It’s well understood, that over time, overeating will be unhealthy to your health. Obesity is related to a number of health concerns. You can add hearing loss to high cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes as a possible problem. It’s calculated that around 48 million people in the U . S ., about 20% of this country’s population, suffer from loss of hearing, and around double that amount of adults, 93 million, are obese. These figures are shocking and point to a significant health problem throughout the country.

How Is Obesity Related to Hearing Loss?

Various studies have revealed that there’s a relationship between obesity and hearing loss. Exactly what that link is, is still being investigated, it’s assumed that loss of hearing and obesity have a relationship because of its impact on our circulatory system. What’s more, obesity is associated with high blood pressure and diabetes, which are also connected to hearing loss.

The inner ears are filled with tiny hairs that detect sound in the ear. So that they can work effectively, these little hairs, called stereocilia, require a steady blood flow. Because of obesity, the flow of blood is restricted throughout the body because, in order to keep the blood flowing inside the body, the heart needs to do additional work, which means that there is less than ideal amount of blood flow available to your ear. This could irreversibly damage the ears. As all of these conditions effect the blood flow, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure impact the inner ear in the same way.

It’s especially important to keep control of your weight as you age since age-related hearing loss and high-fat mass index are also connected. Your body’s metabolism doesn’t work as fast or as well as it did in the past, which is the reason why you should try to stick to healthy habits that you started when you were younger.

Good nutrition and exercise are great for your overall health and your hearing.

Treatment Options For Obesity-Associated Hearing Loss

It’s a possibility that you may not be able to recover your lost hearing if it’s brought on by obesity, nonetheless, in order to find out how extensive your loss of hearing is, it’s important to get your hearing screened. If the injury is permanent, you might need a hearing aid or other device to begin hearing correctly again.

If the injury is not that severe, you might need to see your doctor about initiating a diet and exercise plan to minimize the effect your weight has on your well being before it gets any worse. Your doctor should recommend a cardio intensive exercise routine that will get your blood pumping and improve your general health. You will likely find that other areas of your life also get better, mental health, as an example, since regular exercise has been proven to lessen depression.

How to Prevent Obesity-Related Hearing Loss

A healthy diet and a regular exercise regime are essential to avoiding obesity-related disorders like heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. staying healthy can also assist in keeping your hearing in superior shape. A plan that can assist you to achieve your goals and that is individualized for you can be planned by a nutritionist. The nutritionist can make certain you’re consuming the ideal blend of nutrients in nutritious foods, including foods that have plenty of iron, because of course, a lack of iron in your diet can aggravate your loss of hearing and lead to tinnitus.

Find out more concerning hearing loss and how you can hear better with the proper treatment method.

Earplugs can be helpful if you’re subjected to loud sounds, like, something as straightforward as a snoring spouse, or a lawnmower in your backyard, or going to an arena to see a concert. In the first two instances, they can help safeguard your hearing by decreasing the volume. In the last instance, they bring down the decibels plus help protect your sanity (and possibly your marriage) by allowing you to get a good night’s sleep. But are these ear protectors, really, harming your ears?

Why Utilize Earplugs at All?

It’s a fairly simple case for wearing earplugs: When used properly, earplugs can minimize your exposure to excessive volume levels and thereby protect your hearing. After you leave a loud venue, say a football game where the announcer keeps telling the crowd to, GET LOUD, whenever the opposing team kicks off, you’ve most likely noticed that your hearing seems different, and you may also experience symptoms of tinnitus. Those tiny hairs are bent by this sort of noise exposure and that’s the reason why this happens. In a day or two, when the hairs have recovered, it generally goes back to normal.

But in certain situations, there is a relentless attack on those tiny hairs, this is especially true if you work in a noisy trade like construction or in an airport. In this case, those hairs never recover, they are permanently damaged. There are just about 16,000 of those little cells inside each cochlea, but up to 50% of them can be destroyed or at least damaged before you would see the change in a hearing test.

How Could Your Ears be Harmed by Using Earplugs?

In terms of safeguarding your hearing, you’d think it would be a no-brainer to utilize earplugs. But if your subjected to loud noises on a regular basis, this seems even more obvious (like on the job or with the aforementioned snoring significant other), headphones that limit, but don’t completely cancel, sound or over the head earmuffs are a much better idea. Earplugs aren’t the best choice for daily use but are a smarter choice for one time occasions like a sports event or a concert.

