Treasure Valley Hearing Announcements

If you have been advised to use  two hearing devices, we want to share with you some of the important advantages of using two.

Most people think of ”hearing” as something that happens in the ears, but in reality, the BRAIN interprets the signals from the ears and converts those signals into something the brain recognizes as speech.  So, in many respects, we really don’t fit the ears with hearing aids, we ultimately fit the brain.

Each one of our ears actually lateralizes to the opposite side of the brain and each serves a specific function.  For example the right ear, crossing to the left side of the brain, is mostly responsible for “technical” interpretation; differentiating the English language from Spanish for example.  The left ear, crossing to the right side of the brain handles more of the aesthetics of language such as deciding if someone is speaking sweetly or sarcastically for example!  Pretty important stuff!!!

Today’s sophisticated technology actually tries to mimic this process by “talking to each other”, constantly adjusting to the environment around you.  If you have a sound directed at you from one side, for instance, the devices will automatically make some changes by turning one side up and possibly the other side down.  This all happens automatically without you doing anything!

Studies indicate that people who wear two hearing devices usually have a better experience with hearing in noisy environments because the sounds are being shared by both ears and both sides of the brain.

Other important benefits include:

• Better directionality (locating where sounds are coming from)
• Better sound quality
• Keeps both ears active
• Better clarity
• You can have your hearing devices at a lower volume when you wear two
• Balanced hearing from both sides

Research has suggested for some time that there is a link between hearing loss and dementia.  Previous studies have suggested in hearing loss, brain stimulation gets minimized since the sounds are not able to reach the brain.  Now in February of 2011, a  new study was released on this subject, which brings to light some new possibilities as to what may be going on in a person’s brain that could cause the dementia.  This study suggest perhaps strain on the brain trying to decode words.  They also speculate, (which previous studies have already speculated), that the dementia could leave a person isolated, which is already a known cause of dementia and other cognitive disorders.

The scientists in this study point out that anything that can help a person to hear better, hearing aids included, could delay or even prevent the dementia.

To conduct the research, 639 people were studied.  Some had previous hearing loss, while others did not.  Then over a period of time, these people were watched to see if dementia developed.  None of the 639 people had dementia at the beginning of the study.  They found that when they took out other correlations with hearing loss, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and age, the link between hearing loss and dementia was still very strong.

This study points out that while people tend to ignore the warning signs of hearing loss as it encroaches on one’s life so slowly, people should be much more diligent with treatment at an earlier stage.  Allowing hearing loss to go untreated could cause a person to have even bigger problems down the road.

For more information on this study, you can go to:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hearing_loss_and_dementia_linked_in_study

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/otolaryngology/our_team/faculty/lin_frank.html

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/otolaryngology/

http://www.grc.nia.nih.gov/branches/blsa/blsanew.htm

How do you REALLY know if you have a hearing problem?

208-377-0019

Treasure Valley Hearing & Balance is one of only two AudigyCertified™ practices in Idaho.  AudigyCertified professionals possess the highest credentials and are among the country’s most experienced hearing care professionals.  Their expertise is measured by their commitment to patient satisfaction, continuing education, and the application of current technologies.

Photo courtesy of Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Did you know that eating a healthy diet can have big ramifications to your hearing health?  Studies are showing that those that consume adequate amounts of folate or folic acid, have a decreased risk of hearing loss.  Folate and Folic Acid are of the anti-oxidant family we hear about so much in the press today.  Folate is naturally occurring in foods and folic acid is its synthetic version found in vitamins.  They each perform equally in the body.

Foods rich in folate include spinach, broccoli, asparagus, lettuce, baked beams, peas,  avocado, mushrooms, dry roasted peanuts,  orange & tomato juices, banana,  enriched egg noodles, cereals, eggs, liver.  In the United States, flour is enriched with folic acid, so we have better protection than in countries that don’t have fortification.

Here’s how the process works:  When you hear loud sounds, your inner ears produce free radicals.  (Free radicals can happen due to other things as well.  See links at bottom.)  If you have adequate anti-oxidants in your body, they will work to fight off the free radicals.  Not enough anti-oxidants and damage becomes permanent.

It is not just your hearing that is affected with too little folic acid.  Other health issues include anemia, pregnancy complications, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic fatigue, depression, high blood sugar/glucose intolerance, gingivitis in pregnant mothers, stroke and vascular disease (plus others).

Conclusion:  Eat a healthy diet every day.  Your ears will love that you do!

For further reading:

http://www.webmd.com/news/20070102/folic-acid-may-slow-hearing-loss

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/folate/NS_patient-folate/DSECTION=evidence

http://www.healthyhearing.com/articles/44966-folates-prevent-hearing-loss

Paul’s photo portfolio can be found here.