Hearing Center: Why Getting Your Ears Checked Is Important

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People instinctively know that their sight is important. If they can't see the blackboard in school and have to sit near the front of the theater when they go to the movies, they know they should probably go get their eyesight checked. It seems strange, but these same people will likely avoid going to a hearing center even when there are obvious problems. One reason is that people don't take their auditory functions as seriously. Another is that it is a bit more difficult to discern when your ability to hear has become impaired. This is all the more reason why you should get your ears checked.

Consider these statistics. Although over 30 million people in America report that their ability to hear clearly is impaired in some way, less than 15% of American doctors give their patients regular checkups in this area of auditory function. Making matters worse is the fact that many people will not speak up when they realize they aren't able to hear as well as they used to. Putting the final nail into the coffin, many more people are completely unaware that they are suffering from any kind of loss at all. Those who work at a hearing center give very surprising news every day to patients who discover that they cannot hear as well as they should be able to.

Another issue is that many people see a visit to a hearing center as something only necessary for the elderly. Everyone knows that eyesight can fail as early as preschool, but they think that auditory loss -- except in the case of obvious disabilities -- isn't going to affect them until they get much older. This is far from the truth, however. This handicap is experienced by age groups across the spectrum. Though much more rare than near-sightedness for example, it is nonetheless a very real problem and it should be identified and diagnosed as soon as possible.

Experts urge the public to realize that auditory loss isn't a hopeless situation. With many kinds of loss, there are treatments that can easily cure the condition. For instance, someone with earwax and blockage impairing their hearing is pointlessly going through life with decreased sensory perception when the treatment is easy and quick. Of course, not all forms of loss are that easy to treat. For the untreatable, a hearing center can recommend a variety of listening aids and devices that can make coping with the loss much easier.

A Salt Lake City hearing center can help you comfortably restore function to your ears. Visit the friendly professionals at http://www.miracle-ear-saltlakecity.com/.

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If You Play Rock and Roll, You Might Need a Hearing Center

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Many rockers lose their hearing with age. If it isn't the loud guitars, boisterous drums, fat bass beats, or screams from horn sections, such as those found in many ska or jazz bands, hearing is the first thing to go for aging rockers. Because there's nothing worse than losing one's hearing as they age, protection and prevention is quite important.

It is therefore imperative that all rockers -- even non-rockers -- visit a hearing center. A hearing center can test their ability with various tools and could even prevent or help repair damage taken in over time. For rockers, this is especially important. It is understandable that the US surgeon general often makes warnings in yearly health analyses about the protection of hearing for everyone from infants to the elderly. It is important to take heed to the number one doctor in the world: protect those ears!

But don't be fooled by the "rocker" label. Even contemporary musicians should get their hearing checked, while other fans of music should have their ears checked on a regular basis as well. To ensure a lifetime of enjoyment, these sorts of precautions and preventative measures are essential. Construction workers, pilots, stuntmen, detonation specialists, and motor vehicle servicemen all understand the importance of protection and prevention.

Because sound can be amplified, it can be more damaging to the internal ear and its parts, such as the stirrup or ear drum. These are incredibly soft and vulnerable parts of the human body, and as a result, must be constantly protected if you live and work in the music industry. If you do work and play in this world, it is vital that your ears are not only protected, but that you visit a hearing center several times to ensure you are fully protected or safe from risk.

A hearing center might just be the best bet. Most cities have several hearing centers available for low cost and sometimes at no cost depending on whether one has specific types of medical insurance or other qualifications. Because all forms of music or audio come through speakers or amps, protecting your ears is of the utmost of importance. Headphones, mufflers, earplugs and other devices are readily available on the market for this type of hearing protection.

Until then, it might worth visiting an audiologist for some good old-fashioned ear testing. Next time you have some free time or perhaps in between band practices, load up the van with your band mates and visit an audiologist. It might save your hearing for years to come, extending your life as a fan, rocker, concertgoer, or all three. If you keep your hearing healthy, you'll keep the music alive!

A Hot Springs, AR hearing center will instruct you on the proper protective or corrective measures for your hearing. Find a center near you at http://www.miracle-ear-hotsprings.com/.

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What The Heck Does Hearing Have To Do With My Kidneys You Ask?

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A lot, is the short answer. There are several reasons for this:

• One of them is the functional and structural similarity in the cochlea (inner ear) and the kidney.
• When a person suffers from chronic kidney disease (CKD), the toxins that accumulate in the body due to kidney malfunction damage nerves, including those in the inner ear.
• Another reason is medication; some drugs used for kidney disease are ototoxic, that is, they damage the delicate cells in the cochlea.
• Hearing loss and kidney disease share risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes.

Although anatomically the inner ear and the kidney are very different, at a micro-cellular or ultrastructural level, they are very similar. Epithelial cells in both organs are associated with active transport of fluids and electrolytes and keeping homeostasis in the body.

The type of hearing loss seen with chronic kidney disease is often a low frequency (250-500 Hz and high frequency (3000-8000 Hz hearing loss with better or normal hearing in the mid frequencies (750-2000 Hz).

Speech sounds have most of their energy in the mid frequencies, therefore a hearing loss might not be noticed right away, depending on which inner ear cells are affected. The cochlea has 2 types of cells called hair cells. The majority of cochlear hair cells are outer hair cells, and their job is to 'turn up the volume" so the remaining inner hair cells can transmit sounds via the hearing nerve to the brain. This is an oversimplification of a very complex process but it will help you understand the point I am trying to make. If the outer hair cells are damaged, either because of noise exposure, disease, or ototoxicity, we lose the mechanism in charge of controlling volume. If we're able to find a substitute for turning the volume up, such as an amplifier or hearing aid, then the inner hair cells can "hear" the sound and transmit it to the brain (remember this is an over simplification and there are many processes involved and facts to consider). If, on the other hand, there is damage to the inner hair cells (ototoxicity, lack of oxygen to the tissue or electrochemical imbalance), then we have what is commonly called nerve deafness or neural (nerve) hearing loss. That is, regardless of whether there is enough volume or not, the cells that transmit the information (sound) to the brain, are damaged and they can't do it well. This translates into sound that is distorted, unclear and even unrecognizable.

As part of your annual medical physical, make sure you check your hearing and if you do have hearing loss it is best to "correct" this by using good quality amplification (hearing aids) sooner rather than later.

More information on how to choose the right hearing aids will follow in the next article. Don't miss it.

Minnesota licensed audiologist with 16 years of experience in the assessment and treatment of hearing disorders with an emphasis on auditory processing disorders (APD, CAPD), tinnitus, and hearing aids. She obtained her BS degree in Psychology, Biology and Communication Disorders from the University of Minnesota, MA in Audiology also from the University of Minnesota and her Doctorate degree from the University of Florida. She also holds a certificate in Web Technologies and design and maintains websites.

Visit website at http://www.advancedhearingc.com/

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