Let’s talk about offside sports betting (March Madness), compulsive lottery ticket purchases, sneaking into the casino for a quick spin and accidentally overspending, late nights playing online poker, blackjack or slots. Or racking up a parent’s credit card purchasing loot boxes in video games, being at bingo six nights a week. How about Fantasy Pools? Skins betting on the golf course as well as online? Raffles? 50/50 draws, and home lottery raffles? How about the slough of commercials featuring online gambling sites, even more so during sports events? Triggered? Let’s talk about gambling. #PGAM.
Community News
How Hearing Aids Are Able To Help Manage Tinnitus
Hearing aids are able to help make tinnitus more manageable in a couple of ways. To find out if it can help you, it helps to know what tinnitus is, the specific way that you experience tinnitus and the techniques used by hearing aids to provide relief from tinnitus. Read on to find out more about how hearing aids are able to help manage tinnitus.
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is usually described as a ringing sound experienced in the ears, though the actual sound differs for different people, ranging from buzzing or whistling to clicking sounds. The noise does not go away entirely, though it does become more noticeable after hearing loud sounds. If the symptoms continue for over three months, it is known as chronic tinnitus.
Tinnitus is not a medical condition itself. Instead, it is a symptom of another condition, though the specific causes of tinnitus are not well-known. The leading causes of tinnitus are related to age and extended exposure to loud sounds. Hearing loss from damaged hair cells in the cochlea, which is involved in hearing as part of the inner ear, is a common cause of tinnitus.
Since hearing loss reduces the amount of external sounds that can reach your brain, it changes the way that your brain processes sound frequencies. As a result, to compensate for the insufficient external sounds, the brain overcompensates and interprets sounds internally.
The sounds from tinnitus can be annoying and can make communication difficult. If you believe that you have tinnitus, it would be best to visit a hearing health professional to have an evaluation and discuss possible
treatments.
Can a hearing aid stop tinnitus?
Currently, tinnitus cannot be completely cured, but in many cases, hearing aids can make the symptoms of tinnitus less severe. Though hearing aids cannot stop tinnitus entirely, they can still help with daily functioning.
One way that hearing aids can help with tinnitus is that they can enhance external sounds so that the inner sounds from tinnitus are not as noticeable. As this would improve your ability to hear external sounds and distract you from the inner sounds, it makes communication possible.
Another way that hearing aids can provide tinnitus relief is tinnitus masking, which is the use of white noise to hide the sounds of tinnitus. As the tinnitus sound cannot be distinguished amongst the white noise, your brain is able to focus on external sounds.
An increasing number of hearing aids have tinnitus masking nowadays. Tinnitus masking is built in as a feature in some hearing aids or exists as a function that can be programmed in other hearing aids. A hearing care professional will be able to help program your hearing aid to best suit your individual needs.
How can I use hearing aids to effectively manage tinnitus?
To get the most benefit from using hearing aids for tinnitus relief, it’s best if you are able to wear the hearing aid as often as possible. If hearing aids are used often enough, it trains your brain to focus on the external sounds and treat tinnitus sounds as not important. This process is known as habituation.
By using your hearing aid often, it also helps you preserve your ability to perceive external sounds. Hearing external sounds provides stimulation to keep your auditory system active, which prevents atrophy in your auditory nerves. As a result, you will be better able to maintain your ability to process language.
Are hearing aids able to help everybody with tinnitus?
As tinnitus is a symptom resulting from a wide range of conditions, hearing aids are not able to provide relief in all cases. Hearing aids are most successful in tinnitus masking for those with hearing loss.
Even if you experience hearing loss, hearing aids are less effective for higher frequencies of tinnitus. If your tinnitus has more of a hissing or buzzing sound or has a pitch above 6 kHz, which can be determined by an audiologist, hearing aids are less likely to provide relief for your tinnitus.
Who is most likely to benefit from using a hearing aid for tinnitus?
Hearing aids are most helpful for younger individuals who experience tinnitus as a result of hearing loss. The use of hearing aids is also more effective for people who have not had tinnitus for a long time as their auditory system has not become accustomed to the reduced external stimulation.
Even if you do not fall into the groups of people who benefit the most from hearing aids for managing tinnitus, the use of hearing aids are still often worth a try. If you use the hearing aid consistently every day over a longer period of time, the relief from your tinnitus will be easier to detect.
To get the most impact from the use of hearing aids for tinnitus, visiting a hearing professional would help. Not only would they be able to determine the pitch or intensity of your tinnitus, but they could also help you select and program a hearing aid that best meets your needs.
