Medical

In today’s world of early awareness and detection of medical conditions, screening tools have been valuable assets in speeding up intervention. There are screenings for cognitive function, skin cancer, blood pressure, BMI, contagious diseases, genetic conditions. One screening that has been mandated...

How it fits together. We pride ourselves on being a “full scope” practice. By that we mean we perform virtually all the functions an audiology/hearing aid dispensing practice could encompass. Fully diagnostic, we perform evaluations that include outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, ear wax, tinnitus...

Often patients tell us they think their ears are dirty. By “dirty” then mean having ear wax in the canal. We may clear the wax if it is excessive, but we always remind patients their ears are not actually dirty. It is easy to understand why one would confuse a natural bodily secretion with uncleanli...

Often a celebrity will unintentionally bring a medical condition to the public eye. Singer Cher introduced many fans to Epstein-Barr Syndrome. Serena Williams has Sjogren’s Syndrome. Selena Gomez had people talking about Lupus and auto-immune disease, and Magic Johnson made HIV more real to millions...

People can suddenly lose hearing. This is more likely to occur in only one ear. It may be both ears, however, and there may be additional symptoms. There are many possible causes. Healthcare providers need to be able to find the most likely cause and begin treatment fast. Symptoms that may go...

Hearing is a highly complex task that can take vibrations in the air and turn them into an idea. Great speeches, alarm sounds, dog barks or beautiful music begin as mere vibrations reaching the ears. Hearing begins with detection (“a sound is present”). Next comes discrimination (“that is a word”...

A recent “hot topic” in hearing research is the link between hearing ability and cognition. “Cognition” refers to the brain’s ability to gather information, store it, make sense of it and solve problems. The National Institute of Aging sponsored research that found adults with hearing loss were more...

Recently a patient told us a story that was intended as humor but carried a sad undertone. He has been dealing with hearing loss since leaving the military. Over the years his hearing has decreased slowly. His wife and family have been with him over 40 years. The patient said, “You know, hearing los...

A recent hot topic in our field is ear wax. What is this mysterious substance? Is it normal? How do we manage it? Our ear canals provide a path for sound to reach our eardrums. This is how we receive sounds. Anything that could block this pathway can make it harder to hear. It can also cause our...

We often associate the word “plastic” with cheap material used to make children’s toys and car parts. It was once the wave of the future. Petroleum produced an inexpensive textile substitute. It became synonymous with 1970s furniture and inexpensive mass-produced products. But can the term have a po...