For someone with moderate to severe hearing loss, the smartphone is both savior and nemesis. I can’t imagine life without a smartphone, but I can imagine many ways that it could be better. First the savior aspect: I have at least two and sometimes three ways to communicate using text. The first is email. The … Continue reading Me and My Smartphone: A Love-Hate Relationship

When public safety and the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act come into conflict, public safety prevails. But that doesn’t mean the ADA should be tossed aside. In fact, compliance with the ADA gives us a more effective police force. Which would you rather have when you needed protection: police officers with hearing loss who won't report … Continue reading Police Officers With Disabilities. Why ADA Protection Makes Us All Safer.

New research finds that cochlear implants in older people not only help with hearing loss but may also improve thinking, mood and -- most significantly -- memory. In a study published March 12, French researcher Isabelle Mosnier, of Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris examined the effect of cochlear implants on elderly patients, ages 65 to 85, with profound hearing loss. … Continue reading Surprising Bonus of Cochlear Implants in Elderly

Friendships and social connections are a key factor in living a longer, healthy life. This was demonstrated in“The Longevity Project,’’ a book-length report on an 80-year study of 1,528 individuals that began with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman in 1921 and was completed by the psychology professors Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin. In a 2011 interview, I … Continue reading Good Friends Make for Better Health

Could we be prescribing antidepressants to those who really need a hearing test? A large-scale study published last April based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2010 found a significant correlation between hearing loss and depression, confirming some smaller studies and also anecdotal evidence. What was most interesting was that the link was … Continue reading Are We Treating Depression When We Should Be Treating Hearing Loss?

Our senses have warning systems to alert us to possible dangers. A bitter taste warns us away from poisons. A putrid smell alerts us that food may not be safe to eat. Our eyes close automatically when exposed to a flash of light. Pain receptors in our skin warn us to pull away from something … Continue reading Are Your Ears Trying to Protect Themselves?

You’ve probably heard the tips. Visualize something about the person that will remind you of the name: Rose — the woman wearing the pink sweater. Spike — the guy with the hair. Repeat the name either mentally or out loud. But that doesn’t always help. Maybe you’re at a business meeting with new clients. They’re all … Continue reading A Simple Solution for Remembering Names

One thing no one ever mentions about hearing loss is how much harder it is to hear with a hat on. Hats are something we in the northeast have been wearing for weeks now. Sometimes indoors as well as outdoors, as the temperature drops into the minus degrees. I have lots of friends with hearing … Continue reading Hearing With a Hat

Were you at the Cream reunion in New York in 1968? Think that might be where you lost your hearing? That’s where Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker say their hearing problems started. Eric Clapton, who now suffers tinnitus—and most likely also hearing loss, which is often masked by tinnitus—has said “I probably had two 100-watt stacks at the … Continue reading Famous Rock Concerts that Blew Minds — and Ears