My Head Aches and I'm Stressed out!

Two Ways to Potentially Rid Headaches & Stress

Of course having your vision checked to reduce headaches is something most people already know. But what about your ears? Can hearing loss and/or ringing in your ears cause fatigue and headaches? The short answer is yes, according professional medical experts.

One patient of a local hearing health clinic owned and operated a recording studio for over thirty years; mixing loud music on a day-to-day basis took it’s toll and caused a mild hearing loss and significant tinnitus.

Loud sounds can cause hearing loss and tinnitus: So can certain medications, accidents (especially head trauma) and of course aging can cause hearing problems. If you’re curious as to which medications that can cause hearing loss, you can Google “medications that can cause hearing loss”.

So if you get a little blurry vision, you make an appointment for an optometrist; If your not hearing well, you should also have your ears checked since your hearing health is just as important to wellness as your eyes. And according to a John Hopkins study, hearing loss can actually cause more significant health issues than vision loss.

Most doctors do not address three important aspects of you daily health: Eyes, teeth and hearing. That’s because most medical offices do not have adequate eye, dental and hearing test equipment nor the licensed staff to conduct those tests. This is why you should regularly see an optometrist, a dentist and a hearing health professional. Each of these offices specialize in improving your overall health in those respective areas.

Most persons don’t know that hearing loss (even a mild ones) can cause significant “straining” to hear people talk. They are also likely to exert some effort just to hear the T.V. and speech in noisy environments like restaurants, churches and social gatherings. Any strain on the body can cause unnecessary fatigue and in some persons that fatigue and strain can cause headaches and stress: most medical experts agree how these factors usually cause more illnesses.

There’s a deeper issue with Hearing Loss that affects your brain too. Since your brain does the actual hearing and understanding, when you have hearing loss, you’re starving your memory because your hearing and your memory are directly tied together.

To prove this point, most people with hearing loss are struggling to fully understand their favorite movies and T.V. shows. They get half way into the show and don’t understand why a certain character is acting up or why a certain event just took place - it’s because in the beginning of every show there are clues and things that set up the plot and if you’re not hearing well, you are not going to understand that plot. Thus, the hearing loss person is asking their loved ones to explain things in the movie they are watching.

Any constant strain on the body or especially missed information is not good for one’s health.

Treating hearing loss will also alleviate frustration in communicating with others; Especially loved ones. One way to detect hearing loss is when people are constantly having to repeat themselves or when a person has to turn the T.V. up to loud levels. Another common miscommunication is a loved one may state “I’m going shopping at the store” and the hearing loss person will reply: “Why are you mopping the floor?”
Hearing loss causing social and physical problems have been a major subject of study by doctors and researchers for decades. As mentioned in a previous article, some forms of Dementia have been clinically proven to be linked to hearing loss, according to a John Hopkins University study; readers can Google the search words “Hearing loss and dementia” to learn more about the extensive study; the study claims that untreated hearing loss can bring a five times greater chance of developing dementia compared to those with no hearing loss.

According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA)

“One out of every four older Americans has undetected or untreated hearing loss. Older adults with hearing loss don’t realize how much the quality of their lives has been affected,” said Jim Firman, president and CEO of NCOA. “As someone with significant hearing loss, I can personally attest to how the right hearing aids have dramatically improved my ability to work and play, my relationships with family and friends, and my self-esteem.  We encourage all adults and their families to take a hearing test and find out what they’ve been missing.”

A 1999 NCOA survey on hearing loss and older adults found that when people began to treat their hearing loss, many saw improvements in their lives, including their family relationships (66%), mental health (36%), sense of independence (34%), social life (34%), and even sex life (8%).

Read more at: http://www.ncoa.org/improve-health/community-education/hearing-loss-its-a-family.html

Can a Hearing Aid be too small?

Many individuals insist on wearing the smallest hearing aid they can get, but will that really benefit their entire hearing experience?

If a person has a mild to moderate hearing loss than the answer is probably yes; probably is used here because only a licensed/qualified hearing care professional can answer that question properly after a hearing test and evaluation has been completed.

If someone's hearing loss is more significant than mild to moderate, then the answer is more than likely no, but again, this answer can only be addressed after a hearing test. There is still a possibility (but lessor of one) that the new small and discrete hearing aids may address all of a person's needs even if they have a more significant hearing loss.

Today, small and discrete means CIC, which stands for Completely in the Canal, so the hearing aid is totally invisible, unless someone was to get close and peak inside your ear canal.

Fortunately, at Crystal Clear Hearing Aids, our hearing tests and evaluations are free of charge and we can give expert advice if these tiny marvels of technology are right for you or not.

Even if they are not right for you, there are new generations of Hearing Aids that are almost completely invisible, that will suit any hearing loss as long as there is some hearing left in your test results. The above photo is called a RIC (Receiver in the Canal) which has a lot more power and capability than it's mini counterpart.

I wear this style of hearing aid and even when I see an old friend that I haven't seen in awhile, they don't see my hearing aids; I have to tell them I'm wearing them...I always get the same reaction: "Wow! I didn't even see them. I had no idea you were wearing hearing aids."

