by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote: I am writing to you as I am trying to find out the reason for my hearing loss. I am 28 (female) with a mild—moderate—severe hearing loss (at low—middle—high frequencies). My hearing loss was first noticeable at age 20. I had my first audiogram at age 26, so […]
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Where Do the Dead Hair Cells Go?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man asked: When the microscopic hair cells are damaged and break off in the cochlea, what happens to them? Are they harmlessly absorbed, or do they float around and impair the action of the remaining hair cells? Great question. Most people have the misconception that the tiny hairs “break off” […]
Hands-free Cell Phone Solutions for Hard of Hearing People
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A man wrote: I wear hearing aids. Are there any cell phone attachments so that I can wear my hearing aids and use my cell phone in hands-free mode while I am driving? If your hearing aids have good t-coils in them, then there are two good possibilities for hands-free cell […]
“Kiss of Deaf” or “Reiter’s Ear Kiss Syndrome” (REKS)
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. Kissing causes hearing loss? You’ve got to be kidding! Actually, it’s true. Not all kissing, mind you, but kissing someone on their ear can be dangerous to their hearing health. Here’s the incident that brought this fact to light. A mother and her 4-year-old daughter were sitting on the floor watching […]
LVAS and Genes—Have They Found Them All?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. More and more children are being found to have a hearing loss due to what is called Large (or Enlarged) Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome (abbreviated to either LVAS or EVAS). LVAS is passed on from generation to generation by recessive genes. That much researchers know. How many genes are involved […]
Hearing Your Own Voice on Cell Phones
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A human services specialist contacted me and explained: I was recently contacted by a woman interested in a neckloop for her cell phone (via t-coil setting). She finally tried one out, and didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t hear herself speaking. She has a hearing aid in one ear, and […]
Causes of Tinnitus
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady asked: What causes ringing in both ears? There are a good number of causes of ringing in the ears—what we call tinnitus. Here are some of them. Exposing your ears to loud sounds Taking any of the 450 drugs that can cause tinnitus Hearing loss, especially sudden hearing loss […]
Use the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet—It’s an Effective Coping Strategy
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. I have just written a new article called “The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet—A Boon to Hard of Hearing People (If You Know and Use It)”. This article begins, “Among most hard of hearing people, the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (also called the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, but sometimes erroneously referred to as […]
Charles Bonnet Syndrome
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote: Strange things are happening now with my eyesight. I used to get a head-size black spot in front of one eye. Recently I got a large white one. On Sunday, when I took a bath, it had changed suddenly to a real face. I opened and closed my […]
Why Aren’t Doctors Warning About the Ototoxic Side Effects of Drugs?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D. A lady wrote: Someone just gave me a copy of your book, Ototoxic Drugs Exposed, and now I know why I lost my high frequency hearing while I was in my 40s. When you are very verbal and love music and talking, this is a pretty traumatic thing. Starting in my […]