New York recently joined other states in eliminating the term “hearing impaired” from its law books, deeming it offensive.

In doing so, The Empire State became the third state to remove the term from its books, following Utah and New Hampshire. At least 25 references to individuals with hearing loss were changed from “hearing impaired” to “deaf” or “hard of hearing.”

Although it may be an unexpected connection, research shows that having a healthy cardiovascular system is good for your auditory system as well.

February is American Heart Month, making it an ideal time to learn more about heart disease and how preventing it can improve your hearing health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, with 630,000 Americans dying from it each year.

Audio Help Hearing Centers – with locations in New York City, Scarsdale, and Stamford, Connecticut – want to remind you about the surprising link between hearing loss and heart health.

You may have noticed that things are often hard to remember, even if you just heard them a few minutes before.

Research shows that individuals with hearing loss may have worse memories than their peers with normal hearing.  A study published in the Acoustical Society of America found that word retention was worse in challenging hearing conditions – either because of a hearing impairment or environmental noise conditions.

Essentially, the study found that auditory challenges require so much processing in our brains to hear and comprehend the words that there isn’t much brainpower left for remembering the words.

Knowing this, Audio Help offers the following tips for putting yourself in the best position to remember what you hear:

Now that the calendar has turned to 2019, many of us have made resolutions to improve our health.

Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City reminds you the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to resolve to include hearing health in your overall goals.

Did you know hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition – behind heart disease and diabetes? You’re not alone in your struggle to hear effectively, but the good news is that you don’t have to struggle.

Winter and hearing aids have a complicated relationship.

The constant switching of climates – frigid outdoors with the warm indoors – can wreak havoc on your hearing aids. The temperature shifts can cause condensation to build up in the devices’ inner workings, leading to malfunction.

Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City, Scarsdale and Stamford offers the following suggestions for protecting your hearing aids this winter:

Charitable giving efforts are often brought to the forefront during the holiday season, but Audio Help Hearing Centers make giving back a year-long mission.

Here is a look at just several of the ways Audio Help audiologists and staff have helped the local and global communities.

Amal Art Show

On Giving Tuesday – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – Dr. Eduardo Bravo and Audio Help sponsored the Hearing the Call art initiative, which helps Syrian refugee children living with hearing loss express themselves through art. A traveling art show – Amal: When Hope Endures – was hosted at TUF Gallery in New York shared stories of survival and hope, and how art is being used to support audiology treatments and overcome traumatic experiences from growing up in war-torn countries. Remaining pieces from the Amal show will be available for purchase through December at Audio Help locations.

Previously, Dr. Bravo spent a week in Guatemala on a Hearing the Call humanitarian trip, bringing the gift of hearing to more than 300 people – many of whom were children.

“The hearing smile is something very special,” Dr. Bravo said. “To see a child’s face light up when they can hear for the very first time, you can’t even put that into words what it means to the parents and to us.”

Selecting a gift for a loved one with hearing loss this holiday season can be a bit intimidating.

The perfect gift may just be one that not only shows you care, but that you want to improve their life by making their listening experiences more enjoyable.

Audio Help in New York City offers the following gift ideas that may accomplish both for your loved one:

Now that you’ve got hearing aids and can hear everything, there’s just one problem: You can hear everything.

The presence of background noise is a big adjustment for most new hearing aid users. They’re simply not used to having to hear it. Even with modern devices’ abilities to reduce background noise, it can still be challenging to hear the intended speaker when there is other noise in the listening environment.

Even if you can hear the speaker, it can be difficult to focus on them with traffic sounds, wind blowing through the trees or other people talking. Fortunately, there are a number of technological advancements and hearing techniques you can use to hopefully yield more productive listening experiences, including:

"Drawing is a way I can express myself and feel safe when I feel lonely or sad," said Suaad, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee now living in Jordan. Her work is part of a traveling exhibit of art done by Syrian refugee children living in camps in Jordan. Suaad was orphaned when a bomb killed her entire family. 

Suaad also had hearing loss which not only makes it hard for them to learn to realize their potential, kids tend to become withdrawn. They end up being cut out of their friends, family and community. When Suaad first came to the Hearing the Call humanitarian clinic, sponsored by Dr. Ed Bravo and Audio Help Hearing Centers, Suaad was quiet and reserved. Art helped her reconnect with her world. 

On Tuesday, November 27^th, Dr. Bravo from Audio Help Hearing Centers will share the stories of these brave children. Many of these works of art were done on the back of old United Nations tent canvases.

Hear how local people are helping to support these kids as well as hearing stories of survival and hope. Learn how art is being used to support audiology treatments to overcome the results of trauma.

One of the hidden workplace hazards in many jobs is the damage that can be done to your hearing.

Most people think of physical injuries requiring immediate medical treatment when they think of workplace injuries. However, statistics show that hearing damage is actually the most common type of employment injury – with hearing loss potentially taking years to make itself known.

With October being National Audiology Awareness Month, Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City, Scarsdale and Stamford offers the following information about job-related hearing loss and how you can protect your hearing and minimize further damage to your ears.