Every once in a while I see a new patient who tells me that hearing loss is normal “for their age”. That is like saying losing teeth is normal “for their age”. Hearing loss is never normal. Yes, the older we get, the more likely it is that we will develop hearing loss. This does not mean that it is normal. Hearing loss has been linked to all sorts of problems like dementia, depression, falling, isolation, reduced earning potential, and general poorer quality of life. No … [Read more...]

We have suspected for a long time that if you do not use your hearing, you lose your ability to understand speech. We now have research that shows exactly that. Anu Sharma, PhD, professor at the Center for Neuroscience and the Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder has shown that untreated hearing loss leads to loss of speech understanding. What this means for us, is that if a hearing loss is diagnosed treated early, (usually with hearing aids), … [Read more...]

Many of us work in noise. Sometimes it is pretty obvious. Factory work, for instance. For others, it isn’t so clean cut. Construction sites are very loud and there is a lot of new building construction taking place in downtown St. Petersburg. Take a policeman directing traffic. Traffic is pretty loud and can cause hearing loss over time. Or wait staff in a restaurant. Some restaurants are extremely loud. If you, or a loved one works in situations similar to these, hearing … [Read more...]