Why? For one, earwax. In order to protect themselves, your ears produce earwax, and if you’re constantly wearing earplugs, they will make more of it, and the earplugs will push it in further. Tinnitus and other concerns can be the result of impacted earwax.

An ear infection can also be the result from overuse of earplugs. If you continually wear the same pair, and you don’t clean them properly from use to use, they can become breeding grounds for bacteria. Ear infections are, at a minimum, an uncomfortable inconvenience. If neglected, in the worst situations, they can cause an ear infection.

How Can You Make Use of Earplugs Safely?

Earplugs nevertheless have a strong positive, whether it’s protecting your ears or getting a good night’s sleep. Using them in the proper way and using the correct kind is the key to success. Foam earplugs are the least costly, which is helpful because you really shouldn’t use them more than once, the cushy, porous material is a germ’s paradise. Wax or silicone earplugs are reusable, but you have to keep them clean, use warm water and mild soap to wash them, and don’t put them back in your ears until they’re thoroughly dry. Accumulation of moisture can cause mold and bacteria so store your earplugs in a well ventilated container.

If you want or need to wear earplugs regularly, you might want to consult us about having custom-made earplugs. These are constructed from unique molds of your ears, they can be reused and because they’re fitted to your ears, their comfortable. But it’s important not to forget, good earplug hygiene can prevent hearing damage.

Around half of those over 70 and one in three U.S. adults are impacted by age related loss of hearing. But despite its prevalence, only about 30% of older Americans who suffer from loss of hearing have ever had hearing aids (and that figure goes down to 16% for those under 69!). At least 20 million Americans are dealing with neglected loss of hearing depending on what numbers you look at; though some reports put this closer to 30 million.

As people get older, they overlook getting treatment for loss of hearing for a variety of considerations. (One study found that just 28% of people who reported they had hearing loss had even had their hearing checked, and most didn’t seek additional treatment. For some individuals, it’s like wrinkles or gray hair, just part of growing old. Hearing loss has long been easy to diagnose, but thanks to the significant developments that have been made in hearing aid technology, it’s also a highly manageable situation. That’s significant because a growing body of data reveals that treating hearing loss can help more than just your hearing.

A recent study from a research team based at Columbia University, adds to the body of knowledge connecting hearing loss and depression.
They assess each participant for depression and administer an audiometric hearing exam. After a range of factors are considered, the researchers discovered that the odds of having clinically substantial symptoms of depression increased by around 45% for every 20-decibel increase in hearing loss. And to be clear, 20 dB is very little noise. It’s about the same as rustling leaves and is quieter than a whisper.

The general connection isn’t astonishing but it is surprising how rapidly the odds of suffering from depression go up with only a little difference in sound. There is a large collection of literature on depression and hearing loss and this new study adds to that research, like this multi-year analysis from 2000 which found that mental health worsened along with hearing loss, or this paper from 2014 that people had a significantly higher chance of depression when they were either clinically diagnosed with loss of hearing or self reported it.

The good news is: the connection that researchers suspect exists between loss of hearing and depression isn’t chemical or biological, it’s social. Everyday interactions and social situations are generally avoided because of the anxiety due to problems hearing. Social alienation can be the result, which further feeds into feelings of depression and anxiety. It’s a pattern that is very easily broken despite the fact that it’s a horrible one.

Several researchers have found that managing hearing loss, typically using hearing aids, can help to reduce symptoms of depression. Over 1,000 people in their 70s were looked at in a 2014 study that revealing that people who used hearing aids were significantly less likely to have symptoms of depression, but due to the fact that the authors didn’t considered the data over a period of time, they could not pinpoint a cause and effect relationship.

But other studies which followed people before and after using hearing aids bears out the proposal that managing hearing loss can help alleviate symptoms of depression. Although this 2011 study only checked a small group of people, a total of 34, the analysts found that after three months using hearing aids, all of them revealed significant improvement in both depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning. The exact same outcome was found from even further out by another minor study from 2012, with every single person six months out from starting to wear hearing aids, were still experiencing less depression. And in a study originating in 1992 that observed a larger group of U.S. military veterans suffering from hearing loss discovered that a full 12 months after beginning to use hearing aids, the vets were still experiencing fewer symptoms of depression.

