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January 2008
I was sound asleep when I finally accepted the fact
that I have a significant hearing loss in my left ear. Lying on my right
side with my "good" ear pressed firmly into the pillow, I didn't hear the
telephone ring until my man, Spud, kicked me under the covers to answer it.
At first, I thought post-nasal drip had blocked my sinuses. When
decongestants did not relieve the symptoms, I blamed it on the Florida trip
from which we had just returned. Having traveled by plane, I surmised my
ears still were under high-altitude pressure. No matter how much I
swallowed, though, it didn't help . . . nor did pinching my nose and forcing
air into my Eustachian tubes, which resulted in nothing more than
stuck-together nostrils.
Full Story
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April 2008
OK, one or both of us is going to have to get a
hearing aid. My husband says I should, and I say he should. After all, what
can he expect after 30 years trapped in a gym with classes of shrieking
middle school kids? But I have to concede I might have a problem, too.I
often hear things from him like "muttermuttermutterDINNERmuttermuttermutter,"
which turns out to be, "Do I have time to go pick up a DVD before dinner, or
is it going to be right away?" I'm not quite as bad as Mom was. After a
visit to our parents at the old home place, my brother referred to it as
time spent at the "HuhWhat Ranch." It was better after Mom got her hearing
aid, although I noticed when they visited us that after she'd remove it at
bedtime and then talk over the day with Dad, her voice reverberated through
the whole house. But as long as she was saying things like "Wasn't that a
good dinner?" and "I don't think Shawn is really as bad as they say, do
you?" I didn't mind the unavoidable eavesdropping.
Full
Story
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August 2008
If your hearing isn't as good as it used to be, you
may be thinking about getting a hearing aid. Then again, there's a good
chance you can't be bothered, even though you find yourself cranking up the
volume on the TV set or asking a friend sitting next to you to speak up. If
so, you are not alone. More often than not, people put off getting a hearing
aid after they first notice it's getting harder to hear, said East Bay,
Calif., audiologist Leigh Kjeldsen. ''People wait an average of seven years
between knowing they have a problem with hearing and doing something about
it.''
Full
Story
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November 2008
Guess which
of the following quotations are attributed to Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC), the
famous Greek philosopher and towering figure of Western thought:
"All virtue
is summed up in dealing justly."
"It is in
justice that the ordering of society is centered."
"Those who
are born deaf become senseless and incapable of reason."
Surprisingly, all three statements were made by Aristotle, who believed deaf
people were incapable of being taught and could not use reasoned thinking.
He thought if a deaf person could not use his/her voice in the same way as
hearing people, cognitive skills remained undeveloped. He first used the
term "deaf and dumb," which is viewed today as offensive, negative and
derogatory. The original meaning of "dumb" meant silent, but over time it
also came to mean stupid. Thus, this age-old stigma toward deafness, which
has since generalized to hearing loss, was perpetuated and persists even in
today's more enlightened times.
Full Story
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January 2008
What can family and friends do to help someone
recognise they may have a hearing problem? It is most likely family, friends
or colleagues will notice the changes in someone's hearing ability before
they do. When confronted this person's first response is denial because the
loss has been gradual they haven't realised they've slowly stopped hearing
the birds or a car coming up behind them. Nagging someone about their
inability to hear generally does not help and often has the opposite effect.
Full Story
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April 2010
The sooner
hearing loss is diagnosed and treated, the better. Because hearing loss does
occur gradually persons find ways to compensate without even knowing they
are doing so. The following are common signs of hearing loss:
1. You have
trouble hearing people talking on the telephone.
2. You have
trouble following a conversation when people are talking at the same time
3. The
family complains that the TV is too loud.
4. You
strain to hear conversations.
5. You have
trouble hearing in noisy environments.
6. You say
'What?' a lot.
7. People
don't speak clearly. They mumble.
8. You
misunderstand what people say.
9. You have
trouble hearing children and women.
10. You
become annoyed at others because you can't understand what they say.
Full Story
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August 2010
Excuses for neglecting a hearing loss abound and, no
doubt, you've heard quite a few. Many people are reluctant to acknowledge
the impairment or they worry that hearing aids will make them look old. Some
don't see the value in hearing aids, don't believe they work, or can't
readily afford the typical price of $4000 or more a pair. But how many
potential patients understand the true cost of living with a hearing
impairment? For persons with hearing loss, their loved ones, and society as
a whole, the consequences of untreated hearing loss are substantial and well
documented. It affects every facet of life-emotional, mental, and physical.
It puts people at risk in an emergency and at a severe disadvantage in
social situations. Hearing loss can wreak havoc on the job and in one's
personal relationships. It can slow comprehension and diminish one's quality
of life. Yet, given the relatively low uptake of hearing aids-fewer than one
in five U.S. adults with hearing loss who could benefit from hearing aids
actually wears them, says the National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders-few people seem to appreciate the vast toll that
hearing impairment exacts on them and those around them.
Full Story
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September 2010
Can you turn the TV up? I'm sorry, I didn't hear the
phone ring. Pardon me? This restaurant is so noisy I can't hear a thing.
Come again? If you find yourself frequently using phrases like these,
chances are you're suffering from hearing loss. According to the National
Institutes of Health, 18 percent of American adults age 45-64 have a hearing
impairment, and 47 percent of those age 75 and older are impaired. What's
more, you may be hard of hearing and not even realize it. "Often the person
is not aware of it, because it comes on gradually," said audiologist Theresa
Jabaley of Advanced Hearing Services in Chicago. "It's more obvious to other
people. Frequently someone in the person's life helps them become aware of
the issue. Often it's the wife saying to her husband, 'Get a hearing aid.'"
Although still primarily an affliction of the elderly, hearing loss is now
affecting an increasingly younger crowd. (Blame our increasingly loud world
-- noise is one of the leading causes of hearing loss.)
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 2011
A new survey of AARP members reveals that nearly
half of respondents say that their hearing is getting worse. At the same
time, the survey shows that over half of the same AARP respondents with
hearing difficulties don't believe they need treatment. The survey,
conducted by AARP and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA),
focuses on the state of hearing among Americans 50 years and older. Its goal
was to examine AARP members' attitudes toward hearing, the needs and unmet
needs for treating hearing issues, as well as the members' knowledge of
where to go for help. AARP's vice president Nicole Duritz commented in the
press announcement, "While the survey results indicate that older Americans
recognize the impact hearing difficulties can have on relationships with
family and friends, people are also going without treatment, which can
negatively impact quality of life and lead to safety issues."
Full Story
