Hearing Archives - Salus Hearing And Tinnitus Centre

4 Reasons to Keep Your Hearing and Vision in Check

in Comorbidity, Hearing, Hearing And Vision

We all know that eyes and ears play a huge role in helping people (and animals!) experience life’s adventures. Seeing and hearing the people, places, and moments that matter will create wonderful, lasting memories.

But did you know that seeing and hearing are connected? Here are four reasons to schedule regular checkups for hearing and vision to benefit your overall health and wellness:

Hearing actually enhances the sense of sight, according to a UCLA study, with both working to help you perceive and participate in the world around you. In the study, which ran participants through a series of trials to correctly identify the direction in which a display of dots was moving, hearing the direction in which the dots were traveling enhanced participants’ ability to see the direction.
Visually impaired older adults are more likely to also experience hearing loss, per a study published in the medical journal JAMA Ophthalmology. Researchers investigating links between age-related vision and hearing problems discovered, even after taking age into account, that the two conditions were linked, with “a cumulative effect on function and well-being, significantly affecting both physical and mental domains.”
Vision and hearing loss go hand in hand with cognitive decline, per research showing that each condition is somehow connected to reduced mental functioning over time. One study, referenced in a news article, found that participants with the most profound vision impairment had the lowest average scores on cognition tests. And seniors with hearing loss may experience significantly reduced cognitive function at least three years before their peers who do not have hearing loss.
Healthy eyes and ears — along with joints, muscles, and brain — help keep you steady on your feet, reducing your risk of falling. It’s pretty obvious that seeing your best helps you stay upright, but many people do not realize that the inner ear also plays an important role in maintaining balance. Conversely, untreated hearing loss may nearly triple your risk of falling, per a Johns Hopkins study.

Hearing and vision work together to help you live your best life, so remember to keep them both in top shape. Start with a hearing checkup by contacting us today!

In the Time of COVID-19: Hearing Loss and Restaurants

in Hearing, Hearing loss, Tips & Tricks

If you are hard of hearing, you have most likely experienced some degree of difficulty when going out to eat at a restaurant. Ambient conversations from other diners, noisy kitchens and background music can create a challenging auditory environment where it is hard to hear and understand your communication partner(s).

Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic restaurants have been utilizing their patios for service in order to ensure the safety of their patrons and follow social distancing guidelines. And as the majority of the province prepares to enter Stage 3 of reopening, more and more patios are open for business. The introduction of further background noise from outdoor sources makes it even more difficult for people with hearing loss. So here are some tips and tricks to ease communication in these dining situations!

- Put your back to the noise

If you wear hearing aids, their directional microphones are designed to focus on sounds in front of you while reducing sounds behind you. Sit with your back to the majority of the noise so the hearing aid microphones can perform the most effective noise reduction. It is also better if your communication partner has their back to a wall, so they are one of the only sources of sound positioned in front of you.

- Avoid peak dining (and traffic) hours

More people (and if you’re on a patio, more traffic) means more background noise. If possible, choose a less busy time of day to go out for your meal.

- Booths are Better

If you are dining inside the restaurant, request a booth. They typically have higher backs that can block some of the background sound in the room. Also, the seats usually have padding that can help dampen noise.

- Ask for what you need

For example, if the music is too loud, you can tell a staff member that you are hard of hearing and ask if they wouldn’t mind turning the music down while you dine.

- Plan your next venue carefully

With some online research, you can discover which restaurants have a better atmosphere for easy conversation. And if you have a smartphone, you can download the SoundPrint app, which is available on iPhone and Android: SoundPrint utilizes a decibel meter to measure the level of sound at the venue, and then submits it into the database for all users to see. (Note: Android does not have the decibel meter function, however you can subjectively rate the volume of the restaurant for the database). SoundPrint has almost 100,000 different entries across Canada and the United States, so there are plenty of places to research and find a quiet spot for your next meal.

These beneficial strategies should help ease your communication while dining out! Enjoy!

In the Time of COVID-19: Hearing Loss and Masks

in Hearing, Tips & Tricks

These days, masks are essential for our safety when it comes to social distancing and preventing and/or reducing our exposure to COVID. However, for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, masks can make communication more difficult.

People with hearing loss tend to utilize Speech-reading or lip-reading, where a person focuses on another’s face – especially their lips – to gather visual cues from their facial expressions and mouth movements to help reduce the lack of speech clarity that can occur as a result of hearing loss. When a person wears a mask, it covers the lower half of their face so you can no longer see their mouth, and it’s harder to see full facial expressions.