You’re not alone in the intense struggle with loss of hearing. Get in touch with us for a hearing test today.

The word psoriasis usually conjures up images of people with skin problems like the ones on all those advertisements. Psoriasis impacts your overall health and not only your skin. Psoriasis is commonly misunderstood and minimized, due to a lack of knowledge of how psoriasis impacts sufferers as well as the serious conditions that can be related to this disorder. Though plaques on the skin are its most noticeable sign, they’re indicative of what psoriasis can do throughout the body: The risk of metabolic problems that are increased by persistent irritation and cardiovascular disease.

Psoriasis is also linked to another problem according to a different recent study: Hearing loss. Published in The Journal of Rheumatology, The link between hearing impairment, psoriatic arthritis, and mental health were looked at in this research. Psoriatic arthritis is a form of psoriasis where inflammation is centered around the joints, causing swelling, difficulty with movement, and soreness. The tell-tale plaques may not be experienced by people who suffer from psoriatic arthritis.

In the same way as with rheumatoid arthritis (and similar to psoriasis), psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune illness, the sufferer’s body is basically attacking its own healthy tissue. But psoriatic arthritis varies from rheumatoid arthritis in that it’s usually asymmetrical (so you could have it in one knee but not the other), and it doesn’t only impact joints but leads to painfully swollen fingers and toes while it targets sufferer’s nails and eyes.

Based on the findings of this recent study, inflammation from psoriatic arthritis may also affect hearing. The study compared the self-reported hearing loss of people who have psoriatic arthritis, people who have psoriasis but not psoriatic arthritis, and a large control group of people with neither problem. They found that hearing impairment was more likely to be documented by the group that suffered from psoriasis, and audiometric screening supported the self-reports. Even when other risk considerations are taken into consideration, people diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis were significantly more likely to suffer from loss of hearing than either {the control group or psoriasis sufferers}.

But that’s not to say there’s no link between psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and loss of hearing. A 2015 study found that individuals who have been diagnosed with psoriasis are at a substantially higher danger of developing sudden sensorineural loss of hearing, generally known as sudden deafness. With sudden sensorineural hearing loss, people’s ability to hear diminishes substantially in three days or less. It has many possible causes, but scientists hypothesize that people with psoriasis are in greater danger because of the kind of fast inflammation that occurs during a flare-up of psoriasis symptoms. If this happens in or near the cochlea, it could impede hearing. This type of hearing loss, in many circumstances, can be helped by treatments that alleviate psoriasis., but hearing aids are often recommended when other interventions don’t appear to be working.

If you suffer from psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis, it’s worthwhile to monitor your hearing. Plan your annual healthcare appointment along with regular hearing tests. The inflammation due to these diseases can lead to inner ear injury, which can cause loss of balance and psoriatic arthritis. psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis are both also linked to depression and anxiety, which can both aggravated hearing loss. Other health issues, such as dementia, can be the outcome if you don’t detect loss of hearing early.

Awareness is key, and cooperating with your doctors and regularly getting your hearing checked can help you keep in front of symptoms with early intervention. You shouldn’t have to compromise your standard of living for psoriasis or for hearing loss, and all the difference is having the right team by your side.

We’ve all had the experience, the annoying feeling when your ear is clogged and no amount of swallowing and yawning can help it. You’ve attempted opening your ear canal with your finger, popping your ear, and even chewing gum. Hoping your ears will just unclog by themselves, at some point you may just give up. And honestly, you wouldn’t be incorrect to attempt to wait a while to see if the situation clears up on its own unless, of course, you have soreness, drainage, or other symptoms of an infection.

A little passageway that connects the middle ear to the place behind the nose and controls the pressure that goes the ears, called the eustachian tube, will get plugged if it remains closed or open for too long. You may notice a crackling or popping noise in your ears as this tube closes and opens when you swallow or yawn. Common hormonal changes cause the ear to stay open and viruses or ear infections will cause the ear to remain closed. It may take your ears a while to return to normal but both issues will go away with time.

