by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. February 12, 2017 For decades I’ve wished that doctors, dentists and other health care professionals would wear clear, surgical masks so that I could speechread them. I know many of you with similar severe hearing losses feel the same. In the past, I’ve read about clear masks that had […]
Blog
Obstructive Sleep Apnea, CPAP Devices and Hearing Loss
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. February 11, 2017 A man wrote, I have sleep apnea and I use a CPAP machine every night. When I searched the Internet using Google to find out whether there is any link between sleep apnea and sensorineural hearing loss, I found many articles suggesting a link. I would […]
Hidden Hearing Loss
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. February 8, 2017 Perhaps you have heard the relatively-new term “hidden hearing loss” (coined in 2009) and wondered, “What in the world is hidden hearing loss?” After all, aren’t all hearing losses hidden? Since you can’t see a hearing loss, of course it’s hidden. So why are researchers finally […]
Why Don’t My New Hearing Aids Let Me Understand Speech Perfectly?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. January 21, 2017 A man wrote, I am disappointed with my ability to understand speech with my new hearing aids. My hearing aid dispenser gave me the word recognition test. I scored only 50 – 60% which I don’t think is much of an improvement over my old aids. […]
Zinc-Air Batteries Need Time to Get Ready to Work
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. January 20, 2017 A nurse wrote, I am a nurse at a retirement home and was told by the daughter of one of my residents that her hearing aid batteries must be left out in the air for a few minutes after the tabs are removed before placing them […]
Hypoacusis and Other Words Ending in -acusis
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. January 12, 2017 Doctors, audiologists and other medical professionals use medical jargon that can snow under the average person. When it comes to our ears and our hearing, they may diagnosis us with terms like paracusis, or dysacusis or hypoacusis and we don’t have a clue what they have […]
Tapering Off Citalopram Safely Without Side Effects
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. November 6, 2016 A man explained, I was on Citalopram for 2 years and had no noticeable side effects—no tinnitus. I’ve never had tinnitus other than in my younger days for a few hours after going to a nightclub! Three months ago I thought I was ready to come off. Having […]
Constraint-Induced Sound Therapy for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. November 4, 2016 A man explained, My wife suffers from tinnitus after sudden partial hearing loss in one ear. In her reading, she came across “Constraint-Induced Sound Therapy” and its potential benefits. Do you recommend this technique? Constraint-Induced Sound Therapy (CIST) for single-sided Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL) is […]
Converting Decibels to Sound Intensities
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. October 29, 2016 A person asked, How do you calculate the difference in sound intensity in decibels between any two sound intensities. For example, how do you calculate the increase in sound intensity between 0 dB and 15 dB or between 52 and 94 dB? There is a mathematical […]
TENS Treatment and Cochlear Implants
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. October 24, 2016 A lady asked, I have lower back pain from degenerative disk disease. I’m wondering if I can use a TENS unit on my back now that I have a cochlear implant? If you are not familiar with TENS, TENS is not what comes after NINES and […]