Here are some beneficial strategies that we can all use to help improve communication:

Make sure not to speak too quickly.
Speak clearly and enunciate – do not shout! Shouting can distort the sound of your voice, affecting the clarity of your speech and making it harder to understand.
Rephrase what you said rather than repeat it exactly.
Try to converse in a quieter environment, minimizing the background noise.
Be sure to look at your speaking partner. Even though you’re wearing a mask, your speech will travel directly toward your companion instead of away, and they will be able to see a portion of your face to gather other communication cues.

Additionally, masks can sometimes be tricky for hearing aid wearers with a behind-the-ear (BTE) style aid, as the wires or tubes can get caught in the mask loops and become tangled up, increasing the risk of them falling off and getting lost when the mask is removed.

Tips for keeping your hearing aids safe and secure:

If possible, try to wear a mask designed to fit around your head instead of your ears.
With a typical mask design, you can connect the mask loops to a piece of fabric with buttons so it can sit at the back of your head instead of behind your ear. Buttons attached to a headband is another attachment option.
If the hearing aid does fall off, there might be a way to track its location! Some models of hearing aid are able to be located by their phone’s GPS system through their app.

We hope these recommendations help!

Until next time,

Your friendly neighbourhood audiologists.

Hearing Aids: 5 Fun Facts on What These Powerful Devices Can Do

in Hearing, Hearing Aids, Hearing Health, Technology

Hearing Aids: Get the Scoop on What These Small but Powerful Devices Can Do

Did you know? Fewer than one out of three adults 70 and older who could benefit from hearing aids actually uses them, per the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and the rate plunges to just 16 percent among those 20 to 69.

The reasons for these stark statistics may vary, but what’s clear is that disabling hearing loss — a serious public health issue affecting approximately 466 million people worldwide — is undertreated on a global scale.

Some individuals who need hearing help might not realize how far technology has advanced to make communication easier and more empowering than ever, even in some of the most challenging listening situations.

Check out these five fun facts you may not have known about hearing devices:

Like Elephants, They “Remember”

Want the same great listening experience at your favorite — but noisy — food spot every time you get together with family and friends? Options vary across different product lines, but some AGX® Hearing devices offer a “restaurant” setting that cuts background noise, or you can create your own geotagged “memory” with sound settings tailored to specific locations for a consistent experience.
Built-In Mics Put You in Control

When a room or other venue contains competing sounds, you need a way to focus on the audio you actually want to hear. You can use your AGX hearing aid’s directionality function to focus the device’s microphones on the conversation in front of you, for example, versus the noise or other sounds behind you.
They Play Well With Other Devices

Hearing impairment can make it difficult to track who’s saying what in group discussions — for instance, a brainstorming session at work. A wireless Bluetooth® microphone, set in a central spot during the conversation, can send speech directly to your hearing aid! During more personal gatherings, your conversation companions can take turns placing the mic on their lapel while speaking.
You Can Stream Like a Champ

Speaking of playing well with other devices: Many hearing aids today let you transmit audio from your television, stereo, or smartphone to your hearing tech — whether streaming directly or with the help of a wireless accessory called a “streamer” that clips to your collar. Laugh along with your favorite TV comedy series, enjoy the latest tunes, or video chat on your smartphone with clarity and confidence.
They Make Good Fitness Buddies

Some cutting-edge hearing aids not only offer great sound, speech clarity in noise, and audio streaming from your smartphone but also track brain and body health using artificial intelligence. With the AGXs liv, for example, you control your programs, settings, and streaming while the Thrive™ Hearing app records your health data and provides three wellness scores, helping you track your fitness goals.

Want a closer look at what today’s modern technology can do for your hearing health and enjoyment? Contact us to schedule your FREE demonstration today! Our caring team can’t wait to show you how far hearing aids have come.

How Prevalent Really is Hearing Loss Among Americans and Canadians?

in Comorbidity, Hearing, Hearing Health, Hearing loss

How Prevalent Really is Hearing Loss Among Americans and Canadians?

How many people in your life have hearing difficulties? One person? Two people? A handful? No one? The actual number is quite possibly more than you think, because hearing loss — the inability or reduced ability to perceive sounds that enter the ear — is much more common than many realize.

In the United States and Canada together, for example, millions of people live with hearing loss. Numbers may vary per organization, government agency, or study, but:

Johns Hopkins researchers have estimated that 20 percent of Americans 12 or older — about one out of every five — has some form of hearing loss.
The Canadian Hearing Society has stated that nearly a quarter of adult Canadians — close to one in four — has reported experiencing some level of hearing impairment.

