The eardrum is required for hearing because it detects sound waves and transmits the vibrations to the brain, but it also functions as a shield to isolate the inner ear and keep infection free. Your inner ear is basically a safe, sterile environment when your eardrum is undamaged, but if it has been punctured or […]
To begin with an attempt at weak humor, the “speech banana” is not related to the old skit, “Speak up…I can’t hear you…I’ve got a banana in my ear.” The thing that the “speech banana” represents is a distinct pattern found in the results of an audiogram, which is a graphical representation of an individual’s […]
America has a strong history of gun usage, based to some extent on the movies and TV we grew up with, which showed us pictures of policemen and cowboys shooting guns pretty much all the time. These images appear to have created a lasting impression, because millions of people still enjoy firing guns, either at […]
If you have children that are over a certain age, they probably have one or more of the following devices – gaming systems, computers and music players – perhaps even all three of them. In the event you responded yes, chances are, sooner or later they are going to want headphones to work with these […]
Acute external otitis or otitis externa – commonly known as swimmer’s ear – is an infection that strikes the outer ear canal, the portion outside the eardrum. The popular name swimmer’s ear comes from the fact that the problem is frequently linked to swimming. When moisture remains in the outer ear it results in a […]
Do you have hearing loss? If so, do you sometimes find that it feels like work just to understand what the people around you are saying? This is a sensation that happens even to those wearing hearing aids, because for them to perform well you have to have them tuned and adjusted correctly, and then […]
As hearing specialists, one of the frustrations we experience in our practice is that the issues that have caused hearing problems in our patients can’t be reversed. One of the principal reasons for hearing loss, for example, is damage to the tiny hair cells in our inner ears that vibrate in reaction to sounds. Our […]
In the same way that there are many causes of hearing loss, there are many distinct forms of hearing loss; understanding the manner in which we hear is the beginning of understanding the different types. We pick up sounds through the outer ear, which isn’t only the part of the ear on the outside of […]
One of the indicators of high-frequency hearing loss is the inability to hear women’s and children’s voice clearly. The voices of most women and children fall into a higher frequency range – generally 165 to 255 Hertz – while male voices are typically lower frequency at 85 to 180 Hertz. In addition, women’s and children’s […]
Central Auditory Processing Disorder, or CAPD (also sometimes referred to as Auditory Processing Disorder, or APD), is a complicated hearing disorder based not in the ears' inability to hear sounds, but on the brain's inability to process and interpret them correctly. The person with Central Auditory Processing Disorder hears sounds correctly but something adversely affects […]