For the expert services of an audiologist or hearing professional to determine if they can help you manage your tinnitus, the team at NexGen Hearing is here to support you.
Sources
https://www.healthline.com/health/hearing-aid-for-tinnitus
https://www.ata.org/managing-your-tinnitus/treatment-options/hearing-aids
https://canadianaudiologist.ca/tackling-tinnitus-the-time-is-now/
Make Your Home Safer
Things you can do to make your home safer and reduce the risk of falling:
Remove tripping hazards like clutter, small throw rugs • Keep items you use the most easily accessible • Improve lighting to ensure you can see your path when walking, especially at night • Install grab bars in the bathroom and ensure your home has handrails on all staircases • Wear non-slip shoes both inside and outside of the house • Get a Home Safety Assessment if you are at risk of falling; an Occupational Therapist can help to advise you on making your home safer.
Silence is Golden
As we are all involved in our daily lives, we fill our days with phone calls, watching TV, attending zoom meetings, and looking after loved ones. How often are you taking a break? Taking a moment, or even better, taking 10 minutes every day where you sit in silence, clearing your mind from the “chatter” can improve your overall feeling and boost your energy. It’s ok, all those things you feel the need to do will still be there when you “get back”. You may even decide that it all doesn’t need to happen right now. Permit yourself to find quiescence.
Foods for Brain Health
The best foods for supporting memory and brain function are those that encourage good blood flow to the brain. Research suggests the following foods may help keep your brain sharp and improve your cognitive function, memory and alertness. 1) Broccoli, cabbage, and dark leafy greens. Enjoy in salads, wraps and stir-fries. 2) Walnuts. Can be added to salads or oatmeal, or just eaten on their own. 3) Berries and cherries. Can be eaten fresh as a snack or added to oatmeal or baked goods. 4) Omega-3 fatty acids. Can be found in seafood, algae, and fatty fish.
March Brain Teasers
1. Name one meal you can never eat for breakfast? 2. What type of cheese is made backwards? 3. A mother has six children and five potatoes. How can she feed each an equal amount of potatoes? 4. What kind of apple is not an apple?
Rebalance, Reset & Relax
The human body is amazing. It can be rebalanced and reset on a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual level. A therapy session in The Harmonic Egg, a uniquely engineered bio resonance chamber, activates the body’s repair mechanism to promote profound relaxation. With the fusion of advanced technology and ancient wisdom, it uses the vibrational energies of sacred geometry, light, colour and sound. These frequencies vibrate to create a 360 degree amplified resonance experience that returns the body to homeostasis. Each energy therapy session is individually tailored and is precisely controlled, consistent, and repeatable. It is completely non-invasive and 100% safe.
Independence in the Home
Many seniors wish to stay in their own home as long as possible; daily living aid products can help. These products ease the strains of daily activities at home or play. Whether you live by yourself, your spouse or with family, you can minimize change and stressors using assistive products. They can help you improve your quality of life, maintain your sense of independence, and reduce illness and injuries. If you need help selecting products that could benefit you, give us a call, we can help you get the right products into your home.
How to Write a Condolence Note
Finding the words to write a note of comfort to friends and family who have lost a loved one can be difficult. It does not need to be a lengthy message. Generally, a few heartfelt sentences are enough. Simply express your sympathy and let the recipients know that your thoughts are with them during this difficult time. Acknowledge the loss and refer to the deceased by name. Sharing a fond memory of the deceased is a wonderful addition to the message. End the note with a kind word, a hope, a wish or expression of sympathy
Relocation Stress Syndrome
While remaining at home is possible for some seniors, many others may need to move to Independent Living with Services to get the best care possible. Since moving is a major life stressor, some seniors may experience relocation stress syndrome, with symptoms like confusion, loneliness, and anxiety. To help make the transition to assisted living as smooth as possible, it’s important to 1) avoid rushing the process; 2) focus on their well-being; 3) make their new home look familiar with personal belongings; 4) help them get involved in their new community; 5) ensure they have frequent visitors.
Increase Your Sense of Awareness
You may have heard cues “to sense the ground or shift your body weight through your feet.” Many people THINK they are doing what is asked but don’t know how much of this sense they have lost, no matter how strong or fit they feel. There is an exercise that helps people regain better neuromuscular connection on how the feet and hip work together, how to relax the back, and truly feel abs working for balance. Increasing your sense of awareness can instantly change how you breathe, stand, walk and exercise. Check out my blog for a link to a free video demonstration.
