One of the oft-ignored downfalls of live music is the danger it presents to our hearing.

Unless you’re at an unamplified performance – and even acoustic patio performers often use amplification – chances are live music is subjecting your ears to unsafe noise levels. It seems even relatively quiet, folk-leaning bands like to turn it up to 11 in concert, potentially putting the audience’s hearing at risk.

Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut remind you that noise levels above 85 decibels (dB) – roughly the sound of heavy city traffic at street level – can cause hearing loss. Many live concerts easily exceed that, weighing in at 100 decibels or more depending on the venue and your proximity to the speakers.

When we think of careers hazardous to hearing, we usually think of loud machinery, such as manufacturing, construction, industrial jobs.

What about those working with children?

Recent studies have shown that teachers have a significantly higher risk of hearing loss than other professionals. Why? It seems the daily exposure to common school sounds such as loud gymnasiums, chatter-filled classrooms, cafeterias and hallways, bells ringing and slamming lockers takes its toll on hearing in a number of ways.

If you experience tinnitus, you know the ringing has a way of affecting life as you know it.

The ringing in your ears may be there all the time, only in the quiet moments, or come and go at seemingly random times. Depending on its severity, it can make be difficult to ignore.

There are a number of risk factors for hearing loss that may surprise you.

Factors such as old age, exposure to excessive noise or brain injury may be more obvious reasons for hearing impairment. Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut offers the following information on why other less obvious risks should also be considered.

Dealing with hearing loss isn’t easy, particularly when you are just coming to terms with the impairment.

Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut hosts monthly aural rehabilitation classes to provide an open, supportive environment with other individuals in similar situations. The offerings are ideal for patients who have purchased new hearing aids and may be struggling to communicate effectively.

The classes aim to improve quality of life through addressing hearing loss and its impact on personal relationships, employment, hobbies and more. Part of the classes’ focus is looking at how the brain is impacted by hearing loss and how it can be “retrained.”

Did you know hearing aids aren’t just for your ears?

It’s true – today’s devices can benefit many other parts of the body and life in general. Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut take a look at some of the surprising ways hearing aids can help improve your quality of life in addition to the quality of your hearing ability.

Everyone knows diet plays a large part in our overall health, but how many of us consider the impact eating has on our hearing?

It turns out that what we put into our bodies plays a significant role in how well we hear. Research indicates that a diet high in fruits and vegetables can actually slash the risk of hearing loss by 30%.

Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City, Scarsdale and Stamford reminds you that diet can indeed help impact hearing health.

The increasingly popular Mediterranean diet – a plant-based diet that includes nuts and whole grains – can help fight hearing loss. This diet recommends using olive and canola oil instead of butter, herbs and spices instead of salt, fish and poultry in place of red meat. Limit processed foods and sugary drinks, although a glass of wine is permitted at dinner.

Better hearing doesn’t just come to you. You have to go after it.  

With May’s designation as Better Hearing and Speech Month, it’s an ideal time to take the initiative and make your hearing health a priority. The month’s theme is “Communication Across the Lifespan.”

Audio Help Hearing Centers in New York City and Connecticut reminds you that you can begin experiencing better communication across your lifespan by getting annual hearing exams starting at the age of 55. If hearing loss is detected by one of our audiologists, we can determine the best hearing aids for you and help you adjust to life with better hearing.

Dining out at a favorite restaurant with family, friends and business associates should be an enjoyable experience, but hearing loss can make it more frustrating than pleasurable.

Background noises are in full effect at most dining establishments. The chatter of other diners, music on the sound system, the clanging of silverware on plates, and sounds from the kitchen can all make it more difficult to focus on the desired conversation at your table.

The dining trend toward minimalist, industrial spaces has not been kind to those with hearing loss. Bare floors, high ceilings, and sparse use of fabric such as curtains or tablecloths mean all those sounds are just bouncing around the room. Speech can become almost impossible to hear unless the person is speaking directly into your ear.

Research shows that cancer survivors receiving chemotherapy are more likely to experience auditory issues such as hearing loss and tinnitus.

In a study of more than 600 survivors published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, nearly 70% of those receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy experienced chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIN). CIN may include nerve and musculoskeletal pain. From this group, 48% experienced hearing loss and/or tinnitus, while 42% without CIN experienced some form of auditory issues.