Traveling for the Holidays with Hearing Aids
As the holiday season approaches, many people are preparing to travel to spend time with loved ones. If you wear hearing aids, you can take the following steps to help ensure that stress over your devices doesn’t detract from this special time of year. Keep Your Hearing Aids Powered Up Having your hearing aids run…
Tips for Troubleshooting Your Common Hearing Aid Issues
Hearing aids are useful devices for amplifying sound, especially in noisy backgrounds. However, like any technological device, they sometimes encounter issues. Understanding how to troubleshoot problems can help you get the most out of your hearing aids. Here are some tips on what to do for some common hearing aid issues. What to Do If…
How to Safeguard Hearing Aids from Pets
Hearing aids can improve overall quality of life but require maintenance and protection, especially if you share your home with pets, and nearly 28.8 million Americans could benefit from the use of hearing aids. Curious animals can easily damage or misplace hearing aids, leading to repairs or replacements. By implementing a few simple strategies, you…
How Does Hearing Loss Affect Family Life?
Hearing loss can lead to feelings of isolation and confusion as sometimes a person may not realize they’re experiencing hearing loss. At times, it impacts relationships and may even have the ability to impact family life. Currently, 1.5 billion people across the world live with hearing loss; consider how hearing loss may impact your interactions…
How Does Diabetes Affect Your Hearing
Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how your body processes blood sugar. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or can’t effectively use the insulin it does produce. Without proper management, diabetes can impact various systems in the body, including hearing. The Connection Between Diabetes and Hearing Loss The blood…
Celebrate Earth Day the Audiology Way
Earth Day takes place on April 22and is a globally recognized event dedicated to environmental protection. Each year, people across the world have come together to support initiatives promoting sustainability and activities that serve the planet. This Earth Day, consider how, as a hearing aid user, you may have a unique opportunity to make a…
Can Vibration Help Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the presence of phantom sounds, ringing or buzzing, in one or both ears that is not actually present. It affects approximately 10% of Americans, approximately 24 million people, and has no cure. Tinnitus sufferers can turn to various options to provide symptom relief, from mindfulness practices to counseling services. A management option being…
Understanding How Temporal Bone Tumors Impact Hearing
Hearing the word “tumor” from a healthcare provider can be daunting, and understandably so. However, learning about temporal bone tumors—including their types and treatments—can significantly alleviate concerns. The temporal bone, located at the skull’s base, is integral to our hearing. It houses crucial components like cranial nerves, vasculature and the middle ear. When a tumor…
What to Know About Presbycusis
Presbycusis is the gradual loss of hearing in both ears, caused by aging. It’s the most common form of hearing loss worldwide, affecting approximately two-thirds of Americans aged 70 or older. Presbycusis impacts the person’s ability to understand high-frequency parts of speech, such as consonant sounds. If you’re struggling to hear your barista repeat your…
Great Ways to Celebrate Audiology Awareness Month
October is Audiology Awareness Month, making it the perfect time to learn and spread the word about all things audiology, including but not limited to: Whether you or a loved one has hearing loss or tinnitus or you’re interested in learning more about how you can learn and get involved, take a look at our…
Why It’s Harder to Understand Children’s Voices as You Age
Spending time with your children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews is a fulfilling and joyous experience that can make you feel like a kid again, too! Whether you’re playing catch in the park or going out for a family dinner at Nucci’s Pizza, you want to cherish the moments you get to spend together. Unfortunately,…
How to Choose Safe Headphones to Prevent Hearing Loss
Headphones are a great way to listen to music or catch up on your favorite podcast, whether you’re doing chores around the house or going for a jog at Morro Bay State Park. However, if you use headphones, it’s important to know how to do so safely to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. What is Noise-Induced…
How Can Hearing Aids Help Children Identify Emotions?
When growing communication skills, learning to recognize emotions is vital. Children with hearing loss may struggle to identify speech emotions and instead rely solely on visual cues. Hearing aids can be a great help in teaching children to identify verbal and emotional cues. How Can Hearing Loss Affect Emotional Understanding? A study comparing emotional understanding…
Don’t Let Stigma Stop You From Treating Your Hearing Health
Millions of people with hearing loss resist treating their condition, at least in part, because of the negative social stigma around hearing aids. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, “among adults aged 70 and older with hearing loss who could benefit from hearing aids, fewer than one in three (30…
Effects of Untreated Hearing Loss on Senior Citizens
According to a study published in the journal Clinical Interventions in Aging, “Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in the elderly, and it is becoming a severe social and health problem.” Below we review how untreated hearing loss can affect senior citizens and how hearing aids can help. Falls Research by Johns Hopkins…
What Causes Infant Hearing Loss?
While hearing loss is most common among older adults, people of all ages experience the condition, including infants. When present at birth, it’s known as congenital hearing loss. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that almost 6,000 infants born that year were found to have permanent hearing loss. Common Causes…
When is a Cochlear Implant Necessary?
A cochlear implant may be necessary if you or your child has moderate to profound hearing loss that is not helped by hearing aids. Difference Between Cochlear Implants and Hearing Aids While both devices are designed to improve your hearing, hearing aids and cochlear implants work in very different ways. Hearing aids amplify sounds but…
Hear Your Favorite Birds Again with Hearing Aids
When you’re sitting outside enjoying nature, what are your favorite sounds? For you, it may be a babbling brook or a buzzing bee. However, one survey revealed that, for most, it is the sounds of bird songs. About the Survey The goal of the survey, conducted by the hearing aid manufacturer Widex, was to uncover…
Holiday Sounds to Hear this Year
This holiday season, we at M.K. Larson Audiology want you to enjoy all the wonderful sounds the season has to offer. Left untreated, your hearing loss can cost you precious memories you may not even know you’re missing. Sounds You May Be Missing If you’re putting off treating your hearing loss, know that you could…
Symptoms of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
The two most common causes of hearing loss are exposure to loud sounds and aging. Since there is nothing anyone can do to prevent the march of time, experts focus their attention on helping patients prevent hearing loss caused but dangerously loud sounds. Continue reading to learn more about the symptoms of noise-induced hearing loss…