In both countries, hearing loss also represents one of the top chronic physical conditions — even, in the case of the United States, ahead of diabetes or cancer. It’s a growing concern affecting children and adults, including approximately 34 million youth worldwide. In fact, it’s one of the most common birth defects in Canada and possibly the most common one in the U.S.

The good news?

Most hearing loss can be effectively managed with solutions such as hearing aids, helping you stay connected to the people, places, and experiences that matter most.

The bad news?

Only a fraction of those who could benefit from hearing help actually seek or receive it, making hearing loss an undertreated issue.

Even worse, hearing loss not only impacts communication but can go hand in hand with other problems such as social isolation, depression, diabetes, dementia, heart disease, and risk of falls.

FEBRUARY IS HEART MONTH

Did you know? Like hearing loss, cardiovascular disease — including heart disease and stroke — is a global public-health challenge. It’s the No. 1 killer worldwide, with nearly 18 million deaths annually per World Health Organization estimates, and is linked to hearing loss.

Precisely how cardiovascular disease and hearing loss are connected isn’t yet conclusive in all cases, but researchers have found, for example, that those with heart disease are 54 percent more likely to experience a hearing loss — even more so if they’ve suffered a heart attack.

Some risk factors such as age, gender, and family history can’t be helped, but healthy choices such as the following can make a difference in helping prevent either condition:

Avoiding tobacco
Following a healthy diet
Exercising regularly
Getting regular hearing and overall checkups

Take it to heart, and spread the word!

Food + Better Hearing = National Nutrition Month!

A Feast for the Ears: Supporting Your Hearing Health Through Food

in Hearing, Hearing Health, Nutrition, Tips & Tricks

March is National Nutrition Month, and that makes this an especially great time to talk about hearing wellness and nutrition. Never thought about food in relation to your ears? You’re not alone. But considering food is a critical source of elements crucial to healthy skin, muscles, organs, and more, it’s no wonder that nutrition and hearing are connected.

Take children and hearing loss, for instance. Did you know that a lack of adequate nutrition early in life could mean problems with hearing later on? A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in February 2018, for example, found that young adults who experienced poor nutrition in their preschool years had double the risk of hearing loss versus their better-nourished counterparts.

Though the research focused on a population with ongoing malnutrition issues and limited health care access, the study adds to the body of research linking nourishment — broccoli, anyone? — and hearing health.

Speaking of broccoli: Selected vitamins and minerals in your food can contribute to protecting your hearing wellness, according to HealthyHearing.com, so feast your eyes — and ears — on these examples to jump-start your healthy-hearing nutrition:

Clams, Cod, and Rockfish

These delights from the sea not only please a discerning palate but can provide potassium, an important mineral for regulating blood and tissue fluid levels — including in the inner ear, which plays an important role in hearing and balance.

Okra, Asparagus, and Spinach

Choices abound when it comes to sources of folate, which studies have linked to healthy outcomes such as decreased risk of hearing impairment among older men. Whether you’re into dark green veggies, broccoli, avocado, escarole, or edamame, you can find folate-rich foods to match your tastes.

Leafy Greens, Whole Grains, and — Hey — Dark Chocolate!

Yep, dark chocolate’s on our list of foods containing magnesium, which — combined with vitamins A, C, and E — can help thwart noise-induced hearing loss. Other magnesium sources include pumpkin seeds, kidney beans, chicken breast, and more.

Lentils, Split Peas, and Navy Beans

Serve them mashed, whole, in a soup, or in a salad bowl — whatever your delight! Lentils — along with other legumes and foods such as beef, oysters, and dark-meat chicken — offer zinc, which supports the immune system and may help fight tinnitus or ringing in the ears.

Healthy eating is important year-round, so keep these helpful tips in mind for National Nutrition Month and beyond. Want to learn more about hearing wellness and nutrition? Contact us! We’re happy to answer your questions.

Brushing Your Teeth Supports Your Hearing Health?

It’s All Connected: Surprising Ways Your Health Affects Your Hearing

in Comorbidity, Disorders, Hearing, Hearing Health, Hearing loss

In honor of World Health Day on April 7, 2019, let’s take a look at some surprising ways your physical health can impact your hearing health.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with hearing loss, consider asking your physician or dentist about these other issues so you can keep on top of your overall health.

Cardiovascular Health

It’s been demonstrated many times over in the last few decades that heart health affects hearing health. But how? In your inner ear are tiny cells called hair cells. These convert sound into electrical signals that are sent to your brain to be interpreted. When you have cardiovascular problems, your heart can’t pump well enough for your hair cells to get sufficient blood, so they end up damaged or destroyed. As you lose hair cells, you lose hearing ability.

