Patient Education

That cotton swabs, commonly known as Q-Tips, typically cause more harm than good?  That’s right – medical training and clinical experience aside, I’ve seen multiple warnings on a variety of boxes that confirm even the company’s concern for improper use of these cotton swabs.  Here are just a few I have seen: “Warning – Do…

It can be difficult for people with hearing loss to understand conversations, especially when other noises are present.  In fact, even people with normal hearing rely on visual cues or “speechreading” to help them hear better – whether they think they do or not!  Here are some things that, regardless of your hearing status, can…

Understanding Last week we learned about how to describe and categorize different type of hearing loss.  Once the ear hears the sound, this sound is sent from the cochlea to the auditory nerve, up to the hearing centers in our brain.  Once the sound is heard, it is up to the auditory nerve and the auditory center…

The final component to describing and categorizing hearing loss is the Configuration.  See previous posts for information on the type and degree of hearing loss.  These are helpful to understand prior to learning about the configuration. Configuration of Hearing Loss – this is often referred to as the “shape” of the hearing loss.  This explains the degree…

Degree of Hearing Loss Now that we’ve learned about the Type of Hearing Loss, we can start to discuss the Degree.  This is the second piece of information that we use to determine what sort of treatment would be best for your ears! Degree of Hearing Loss – This refers to the severity of the loss….

Individuality – It’s easy to think that hearing loss is hearing loss, and that’s all there is to it.  But it’s not that simple.  Every single person is different, their hearing abilities are different, and their hearing needs are different.  In fact, one person can have different hearing loss in each ear – meaning that your…

Audiologist – All my friends and family know that I have a job in the health field, however when they ask me “Now what is it that you do?” I answer “I’m an Audiologist.”  Typically, this is followed by a blank stare and an awkward moment of silence.  I can see the wheels turning, trying to…

“For children with dyslexia, FM systems not only allow them to hear better while the device is in use, but it can also mean long-term improvement in phonological awareness and reading skills – even beyond the use of the device, according to a recent study published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”…

Common Signs and Symptoms of Hearing Loss Do you… • frequently have to ask for repetition? • have trouble hearing when you are spoken to from another room? • feel that you hear sound but do not understand speech clearly? • feel that people are mumbling? • have trouble hearing when there is noise around…