Our ears might be our most abused body part. We pierce them, subject them to deafening noise, stuff cotton swabs inside them, and burn them with ear candling. In spite of providing us with one of our most important senses, we seldom give our ears, or our hearing, much appreciation or consideration. That is, right ... Read More →

If you have hearing loss, you would assume it would be obvious, right? Actually, that’s exactly the issue; most people presume it would. However, even though severe or abrupt hearing loss is easy to identify, mild to moderate gradual hearing loss can be too subtle to observe. That’s the reason why, on average, people will ... Read More →

Murphy’s Law informs us that “if anything can go wrong, it will.” A better version might be that “things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance.” In terms of vehicle maintenance, that’s the reason we change the oil in our cars, switch out the filters, and rotate the tires. ... Read More →

The effects of hearing loss appear obvious, including the stress of the chronic struggle to hear and the impact this can have on relationships. But what if the consequences went further, and could actually influence your personality? Research from the University of Gothenburg suggests that this might be the case. The researchers examined 400 individuals ... Read More →

Communication in the presence of hearing loss can be difficult—for both parties. For those with hearing loss, limited hearing can be upsetting and exhausting, and for their conversation partners, the constant repeating can be just as taxing. But the challenge can be lessened provided that both parties take responsibility for productive conversation. Since communication is ... Read More →

Have you ever suffered intensive mental fatigue? Perhaps you felt this way after finishing the SAT exam, or after completing any test or activity that required deep concentration. It’s like running a marathon in your head—and when you’re finished, you just want to collapse. A comparable experience comes about in those with hearing loss, and ... Read More →

In 2013, Johns Hopkins University researcher and epidemiologist Dr. Frank Lin directed a study which was the first to investigate the potential consequence of hearing loss on cognitive function. Volunteers with hearing loss took recurring cognitive assessments, used to evaluate memory and thinking skills, over the span of six years. Hearing tests were also carried ... Read More →

You’ve more than likely never noticed, but on the backside of any package of cotton swabs there’s a written warning that is some variation of this: “Caution: Do not enter the ear canal. Entering the ear canal could lead to injury.” If you have a package of cotton swabs nearby, go check it out for ... Read More →

The interesting thing about hearing loss is that, statistically, if you have it, you more than likely won’t recognize it or seek out care for at least five to seven years—perhaps longer. The statistics: 20 percent of the United States population, or 48 million individuals, have some measure of hearing loss. Of those with hearing ... Read More →

Have you ever taken a class, or went to a lecture, where the ideas were delivered so quickly or in so complicated a fashion that you learned next to nothing? If so, your working memory was probably overloaded beyond its total capacity. The limits of working memory All of us process information in three steps: ... Read More →