Diabetes

Hearing loss is roughly twice as prevalent in those with diabetes compared to those without diabetes. Why does it affect your hearing? Diabetes narrows the main artery running to your inner ear, compromising the blood supply to your hair cells. It can also damage the nerve that sends sound information from your inner ear to your brain.

Oral Health

This one’s a surprising twist: Your oral health affects your hearing health. It happens by way of your cardiovascular system. It’s been demonstrated that your oral health is connected to your heart health. Periodontal disease can result in bacteria and toxins entering the bloodstream, which increases the chance of cardiovascular issues. As already shown, cardiovascular problems affect the tiny hair cells in your inner ear, leading to hearing loss.

Thyroid Health

The common autoimmune disorder Graves’ disease has been linked to hearing loss. Graves’ disease causes hyperthyroidism, that is, an overactive thyroid gland. More study is needed to figure out exactly why hyperthyroidism affects your hearing, but it makes sense: The hormones it produces control how your body uses energy, so it affects your whole body — including your heart. And as we’ve seen, your heart health strongly affects your hearing health.

AI at Your Ears? The Future’s Here! Meet the AGXS liv AI!

in Hearing, Hearing Aids, News, Technology

We’re Talking Hearing Tech Powered With Artificial Intelligence

When thinking about the conveniences artificial intelligence can bring, innovations such as Netflix — a film- and TV-streaming service that can learn and make recommendations based on individual viewing preferences — might come to mind. Other machine-learning offerings such as adaptive thermostats, self-driving cars, voice-operated virtual assistants, and automated music platforms may fit the bill, too. But who could have guessed that artificial intelligence, or AI, would come to hearing technology? We could! Hearing aids have come a long way, with state-of-the-art clarity, sound directionality, near invisibility, and even smartphone and Bluetooth compatibility. Breakthrough ideas are always in the queue, so we’re excited to share this AI-enhanced AGX® Hearing device that might be for you!

Boost your hearing and overall fitness with the AGXS liv AI. This cutting-edge hearing tech not only offers robust sound, speech clarity in noisy situations, and audio streaming from your smartphone — including phone calls, music, and messages — but can also track your brain and body health to help you achieve your wellness goals. It’s pretty amazing. The hearing aid, which contains sensors to detect your activities and gestures, works in tandem with the Thrive™ Hearing Control mobile app to:

Track data such as physical activity, hearing aid use, social engagement, and active listening to provide body, brain, and overall wellness scores that can help you make informed decisions about your health and fitness.
Let you easily converse — through the built-in translation capabilities — with people who speak other languages, breaking down barriers and empowering your communication.
Automatically detect a fall and alert your preselected contacts, helping provide you and your loved ones peace of mind.
Enable remote communication between you and our caring team, so we can fine-tune your device without an in-person appointment — potentially saving you a trip.

With the app, you can even ask questions about your hearing aid and accessories — for example, “How do I adjust the volume?” — for instant help from the voice-controlled assistant. Ready for a closer look at our groundbreaking AI-powered hearing technology? Call us today to schedule a personal test-drive. Discover the joy of hearing help that’s customized to your life.

May Is Better Hearing Month – Spring Into It With Less Noise, More Joy!

in Hearing, Hearing Health, Hearing loss, Hearing Protection, Tips & Tricks

May Is Better Hearing Month: Spring Into It With Less Noise, More Joy

Ahhh, spring! As power tools whir, ball games bloom, and concerts sprout, are your ears protected from the louder sounds of the season?

Some noises pack a bigger punch than your ears should take, so for Better Hearing Month this May, we’re sharing three quick tips to keep harmful volumes at bay.

TURN DOWN THE SOUND

Planning a hearty run in the fresh air with favorite tunes in your ears? It’s tempting to crank up the beats, but MP3 players can reach an ear-splitting 105 decibels. Better bet: Enjoy the sounds but turn them down to 50 percent maximum volume or lower.

GUARD YOUR EARS

Cutting that spring grass can feel so satisfying, but the noise of a gas mower can blow past the danger threshold of 85 decibels. Hearing protection such as earplugs or earmuffs help soften loud sounds and can be customized to your ears, so keep them on hand when using power equipment.

LIMIT YOUR EXPOSURE

Spring concerts, sports, and festivals abound, so help keep your hearing sound by wearing hearing protection and taking breaks from the festivities. Permanent hearing loss can result even from a single exposure to loud noise, making it important to give your ears a helpful rest from excess volumes.

Did you know?

An estimated one-third of hearing loss among children and adults worldwide is connected to noise exposure.
Excess noise can destroy the inner ear’s tiny, irreplaceable hair cells, which are crucial to healthy hearing.
Loud sounds can lead to tinnitus, a common and potentially debilitating problem of buzzing, humming, or ringing in the ears.
Quality hearing protection can curb noise intensity while letting music and other audio sound just as good.