Another cause of clogged ears is buildup of earwax. This type of ear clog can be cleared with treatments, depending on the severeness, this can be at home or at the hearing professional. Here are a few tips when dealing with clogged ears:

You Can Try Putting Hydrogen Peroxide Drops in Your Ear

Hydrogen peroxide can be utilized to break up earwax clogs, but it must be applied in your ear correctly. Mixing the peroxide with luke warm water and using a dropper to gradually put it in your ear is the professional’s recommendation. Your ear should be turned upward as you put the drops in your ear and you should stay that way for a few seconds to allow the hydrogen peroxide to dissolve the earwax blockage. Eventually, the blockage should clear up but you might have to repeat the process for several days.

Never Clean Your Ear by Sticking Something inside it

This can’t be overstated: it will only make the situation worse if you try to use a cotton swab to clear your ears. Cotton swabs can cause complete blockage by forcing the earwax into the eardrum. Actually, anything that is inserted in your ears can possibly result in an earwax obstruction, and that includes hearing aids and earplugs. Cotton swabs should be used only on your outer ear in order to avoid causing blockage.

Treat Your Allergies

If you have allergies, it can cause a blocked ear to get worse. Follow your doctor’s directions about how to treat your allergies and don’t forget to take your treatment. Steer clear of any unnecessary allergens, especially during allergy season.

If a Remedy Sounds Odd, Avoid it

We probably shouldn’t have to tell you this, but you certainly should never stick a lit candle in your ear in order to clean out a clog caused by wax. Ear candling is an old technique of inserting a hollow candle into your ear and lighting it which is extremely unscientific. The belief is that the heat of the flame produces a vacuum which pulls the earwax into the hollow space in the candle. This doesn’t work and you will likely cause a lot more harm to your ears. If something doesn’t sound correct, it most likely isn’t and it’s best to contact an expert. Arbitrarily trying anything is a huge risk to your hearing.

If you don’t find any other solution, you should call us. Incorrect wax removal can cause severe problems in your ears, like a ruptured eardrum or long-term hearing loss.

Once you adjust to wearing a hearing aid, it’s hard to be without it. After all, your hearing aids are crucial to connect to your world. But it will occasionally need to be updated or replaced just like any technology.

The Normal Hearing Aid Lifespan

So the typical hearing aid will last how long?3 to 5 years will be the normal lifespan of a typical hearing aid. So that you can be sure hearing aids are still your best choice, you need to have your hearing tested periodically because there’s no hard and fast rule. Assuming your hearing doesn’t change, some models wear out more quickly than others and technology is constantly changing.

Your Hearing Aid Longevity May be Affected by These Variables

Because that’s only the average, right? Which means that hearing aids may last a lot longer for many individuals. How long your hearing aids will last is influenced by a number of considerations:

• How frequently your hearing aids are worn: So if you use your hearing aid more frequently, you will need a new one sooner. But modern hearing aids are designed to be used for long periods so that’s not always the case. Perhaps a better way to say it is that the more often you cycle power settings (turn the device on and off), the sooner you might have to replace your hearing aid.
• Quality of Build: It’s costly to buy hearing aids. But, as with most things in life, you commonly get what you pay for. Your hearing aid will probably last longer if it is built better.
• Complexity of the hearing aid: A lot more can go wrong with your hearing aid if it’s more complex because there are more variables to contend with. Don’t get me wrong sometimes you need that added complexity, and usually, it ends up being worth it. But added complex technology does introduce a breakability element. Advanced hearing aids have become very wise about introducing more functionality using software rather than hardware, which is helpful.
• Maintenance and regular care: In many ways, a hearing aid is like most other pieces of technology: it will last longer if you take better care of it. That’s the reason why you should always clean your hearing aids and conduct regular upkeep just as the manufacturer suggests.
• Capability: Technology is constantly changing, and hearing aids have been changing too. If you want your hearing aids to have the clearest sound, you might want to upgrade. This will also allow you to sync your device to your television, smartphone and other devices.
• Your Hearing Changes: Those little, easy to hide devices are often the choice of adults who use hearing aids. Those devices have the exact amount of power you need and are very precisely calibrated. You might need to switch to a more powerful hearing aid if your hearing gets worse.

Can You Make Your Hearing Aids Last Longer?