If you're considering small discrete hearing aids like the one's in the first photo above, it's important to know the basic rule of hearing loss and hearing aids. A significant loss requires more power and though tiny hearing aids have a lot more power these days, they may lack some of the volume boost for your loss and lifestyle, and they also may not have some of the very cool features that are found in the RIC style: such as blue tooth streaming of your phone calls into both of your hearing aids. The tiny one's are also not rechargeable since there is not enough room to squeeze a rechargeable battery system into the little space. Only the RIC style comes standard in the rechargeable feature (at our office) which makes it nice to say, bye, bye batteries.

The best way to know what's best for you is to call and schedule a free appointment to get a professional opinion and an in-office demonstration to actually see just how small and discrete the new hearing aids are; regardless of the size and style.



David Longeuay is a hearing aid wearer and was a full time audio engineer from 1980 until he opened up Crystal Clear Hearing Aids in 2016. He and his wife Sheri (also a hearing aid wearer) now have two offices: one in Anaheim and one in Lake Arrowhead, Ca.

Hearing Loss and Dementia: Are you at Risk?

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Can hearing aids help decrease the risk of developing dementia, alzheimers, memory loss and cognitive decline?

Yes. While there's no guarantee hearing aids will prevent mental health issues, treating hearing loss with professionally recommended hearing aids can significantly reduce your risk of these and other health problems.

We know eating a balanced diet and getting enough exercise reduces all sorts of potential health risks; Treating your eyes usually reduces headaches and unnecessary stress; and now it's time people realize the importance of also treating their hearing loss to complete their healthy lifestyles because your ears are just as important as your other critical organs.

But more than that, I can personally testify how my hearing aids have reduced a lot of stress, since I no longer have to strain to hear things...it was similar to the strain my eyes endured before I finally broke down and purchased my first set of reading glasses. 

Many of my patients have thanked me for the same type of relief after their two-week hearing aid check up. My father-in-law no longer walks with his cane since hearing aids helped his balance issues.

Since opening our office in Anaheim Hills, we have become more dedicated to not only helping people hear better, but to also inform them of many 'hidden' health risks. Learn more on our website: CrystalClearHearingAids.com

Hearing Loss myths...

There are a lot of myths about hearing loss - here's a few things to keep in mind:

Myth #1: Hearing aids will make me look “older” or “handicapped...”

Looking older is clearly more affected by almost all other factors besides hearing aids. If you have to make people repeat their sentences, you're are already bringing attention to your inability to hear well. It is not the hearing aids that make one look older; If hearing aids help you function like a normal hearing person, your life will change dramatically and people will treat you more favorably!

Hearing aid manufacturers are well aware that cosmetics are an issue and that’s why some NEW hearing aids fit totally in the ear canal and other models are nearly undetectable.

But more importantly untreated hearing loss is more obvious than wearing a hearing aid. Smiling and nodding your head when you don’t understand what’s being said makes your condition more apparent than the largest hearing aid available!

Myth #2: Your hearing loss cannot be helped.

In the past, many people with hearing loss in one ear, with a high frequency loss, or with nerve damage have all been told they cannot be helped.

This might have been true many years ago, but with modern advances in technology, nearly 95% of people with a common hearing loss can be helped with hearing aids. The consequences of hiding hearing loss can be dangerous.

Untreated hearing loss is far more noticeable than wearing hearing aids. If you don’t hear a car backing up toward you, miss a punch line to a joke, or respond inappropriately in conversation, people may have concerns about your mental acuity, your attention span or your ability to communicate effectively. 

The personal consequences of denying hearing aids can be life altering. At a simplistic level, untreated hearing loss means giving up some of the pleasant sounds you used to enjoy. At a deeper level, you could be at risk of Dementia, accidents and people shying away from you.

Myth #3: I’ll just have some minor surgery like my friend did, and then my hearing will be okay. Many people know someone whose hearing improved after medical or surgical treatment. But only some types of hearing loss can be successfully treated. With adults only 5-10% of surgeries help Hearing Loss.

Myth #4: Hearing aids will make everything sound too loud.

This was actually true in older hearing aid technology. It used to be necessary to turn up the power in order to hear soft speech (or other soft sounds). Then, normal conversation indeed would have been too loud. With today’s modern digital hearing aids the circuit works automatically, only providing the amount of amplification needed based on the input level. In fact, many hearing aids today don’t have a volume control because they’re unnecessary on certain models.

Rest assured the Better Hearing Institute researched thousands of people like you and found that hearing healthcare professionals receive customer satisfaction ratings of 92%. And 9 out of 10 people indicate that the quality of their life has improved with hearing aids. 

Now that Hearing aid manufacturers have learned more about personal preferences, they've made hearing aids easier to wear, less noticeable and they've added automatic features with state-of-the-art digital sound…

For more information visit: 
www.CrystalClearHearingAids.com

You'll LOVE the way you HEAR!

Some of this text was taken from articles of the Better Hearing Institute.