1. Sound Advice: Understanding Hearing Loss
Living your life with better hearing

2. Dr. Brandy Breeden
Clinical Audiologist & Member of The American Speech-Language Hearing Association
Director of Clinical Services for Audiology
A Division of Ear Nose and Throat Consultants of East Tennessee
Our office:
Five Locations
Ten Licensed Audiologists & One Audiology Resident
Inclusive services: Comprehensive Audiometric Testing, Hearing Aid Services

3. Talking Points: Potential Causes of Hearing Loss
Impacts of Untreated Hearing Loss
Tinnitus
Recognizing Signs of Hearing Loss
The Hearing Test
Getting Hearing Help

4. Potential Causes of Hearing Loss

5. Occupational, Environmental, and Recreational Noise Exposure
Estimated 26 million Americans have hearing loss from noise exposure
Fotolia
jet – tractor – motorcycle – hard hat

6. Other Health Conditions
Diabetes
Hearing loss is twice as common in adults that have diabetes
Heart Disease
54% more likely to have hearing loss
Chemo Therapy and Radiation
Traumatic Injuries or Accidents
Any condition or trauma that impacts nerves and/or blood flow can also impact the sensitive human ear.

7. Hearing Loss in America
Approximately 48 million Americans have hearing loss in one or both ears

8. Impact of untreated hearing loss

9. Untreated Hearing Loss: Social and Mental Impacts
Always turning up the television, radio, etc
Asking people to repeat themselves (and still missing bits and pieces)
Uncomfortable in social settings
Avoiding social activities
Feeling isolated
TV remote (fotolia ) – man at bar (istockphoto ) – sad woman (fotolia ) – card game (istockphoto )

10. Untreated Hearing Loss: Social and Mental Impacts
Individuals who suffer from hearing loss
are more likely to suffer from
depression and anxiety
-National Council on Aging-

11. Untreated Hearing Loss: Physical Impacts
Diminished word recognition abilities
Tinnitus
Link between diminished hearing and memory loss
Although the reason for the link between the two conditions is unknown, the investigators suggest that a common pathology may underlie both or that the strain of decoding sounds over the years may overwhelm the brains of people with hearing loss, leaving them more vulnerable to dementia. They also speculate that hearing loss could lead to dementia by making individuals more socially isolated, a known risk factor for dementia and other cognitive disorders.
Whatever the cause, the scientists report, their finding may offer a starting point for interventions — even as simple as hearing aids — that could delay or prevent dementia by improving patients’ hearing.

12. Untreated Hearing Loss and Memory
Any altered sense forces our brains to readjust and work harder
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that
brain density diminishes when hearing diminishes
Hearing loss accelerates gray matter atrophy in the auditory areas of the brain
Subjects with hearing loss had less brain activity on MRI scans
Researchers with Johns Hopkins and the National Institute on Aging performed a two decade long study which found that even adults with a mild hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia.
Neurological stress of trying to communicate with hearing loss could contribute to dementia
Other studies have linked isolation (typically associated with the social frustration and embarrassment of untreated hearing loss) with an increased risk of dementia.

13. Tinnitus

14. Tinnitus
“My ears ring constantly” “All I hear are crickets” “I can’t think because of this roar”

15. Tinnitus: What is it?
“Tinnitus is the medical term for the perception of sound in one or both ears or in the head when no external sound is present” -American Tinnitus Association
Not a disease but a Symptom
Causes:
ear infections
foreign objects or wax in the ear
excessive exposure to loud sounds.
side-effect of many medications (aspirin, OTC drugs, antibiotics)
In many cases, no underlying physical cause can be identified.

16. Tinnitus: Who has it? 50 million people worldwide
18 million find it bothersome
1-2 million find it debilitating
#1 disability reported by Veterans

17. Recognizing there is a Problem and Getting hearing help

18. “I can hear, but I can’t understand.”

19. See an Audiologist or an ENT
Conduct thorough Hearing and Health History
Otoscopy (look into your ear canals)
Tympanometry (how is your eardrum moving?)
Comprehensive Audiometric Testing:
How well you hear speech and tones
“The Beep Test”
Air Conduction and Bone Conduction
Develop a treatment plan based on results

20. What Type of Hearing Loss Do You Have? How Bad Is It?
Three Main Categories:
Sensorineural
Conductive
Mixed
Six Levels
Borderline/Normal
Mild
Moderate
Moderately-Severe
Severe
Profound

21. The Audiogram

22. Sounds of speech
Look at the sounds of speech and where they occur relative to pitch and loudness.
In this example, low pitches sounds or vowel sounds of speech are heard fine, but what about the high pitched consonant sounds of speech like th- f- sh- p-? With this common type of hearing loss, we lose meaning in speech and question whether she said STOP, TOP, POP or HOP, because we can’t hear the S, T, P or H.

23. Getting help for your hearing

24. Sensorineural Hearing loss is permanent
90% of hearing loss
relates to a physical condition that
cannot be corrected surgically or medically, but
can be assisted with hearing instruments

25. Hearing loss treatment is a process, not an event.
Realize what you are missing
Recognize potential hearing loss
Educate yourself on hearing loss and potential treatments
Seek professional care & schedule an appointment
Get your hearing tested
Discuss your options with a hearing healthcare professional
Select and use the appropriate solution
Schedule follow up appointments

26. the Importance of Professional Care
Education and experience
Stability
Positive reputation for quality service
Trustworthy
Understand all purchase inclusions, policies, payment terms, exchange period, etc.

27. Thank you!