We have to acknowledge that hearing aids are pretty personal things. In many instances, they are programmed exclusively for your ears and might have custom molds. Also, they are a significant investment. So it’s a common objective to get the most that you can from your hearing aid.

And it’s an achievable one. Taking good care of your hearing aids is the best thing you can do to be certain that your hearing aids last as long as possible. Getting them wet or dropping them are things you should not do if possible. And make sure you do all the necessary maintenance and cleaning.

Your hearing aids should last around five years. Whether you can get more than that is, generally, up to chance. But sometimes it’s up to you. Ultimately, newer hearing aids provide features you will probably want. So, schedule an appointment for a hearing test right away to find out which hearing aid is the best one for you.

You’re probably aware that the United States is having an opioid crisis. Overdoses are killing more than 130 individuals daily. There is a connection, which you may not have heard about, between drug and alcohol abuse and hearing loss.

According to new research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and carried out by a team from the University of Michigan, there’s a connection between those under fifty who are suffering from hearing loss and abuse of alcohol or other substances.

Nearly 86,000 people participated in the study and it was found that the younger the person, the stronger the connection. Regrettably, it’s still unclear what causes that link to begin with.

Here’s what this specific research found:

• People who developed hearing loss when they were younger than fifty were at least two times as likely to abuse opioids than their peers. Other substances, such as alcohol, were also inclined to be misused by this group.
• People were two times as likely to develop a general substance abuse problem than their peers if they got hearing loss between the ages of 35 and 49.
• When it comes to hearing loss, people above the age of fifty who developed hearing loss were not different from their peers when it comes to substance abuse.

Hope and Solutions

Those numbers are staggering, especially because scientists have already taken into account concerns like economics and class. So, now that we’ve recognized a connection, we have to do something about it, right? Well, that can be a problem without understanding the exact cause (remember: correlation is not causation). Researchers did have a couple of theories:

• Medications that are ototoxic: Hearing loss is known to be caused by these medications.
• Social solitude: It’s well established that hearing loss can lead to social isolation and cognitive decline. In these situations, self-medication can be relatively common, and if the person doesn’t understand that hearing loss is an issue or what the cause is, this is especially true.
• Higher blood pressure: Of course, it’s also true, That blood pressure is raised by alcohol, sometimes to unhealthy levels. And both some pain killers and also high blood pressure have been shown to harm your hearing.
• Lack of communication: Emergency departments are designed to respond to people, deal with them, and process them as efficiently (or, in many cases, quickly) as they can. Sometimes they are in a hurry, particularly if there’s a life-threatening emergency waiting for them. In these cases, if patients aren’t capable of communicating very well, say they can’t hear questions or directions from the staff, they might not get proper treatment. They might agree to suggestions of pain medicine without fully listening to the risks, or they might mishear dosage instructions.

Whether these occurrences increase loss of hearing, or those with hearing loss are more likely to have them, the negative repercussions to your health are the same.

Preventing Hearing Loss and Substance Abuse

It’s recommended by the writers of the study, that communications protocols be kept current by doctors and emergency departments. It would help if doctors were on the lookout for people with hearing loss, in other words. But it would also help if we as individuals were more aware of some of the symptoms of hearing loss, too, and sought help when we need it.

Don’t be scared to ask questions of your doctors such as:

• Will I get addicted to this drug? Do I actually need it, or is there an alternative medicine available that is less dangerous?
• Is this medication ototoxic? Are there alternate options?

Never go home from a doctors appointment with medications unless you are completely clear on their risks, what the dosage schedule is and how they influence your general health.

Additionally, if you believe you are suffering from hearing loss, don’t wait to be tested. If you ignore your hearing loss for only two years you will pay 26% more for your health care. So make an appointment now to have your hearing tested.

Your Body’s Ability to Recover

The human body typically can heal scratches, cuts, and broken bones, even though some wounds take longer than others. But you’re out of luck when it comes to repairing the tiny little hairs in your ears. At least, so far. Though scientists are working on it, humans don’t heal the cilia in their ears in the same way animals can. That means you could have permanent hearing loss if you damage the hearing nerve or those little hairs.

When Is Hearing Loss Permanent?

