News & Specials
A&A Featured in Bethesda Magazine
The article below was originally published in Bethesda Magazine. Question: How do I know if I have a hearing loss? Dr. Mary Adams: Hearing loss is the third most common health problem in the United States, yet many people are reluctant to admit that they have a problem. An easy self-test to see if you might have a hearing deficit is to ask yourself these questions: Do you often feel like people are “mumbling”? Do you find yourself frequently asking “What?” during conversations? Do others complain that you have the TV too loud? Do you have trouble hearing at noisy restaurants or parties? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should get a hearing exam...
Read MoreMild hearing loss affecting your brain
Hearing loss affects a person’s personality, cognition, and hearing acuity. Hearing loss can cause daily frustration, irritability, and stress in a person’s life. When senses are altered, the brain reorganizes and adjusts. Losing the ability to hear can accelerate gray matter atrophy in auditory areas of the brain. Hearing aids can not only improve hearing but can also preserve the brain. People with untreated hearing loss have less gray matter in the auditory cortex which may begin when hearing ability declines. Studies have found that people with untreated hearing loss have lower gray matter density of the auditory areas and less brain activity when...
Read MoreThere’s an App for that!
Have trouble hearing your loved ones on the other line of the phone? Well, there will soon be an app for that! Hearing health professionals, including ear, nose, and throat doctors, audiologists and sound engineers, have joined together to help those people who have some hearing loss, but not necessarily enough to require a hearing aid. This application, ACEHearing, for smartphones will capture and assess the individual’s hearing sensitivity through a shortened test. Then the application will calibrate the smartphone by adjusting and enhancing sound output settings by filling in gaps in the part of the sound spectrum where hearing is less than ideal. The hearing...
Read MoreMake your hearing aid batteries last longer!
Have you noticed that your hearing aid batteries are not lasting as they should? Here are some tips to get more bang for your buck out of your batteries: -Store batteries at normal room temperature- do not refrigerate -Wash your hands thoroughly before changing batteries. Grease and dirt on batteries may damage hearing aid -Keep battery tab on battery until ready for use -Activate the battery by removing the battery tab and wait 2 minutes before placing the battery into the hearing aid -When not in use, open up the hearing aid’s battery compartment to avoid battery draining and to allow moisture to escape -Remove dead batteries from your hearing aid immediately and...
Read MoreHearing loss in children from exposure to secondhand smoke
In the United States, approximately 60% of children are exposed to secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke prenatally or during childhood can cause various health problems among children, such as low birth weight and respiratory infections. Children that are exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke are more likely to have ear infections. Secondhand smoke may have the potential to impact a child’s auditory development, leading to sensorineural hearing loss. A new study has recently associated secondhand smoke to hearing loss in children. Over a thousand teenagers were given hearing tests in the study and were also tested for cotinine, which is produced when...
Read MoreBetter hearing in musicians
Moderate hearing loss affects 30% of people by the age of 60, but research and studies suggests that cognitively demanding activities, such as playing a musical instrument, can delay the effects of aging. According to a recent study published in the journal Psychology and Aging, lifelong musicians have better hearing well into old age. In this study, Toronto researchers performed hearing tests on 74 adult musicians and of 89 non-musicians from ages 18 to 91 years old and compared results. Researchers defined a musician as someone who started musical training by the age of 16 years and have continued playing until the day of testing; non-musicians did not play any...
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