Exercises that Keep Hearing Sharp
Your brain and your ears work as a team to help you hear. While it’s important to protect your ears by listening to music at a safe volume and wearing hearing protection when around loud noises, it’s equally essential to exercise the parts of your brain that help you make meaning of sound. Below are…
Start 2021 with Healthy Hearing
New Year’s is the time for a fresh start. While many people use this time to make resolutions related to weight loss or to set goals to kick a bad habit, many overlook an important aspect of their wellbeing: their hearing health. Start this year off right by caring for your hearing. Why It’s Important…
Overcoming Hearing Loss in the Workplace
The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) reports that of the 48 million Americans with hearing loss, nearly 60% are in the workplace or an educational setting. While these can be challenging settings for a person with a hearing impairment, with the proper accommodations, you can be just as productive and efficient as your colleagues…
Bus & Truck Drivers at Significant Risk for Hearing Loss
We are surrounded by countless sounds in our normal lives. Some of the most common noises that people are exposed to on a daily basis come from vehicles. Knowing this, Iranian researchers were interested if this put heavy-vehicle drivers at an increased risk for hearing loss. Noise Pollution from Vehicles According to the Environmental Protection…
What Is Cookie-Bite Hearing Loss?
After you get a hearing test, the results will be charted on an audiogram, which is a visual representation of your hearing ability. Certain types of hearing loss are named after the shape they create on an audiogram. For example, low-frequency hearing loss is sometimes referred to as “reverse-slope hearing loss” because the shape of…
Strategies for Talking Through Your Face Mask
While they are helpful tools for keeping us safe in the age of COVID-19, face masks are causing communication difficulties. Even people with normal hearing complain that it’s difficult to hear people’s voices behind masks, but this challenge is exponentially greater for those with hearing loss. Not only do masks muffle voices, but many who…
Protect Your Kids from Headphone Misuse
Headphone use is not new. The first Walkman was invented in 1979, over 40 years ago! However, the popularity of on-the-go headphone- and earbud-use has certainly increased in recent years, thanks to smartphones making music, podcasts, audiobooks, TV shows and even full-length movies accessible anytime, anywhere. Unfortunately, many of our listening habits can have negative…
Zoom Fatigue All Too Familiar for Deaf Community
The transition to socially-distanced online interactions was rapid for many people in school and in the workforce. Since this transition, many have complained about “Zoom fatigue,” a phenomenon where online conference meetings with colleagues, FaceTime calls with family and online game night with friends has become mentally and socially exhausting. “It’s not necessarily persistent fatigue…
Tips for Watching TV with Hearing Loss
For the 48 million Americans who experience hearing loss, watching TV can be one of the biggest listening challenges. Television shows and movies often have background music and sound effects that play over dialogue, making it hard to follow the on-screen conversations. Many people with hearing loss crank up the volume while watching TV, but…
Mental Health Awareness
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Lockdowns, stay-at-home orders and social distancing make this a challenging time for all. For those with untreated hearing loss, who are at an even greater risk of developing mental health issues, raising awareness and developing a coping strategy is key. Social Isolation A report from the National Academies of Sciences,…