The first question you think of when you learn you have hearing loss is, will I get it back? Whether it will or not depends on many things. Basically, there are two kinds of hearing loss:

• Hearing loss caused by an obstruction: You can show all the symptoms of hearing loss when there is something obstructing your ear canal. Debris, earwax, and tumors are just a few of the things that can cause a blockage. Your hearing normally returns to normal after the obstruction is cleared, and that’s the good news.
• Damage based hearing loss: But there’s another, more common type of hearing loss that makes up around 90 percent of hearing loss. Known technically as sensorineural hearing loss, this form of hearing loss is usually permanent. This is how it works: When hit by moving air (sound waves), tiny little hairs in your ears move. These vibrations are then changed, by your brain, into impulses that you hear as sound. But your hearing can, over time, be permanently damaged by loud noises. Sensorineural hearing loss can also be from damage to the nerve or to the inner ear. In certain cases, specifically in instances of severe loss of hearing, a cochlear implant could help improve hearing.

A hearing test will help you determine whether hearing aids will help restore your hearing.

Hearing Loss Treatment

So presently there’s no cure for sensorineural hearing loss. But that’s not to say you can’t find treatment for your hearing loss. The following are some ways that getting the correct treatment can help you:

• Ensure your all-around quality of life remains high or is unaffected.
• Stay involved socially, keeping isolation away.
• Stop mental decline.
• Successfully deal with any of the symptoms of hearing loss you may be experiencing.
• Preserve and protect the hearing you have left.

Depending on how serious your hearing loss is, this procedure can take on many forms. One of the simplest treatments is also one of the most common: hearing aids.

Why Are Hearing Aids a Good Treatment for Hearing Loss?

Hearing aids assist the ear with hearing loss to pick up sounds and function to the best of their ability. When your hearing is hindered, the brain strains to hear, which can fatigue you. As time passes the lack of sensory input has been associated with an increased risk of mental decline. Your cognitive function can start to be restored by using hearing aids because they allow your ears hear again. As a matter of fact, using hearing aids has been shown to slow cognitive decline by as much as 75%. Contemporary hearing aids can also allow you to pay attention to what you want to hear, and tune out background sounds.

The Best Protection Is Prevention

Hopefully, if you take one thing away from this information, it this: you should safeguard the hearing you’ve got because you can’t depend on recovering from hearing loss. Sure, if you get something blocking your ear canal, more than likely you can have it extracted. But many loud noises are dangerous even though you might not think they are that loud. That’s the reason why taking the time to safeguard your ears is a good idea. If you are inevitably diagnosed with loss of hearing, you will have more treatment possibilities if you take measures now to protect your hearing. Recovery won’t likely be a possibility but treatment can help you continue living a great, full life. To find out what your best choice is, schedule an appointment with a hearing care specialist.

For many people, acknowledging and coming to grips with the truth of hearing loss is difficult to accept. Nevertheless, you soldiered through and visited a hearing specialist for a hearing aid fitting session, because you realized that’s what was best for your health. Most likely, you immediately realized the benefits one gets by using a hearing aid, including the ability to deal with tinnitus, hear speech (even among the din of background noise), and the potential to recover from mental decline.

But once in a while you get a loud, piercing, shrieking negative among all the life changing benefits. You get a loud squealing sound from your hearing aids. Feedback is the more common term for this whistling. It’s just like what happens to a sound system when you bring a microphone too close, but it’s directly in your ears. Fortunately, this is a problem you can correct relatively simply. We’ve put together a recap of three tried-and-true ways to stop your hearing aid from squealing.

1. The Way Your Hearing Aid Fits Can be Adjusted

The positioning of the hearing aid in your ear or the earmold it’s connected to is probably the most prevalent reason for feedback. If the hearing aid doesn’t fit correctly within your ear, sound can get out and reverberate through the hearing aid’s microphone. The result of that leakage can be a whistling that’s either sporadic or constant, depending on how much sound has escaped and how poorly the fit really is. With some hearing aid models, a plastic tube will connect the actual device with the earmold. In time, the earmold can become unseated from its proper position due to shrinking, cracking and hardening. If you switch out the plastic piece, you can fix the whistling which is caused by this movement.

