November 2019

The Dreaded Q Word: Q-Tips

The Q Word In the hearing field, there is one word all practitioners and staff dread hearing. It’s not some big fancy medical term to describe someone’s hearing loss or anything to do with paperwork… it’s a common household item. By now you may have guessed it; yep the dreaded Q word is Q-tips!   Q-tips tend to be the most common thing (including other unmentionables, in case we give you ideas!) people put in their ears to clean out the wax or just get that itch that’s too far for your finger. It seems pretty normal, right?   But to hearing professionals, this makes us cringe a little bit.   Did your grandma or mom ever tell you “never stick anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.” There is some truth to this. The ear is a very delicate organ in the body and wax is an important part of that system.   Sure too much wax can be a little gross but stay with me on this one.   Wax is created by special cells in the outer ear. The wax keeps the ear canal healthy, the skin soft, and protects the middle ear from dirt and debris. Some people produce more wax than others.   Don’t we need to clean our ears? Yes and No. The very outer part of the ear, called the pinna, can be cleaned regularly with a washcloth or while you shower, but the ear canal is mostly self-cleaning. Enough water gets in...

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neurotherapy

Neurotherapy – Tinnitus Group Recap November 2019

Tinnitus Support Group Recap – November 2019 Back again! This month, our Tinnitus Support Group discussed Neurotherapy for Tinnitus. A very special thanks to Jennifer Sprague from MettaMorphosis Peterborough for introducing us to Neurotherapy and the work you do.   It is the hope that through this group, anyone with Tinnitus can join in to find support from others who have Tinnitus, learn about new therapies to try, test out some of them, and ultimately find hope in knowing they are not alone.   Let’s dive into this month’s topic!   This Month’s Group This month we had 2 individuals with Tinnitus and their spouses join us, as well as Jennifer, our guest speaker. These individuals have had Tinnitus for many years and tried out a variety of therapies to bring down the ringing. However, Neurotherapy is new to the group.   What is Neurotherapy? Neurotherapy, also called neurofeedback, biofeedback, or neuromodulation has to do with retraining electrical waves in the central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord). The goal is to have them work in a more natural, healthy, and rhythmic manner. If the activity in the brain is not optimally functioning, corresponding problems may reflect in our mental or physical health.   Jennifer described Neurotherapy as being like physiotherapy for the brain. After an injury, physical healing first needs to occur; once that happens the damaged area needs rehabilitation. This is done with electrical frequencies.   Another way to think about it is as a "mirror for the...

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TED Audiogram

Understanding my Audiogram

How to Understand Your Audiogram   You’ve made an appointment to have your hearing tested. The Audiologist or Hearing Instrument Practitioner puts you in this booth, you hear a whole bunch of beeping sounds and then… they hand you this piece of paper with some X’s and O’s (when did this become a game of tic-tac-toe!). Welcome to your audiogram, which is a fancy term for the graph we use to record your hearing levels. So what do all these lines and symbols mean?   Lines and Symbols At the top of the graph is the frequency (Hz) of sound or the pitch. As the frequencies go from left to right they go from low to high pitch. Vertically on the left side are decibels (dB), the intensity or the volume of the sound. As the decibel number gets bigger so does the volume and potential hearing loss. During your hearing test, we go through each pitch at different volumes to determine the softest sound you can hear. This is where the X’s and O’s come in! We mark the quietest sound you can hear for each frequency: X’s for the left ear and O’s for the right. This gives us a visual representation of where your hearing is. Another way to think about it - Every sound, including speech [the speech banana as it’s called], is made at a particular pitch and volume. A lawnmower is rather loud at 100dB and has a low-frequency sound. The human voice can range...

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