposure to loud noises, stress, injury, Meniere’s disease, hypertension, migraine headaches, drinking too much coffee, and even over-accumulations of earwax. “Ringing in the ears,” as it is more commonly known, may also be a symptom of hearing loss. It is interesting to note that, as tiny sensory “hair cells” in the inner ear are lost or damaged, the pitch of the tinnitus often coincides with the area that also has the most hearing loss. Don’t worry! There is

ROCK TAKES ITS TOLL

As a Baby Boomer, attending your share of rock concerts may have caused you to have the same problem as many of your musical heroes. Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, and Neil Young have all professed to have hearing loss. One symptom you should be on the lookout for is difficulty hearing your partner’s side of the conversation in a noisy restaurant. This hearing problem is usually symptomatic of “presbycusis,” or age-related hearing loss, caused by the death of hair cells in the inner ear. These cells are important because they translate sound vibrations into brain signals. Once they’re damaged – usually

TRANSMITTING SOUND THROUGH BONE

Conductive hearing loss occurs when sounds are not conducted efficiently through the outer ear canal to the eardrum and the tiny bones, called ossicles, of the middle ear. Patients who experience conductive hearing loss primarily use bone anchored hearing instruments to assist them in hearing better. This is also the choice for those who have unsatisfactorily tried using a powerful air conduction hearing instrument or a bone conduction instrument held in place with headbands. As the name implies, bone-anchored hearing instruments are actually fixed to the wearer’s skull. The microphone and sound processor capture and transmit sound vibrations to the titanium