Cerumen, commonly known as earwax, is key to a healthy ear. It collects dirt, debris and bacteria, preventing unwanted foreign bodies from entering the ear. It has lubrication properties to keep the ears from getting dry and itchy. And, it acts as an antifungal and antibacterial, helping to fight infections in and around our ears. But, let’s face it, earwax is also kind of blech, and an unpleasant obstacle to keeping your ears clean ...
OK, think back to a year or so ago. Remember when you would go to a matinee and then after, when it ended and you left the theater, the daylight would overwhelm you temporarily? Well, the same thing happens when you first start wearing hearing aids. Your brain has gotten used to the quiet. It hasn’t received proper noise signals for as long as you’ve struggled to hear. So, when you begin wearing ...
There are many signs of hearing loss — but one of the first signs that your hearing is going is if you can hear fine in quiet environments yet struggle to hear in noise. Here’s why. Even for people with normal hearing, noisy settings can be tricky to navigate when trying to make out speech. That’s because we all use contextual cues during conversations — or clues from words we do make out — to fill ...
Hearing and sight are arguably our two most important senses (despite taste getting a lot of attention these past 18 months). Yet, if and when either starts to fail us — and both typically do as we age — we react to each very differently. You can tell by all the people with glasses, contacts, Lasik surgery or cheaters that we have no problem or hesitation treating vision issues. But when it comes to treating hearing loss ...
A 2017 study, conducted by The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care, called dementia “the greatest global challenge for health and social care in the 21st century.” But you don’t need a study to tell you that. Ask friends and loved ones of the estimated 50 million people worldwide who have dementia (there’s a good chance you are one), and they’ll tell you about the worry, stress, sadness and devastation ...
Three of the most common hearing loss questions and their answers If you’re like us, you like to get to the bottom of any ailment you have. When you know what the exact issue is, you waste less time and anxiety and going-down-a-rabbit-hole Google searches wondering what it might be. And, because you know what you’re dealing with, you can address the issue precisely and focus on treatment — which delivers better, faster results ...
It’s been proven that — left untreated — hearing loss can have a negative effect on our quality of life. Studies have linked untreated hearing loss to decreased cognitive function, higher incidences of hospitalizations, falls and depression, and increased risk of social isolation and dementia. Those studies don’t take into account how ignoring hearing loss can diminish social interactions, television and movie watching, enjoyment of music and nature, and increase our feelings of missing out ...
Not sure if you have hearing loss? That’s not uncommon. Hearing loss symptoms are subtle and typically emerge slowly. It frequently takes years for people to realize they have hearing loss. Also, we simply don’t test our hearing enough. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that “less than half of adults who reported trouble hearing had seen a healthcare provider for their hearing in the past five years.” There’s ...
Since earwax seems to be a popular topic these days (don’t ask us why, but earwax cleaning videos are trending on social media), we thought now was a good time to answer this FAQ. Can earwax cause hearing loss? A lot of things can cause hearing loss. Noise exposure. Aging. Certain medicines. And yes, too much earwax. But earwax alone is rarely the only cause of one’s hearing loss. In fact, very few ...
Today’s blog makes for a rare good news/bad news/good news blog. The first good news is that more of us are living longer than ever. Let’s toast to that! The bad news is, as our population increasingly ages, the rates of dementia increase right alongside. The World Health Organization (WHO) has the number of people currently living with dementia at 50 million — but projects that will triple by 2050. And while ...
