What Tests Are Available for Hearing Loss?
According to a study from 2016, an estimated 23% of Americans ages 12 and older have some degree of hearing loss. If you are among this population, you could be missing out on important sounds, like what your conversation partner is saying to you at Venture Kitchen & Bar. The first step toward better hearing…
Are Seniors with Hearing Loss at a Higher Risk for Complications After Surgery?
Research has shown that older individuals with hearing loss who have had surgery face a greater risk of post-operative complications than those with normal hearing. Study Links Hearing Loss to Higher Risk of Post-Surgical Complications A 2022 study looked at whether older patients with hearing loss who underwent surgery were more likely to experience post-surgical…
Is There a Connection Between Thyroid Disease and Hearing Loss?
Millions of Americans have some form of thyroid disease, with higher numbers of women being affected than men. Because symptoms of thyroid disease can easily be confused with other conditions, it may be hard to know if you even have it. Your thyroid plays an important role in many of your body’s essential functions. Untreated…
A Test Used for Newborn Hearing Screenings May Be Able to Detect Autism
A test used in universal newborn hearing screenings known as the auditory brainstem response may one day also be used to detect autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. What is the Auditory Brainstem Response Test? The ABR test measures how well a baby’s inner ear and brain respond to sound. To perform the test, doctors…
Hearing Loss & Listening Fatigue
It’s common to feel exhausted after conversing with people at Hampton Roads Convention Center for long periods of time. But for people with hearing loss, this exhaustion is exponential, even for shorter conversations. This feeling of exhaustion that comes after conversing is known as listening fatigue. What Is Listening Fatigue? Within the inner ear are…
How Can Teachers Reduce Their Risk of Hearing Loss?
Anyone who works in education knows that the classroom can be a loud place, no matter what grade level you’re working with. From multiple students trying to participate at once to other students having side conversations and hard surfaces causing excessive reverberance, it can be challenging for teachers to convey the information they’re trying to…
WHO Sets New Standards of Safe Listening
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 1 billion young people, ages 12 to 35, are at risk of losing their hearing due to unsafe listening practices. Left unaddressed, this could have devastating consequences for their health, education and employment. Because of this, the WHO has issued a new international standard for safe listening…
How is Unilateral Hearing Loss Treatment Different from Binaural Hearing Loss?
Some people experience hearing loss in one ear instead of two. This is referred to as unilateral hearing loss or single-sided deafness (SSD) depending on the severity. It’s a condition that poses its own set of challenges and sometimes requires different treatment from binaural hearing loss. What Causes Hearing Loss in One Ear? There are…
How Autoimmune Diseases May Play a Role in Your Hearing Health
Hearing loss isn’t just linked to old age and noise exposure; research shows that underlying conditions including autoimmune diseases are also linked to hearing loss. We review the connection below. What Are Autoimmune Diseases? The immune system’s job is to protect your body from diseases, viruses and infections. However, sometimes the immune system incorrectly identifies…
Study Finds Unexpected Brain Shrinkage in Patients with Hearing Loss
A new study may offer further insight into the connection between hearing loss and dementia. Hearing Loss Associated with Changes in Brain The study, from The Carle Illinois College of Medicine, analyzed data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia. Researchers compared MRIs of people…