Hearing Aids

A researcher at the University of Alberta found that gym conditions cause people to turn up their headphones to unsafe volume levels. Study participants were placed in in a gym-like setting with a lot of background noise, and they all listened at potentially dangerous levels, he reports.

It’s not just the volume level, though. The length of time spent listening at a high volume can raise the risk for hearing loss as well. Almost half the study participants listened for a length of time during the study to put them at risk for hearing loss. Proper earphones can help combat this, the researcher said, by sealing the ear and getting rid of background noise, so the earphone volume doesn’t have to get so high.

For more information on hearing loss and hearing aids, contact the hearing loss professionals of Hearing Planet at 800-432-7669.

New studies show that regular use of analgesics like aspirin, ibuprofen or acetaminophen increases hearing loss in men, especially those under the age of 60. Those are the three most commonly used drugs in the U.S., and researchers say this knowledge presents an important public issue.

Researchers looked at factors other than noise and age that might influence hearing loss. It did not seem to affect men older than 60, but the percentage of regular users younger than 60 who had concurrent hearing loss was 33-61 percent, based on which analgesic they took and how old they were.

For more information on hearing loss and hearing aids, contact the hearing loss professionals of Hearing Planet at 800-432-7669.

Researchers are discovering that adult animals with hearing loss are actually redirecting their sense of touch into the areas of the brain formerly dealing with hearing loss. This phenomenon, called cross-modal plasticity, refers to a damaged sensory system being replaced by one of the remaining ones.

This can make it more difficult over time for adults to deal with hearing loss, because their brains start focusing on the other stronger senses. This sometimes complicates treatment of hearing loss over time.

For more information on hearing loss and hearing aids, contact the hearing loss professionals of Hearing Planet at 800-432-7669.