Archive for November, 2015

Thanksgiving. It’s the most coveted meal of the year. Considering Americans consume 242 million turkeys each year – 30 percent of that during the holiday alone – it’s safe to say we look forward to Thanksgiving each year for the food. But, what we put on the table is good for more than just stuffing your belly. A number of nutrients found in traditional Thanksgiving dishes have been linked to healthy hearing, meaning you won’t have to feel guilty about lining up for seconds.

• Potassium – Potassium helps regulate fluid in the inner ear, which in turn regulates balance and tinnitus. Sweet potatoes just so happen to be chock full of potassium. Also, if you love green bean casserole then you’re in luck, because beans are also a great source of the nutrient as well as butternut squash and turkey.
• Folic Acid – Studies have shown that an insufficient level of folates in the body is linked to an increased risk of age-related hearing loss. Deficient folic acid could also cause elevated levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which could lead to stroke and heart disease. Dark, leafy greens like spinach and arugula are rich in folates. Brussels sprouts and broccoli also boast a high folic acid count.
• Magnesium – Magnesium helps maintain normal nerve function, which consequently helps reduce your chances of tinnitus. Whole wheat bread is rich in magnesium. In addition, quinoa, an ancient Peruvian grain, is another dish loaded with the nutrient and has fewer carbohydrates. Lastly, if you’re a pie lover, consider the pecan pie, as nuts are also a good source of magnesium.
• Zinc – The inner ear has an extremely high concentration of zinc, a mineral which has been linked to reduction in tinnitus and presbycusis. Oysters were part of the first Thanksgiving. Although they aren’t typical to today’s Thanksgiving menu, shellfish are a great way to get your daily dose of zinc.

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All of the staff were very friendly and listened to my problems. Examination was much more complete and extensive than what I had previously experience. Jason was very patient with me, repeating what I didn’t understand

Columbia Hearing Center’s friendly, professional staff addressed my hearing needs with care and compassion for my issues.

Healthy Hearing conducted a national survey of 1,043 people asking how they felt about their hearing compared to their other senses, and what priority they place on hearing. Survey participants were first presented with the hypothetical scenario of doing a heavily tool-involved home improvement project. Only 37.6% of respondents said they would be “likely” or “very likely” to use earmuffs or earplugs. Yet 70.5% of the same respondents said they would be “likely” or “very likely” to wear goggles or glasses. To put it another way, out of eight protective options given, including work clothes, gloves, a respirator, a hard hat, earplugs, goggles, work boots and knee pads, earplugs ranked second to last, just ahead of a hard hat.

Unfortunately, the general response to the home improvement project question wasn’t an anomaly. When respondents were asked to rank 10  items they would be most likely to bring to a sunny outdoor concert (such as sunglasses, hat, sunscreen…) while seated close to the stage, only 34.2% of respondents said they would be “likely” or “very likely” to bring earplugs.  Earplugs ranked second to last and just under hand sanitizer at 36.9%. Ironically, when asked to rank their senses directly in terms of value, 68% of people ranked hearing as most important, after vision (84%).

What about those who already have hearing loss? Are they willing to take measures to improve their hearing? When survey respondents were asked the question “Do you have trouble understanding what people say?” 22% of respondents said “yes.” However when asked if they use hearing aids, only five percent of those same respondents answered “yes.”

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New research is shedding light on the correlation between hearing loss and dementia, and could have long term implications for hearing loss screening and intervention. A study done at the University of Colorado’s Department of Speech Language and Hearing Science, looked at how neuroplasticity — how the brain reorganizes itself by forming new neuron connections throughout life — plays into the adaptation of the brain after hearing loss.

The participants in the study were adults and children with varying degrees of hearing loss; some had only mild hearing loss while others were severely hearing impaired or deaf. The team of researchers used EEG recordings to measure brain activities in response to sound stimulation. By doing this, they were able to understand how the brains of people with different degrees of hearing loss respond differently than those of people with normal hearing.

The researchers found when hearing loss occurs, areas of the brain devoted to other senses such as vision or touch will actually take over the areas of the brain which normally process hearing. It’s a phenomenon called cross-modal cortical reorganization, which is reflective of the brain’s tendency to compensate for the loss of other senses. It is a makeover of sorts, but one that can have a seriously detrimental effect on cognition.

The team at the University of Colorado isn’t finished yet; practical applications of the study are next. “Our goal is to develop user-friendly EEG technologies, to allow clinicians to easily image the brains of individual patients with hearing loss to determine whether and to what degree their brains have become reorganized,” said Sharma. “In this way, the blueprint of brain reorganization can guide clinical intervention for patients with hearing loss.”

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It is well-established that untreated hearing loss can lead to an acceleration of cognitive problems. A just-published study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society is the first to show that wearing hearing aids reduces cognitive decline associated with hearing loss.

The study, “Self-Reported Hearing Loss: Hearing Aids and Cognitive Decline in Elderly Adults: A 25-year Study”, followed 3,670 adults, age 65 and older over a 25-year period. Professor Hélène Amieva, a leading researcher in the Neuropsychology and Epidemiology of Aging at the University of Bordeaux, France, headed up the study which was part of the Personnes Agèes QUID cohort (PAQUID), a cohort specifically designed to study brain aging.

Researchers compared the trajectory of cognitive decline among older adults who were using hearing aids and those who were not. The study found no difference in the rate of cognitive decline between a control group of people with un- reported hearing loss and people with hearing loss who used hearing aids. By contrast, hearing loss was significantly associated with lower baseline scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a well-recognized test of cognitive function, during the 25-year follow-up period.

“The study indicates that people with hearing loss who wear hearing aids have the same risk for age-related cognitive decline as people without hearing loss,” says Donald Schum, PhD, Vice President of Audiology and Professional Practice for Oticon, Inc. “But cognitive decline is accelerated for the people who have hearing loss and don’t use hearing aids. With this study, we are seeing for the first time evidence that hearing aids are prevention against accelerated cognitive decline in later years.

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