Category — Hearing Loss Info

When considering purchasing a hearing aid, one of the most important aspects you should consider is the service provided with your purchase.  All hearing aids sound really good when they are new.  Then people are surprised that the quality of sound doesn’t last or quite often their hearing aid stops performing altogether.  So what could cause a hearing aids performance to diminish or even stop altogether?

Consider where you wear your hearing aid.  If you have a behind-the-ear model it will rest behind your ear, next to your skull and your ear flap.  From the part sitting behind your ear there is a piece of tubing or wire that comes around the top of your ear flap down into your ear canal. If you wear an in-the-ear hearing aid, then you have the complete devise fitting inside the ear canal.  Read more... (323 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

Do you see if this happening many times a day, every day, how anyone would be affected?  No wonder a person with a hearing loss just doesn’t want to go out to be with friends; it can become such an emotional ride.  You want to be with others; however, when balancing out the very possible emotional consequences, it’s easier to eliminate that risk by staying home and turning up the TV.  Or remembering how the last time you were out and you commented during a conversation and everyone’s eyes rolled. Your comment came from what you thought was being said, but unfortunately it wasn’t even close. It got a laugh at least the first few times, but after that it became more embarrassing then funny.  My friends thought I was funny but after awhile even I didn’t think I was funny anymore.  Read more... (327 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

Without even realizing it, a hearing loss can easily create frustration and even pain that comes from our deep feelings inside when our self confidence starts to erode.  It doesn’t usually happen overnight, this is usually a long process of many years slowly accumulating and little by little chipping away at our confidence.

The worst part for me is when I pretend I understand something that is being talked about and I really don’t.  I’m usually too embarrassed to ask someone I don’t know real well to repeat themselves several times during a conversation.  So I usually do what most of us with a hearing loss automatically do, we nod our heads up and down and look like we got it.    Read more... (297 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)

Every day we talk to many people – from our family, at work, and to people we don’t know.  Have you ever thought about how many people you actually speak to every day?  Now think about how many times you speak to those you’re close to?  Interestingly, when we talk we take for granted that we are being heard.

Very seldom do we miss the signs that someone with a hearing loss isn’t really hearing us.  Oh they can hear you talking; however what you said may not have been understood or perhaps even misinterpreted.  I’m sure you know how different any sentence could be understood just by changing one or several words.  Read more... (286 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

Among the study’s key findings:

•    While people with treated and untreated hearing loss both earn less than people with normal hearing, for people with more severe hearing loss the income decline is cut in half for hearing aid owners. For example, the difference in income between people with mild versus profound hearing loss is $20,300 per year for those with untreated hearing loss and $10,200 for those with hearing aids.
•    For every 10 percent increment in hearing loss, the income disparity between those with untreated hearing loss and those with hearing aids increases at the rate of approximately $1,000.
•    The estimated cost in lost earnings due to untreated hearing loss is $122 billion, with the cost to the government in unrealized federal taxes at $18 billion.
•    Currently, more than 24 million people in the United States who say they have hearing loss do not use hearing aids.  Read more... (309 words, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

All of us go to work whether it’s for someone else or perhaps our own business. I remember my first job and I’m sure you do as well.  When we work for someone, what is expected of us is to perform at the best of our ability.

How important is communication in any work environment?  How good a job could you do if you couldn’t hear instructions or you misunderstood what was being said?  Who would you promote in your business if you had to choose between someone who seemed like they couldn’t follow instructions and someone who performed everything that was asked?
It is very understandable why one of the most important studies about hearing loss and the work place conducted by Sergei Kochkin Ph.D. concluded:  Read more... (223 words, estimated 54 secs reading time)

Resentment can go both ways – from the person having to put out so much effort trying to communicate, as well as the person with the hearing loss.  The person with the hearing loss will often lay blame for their hearing loss on the other person.  They often say, “If you would just speak clearly I could understand what you said”.  It’s easy to understand also the resentment caused when the person with the hearing loss refuses to do anything to correct the hearing loss.  Please don’t let a hearing loss effect you needlessly like this.
The good news is there is a very simple, painless solution.  I have helped thousands of people save their relationships just by correcting their hearing loss.  Hearing aids can make communication easy.  Read more... (252 words, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)

If you are married and have a hearing loss or are married to someone who has a hearing loss, you no doubt are already experiencing many challenges when it comes to communication with your partner.

We all know that communication is the key to any relationship.  Best friends are called that because they usually know each other very, very well.  That closeness came about because of very good communication on many different levels.  No one will argue that the closer the communication between two people, the closer the relationship.  Read more... (204 words, estimated 49 secs reading time)

Higher than recommended doses of NSAIDS, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, have long been known to cause hearing loss. This fact has been known for many years by physicians and hearing professionals. What is extraordinarily concerning is how many doctors, and television ads for that matter, recommend a daily aspirin regimen to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. While there are dozens of causes of hearing loss, there is little known about how over-the-counter medications can specifically affect hearing loss risk in adults and children. The affect of medications on hearing loss appears to be cumulative; the risk of hearing loss significantly increasing over lifetime use of over-the-counter pain medications.

 Read more... (276 words, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

There are many research studies proving top-volume music and excessive loud noise can cause hearing loss. Hearing loss patients who have spent their entire lives protecting their ears may not understand exactly why or how they lost their hearing anyway. There is a surprising study, called the Health Professional’s Follow Up Study, which may prove a commonly used group of medications can cause hearing loss. Acetaminophen, aspirin and ibuprofen are three of the most commonly used over-the-counter medications in the United States. All three, used on a regular basis, can cause hearing loss in older Americans.

 Read more... (263 words, 1 image, estimated 1:03 mins reading time)