Deaf gamers find new way to make competitive gaming accessible
June 30th, 2017Posted in Blog, In The News
Online video streaming services have become widely popular lately, especially in the video game community. Many gamers tune into streams on sites like Twitch to watch competitive gaming in real time. Unlike other videos published and captioned before hand, streams usually don’t have a live captioning tool, alienating deaf and hard of hearing gamers. I
Read MoreThree Good Reasons to Talk Hearing Health at Your Next Physical Exam
June 28th, 2017Posted in Blog
A flurry of studies in recent years has linked hearing loss to other serious health issues, including depression, sleep apnea, dementia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, moderate chronic kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and an increased risk of falls, hospitalization and mortality. Treating hearing loss can bring many quality-of-life benefits. Research shows that when people with hearing loss
Read MoreMy Dog Ate My Hearing Aids. How I Found Funding for New Ones
June 26th, 2017Posted in Blog
My Dog ate my hearing aids. Commonly it’s an excuse used by school-aged kids who forgot to do their homework, but for me, was a nightmare that I actually did not think existed or would happen. When something happens to our hearing technology, not only do we have to consider the cost of the hearing aids
Read MoreWatch: How to decorate your hearing aids
June 23rd, 2017Posted in Blog
Decorating hearing aids is a great way to show off individual style and increase confidence. Phonak hEARo Jessica Flores walks us through one way to decorate hearing aids. “It’s totally up to you if you want to decorate them,” she says. “If you don’t want to decorate them, that’s fine. But while we have
Read MoreHow my hearing aids survived a pool party
June 19th, 2017Posted in Blog
A few summers ago, I had one of my worst nightmares come true. My hearing aids got wet. When it happened, it was like super slow motion, as gravity pulled me into the pool. I tried to find some way to keep my head above water. I flailed my arms and kicked away I can
Read MoreSmoking and Hearing Loss
June 17th, 2017Posted in Blog
Hearing health experts have suspected that smoking contributes to hearing loss since an initial study in 1962; however, on-going studies confirm it. Smokers are 70 percent more likely than non-smokers to suffer hearing loss, according to an article in the June 1998 Journal of the American Medical Association. The study also found that non-smokers living with a
Read MoreWhy being in the dark is one of the hardest situations for deaf person
June 16th, 2017Posted in In The News
A lot of things are more difficult without the sense of hearing, but darkness might be our biggest weakness. People with hearing loss often make up for the lack of sound it with visuals. Whether it’s reading lips, body language, sign language or our surroundings, we rely heavily on our eyes. When the sun sets,
Read MoreStudy: Are familiar voices more recognizable?
June 14th, 2017Posted in In The News
Auditory training might improve the ability of older participants with hearing loss to recognize the speech of their spouse and improve communication interactions between couples, according to a new study. Historically, audiologists have tended to assume that familiarity with a voice might limit the patient’s ability to further improve understanding of that same voice, but researchers at
Read MoreDeaf singer wows on ‘America’s Got Talent’
June 12th, 2017Posted in In The News
Mandy Harvey, a singer with hearing loss, wowed judges with her perfectly pitched vocals on the reality TV show, ‘America’s Got Talent,’ on Tuesday. Harvey, who lost her hearing about 10 years ago due to degenerative ear disease, was awarded the “Golden Buzzer” after her performance that received a standing ovation and hug from judge
Read MoreHearing Loss Simulator: Understanding mild and moderate hearing loss.
June 9th, 2017Posted in In The News
People with normal hearing – especially parents, spouses and friends of those with hearing loss – are often eager to better understand what hearing loss sounds like. While a blindfold worn around the house for an afternoon might help someone learn what it’s like to live without vision, hearing loss comes in varying degrees and
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