Hearing loss is a common problem in our noisy society. So is denial you're experiencing hearing loss.
To compensate for hearing loss, people in denial will often ask those around them to repeat information at greater volume, unintentionally compelling their loved ones to act as their ears. Yet acting as ears for a hearing-impaired loved one who is in denial can actually do more harm than good.
Dr. Richard Carmen, an advisor with the Better Hearing Institute, offers tips on how to get loved ones to admit their hearing loss and seek treatment:
* Stop repeating yourself and stop raising your voice.
* Enlist the entire family in helping your hearing impaired loved one overcome his denial.
* Use an alerting phrase like "Hearing Helper," and say it every time a hearing-impaired loved one requires you to repeat information or raise your voice in order for him to hear better. The repetition will bring home to the person how often he or she asks for help to hear.
To learn more about hearing loss and effective treatments, visit the Better Hearing Institute's Web site at www.BetterHearing.org.
(Reprinted with permission from the Better Hearing Institute.)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Collecting Hearing Aids for Christmas Donation Program!
Reprinted from Daily Herald http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_6e6b92f5-15ea-57dd-ae94-44ec9dda31e2.html by Heidi Toth
Hearing aids have now joined soda cans, cell phones and bald tires on the list of "stuff you have no use for but somebody else does."
Timpanogos Hearing and Balance, a hearing center with offices in Utah County, and the Utah Department of Health are collecting old hearing aids that are cleaned up, refurbished and then donated to people who need hearing aids but can't afford them.
That list is longer than people might think. Grandpa's old hearing aid probably will end up in the ear of a working man who's supporting his children or a teenager with a hearing disability.
"There's a huge need, actually," Kim Garrett, the Timpanogos practice manager, said.
They started collecting hearing aids several years ago in concert with America Helps, a nonprofit organization that sends old hearing aids to people in Africa who need them. That's still a part of their mission, but Garrett said after a while they realized a significant number of people in Utah County needed hearing aids but couldn't pay for them. So now the company focuses its work close to home.
That need isn't just that people are struggling with rising medical costs; it's also that more people are experiencing hearing loss at a younger age. Garrett said the fastest-growing range of people developing hearing problems are younger than 55 years old.
You can blame the earbuds for that one.
While there are many reasons for hearing loss, the trend of cranking the volume on MP3 players plays a significant role in younger people losing their hearing, Stephanie McVicar, an audiologist with the Utah Department of Health, said. The sensitive hearing organs can suffer permanent damage from overexposure to loud music, explosions and other loud noises.
Those are the people Timpanogos Hearing and Balance is focused on helping. The health department has geared its donation efforts toward children who are born with hearing disabilities. Utah has about a 98 percent rate of screening newborns for hearing loss, which can be passed down genetically or be the result of an infection the mother contracted while pregnant. However, not all of the families who find out their baby has a hearing disability have the means to fix it, as many private health insurers don't cover it, and the state only pays for those families who are on Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Now, thanks to donations of reused hearing aids, more children up to 5 years old are getting fitted for hearing aids quickly, often before they start school.
"Oh my goodness, it's huge, particularly in a child," McVicar said of the impact of being able to hear properly. "The sooner these kiddos get fit, the better off they're going to be."
A child's managing audiologist puts the child on a waiting list and, if the family meets the financial criteria, the child is then fitted from the stock of donated hearing aids. That stock works for all but the most severe cases, she said.
Any hearing aids can be donated; those that don't work for hearing loss in children can be returned to manufacturers for credit.
Timpanogos Hearing and Balance also will take any hearing aids, Garrett said. They work with a company that adjusts the hearing aids so each meets a person's needs, and all but the old hearing aids can be refurbished. Those that cannot be adjusted are sent to Africa, since the villages they're going to do not have the capability to do the adjusting.
Timpanogos Hearing and Balance collects year-round and during Christmas selects people from all of those nominated to receive hearing aids. To nominate someone, go to www.utahhearingaids.com.