2. Remove Excessive Earwax

Earwax is really beneficial for our bodies, even though, ironically, we usually think of it as unwanted or even foul. Dirt and other things are prevented from getting into the ears by this icky substance which acts as a defense. Actions, like talking or chewing assist your ears to regulate the amount of earwax they produce but there can be a negative effect if too much earwax builds up. Feedback will unavoidably happen if you insert a hearing aid on top of an excessive amount of earwax. Due to the blockage from earwax, the amplified sound can’t go anywhere and this is the reason for the feedback. The sound circles back into the microphone because it has no clear exit. There are a few ways to remove an abundance of wax from your ears such as letting a warm shower run into your ears. However, the best idea might be to speak to a hearing specialist about properly cleaning your ears to avoid undue accumulation and subsequent whistling.

3. Uncover the Microphone

Often times the most apparent answer is the most effective. Have you ever seen someone attempting to take a picture which didn’t come out, only to discover that the lens cap was still on? With hearing aids the same thing can occur. Whistling can happen when something is covering the device. You could even get the same result by covering the microphone with your hand or another object, like if you hug someone and put your ear into their shoulder. This issue should be easy to fix just by uncovering the hearing aid.

Here’s a bonus tip: Consider getting a new hearing aid. Some causes for worry are being alleviated by modern hearing aid models and manufacturers are developing new technology all of the time. If you’re having issues with whistling from your hearing aids, or you’re interested in learning more about new hearing technology, give us a call.

If you haven’t had your hearing checked since your grade school days, you’re not alone. Regrettably, we have a habit of treating hearing loss reactively rather than proactively, and a regular adult physical usually doesn’t include a hearing test. The majority of people neglect hearing loss, even when they are aware of it, for up to seven years which can severely impact your health. As a matter of fact, untreated hearing loss has been shown to increase your healthcare costs over time.

The good news, So that our hearing experts to assist you, we recommend a hearing test which is simple, painless and supplies a wealth of important information. Both to learn if interventions such as hearing aids are helping you and also for diagnosing potential hearing issues. A full audiometry test is more involved than what you may remember from childhood and you won’t get a lollipop or a sticker when it’s finished but you’ll get a much clearer understanding of your hearing.

It’s essential that you routinely have your hearing checked even though you might not normally give your hearing as much consideration as your teeth or eyes. It can be a long time before you notice that there is something wrong with your hearing. Loss of hearing usually occurs slowly, and the earlier you recognize an issue with your hearing, the sooner you might be able to deal with it.

How do You Know When to Get Examined?

Normally the hospital will screen infants for hearing loss before they send them home. Teenagers should be tested during routine exams with their physicians and children should get formal hearing exams at the ages of 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 years old according to The American Academy of Pediatrics.

If you are in between the ages of 18 to 45, it is recommended that you get your hearing tested every five years and then more often as you get older. After you turn 60 you should get checked every two years and if you are between 46 and 60 every three. But you may need to get checked more often. The regularity with which you need to get tested will really depend on your individual situation. If you notice your hearing isn’t what it used to be, you should have it tested immediately. Untreated loss of hearing has been linked to mental decline, depression and a greater risk of falls and other health issues. Your capacity to work effectively and your relationships can also be impacted.

There are also situations in which you should get a hearing exam as soon as possible to address hearing loss that could get worse. The following scenarios mean that you should get a hearing test immediately:

• Your ear was infected, or there was a buildup of earwax
• You are experiencing vertigo
• Conversations are difficult to hear when you are in a crowded area especially
• It is difficult to pinpoint where sounds are coming from
• You find yourself having to constantly ask people to repeat themselves
• You are experiencing a constant ringing in your ears

Whether you are at risk of hearing loss is another consideration. For example, if loss of hearing runs in your family or you are exposed to loud noises on a regular basis you should have your hearing examined more frequently.

There are also more than 200 ototoxic medicines. From Aspirin to some antibiotics, these drugs can be very bad for your hearing. In order to make certain none of your medications are affecting your ears, consult your doctor. Consider having your hearing tested more often in order to address any hearing loss right away if you are taking any ototoxic medications.

Also, consider your habits and whether they may contribute to hearing loss. Regularly using your earbuds? Hearing loss has significantly increased in younger people, and many experts think that this is due to the use of headphones and earbuds. Your ears can also be significantly harmed by loud concerts, shows, and machinery. If you think that it’s time for you to get your hearing examined, schedule an appointment today.