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Nearly 45 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, which is the perception of sound where no external sound source exists. This phantom sound is normally perceived as a ringing sound, but can also materialize as a buzzing, hissing, whistling, swooshing, or clicking. First it is important to understand about tinnitus is that it’s a symptom, not
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.1 billion individuals are at risk for noise-induced hearing loss, induced by exposure to excessive sound levels from personal audio devices and noisy settings such as nightclubs, bars, concerts, and sporting events. An estimated 26 million Americans already suffer from the condition. If noise-induced hearing loss results from exposure
If we seriously want to understand hearing loss, we have to understand both the physical side, which makes hearing progressively more difficult, and the psychological side, which includes the lesser-known emotional responses to the loss of hearing. In conjunction, the two sides of hearing loss can wreak havoc on a person’s total well being, as
Many people are surprised to discover how young the profession of audiology actually is, and how recently its founding father founded the profession. To put this in perspective, if you desired to find the founding father of biology, as an example, you’d have to go back in time by 2,300 years and read the The
When it’s time to shop for a car, the majority of us know exactly what to do. We conduct some research, evaluate options, and compose a list of questions to ask the dealership. We work on this so that by the time we’re ready to visit the dealership, we have an idea of what we’re
You’ve most likely heard that today’s hearing aids are “not your grandfather’s hearing aids,” or that hearing aid technology is light-years ahead of where it used to be, even as recently as 5 to 10 years ago. But what makes modern technology so much better? And what exactly can modern hearing aids achieve that couldn’t
Sometimes, it seems as if we prefer to deceive ourselves. Wikipedia has an article called “List of common misconceptions” that includes hundreds of universally-held but false beliefs. Yes, I know it’s Wikipedia, but take a look at the bottom of the page and you’ll notice around 385 credible sources cited. As an example, did you
You have just finished your hearing test. The hearing specialist is now coming into the room and provides you with a graph, like the one above, except that it has all of these symbols, colors, and lines. This is supposed to provide you with the exact, mathematically precise properties of your hearing loss, but to
We don’t need to tell you the symptoms of hearing loss; you already know them all too well. You have a different type of challenge: persuading someone you care for to get their hearing evaluated and treated. But how are you expected to get through to someone who denies there is even an issue, or
It takes the average person with hearing loss 5 to 7 years before pursuing a qualified professional diagnosis, in spite of the reality that the signs and symptoms of hearing loss are apparent to others. But are those with hearing loss merely too stubborn to get help? No, actually, and for a handful of different
If the unknown generates anxiety, then a trip to the hearing specialist is especially nerve-racking. While nearly all of us have experience with the family doctor and the hometown dentist, the visit to the hearing specialist could be a first. It certainly would be beneficial to have someone elaborate on the process up front, wouldn’t
While the majority of us keep up to date with our once-a-year physical, dental cleaning, and eye examination, we typically forget to give thought to the well-being of our hearing. And when our hearing does begin to worsen, it arises so gradually that we scarcely notice and neglect to do something about it. It’s this