Timpanogos American Fork office: (801) 763-0724
Timpanogos Spanish Fork office: (801) 853-8153
Children's Hearing and Speech Services: (801) 584-8215
You can nominate yourself or someone else for this program by going to http://www.utahhearingaids.com/christmas_form.php
Hearing aids have now joined soda cans, cell phones and bald tires on the list of "stuff you have no use for but somebody else does."
Timpanogos Hearing and Balance, a hearing center with offices in Utah County, and the Utah Department of Health are collecting old hearing aids that are cleaned up, refurbished and then donated to people who need hearing aids but can't afford them.
That list is longer than people might think. Grandpa's old hearing aid probably will end up in the ear of a working man who's supporting his children or a teenager with a hearing disability.
"There's a huge need, actually," Kim Garrett, the Timpanogos practice manager, said.
They started collecting hearing aids several years ago in concert with America Helps, a nonprofit organization that sends old hearing aids to people in Africa who need them. That's still a part of their mission, but Garrett said after a while they realized a significant number of people in Utah County needed hearing aids but couldn't pay for them. So now the company focuses its work close to home.
That need isn't just that people are struggling with rising medical costs; it's also that more people are experiencing hearing loss at a younger age. Garrett said the fastest-growing range of people developing hearing problems are younger than 55 years old.
You can blame the earbuds for that one.
While there are many reasons for hearing loss, the trend of cranking the volume on MP3 players plays a significant role in younger people losing their hearing, Stephanie McVicar, an audiologist with the Utah Department of Health, said. The sensitive hearing organs can suffer permanent damage from overexposure to loud music, explosions and other loud noises.
Those are the people Timpanogos Hearing and Balance is focused on helping. The health department has geared its donation efforts toward children who are born with hearing disabilities. Utah has about a 98 percent rate of screening newborns for hearing loss, which can be passed down genetically or be the result of an infection the mother contracted while pregnant. However, not all of the families who find out their baby has a hearing disability have the means to fix it, as many private health insurers don't cover it, and the state only pays for those families who are on Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Now, thanks to donations of reused hearing aids, more children up to 5 years old are getting fitted for hearing aids quickly, often before they start school.
"Oh my goodness, it's huge, particularly in a child," McVicar said of the impact of being able to hear properly. "The sooner these kiddos get fit, the better off they're going to be."
A child's managing audiologist puts the child on a waiting list and, if the family meets the financial criteria, the child is then fitted from the stock of donated hearing aids. That stock works for all but the most severe cases, she said.
Any hearing aids can be donated; those that don't work for hearing loss in children can be returned to manufacturers for credit.
Timpanogos Hearing and Balance also will take any hearing aids, Garrett said. They work with a company that adjusts the hearing aids so each meets a person's needs, and all but the old hearing aids can be refurbished. Those that cannot be adjusted are sent to Africa, since the villages they're going to do not have the capability to do the adjusting.
Timpanogos Hearing and Balance collects year-round and during Christmas selects people from all of those nominated to receive hearing aids. To nominate someone, go to www.utahhearingaids.com.
Timpanogos American Fork office: (801) 763-0724
Timpanogos Spanish Fork office: (801) 853-8153
Children's Hearing and Speech Services: (801) 584-8215
You can nominate yourself or someone else for this program by going to http://www.utahhearingaids.com/christmas_form.php
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Hearing for the Whole World
RePosted from http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_07844ae9-3da3-5147-8435-1588be987c10.html?print=1
Local doctor providing hearing aids to people in Ghana
Special to the Daily Herald
Posted: Friday, August 19, 2011 12:06 am
The ability to hear is something many people take for granted. But without it, communication can be very difficult.
And in a country like Ghana, a person with hearing loss can have a hard time finding employment. Those who can't find work often live in desperate poverty.
Dr. Layne M. Garrett, an audiologist at Timpanogos Hearing and Balance, has given the gift of improved hearing to hundreds of people in Ghana, from the capital city of Accra to tiny villages across the country.
Garrett says most of the hearing loss he encounters in Ghana comes from genetic factors or diseases like malaria. He has traveled to Ghana three times since 2005, and has another trip planned for November. He estimates that his team of audiologists, medical doctors, nurses, educators, and support staff has fit about 3,000 needy folks with hearing aids. The hearing aids are donated to Timpanogos Hearing and Balance, and are sometimes refurbished before being taken to Ghana.
