by Reconnect Audiology Network | Nov 14, 2022 | Hearing Health, Tips
Communicating with a hearing impaired person can prove to be very challenging for both the speaker and the listener. Often when a person is wearing hearing aids, we may assume they are able to hear and communicate normally when this is not always the case.
When speaking to a person wearing hearing aids it is important that we are mindful of using strategies to make communication easier. Tips such as getting the listener’s attention before you start speaking, maintaining eye contact, keeping your hands away from your face, speaking normally and rephrasing rather than repeating sentences are a few of the strategies recommended.
For the listener, moving away from a noise source, being up front about your hearing loss and how a person may help you, making sure you can see the person’s face, understanding your limitations, being prepared for a conversation by, for example, obtaining meeting agendas and staying up to date on current events, and staying focussed can assist in making an engagement far less stressful.
Remember if you or a loved one are experiencing difficulties with your hearing, make an appointment with an audiologist.
by Reconnect Audiology Network | Oct 31, 2022 | Hearing Health, Tips
A basic hearing test only establishes the amount of sound you can hear at different pitches, through the typical hearing pathway. Full diagnostic (advanced) and specialised tests assist to identify which specific area of your pathway, from your ear to your brain, may be responsible for hearing loss or other auditory symptoms. These are highly valuable as they differentiate between medically treatable problems and those that are amenable to rehabilitation. They may also contribute significantly to the strategies that you and your audiologists may decide to employ, to maximize your remaining hearing, or assist you with any abnormal auditory sensations.
by Reconnect Audiology Network | Oct 20, 2022 | Hearing Health, Tips
Why are dizziness and balance disorders related to changes in independence and our ability to think quickly?
Your balance-system (which includes your vestibular organs inside your ears and other components) is responsible for your orientation in the world. Your balance system keeps you upright and prevents you from falling. Essentially, it gives you motor confidence.
Deterioration in your balance system can happen slowly or from a specific incident. People who have poor balance or experience dizziness, become insecure about moving around without the help of someone else. They experience a significant drop in independence and a generally poorer quality of life.
People with balance problems find it difficult to do more “multitask’, especially when they are required to be moving. For example, most people are comfortable walking and talking at the same time, however, somebody with a balance/dizziness problem must concentrate too much on walking to manage a conversation. While talking they stop or slow down, to reduce the risk of falling.
Feeling dizzy can make you feel very tired. Fatigue means that you are less likely to engage with your world. You become isolated, and this can often lead to depression.
The good news is: Early intervention with a balance/dizzy problem can help patients regain better function. Audiologists can identify the cause, which can lead to medical treatment or balance rehabilitation.
Therefore, if you are experiencing problems with your balance or feel dizzy even from time to time, it is worth reaching out to an Audiologist for an assessment. It is vitally important get help because when your risk of a fall increases, people become vulnerable to injury.
Reach out today!
by Reconnect Audiology Network | Oct 14, 2022 | Hearing Health
Why would poorer hearing have an impact on our ability to retain information?
The ears are conduits for sound, ensuring that adequate information reaches other areas of the auditory system, to be processed.
An incomplete message received by the ear means that the brain must do more to fill in missing pieces of the message, for meaning. However, there is a cost to the process of ‘playing hearing hangman’ and filling information in – we slow down!
To process information when some of the components are missing, we must use a lot more energy and effort, concentrating. We use the familiarity of the speaker and the topic. We wait for the sentence to end before we can fill in fundamental units of information so that a message becomes whole. Sometimes we may even miss the next thing that is said because we are still working out what was said beforehand!
Audiologist call this “listening effort”. Sometimes a person with hearing loss can still obtain a perfect score when they repeat words that they have heard, but it takes them a lot longer to perform this task. Most people speak at approximately 120 word per minutes, or 2 per second. When listening effort increases and processing slows down, it becomes even less possible to absorb every word that we hear.
Ultimately, when we use more energy on deciphering a message, we have fewer cognitive processes available to store information for later use. Therefore, hearing loss that remains untreated and provides poorer information to the brain, increases listening effort, and subsequently causes poorer memory and attention.
If you find yourself feeling tired during communication, and putting in too much effort to take part, reach out to an Audiologist who can help you reduce listener fatigue and bolster your cognitive processing.
by Reconnect Audiology Network | Oct 10, 2022 | Hearing Health, Tips
Hearing loss can begin to isolate us from relationships with others. Because hearing loss makes interactions with others more difficult, we tend to withdraw or feel irritable or frustrated when we are interacting with other people, even becoming upset or angry when others unintentionally or intentionally do not facilitate good communication with us.
Withdrawal from interaction leads to spending more time isolated and alone, and can lead to depression, reduction of independence, and fewer opportunities to enjoy special moments with people who make our lives feel full and happy.
Research demonstrates that people who have untreated hearing loss, experience significant poorer emotional lives, filled with more negative emotions about themselves and others.
Human relationships are extremely important to us. We are fundamentally social creatures and therefore the ability to choose to communicate more easily is a gift we give ourselves to that we can be in the moment with people we care about, living the best life that we can, even with hearing loss.
If you find yourself experiencing larger amounts of isolation, depression, or loneliness, reach out to an Audiologist who can help you regain and reconnect you with your family and friends, as well ensuring that you life your best life every day.