As the season showers you with sound, make this the month to start protecting your hearing. Contact our caring team today to learn more about custom hearing protection for the whole family.

Hearing Technology: The Hip New Accessory?

Destigmatizing Hearing Loss: It Affects People of All Ages

in Hearing, Hearing Accessories, Hearing Aids, Hearing Health, Hearing loss, Hearing Loss Stigmas, Technology

Hearing Loss Affects People of All Ages

When you think about eyeglasses, what do you think of? Most likely your own pair or those of loved ones. If you’re more fashion-minded, you might even think about that funky pair you saw recently on one of your favorite celebrities. You definitely don’t think of old age.

But what about when you think of hearing aids? Probably a different story.

A PR Problem

More than 50% of Canadian adults have vision problems; some 40% have hearing impairment. Both eyeglasses and hearing aids correct a very common sense impairment — so why are eyeglasses a fashion statement, but it takes, on average, seven years for someone to even get their hearing tested after noticing a hearing loss?

Hearing Loss Affects All Age Groups

The idea that hearing loss is something that happens to people in their old age simply isn’t true. Significant numbers of people across all generations experience some degree of hearing loss.

Children

4 of every 1,000 Canadian babies are born with a detectable hearing loss
About 1 in 11 Canadian 6- to 11-year-olds has some degree of hearing loss
About 1 in 12 Canadian teens has some degree of hearing loss

Young adults

According to a World Health Organization report, 50 percent of millennials risk hearing loss because of damaging volumes via personal audio devices; 40 percent do so via noisy entertainment venues such as concerts.

Adults

About 2 in 5 Canadians ages 20 to 79 have hearing loss
42 percent of Canadians ages 16 to 79 currently are or have been regularly exposed to dangerous noise levels at work
42 percent of Canadians ages 3 to 79 have experienced tinnitus (a ringing, pulsing, or buzzing only they can hear)
About 90 percent of tinnitus cases have accompanying hearing loss

Service members

3 in 5 returning service members experience hearing loss
Among both active and veteran service members, hearing loss and tinnitus are the most reported health issue
50 percent of all blast-induced injuries result in permanent hearing loss
Hearing loss among service members has become a big enough problem that the Department of Defense spearheaded an interactive course that provides early and ongoing hearing loss-prevention training

Normalizing Hearing Loss

Clearly, hearing loss is even more prevalent than vision problems. And it leaves no age group untouched. But the stigma remains, such that only 1 in 5 people who could benefit from hearing technology actually uses it.

But there’s a growing online trend of people discussing their lives with hearing loss — many of them millennials or slightly older — in an attempt to remove the stigma of hearing loss and hearing aids.

Living With Hearing Loss is written by Shari Eberts, who was recognized as a HearStrong Champion for her tireless work to change the stigma surrounding hearing loss.
The Invisible Disability and Me is written by a woman with a cochlear implant who hopes to raise awareness of and support those who’ve experienced sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
Cosmopolitan magazine’s brand connection to millennial women is so strong that it launched a Cosmo Millennial Advisory Board staffed with millennials who are experts in their fields; Cosmopolitan regularly features articles about life with hearing loss, covering topics from dating with hearing loss to becoming a NASA engineer despite having been born profoundly deaf.
The Twitter page Normalize Hearing Loss is “on a mission to normalize hearing loss and hearing aids and other tech the way we’ve normalized glasses,” and encourages users to include @NormalizeHL or #NormalizeHearingLoss in their tweets.

Hearing Tech for Today’s Connected Culture

What’s more, the hearing technology of today is a far cry from the hearing aids of 50 years ago. The digital tech of today is sleek and discreet, minimizes background noise, improves speech clarity in complicated sound environments, and focuses on what’s in front of you rather than taking in and amplifying all sounds equally.

Plus, hearing devices are becoming as connected as everything else. You can stream audio wirelessly from your mobile device to your hearing aids, geotag the hearing aid settings for your favorite locations, even hear a phone call in both ears simultaneously — and control it all on the sly with a smartphone app!

Sources:
Labrie Y. Eye Care in the Private Sector: Innovation at the Service of Patients. Accessed March 12, 2019. Canadian Hearing Society. Facts and Figures. Accessed March 12, 2019. Statistics Canada. Health Fact Sheets: Hearing Loss of Canadians, 2012 to 2015. Hearing Loss Association of America. Hearing Loss Facts and Statistics. Accessed March 6, 2019.

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