The Hearing Knowledge Hub
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Migraines and link with hearing loss
Migraine and hearing loss – a strong link Migraine can be linked to hearing loss, Migraine is a debilitating disease that affects some 1 billion people worldwide. Chances are, you either suffer from migraines or know someone who does. These incapacitating headaches affect people of all genders and ages, and involve a host of disabling symptoms, including visual disturbances, nausea, and extreme sensitivity to stimuli. It’s thought that 4 million people worldwide have chronic daily migraines. Today marks the start of this year’s Migraine Awareness Week, which makes it a good time to highlight the link between migraine and hearing loss. Many studies have found a link In an…
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Are wireless hearing aids safe?
Most modern hearing aids have wireless Bluetooth capabilities for connecting to smartphones. Wireless hearing aids have revolutionised hearing technology, enabling users to connect to their smartphones, TVs, sound systems and other media devices. And as time goes on, this list will only grow. However, some people are worried about a possible link between wireless hearing aids and radio frequency electromagnetic radiation. Should they be? There are different forms of electromagnetic radiation, and some are a risk to health, such as ionising radiation. However, hearing aids produce extremely low levels of non-ionising radiation – so low that they’re well below government limits. In fact, to absorb the same amount of energy…
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The sounds of Stonehenge.
REDISCOVERING THE SOUNDS OF STONEHENGE Following on from our July blog about hearing in the past, we were interested to learn about research by the University of Salford’s Acoustic Research Centre that has looked at the prehistoric acoustics of Stonehenge. In a first for archaeology, the Salford team built a 1:12 scale model in a special sound chamber to understand more about the role sound may have been experienced, and the possible role it could have played, in rituals at the monument. Might it have dictated the design of the henge? Acoustic scale models have been used for decades to investigate historic buildings and design concert halls but have never…
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Oto – a great new tinnitus app
• Science-based Oto is a science-based therapy programme that’s available on Android and iOS devices that claims to keep tinnitus treatment simple. It offers an extensive sound therapy library plus ‘notch therapy’, the ability to tailor sounds to the pitch of your tinnitus, providing even more effective masking. • Range of cognitive behavioural therapy Oto provides a range of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) exercises to train your brain to respond differently to the sound it perceives. This means that, over time, you’ll hear your tinnitus less and less, with the goal of habituation – the point at which you no longer notice it at all. • Sleep relaxation and sleep…
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Hearing loss found in ancient bones
Today, 17th July, marks the beginning of the Council for British Archaeology’s Festival of Archaeology – a two-week long celebration of the fascinating layers of history that lie under our feet. What’s that got to do with hearing, you say? Well, it got us thinking about what life was like for people with a hearing impairment and deafness in previous centuries. What evidence does archaeology give us for lives lived with these challenges in the past? Ancient evidence of hearing loss Human remains dating back thousands of years and found by archaeologists in the famous Shanidar Cave in Iraq show evidence of possible conductive hearing loss. Several of the skeletons dating…
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Hearing is key to a child’s cognition
Babies start to learn even earlier than we thought possible – at around 24 weeks of pregnancy. They recognise their mother’s voice from this point. Over a million new connections are formed every second in a baby’s brain during the first couple of years of a baby’s life. But for synapses to connect neurons and for learning to happen, babies need to be stimulated. Talking, singing, tickling – every interaction helps to build their brain. But it’s a one-time-only opportunity. If the synapses aren’t built, they disappear. Built to learn But what an opportunity it is. A baby is capable of learning any language. If a child hears two languages…
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Is global warming making fish deaf?
Global warming could be causing fish deafness New research is suggesting that ocean acidification is causing some fish to lose their hearing. Scientists from universities in New Zealand and Australia have discovered that elevated levels of carbon dioxide in our oceans is changing the inner ears of fish, leading to hearing loss. Sound plays a key role in the way thousands of species communicate, find mates, and locate suitable, safe places to live. When researchers measured what happened to the hearing of the Australasian snapper, a reef fish, when larvae develop in a more acidic ocean they found juvenile snapper were up to 10 times less sensitive to sound.…
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Apps to help with Tinnitus
Tinnitus? There’s an app for that If the stress of the past year has caused you to develop tinnitus, or worsened an existing problem, the team at The Hearing Clinic can help with our proven tinnitus management support. However, there are now a number of smartphone apps to help you manage the condition day-to-day. From sound masking, to teaching you more about tinnitus and even providing breathing techniques, there really is ‘an app for that’. myNoise Available for Android and iOS devices, myNoise offers a huge library of soundscapes to mask the tinnitus. You can tailor each sound to your own preferences too. NatureSpace Superb natural soundscapes, including six…
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Testing hearing on the International Space Station
KUDUwave audiometer. Hearing tests take off in space A new, South African made, portable audiometer, will soon be testing the hearing of crew members onboard the International Space Station. The International Space Station, or ISS, is a noisy place, and even the experience of getting to and from it can be a risk to hearing. In fact, NASA’s audiology studies detect that astronauts’ hearing is at risk due to the challenges of their job. Some time ago NASA started exploring ways to better monitor astronaut health in long space missions, but existing audiometry machines were simply too elaborate and heavy to get into, and operate in, space. Cue the KUDUwave,…
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Shunts and visiting an audiology clinic.
Do you have a PVP shunt? If you have no idea what we’re talking about, then, chances are, you don’t. However, if you have hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain caused by excess cerebrospinal fluid, and you have had a PVP fitted, you must tell us before you have a hearing assessment. The pressure caused by the excess fluid is usually resolved with a surgically implanted device that drains the fluid away. These devices are known as shunts, and some are programmable – known as PVP shunts. PVP shunts have a magnetically adjustable valve placed under the skin, often on or near the mastoid bone, so that…