HEARING YOUR OWN PULSE
To understand “pulsatile tinnitus,” it is helpful to know the difference between the two main types of hearing loss: “conductive” and “sensorineural.” Conductive loss is due to problems involving the ear canal, eardrum, or middle ear; sensorineural loss involves problems of the inner ear. With this in mind, people suffering from a condition causing conductive […]
THE BENEFITS OF TWO HEARING AIDS
Those with hearing loss in both ears benefit most from wearing a hearing aid in each ear. Being fitted with “binaural” hearing instruments provides the listener with a better ability to locate sounds. This increased “localizing” capability occurs by being able to differentiate between the spatial location of the desired speaker and undesired noise. When […]
WHEN LESS IS MORE
Current digital hearing instruments process the sound that wearers hear to make speech more understandable. By utilizing “wide dynamic range compression,” modern hearing instruments amplify softer sounds while leaving loud sounds untouched. Although this kind of processing allows hearing-impaired individuals to better understand conversation, it can distort music. Compounding the problem for hearing-impaired music lovers […]
DOING A DISSERVICE
About one-third of people between the ages of 65 and 74 and nearly half of individuals age 75 and older have hearing loss; however, only about 20 percent of those who could benefit from a hearing instrument actually use one. Instead, many people either ignore their hearing loss or decide to “live with it.” In […]