It can be difficult to accept a diagnosis of disabling hearing loss, especially later in life. The idea of beginning a new lifestyle and relearning your sense of hearing can be daunting, but when you consider the benefits of your overall health, you can live a happier—and wealthier! —life. When disabling hearing loss is treated with hearing aids, cochlear implants, …
Hearing Loss & Fatigue
Yawn! Does it ever seem like just listening to people wears you out? Well, if you deal with hearing loss, that just might be the case! Our hearing may not seem like it takes a lot of muscle, but when we struggle to hear, it actually strains our whole body and can leave you feeling exhausted. If you manage hearing …
May is Better Speech and Hearing Month!
[May is Better Speech and Hearing Month. Every year, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) dedicates this month to raising awareness of conditions which impede communication, such as speech disorders and hearing loss. For 2019, the theme is “Communication Across the Lifespan.” The organization wants to highlight the importance of maintaining communication skills from childhood up to old age. We hope …
Proposed Accessibility Legislation in Seattle
The next time you catch a game at a sports bar in Seattle, Washington, you might just notice something slightly different. Businesses there with TVs are now required to turn on closed-captioning, as part of a recent law passed by the Seattle City Council. In what is seen as a major victory for the Deaf and hard of hearing communities, …
As an Invisible Disability, Hearing Loss Often Goes Ignored
[Helen Keller is credited with writing that “Blindness cuts us off from things but deafness cuts us off from people.” This is incredibly accurate and is often unrecognized by those around us. Hearing loss can have a significant impact on both your social and professional life. Coping with hearing loss is different from other disabilities as it is invisible; even …
Tips for Better Communication with People with Hearing Loss
[Individuals suffering from hearing loss may find communicating with others to be stressful, frustrating, and discomforting. While there is a portion of those with hearing loss who are quite open about their struggles by asking you to make adjustments to help during a conversation, many people in fact either don’t realize that their hearing is declining or they choose not …
Add an Annual Hearing Test To Your New Year’s Resolutions!
As we’ve welcomed in the New Year, many of us have also come up with a plethora of resolutions to improve our lives. We resolve to eat healthier, exercise more frequently, or to quit drinking and smoking. More often than not, these resolutions revolve around our overall health. What’s often missing from the list is protecting our hearing. It is …
Great Things to Hear this Holiday Season in Seattle, WA
The holiday season is upon us and that means there are a lot of great activities to put on your calendar. Seattle is an excellent city to engage in all of the sights—and sounds—of the holiday spirit. Here are some things that you might want to consider as you begin planning how to spend the end of 2018 with your …
November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
In addition to ringing in the holiday season, November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia that people can have. It typically affects people who are over the age of 65 years old. The National Institute on Aging suggests that the “number of people with the disease doubles every 5 years beyond age …
How Hearing Loss Interferes with Your Relationships
Hearing loss does more than effect those it afflicts. Often, it’s the people around us who also suffer silently. With the number of people with hearing loss expected to nearly double in the next few decades, it’s important to consider the effects of untreated hearing loss on not only the person experiencing hearing loss, but on their family and close …