The eardrum is necessary for hearing because it senses sound waves and communicates the vibrations to the brain, but in addition it acts as a barrier to seal off the inner ear and keep it clear of infection. Your inner ear is basically a safe, sterile environment when your eardrum is undamaged, but if it […]
Patients with vertigo mistakenly experience movement (often a spinning motion) in their environment. Sensations of vertigo can disrupt your balance and lead to falls that can be critical in the elderly; vertigo can also be accompanied by dizziness, sensations of spinning in space, and more infrequently, nausea, vomiting, migraine headaches, visual abnormalities such as nystagmus, […]
Do you find yourself concerned about hearing loss from excessive noise levels on the job? Extreme noise levels are one of the most frequent causes of hearing damage. Thinking about your ability to hear is a natural reaction for anyone working in a high-noise occupation.Approximately 30 million workers risk unsafe noise exposure at work according […]
America’s affinity for guns is almost unique across the globe; we were raised with television programs and movies about police and cowboys and heroic characters who were all carrying guns and shooting them constantly. The impression left by these visuals was definitely potent, because the US still has millions of gun owners who shoot them […]
One of the things you can look forward to if you have children is that sooner or later they are going to ask you to buy them some headphones to work with their gaming systems, music players and computers. Headphones are able to markedly increase kid’s experience with these entertainment and learning multimedia, but there […]
What is the exact difference between a hearing aid and a personal sound amplifier (PSA)? One difference is that the PSA is being heavily advertised to the consumer generating a lot of confusion. You don’t see similar ads for hearing aids in part because they are medical devices according to the Food & Drug Administration […]
No, the “speech banana” isn’t a fruit that enhances hearing nor is it related to the classic vaudeville joke that goes, “Speak up…I can’t hear you…I’ve got a banana in my ear.” The thing that the term “speech banana” refers to is a particular pattern found in the results of an audiogram, which is a […]
Do you have hearing loss? If yes, do you sometimes find that it feels like work just to understand what the people around you are saying? This is a sensation that happens even to those wearing hearing aids, because in order for them to perform well you have to have them tuned and adjusted correctly, […]
Sound is a vital part of our world, but like most things, its impact on us depends on both the quality and quantity of the sounds we hear. Listening to music can be calming and enjoyable, but it can also be annoying and irritating if the volume is excessive. When it comes to music and […]
Acute external otitis or otitis externa is an infection of the outer ear canal – the part outside your eardrum. Most people recognize it by its common name – swimmer’s ear. It is known as swimmer’s ear because it commonly occurs because of water staying in the ears after swimming; this creates a wet environment […]
