Eight years ago, Jeff Ammon, now 55, began noticing a feeling of pressure in his ears every day after work. Over the next months, when his symptoms progressed into a slight loss of hearing and sensitivity to noise, he became worried. Ammon, a construction worker for 32 years, eventually started wearing ear protection hoping this would address these complaints – but it was too late.
Read MoreWhat’s your reason? We invite you to share your reasons. Here are five more reasons to protect your hearing and treat hearing loss. What’s yours?
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Look for Elite Audiology & Hearing Care on the Be Your Best Feature on the Talk of the Town show on News Channel 5!
Find Out MoreDr. Jennifer McGlothlin from Elite Audiology and Hearing Care joins CarrieSharp to answer all your questions about hearing health. This episode of OpenLine is sponsored by Elite Audiology and Hearing Care.
Watch VideoLifting your mood, boosting your energy, protecting your earnings, super-charging your social life — and even keeping your mind sharp: These are just some of the many spoils that come with facing and dealing with a noise-induced hearing loss that has been slowly but persistently creeping up on you.
The quality-of-life and feel-good benefits of treating even just mild hearing loss brought on by years of loud music, power tools, high-volume headphones, motor-sport engines, crowded night clubs and bars, noisy restaurants, and raucous sporting events are plenty. But in this digital age of smart phones and wearable technologies, the draw for many solution-minded consumers may be in the technology itself. Super-smart, super-sleek, super-convenient, and super-sophisticated — today’s hearing aids give you a multitude of reasons to address that hearing loss you’ve been trying so hard to ignore.
A study led by researchers at the University of Toronto reveals that when older adults feel negatively about aging, they may lack confidence in their abilities to hear and remember things, and perform poorly at both.
According to Alison Chasteen, PhD, professor in the University of Toronto Department of Psychology, people’s feelings about getting older influence their sensory and cognitive functions. “Those feelings are often rooted in stereotypes about getting older and comments made by those around them that their hearing and memory are failing,” said Chasteen. “We need to take a deeper and broader approach to understanding the factors that influence their daily lives.”
A new long-term study that shows wearing hearing aids reduce cognitive decline associated with hearing loss may do more than just drive older adults with hearing loss to finally seek professional care, according to Oticon. The company believes the new study will also give the general public—especially health-conscious older adults—a new way of thinking about the importance of hearing care and hearing solutions that will have far-reaching implications for hearing care now and in the future.
Read MoreAddressing hearing loss is one of the best things you can do to improve your quality of life and keep up a youthful pace. In fact, new technologies have made it easier to manage hearing loss and stay engaged in life.
Today’s hearing aids help people with hearing loss better hear sounds and people from all directions, and they filter out noise. Many sit discreetly and comfortably inside the ear canal and out of sight; and many are wireless, so they can interface easily with other high-tech devices like smartphones, home entertainment systems, conference-room speakerphones, and hearing loops. Some are even waterproof; and others are rechargeable.
The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is encouraging people of all ages to protect their hearing this summer so they can treasure the sounds of the season for a lifetime. Packing earplugs along with the sunscreen for summer outings is just one of six easy tips that BHI is offering.
While many noisy recreational activities are part of summer fun, it’s extremely important to take precautions to ensure that these activities don’t harm our hearing.
Prolonged exposure to loud outdoor concerts, lawn mowers, power tools, motorized recreational vehicles, target shooting, sporting events and fireworks can potentially damage our ears. In fact, the single bang of a firecracker at close range can cause permanent hearing loss in an instant, making it forever more difficult to hear the quieter sounds of summer.
A U.K. mom has figured out a simple way to make hearing aids and cochlear implants fun and empowering for children. Sarah Ivermee's 4-year-old son Freddie is profoundly deaf in one ear and moderately to severely deaf in the other, as a result of a congenital cytomegalovirus, a viral infection he suffered at birth. At two-months-old, he started wearing a hearing aid, and in February 2014, the toddler received a cochlear implant in his profoundly deaf ear.
While Freddie was happy to wear both of his devices, Ivermee told The Huffington Post that's not always the case with children, who face teasing and sometimes feel embarrassed about their "ugly" hearing aids and implants.
"A friend mentioned her daughter didn't like wearing her hearing aids because they looked different, so I suggested trying nail stickers to decorate them, which she loved," Ivermee said.
Hearing health affects so many aspects of a man’s life that routine hearing tests should be part of a healthy lifestyle, says the Better Hearing Institute (BHI), which is encouraging hearing tests during Men’s Health Month in June and Men’s Health Week (June 15-21).
Addressing hearing loss can help men safeguard their wellbeing and quality of life. And new research from BHI even shows that people with hearing loss who use hearing aids enjoy a better overall quality of life and are more likely to be optimistic, have a strong social network, tackle problems actively, and feel engaged in life. At the same time, an increasing number of studies are showing a link between hearing loss and other health conditions.
The holidays can always be stressful with all the shopping to find the perfect present, followed by visits to numerous food shops with stressed out shoppers fighting over the last turkey!
However for those suffering from hearing loss, the real challenge is entertaining family and friends who come over for the holidays. For individuals with hearing loss the festive season can be a very isolating time, even if you have a house full of guests.
A hearing exam can help you determine whether your hearing is keeping you from fully interacting with those around you. If you feel that you have difficulty hearing or have to ask those around you to repeat themselves often, you may benefit from a hearing exam to find out the cause. At Elite Audiology & Hearing Care, PLLC we will conduct a thorough hearing exam and we will give you the best options so you can remain fully engaged this holiday season.
Our hearing is instrumental in allowing us to enjoy an active lifestyle. Whether it is participating in a lively discussion, traveling, or practicing our favorite outdoor activity or sport, healthy hearing allows us to be engaged with those around us.
Weakening sight – no problem, we do not hesitate at the idea of getting glasses. Most of us even see it as an opportunity to develop a personal style. But damage to hearing apparently has some kind of stigma attached to it. So many of us choose to suffer hearing loss in silence. But diminished hearing can cause so many embarrassing situations for us including misunderstandings and eventual withdrawal from social situations. We start avoiding friends and family and opportunities to meet new people. This is why individuals with hearing loss tend to experience sadness and depression. They reduce their social activities and eventually become emotionally withdrawn.
If you feel that you may be experiencing a hearing loss it is recommended that you have a hearing exam to determine the extent of the problem. Obtaining a hearing aid can remove this barrier to communication and you will be eager to resume your regular social activities with family and friends.
The workplace can be a competitive environment. Hearing loss has been proven to affect an individual's job performance. It can lead to passed up promotions, lower salary and overall stress and disatisfaction.
Many working age individuals suffer from hearing loss and are hesitant to do something about it due to the stigma associated with wearing a hearing aid. New and innovative technology has made hearing aids much more discreet and also much more useful in noisy environments in which a person interacts with several individuals at the same time.