ACCIDENTS HAPPEN, SO BE WISE— One of my favorite sayings is “Wise men learn from their mistakes, but the wisest men learn from other people’s mistakes.”  Countless people have come into my office for help and said when they were younger they were warned by older co-workers how important it was to use hearing protection but then didn’t follow their advice. Noise induced hearing loss is a hazard of many jobs and hobbies. Wearing hearing protection is key to avoiding permanent hearing loss from loud sounds. However, being aware of other hazards and avoiding them can prevent accidental permanent hearing loss. Recently, I was teaching my daughter how to change a bicycle tire after it failed on a long bike ride due to its age. After changing the tire, I decided to pump up the other tire and it exploded with a volume level similar to that of a gunshot. We were fortunate that our garage door was open to allow the energy to escape because loud sounds in confined spaces are much more likely to damage hearing. I realized after the fact I made an unwise decision as I should have replaced the second tire as a precaution since it was the same age as the other on that failed.

HEARING AIDS MAKE A DIFFERENCE—A patient who purchased hearing aids about 9 months ago was in for a routine cleaning appointment and commented that for decades he never realized how much he actually needed hearing aids. He said he finally has come to realize how much he was “faking it” over the years now that he can actually hear and understand what people are saying. He commented about how much the hearing aids helped to improve not only his hearing but also his tinnitus. We talked about why he waited so long to get help even though he had hearing loss for over 30 years. He said every time he went to his medical doctor and they discussed his hearing loss and tinnitus, the doctor would tell him nothing could be done about the ringing. He believed there was no point in getting hearing aids. Now that he has worn the devices and experienced relief from both his hearing loss and tinnitus, he is grateful that something actually can be done to help.

I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I’LL BE AROUND— A couple of days ago, I received a call from the son of a patient. As soon as I realized who was calling, I knew he was giving me the news that his 100 year-old mother had passed away. He explained that he knew I would want to know of her passing and that she had asked him at least a dozen times during the last several months when they were going to come see me. She and I had become very close over the years because of the difference that getting hearing aids had made for her. It took many years for her family to convince her to get her hearing tested, then even longer to actually get help for her hearing loss. She kept saying, “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be around.” It took her almost a decade to make the decision to get hearing aids, and then she lived 12 years that were much more fulfilling because she could hear well.

DON’T MISS OUT UNNECESSARILY—Twice this past week patients expressed how grateful they were to finally be able to hear TV more clearly thanks to their TV Streamer that transmits the television audio directly into their hearing aids. (It reminded me of a patient who once jokingly told me that I saved his life by getting him hearing aids, because he could not read closed captions fast enough to be able to understand anything he was watching on TV.)  TV Streamers and other assistive listening devices are not necessary for everyone with hearing aids. However, the clarity provided by direct input into the hearing aids makes the audio clearer than is possible coming from the speakers.

Please give us a call if you have any hearing needs, including hearing protection for work, music, hunting, or shooting, as well as anything related to hearing aids or wax removal.