Do Your Hearing Aids Need Adjusting?
You want your hearing aids to provide you with the best listening experience possible, whether at work or dining with friends at Bluegrass. Unfortunately, your device will occasionally develop problems that require making an appointment with your audiologist to determine if adjustments need to be made. Your Hearing Aid Feels Uncomfortable If you are new…
How is Machine Learning Helping with Speech and Background Noise Differentiation?
Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence and computer science that focuses on the use of data and algorithms to imitate the way that humans learn. It can be used to help people with hearing loss by improving hearing aid algorithms to provide better speech recognition in louder environments. Hearing Loss Makes It Harder…
Study of the Cochlea Could Lead to Hearing Aid Improvements
It’s a common misconception that hearing aids compensate for hearing loss the way eyeglasses compensate for poor vision. Instead, hearing aids amplify sounds to a level the wearer can easily detect. Rather than putting in your hearing aids and hearing perfectly the way you can put on glasses and see with 20/20 vision, it takes…
What is The Connection Between Neuroplasticity and Hearing Loss Treatment?
Hearing loss doesn’t just make it difficult to understand sounds. Over time, it can actually change the structure and function of your brain. What is Neuroplasticity? Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to adapt by forming new neural connections throughout life. These connections can be in response to: Receiving new information Sensory stimulation Damage or…
How Are Animals Helping Scientists Improve Hearing Aids?
Next time you shiver when you see a spider at Heller Nature Center, take comfort in the fact that they may one day make your hearing aids stronger. Spider Silk for Hearing Aids? Studies have shown that spider silk may be an ideal material to create better directional microphones in hearing aids. This could improve…
6 Active Listening Techniques for People with Hearing Loss
When you go on a hike on Heller Nature Center, you probably feel worn out afterward. For people with hearing loss, this feeling is common after a long conversation where you’re straining to hear and understand what is said. This phenomenon is known as listening fatigue. Below we review six active listening techniques to help…
Acoustic Neuromas
What Is an Acoustic Neuroma? An acoustic neuroma is a benign growth of the auditory nerve. Although it is slow-growing and non-malignant, it can be problematic because it can potentially impact hearing, balance, tinnitus, and/or facial function. These growths are rare, occurring in only 1 out of 100,000 people per year. An acoustic neuroma (also…
Ear Infection
What Causes Ear Infections? Middle ear infection (otitis media) often occurs after a cold or with an infection of the upper airway. The Eustachian tube aerates the middle ear to prevent fluid from collecting. The Eustachian tube is a channel from the back of the throat to the ear allowing air to fill the middle…
Cholesteatoma
What is a Cholesteatoma? A Cholesteatoma is a growth of skin cells commonly occurring behind the ear drum that can cause damage to the ear drum, erode the middle ear bones and in some cases, impact the inner ear. Untreated cholesteatomas can lead to more serious problems including: chronic ear infections, permanent hearing loss, and…
Eardrum Perforation
What Does an Eardrum Do? The eardrum has two main roles: Hearing. Your eardrum vibrates from sound waves striking it. In turn, structures in your middle and inner ear translate sound waves into nerve impulses. Protection. Your eardrum acts as a barrier to protect your middle ear from water, bacteria, and foreign substances. What is…