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01/Mar/2020

Studies have shown that a healthy cardiovascular system—a person’s heart, arteries, and veins—has a positive effect on hearing. Conversely, inadequate blood flow and trauma to the blood vessels of the inner ear can contribute to hearing loss. The inner ear is so sensitive to blood flow that it is possible that abnormalities in the cardiovascular system could be noted here earlier than in other less sensitive parts of the body.” researchers found that audiogram pattern correlates strongly with cerebrovascular and peripheral arterial disease and may represent a screening test for those at risk. Researchers even concluded that patients with low-frequency hearing loss should be regarded as at risk for cardiovascular events, and appropriate referrals should be considered.Research shows that hearing loss is frequently associated with other physical, mental, and emotional health conditions, and that people who address their hearing loss often experience better quality of life. Eight out of 10 hearing aid users, in fact, say they’re satisfied with the changes that have occurred in their lives specifically due to their hearing aids—from how they feel about themselves to the positive changes they see in their relationships, social interactions, and work lives.
When people with even mild hearing loss use hearing aids, they often improve their job performance; enhance their communication skills; increase their earnings potential; improve their professional and interpersonal relationships; stave off depression; gain an enhanced sense of control over their lives; and better their quality of life.

Do you have  a family history or predisposition towards heart diseases. Please get your hearing checked… Call ‘My Audiologist’ on 07 3446 5845


01/Mar/2020

Diabetes being the fastest growing chronic disease in the world with more than 1.5 million diabetics in Australia and more than 2 million Australian adults with pre-diabetes – a condition where blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not enough for a diagnosis of diabetes.

A recent study found that hearing loss is twice as common in people with diabetes as it is in those who don’t have the disease. Right now we don’t know how diabetes is related to hearing loss. It’s possible that the high blood glucose levels associated with diabetes cause damage to the small blood vessels in the inner ear, similar to the way in which diabetes can damage the eyes and the kidneys. But more research needs to be done to discover why people with diabetes have a higher rate of hearing loss.Since it can happen slowly, the symptoms of hearing loss can often be hard to notice. In fact, family members and friends sometimes notice the hearing loss before the person experiencing it.

Signs of Hearing Loss

  • Frequently asking others to repeat themselves.
  • Trouble following conversations that involve more than two people.
  • Thinking that others are mumbling.
  • Problems hearing in noisy places such as busy restaurants.
  • Trouble hearing the voices of women and small children.
  • Turning up the TV or radio volume too loud for others who are nearby.

If you are a diabetic or pre diabetic , or you’re concerned about your hearing call for a hearing evaluation on 07 34465845


01/Mar/2020

There are many risk factors associated with dementia, but one of the most recently discovered correlations is a condition that few would consider as even related to the disease. Research has identified hearing loss as a potential indicator of the development of dementia. Compared with individuals with normal hearing, people with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia. The findings are found in a study published in 2011 made by Frank Lin, otolaryngologist and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the US. He and his team followed 639 patients for 18 years. None of the subjects had cognitive impairments at the beginning of the study, although some did have a certain degree of hearing loss. During the 18 years of follow up, 58 cases of dementia were diagnosed amongst the 639 patients. The researchers found that for older adults with hearing loss, brain tissue loss happens faster than it does for those with normal hearing. We “hear” with our brain, not with our ears. When we have a hearing loss, the connections in the brain that respond to sound become reorganised.

Fortunately, for many people, hearing aids can provide the sound stimulation needed for the brain to restore the normal organisation of connections to its “sound centre” so it can more readily react to the sounds that it had been missing and cognitively process them.

Researchers says un-addressed hearing loss not only affects the listener’s ability to “hear” the sound accurately, but it also affects higher-level cognitive function. Specifically, it interferes with the listener’s ability to accurately process the auditory information and make sense of it.

In one study, Wingfield and his co-investigators found that older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss performed poorer on cognitive tests than those of the same age who had good hearing. The sharpness of an individual’s hearing has cascading consequences for various aspects of cognitive function. Even if you have just a mild hearing loss that is not being treated, cognitive load increases significantly.One has to put in so much effort just to perceive and understand what is being said that you divert resources away from storing what you have heard into your memory. As people move through middle age and their later years, researchers suggest, it is reasonable for to get  hearing tested annually. If there is a hearing loss, it is best to take it seriously and treat it.

You want to know more about this call ‘My Audiologist’ on 07 3446 5845……


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