America has a strong history of gun usage, based to some extent on the movies and TV we grew up with, which showed us pictures of policemen and cowboys shooting guns pretty much all the time. These images appear to have created a lasting impression, because millions of people still enjoy firing guns, either at […]
What is the exact difference between a personal sound amplifier (PSA) and a hearing aid? One difference is that the PSA is being aggressively marketed to the consumer giving rise to quite a lot of confusion. You generally don’t see similar ads for hearing aids because they are medical devices according to the Food & […]
If you have children that are over a certain age, they probably have one or more of the following devices – gaming systems, computers and music players – perhaps even all three of them. In the event you responded yes, chances are, sooner or later they are going to want headphones to work with these […]
Acute external otitis or otitis externa – commonly known as swimmer’s ear – is an infection that strikes the outer ear canal, the portion outside the eardrum. The popular name swimmer’s ear comes from the fact that the problem is frequently linked to swimming. When moisture remains in the outer ear it results in a […]
Do you have hearing loss? If so, do you sometimes find that it feels like work just to understand what the people around you are saying? This is a sensation that happens even to those wearing hearing aids, because for them to perform well you have to have them tuned and adjusted correctly, and then […]
“Should I replace or repair a broken hearing aid?” is among the more common questions we are asked. Given only that much information, we have to answer honestly, “It depends.” The issue of whether to repair or replace depends upon many factors, and the “right answer” is particular to the person asking the question. It’s […]
Sound is an extraordinary thing. It influences our moods and thoughts in so many different ways – both positive and negative. For instance, for most of us, hearing music we enjoy is soothing and relaxing, but turn the volume of the same music up too loud – such as at a concert or when using […]
A standard patient question is whether their hearing aid will increase sounds which can be already excessively loud, making those sounds louder still. Fortunately there is a reassuring answer to this specific question. In short, modern hearing aids that are correctly fitted and adjusted are designed to avoid amplifying sounds that are already very loud. […]
As hearing specialists, one of the frustrations we experience in our practice is that the issues that have caused hearing problems in our patients can’t be reversed. One of the principal reasons for hearing loss, for example, is damage to the tiny hair cells in our inner ears that vibrate in reaction to sounds. Our […]
In the same way that there are many causes of hearing loss, there are many distinct forms of hearing loss; understanding the manner in which we hear is the beginning of understanding the different types. We pick up sounds through the outer ear, which isn’t only the part of the ear on the outside of […]