Neil Bauman, Ph.D. January, 2018 (revised October, 2024) People often ask me which are the least ototoxic beta blockers (or other classes of anti-hypertensive drugs) to take for high blood pressure (hypertension). For example one man asked: I have some questions about the ototoxicity of medications for high blood pressure. My primary care physician and […]
Cytomegalovirus and Hearing Loss
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. © November, 2017 Introduction to Cytomegalovirus Perhaps you have never heard of cytomegalovirus (CMV), but the chances are, this virus has already infected your body. By age 40, between 50% and 80% of adults in the United States have already been infected by the cytomegalovirus. (1) This incidence increases […]
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Drugs (SSRIs) and Tinnitus
Neil Bauman, Ph.D. © October, 2017 Drugs are a fickle lot. You take a drug to fix one problem, only to find it causes another—and often worse—problem. For example, some antidepressant drugs alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety by increasing the level of serotonin in your brain. Unfortunately, at the same time, this […]
The Early History of Zenith Hearing Aids
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. © June, 2017 “As a young salesman, Eugene F. McDonald Jr. hurt his head in an auto accident and became deaf in one ear. When he became the hard-driving boss of Chicago’s Zenith Radio Corporation, one of the biggest US radio-makers of the day, McDonald was shocked at the […]
Are the Magnetic Fields in Hearing Loops a Health Hazard?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. February 28, 2017 An audiologist wrote, I am an Italian audiologist. Whenever I can, I encourage the use of hearing loops. Recently, the registry office of an important Italian city was interested in installing a counter hearing loop. They wanted me to guarantee that the employees working at the […]
Should I Wear a Hearing Aid in My Ear That Has Poor Discrimination?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. February 18, 2017 A young lady wrote, I have a 30 dB hearing loss in my left ear although I still have 100% word recognition. However, my right ear has an 80 dB hearing loss, but only 8% word recognition. My doctor told me that due to this, my […]