Understanding Acute External Otitis, Generally Referred to as Swimmer’s Ear
Acute external otitis or otitis externa is an infection of the outer ear canal – the portion outside the eardrum. Most people know it by its common name – swimmer’s ear. It was named “swimmer’s ear” because it’s frequently brought on by water remaining in the outer ear after swimming, which creates a damp environment…
Repair or Replace Your Broken Hearing Aid?
One of our most frequently asked questions is, “My hearing aid is damaged or is no longer working – should I have it repaired, or get a new one?” Given only that limited information, we have to answer honestly, “It depends.” Picking between repair or replace doesn’t have a one perfect answer. It really depends…
Promising News for Patients with Hearing Loss about Sound Therapy
Sound is an essential part of our lives, but like most things, its effect on us depends on both the quality of the sounds we hear, and the quantity of them. Listening to music can be soothing and enjoyable, but it can also be annoying and aggravating if the volume is excessive. All of us…
Figuring Out the Links Between Hearing Loss and Dementia
Do you have hearing difficulties? If yes, do you sometimes find that it seems like work just to understand what the people around you are saying? This is a phenomenon that happens even to those wearing hearing aids, because for them to perform well you have to have them fitted and tuned properly, and then…
Classes of Hearing Impairments
In the same way that there are numerous causes of hearing loss, there are several forms of hearing loss; understanding the way that we hear is the first step in understanding the various types. Sound enters through the outer ear, which is the part of the ear on the exterior of the head, but also…
How Long Do My Hearing Aid Batteries Last?
Even though it might seem to be a straightforward question to ask how long hearing aid batteries will last, it isn’t. How long hearing aid batteries last depends upon a large number of variables. How long a battery will last depends on who manufactured the battery, and can even vary across hearing aid models from…
Research Advances that Could Lead to Curing Hearing Loss by Regenerating Hair Cells
As hearing professionals, one of the sometimes frustrating things we encounter in our practice is that the issues that have caused hearing problems in our patients cannot be reversed. For example, one of the extremely common causes of hearing loss is damage to the tiny, sensitive hair cells that line the inner ear and vibrate…
Will My Hearing Aid Increase High Decibel Sounds and Possibly Impair My Ability to Hear Further?
A frequent question asked by patients being fitted for hearing aids concerns whether the hearing aids which are designed to help them hear weak sounds will make the loud noises too loud for their ears.Thankfully there is a comforting answer to this question. Put simply, so long as they are properly fitted and adjusted modern…
Why Can You Hear Male Voices Clearly but not Female or Children’s Voices?
One of the indicators of high-frequency hearing loss is the inability to hear women’s and children’s voice clearly. Men’s voices generally fall into the frequency range of 85 to 180 Hz, while ladies’ and children’s voices have a frequency range of 165 to 255 Hz. On top of that, the volume of women’s and children’s…
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) Essentials
Tinnitus is sadly a widespread problem, affecting an estimated 50 million Americans over 50. Tinnitus sufferers hear continuous sounds in their heads that others can’t hear such as clicking, buzzing, ringing, humming or whistling. Tinnitus is often known by its slang name – ringing-in-the-ears. For some tinnitus sufferers, this constant onslaught of noise is more…