In addition to the difficulties of finding employment, a person with hearing loss can often be physically at risk if they are unable to hear an approaching vehicle or a smoke detector, for example. Hearing loss can reduce people's ability to communicate with and understand others, straining relationships and leading to problems like depression, isolation, and withdrawal.
Garrett remembers one small boy, about 3 years old, in Ghana in 2005. The boy's family knew he couldn't hear, so they brought him to Garrett's clinic, where the boy was fitted with a hearing aid.
Local doctor providing hearing aids to people in Ghana
Special to the Daily Herald
Posted: Friday, August 19, 2011 12:06 am
The ability to hear is something many people take for granted. But without it, communication can be very difficult.
And in a country like Ghana, a person with hearing loss can have a hard time finding employment. Those who can't find work often live in desperate poverty.
Dr. Layne M. Garrett, an audiologist at Timpanogos Hearing and Balance, has given the gift of improved hearing to hundreds of people in Ghana, from the capital city of Accra to tiny villages across the country.
Garrett says most of the hearing loss he encounters in Ghana comes from genetic factors or diseases like malaria. He has traveled to Ghana three times since 2005, and has another trip planned for November. He estimates that his team of audiologists, medical doctors, nurses, educators, and support staff has fit about 3,000 needy folks with hearing aids. The hearing aids are donated to Timpanogos Hearing and Balance, and are sometimes refurbished before being taken to Ghana.
In addition to the difficulties of finding employment, a person with hearing loss can often be physically at risk if they are unable to hear an approaching vehicle or a smoke detector, for example. Hearing loss can reduce people's ability to communicate with and understand others, straining relationships and leading to problems like depression, isolation, and withdrawal.
Garrett remembers one small boy, about 3 years old, in Ghana in 2005. The boy's family knew he couldn't hear, so they brought him to Garrett's clinic, where the boy was fitted with a hearing aid.
"Watching his face light up the minute he was able to hear his mother's voice was just an incredible thing," Garrett recalls.
Garrett doesn't confine his humanitarian work to overseas. During the Christmas season, Timpanogos Hearing and Balance operates a program to fit local people with hearing aids on a charitable basis. The office is currently accepting nominations on its website, utahhearingaids.com.
"Being able to help people, whether they're there or here, makes the experience worthwhile," Garrett says.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Matt Lauer's Hearing Test
Great story on the increasing prevalence of hearing loss, the process of having your hearing tested, and the options for treatment. Thanks, Matt Lauer!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
We're on T.V.!
Here's the YouTube video produced by Spanish Fork Channel 17 of our Grand Opening. Thank you Spanish Fork Chamber of Commerce!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Interesting Facts About Hearing.
The world is filled with many interesting facts. Here are a few interesting ones about our miraculous ears.1.The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
2.Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
3.The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee.
4.A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue.
5.Most people associate ears with hearing and sound but don’t realize that the inner ear helps them to have good balance as they walk and run as well.
6.The smallest bone found in the human body is located in the middle ear and is only 2.8 millimetres long. It is also commonly known as the hammer, anvil and stirrup and collectively all three bones can fit together on a penny.
7.Animals hear better than humans, especially dogs who can hear at much higher frequency than humans.
8.When you go up to a high elevation, your ears pop. This is because your Eustacion tubes are equalizing the pressure between the outside air and that inside your ear.
9.The ear continues to hear sounds, even while you sleep.
10.Fish do not have any ears but they can hear by the changes of pressure through the ridges on their body.
11.Snakes can hear through their jaw bone and through a traditional inner ear. In essence, snakes have two types of hearing mechanisms, which also helps them hear and catch prey.
12.Sitting in front of the speakers at a pop or rock concert can expose you to 120 decibels, which will begin to damage hearing after only seven and a half minutes.
13.Thirty-seven percent of children who have a minimal hearing loss will fail at least one grade.
14.Male mosquitoes hear with thousands of tiny hairs that grow on their antennae.
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