The decision whether or not to treat your hearing loss with hearing aids can be a tough choice.

After all, wearing hearing aids is a public admission that you do have an impairment – something that many people have a difficult time admitting to themselves, let alone the rest of the world. Although modern hearing aids can be very discreet, some are still hesitant about making the plunge.

Here are a few benefits to consider:

While our ears are one of the most magnificent organs in our bodies as they collect sounds and deliver the information to the brain, it’s really our brains that interpret what all the sounds mean.  A sound is easy to process because the brain just needs to identify what the sound is coming from.  The brain simply recognizes what is familiar, such as traffic noise or a kettle whistling, and can determine how far away the sound source is.  For example, your brain knows what a dog’s bark sounds like and will also know if it is your own dog barking inside the house or the neighbor’s dog barking next door in the backyard. 

Hearing people speaking and understanding what they are saying, provided you speak the same language of course, requires the brain to process all the different combinations of vowels and consonants, rapidly changing in normal conversational speech.  Again, the ears are responsible for delivering all the information, but it is the brain that truly makes sense of it all.  Hence, we hear with our brains.

Useful tips for those of you who have hearing aids that are paired with your smartphone:

1. To pair hearing aids to an android phone, ensure your Bluetooth is on.  Pull down the settings screen and pair the hearing aids directly through the Bluetooth.  The downloaded app (which correlates to the hearing aid manufacturer) should then find your hearing aids.
2. To pair hearing aids to an iPhone, ensure your Bluetooth is on.  Open settings, touch General, Accessibility, and scroll down to MFi Hearing Devices.  The phone will start looking for the hearing aids. 

Medicine designed to help one aspect of your health can actually damage your hearing.

Drugs that harm the inner ear can cause hearing loss, tinnitus and balance problems are known as ototoxic. More than 200 medications – both prescription and over-the-counter – are known to be linked to ototoxicity, especially when taken in large doses.

If you’re like most people who notice their hearing is diminished, you probably haven’t taken immediate action to address the problem.

Surveys show that most people wait more than five years to investigate their hearing loss. The good news is that scheduling a hearing exam with an audiologist at Audio Help Hearing Centers can help you more fully enjoy life and minimize future hearing issues. May is Better Hearing Month, a great time to address your hearing loss.

Your hearing aid’s battery life is not an exact science – how long it lasts depends upon a number of factors. The type of battery, the number of hours per day the wearer uses the hearing aid and how it’s used while in operation all affect the battery’s life.

A typical hearing aid battery will last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on these factors. You will know it’s time to replace them if sounds become distorted or you have to turn up the volume significantly to hear sounds. Your hearing aid may also make a beeping noise when it’s low on power.

Hearing loss is common, but it doesn’t feel that way for someone coming to terms with the condition.

They may struggle to deal with a variety of emotions upon being diagnosed, including sadness, anger, anxiety and confusion.  There are many ways you can show a friend or family member that you are there for them during this tough time.

Get your hearing checked:  Go along to the audiologist with them and get your hearing tested as well. Not only is this a great way to show support, it may help detect gradual hearing loss that you have yet to notice.

If you’ve recently upgraded your hearing aids, what did you do with the old pair? If you still have them, the staff at Audio Help has a suggestion: donate them!

By donating used hearing aids, you are providing the gift of hearing to people throughout the world. Donated hearing aids are inspected to ensure they are fully functional before being cleaned and refurbished. They are then distributed to people in need around the world.

Devices that don’t work aren’t just thrown away. They’re either recycled or utilized for parts.

Most people living with tinnitus know that the ringing sound in their ears isn’t at a constant level throughout the day.

Tinnitus is the perception of ringing in the ears when no external sound is present. Experienced by 24 million Americans, tinnitus may be present in one or both ears and consist of ringing, buzzing, hissing or clicking sounds.

It is a symptom of an underlying condition, implying an auditory problem involving the ear, auditory nerve or parts of the brain that process sound. Tinnitus can be loud enough to interfere with the person’s ability to hear actual sound.

It can flow in peaks and valleys, increasing and decreasing in volume and sound at seemingly random times. The truth is these ups and downs may not be so random. Environment, diet and lifestyle choices can play a significant role in our tinnitus.

Because there are so many factors that can affect the volume, it can be difficult to pin down your triggers. Keeping a journal of when your tinnitus flares up can help you determine how to minimize it. It will also make it easier for you and your doctor to pinpoint the causes.

The health of your ears is closely tied to that of your heart, as unlikely as that may seem.

It’s true. Tiny hair cells in the inner ear are particularly sensitive to proper blood flow. Inadequate circulation to the cochlea can diminish the quality of sound conducted to the brain.

Thus, any hearing loss could be a sign of cardiovascular problems caused by the heart not pumping enough blood throughout the body. Because of this connection, it’s important to take preventative measures to help improve both.