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.

Avoiding Hearing Loss

If you already have hearing loss, there’s no way to restore it unless there’s a treatable medical condition that caused it. But if it’s not a medical condition, rather just age-related or noise-related hearing loss, 95% of the time it can be successfully treated.

If the damage hasn’t been done yet, and you have normal hearing they’re are ways to prevent severe hearing loss; And you shouldn’t think just because you could take loud noise in your youth, that you can still take it later in life without the possibility of permanent damage; aging affects every aspect of our health including hearing.

The sad part about hearing loss is it’s almost always permanent…the only exception is certain medical conditions that can be treated such as middle ear infections and certain other conditions that your doctor can advise you on.

The World Health Organization estimates one billion young individuals around the globe are at risk of hearing loss because of unsafe listening practices; Especially with the popular listening devices, loud headphones, concerts etc. 10% of our current population already has hearing loss.

A few of the easy measures: Using ear plugs when you’re exposed to loud noise is highly recommended. Avoid being too close to speakers at a friends house or a live act at the local bar and concerts. Think more about loud noise exposure before you’re exposed to it so you can do something about it when it suddenly happens. Do you go shooting or hunting? Avoid inexpensive hearing protection! Gun shots are so potentially damaging, you need quality protection to help prevent hearing loss.

Here’s a list of probable risks that generate sound above 85 decibels (DB) which is the maximum level for safe hearing:

90-100 DB: Lawn movers— especially older ones - If you mow your lawn or use heavy equipment, use ear plugs.

80-110 DB: Attending local fairs—Those race cars can hurt your ears if you’re too close and the small entertainment venues can get loud too.

80-100 DB: Hair driers near your ear without ear plugs can also put you at risk.

Taking a helicopter ride or working near loud airplanes or vehicles.

120 DB and above: Shooting ranges and just about any military position

90-110 DB: Subway trains

115 DB: Baby’s cry - Be careful when holding a crying baby near your ear.

110 DB: Car horn

100 DB: Snowmobiles and other off road vehicles

We are exposed to so many noises that can cause hearing loss; Care should be taken in the same way you wear glasses for your eyes. Preventive maintenance can potentially help you avoid the need for hearing aids for many years.

But if hearing loss has already occurred or you’re not sure how severe your hearing loss may be, having your ears checked is FREE at Crystal Clear Hearing Aids. And there’s no pressure to purchase anything when you visit us.

Treating your hearing loss can save other health issues that have been known to increase when hearing loss is present:

Dementia—Up to 5 times greater risk of getting dementia when hearing loss is not treated
Headaches
Frustrated loved ones when you ask them to repeat themselves often
Depression and feeling secluded
Accidents: Like not hearing a quiet car in a parking lot
Discrimination: toward the person with Hearing loss
Compensation behaviors: When pretending you hear, people pick up on your miscommunication
Anger and frustration: in relationships and co-workers
Depression: and depressive symptoms
Anxiety
Social phobias

Noise at work has been such a culprit for hearing loss that the U.S. government has finally enacted a ‘Noise at work” act in 2005, which mandates employers to provide ear plugs to employees who are exposed to loud noise on the job.

Of course most of us don’t have ear plugs readily available so it’s a good idea to keep a pair in your purse, pocket, car and at work.