Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By W.L. “Hunter” Huntley, III, HAS, BC-HIS
The month of August is noted for raising awareness of National Safety Month. However, most people do not associate this with hearing properly. Inadequate hearing can sometimes jeopardize an individual’s ability to hear in complex or dangerous situations, or even locate which direction sounds are coming from. Simply walking across the street can be perilous if a person cannot hear properly, or determine the direction and speed of oncoming traffic. Also, driving any type of motorized vehicle can be precarious and put the driver at risk if sounds are not perceived and located in a timely fashion. In addition, other people’s safety and lives need to be considered as well. Injury or causing a fatality due to lack of proper hearing would be devastating for all parties involved. Such tragedies could be avoided if the instigator of the unfortunate accident was able to hear properly, and reacted swiftly enough to prevent the mishap from ever occurring in the first place.
Hearing loss can occur in a multitude of ways, or even a variety of ways for the same individual. Heredity, noise exposure, infections, high fevers, blows to the head, surgical procedures, ototoxic medications, stroke, diabetes, heart problems, or even being over a certain age when hearing declines.
People still working will find they are more of a risk at certain jobs; possibly making their status on the job more uncertain.
In addition, Johns Hopkins Medical University concluded in recent studies: individuals with even mild hearing loss are twice as likely to contract dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Those with severe impairment were five times as likely to suffer from the aforementioned maladies. This is due to the auditory cortex of the brain (responsible for interpreting speech) losing function and atrophying due to lack of “proper” stimulation.
Having a simple hearing screening can determine whether or not your hearing is still within normal limits. The National Better Speech and Hearing Institute recommend an annual check up for everyone, especially for people over fifty-five years of age, or if you suspect your hearing may not be as good as it used to be. The only way to be sure is to have a hearing screening. Remember, early detection is the key to solving most problems. If you, or anyone you know may have a problem, call (239) 997-8288 for a Free hearing screening today!
W.L. “Hunter” Huntley, III, HAS, BC-HIS, Board Certified, attended Edinboro State College, Edinboro, PA, on a football scholarship and finished his education at the University of FL before entering training with Beltone Electronics in Chicago, IL. He was a Beltone hearing instrument dispenser from 1986 to 1992. Hunter is also a 2 time brain cancer survivor in 1993 & 1994. He has operated Leonardi Hearing Center, Inc., since 1994. Voted one of the best Hearing Healthcare Professionals in the Nation by the Hearing Review magazine for 2012 & 2013. He is also a Hearing Healthcare member in good standing with the International Hearing Society for 20 years.
239-997-8288
