When you think of advanced digital technology, what comes to your mind? Most people picture the latest smart phones, lifelike computer graphics, even projects like virtual reality and artificial intelligence. It may surprise you that some of the most advanced developments in compact digital technology exist in the current generation of digital hearing aids. Hearing aids have made huge leaps with alongside digital advancements, making hearing technology more powerful and effective than ever before. Digital …
Acknowledging the Reality of Hearing Loss
Nobody wants to get the news that they have hearing loss. Hearing loss creates challenges in many parts of everyday life. Living with hearing loss means overcoming obstacles at home and at work, with our friends and family and often with our favorite activities and pastimes. While a hearing loss diagnosis can be unwelcome, there is good news. Through acknowledging and treating your hearing loss you can lessen the negative impact it has on your …
Train Your Brain to Stave Off Hearing Loss
As we learn more and more about the human brain, it’s intricacies and processes become even more remarkable. For a very long time, it was believed that our brains were pliant only as children and that their pathways became permanent as we aged. Certainly, we believed that older adults were incapable of changing the ways that their brains functioned. After all, we’ve all heard the saying that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” …
Hearing Aid Compatible Assistive Listening Devices
As technology continues to advance at seemingly light speeds, a buffet of assistive listening devices continue to appear. Back in the day, the introduction of the digital signal process chip in the 1980s anticipated the many fully digital hearing aid models we take for granted today. It’s hard to believe it was only a few decades ago that digital technology was revolutionary. Today, most hearing aid options are digital and the technology that accompanies and …
A Possible Link Between Exercise & Reduced Risk for Hearing Loss
The benefits of regular exercise have long been trumpeted. Since history has been recorded, humans have understood that physical movement and exertion are of benefit to the mind and body. Marcus Cicero, a Roman politician said that “It is exercise alone that supports the spirits and keeps the mind in vigor” all the way back in 65 BC. And this proves even more powerful of a statement in today’s times, in which so much of …
The Connection Between Hearing Loss & Cognitive Decline
As with all of our senses, hearing is linked to our brain function. When our ears pick up sound waves, they are transmitted through the middle ear where they are amplified, and then they are sent to the inner ear where they are processed into neural signals. These signals make their way through well-worn neural pathways to the auditory processing center in our brains, where they are registered as sounds we recognize. With untreated hearing …
Tips for Communicating with People who Have Hearing Loss
If you have a loved one who’s hard of hearing, you know how difficult it can be to communicate. Conversations can be a real challenge, and despite how many times you repeat yourself, it seems like there’s always some miscommunication. We know that not being able to understand each other is frustrating for everyone. To get the most out of your conversations and to communicate easily, here are a few tips for how to talk …
Sounds That Could Harm Your Hearing
Think of a time when you’ve been surrounded by the peace and quiet of uninterrupted nature. It’s an experience we only really come across on purpose, like while camping, or in those early predawn hours before the mechanical world wakes up. This is the soundscape that our ears were built for. In fact, the human ear was designed to accommodate sounds considerably less aggressive than the ones we’ve managed to produce on a mass scale …
The Effects of Hearing Loss on Daily Life
Our sense of hearing is always on, sending us information about the world around us, helping us communicate and connect with others. When you experience hearing loss, the effects ripple throughout your life. Our hearing ability impacts how we perform at work and hearing loss can limit enjoyment of family time and leisure activities. If left untreated, hearing loss has been shown to impact out quality of life and mental health. The good news is, …
Oticon’s OPN Can Help Your Fitness Goals in the New Year
Have you made any new year’s resolutions for 2018? Did you include resolutions about your health, like going the gym more, getting active, or eating healthier? If you want to get in shape this year, and make improvements to your health, why not take a look at your hearing health as well! Hearing loss affects far more than your ability to hear in conversations. If you can’t hear, your relationships suffer, you risk developing depression …