#HearingFactFriday Tag

ear anatomy

10 Facts You May Not Know About Your Ears

10 Facts About Your Ears The human ear is amazing! The more I learn about it, the more I’m blown away at how such a small organ can do so much and be so intricate. Here are 10 cool facts that you may not know about your ears and hearing. The smallest bones in the body are in the ear! They are the ossicles in the middle ear; the incus, the malleus, and the stapes (also called the anvil, hammer, and stirrup because that’s kind of what they look like). The inner ear is the circumference of a pencil eraser! Your sense of hearing depends on tiny hairs deep inside your ear. If you lose these hairs, you lose your hearing. The slightest movement of these hairs is how we hear a variety of sounds and frequencies.  You do not need to clean wax out of your ears unless you have an abnormal condition. Ears are self-cleaning, they push the wax out on their own. On occasion, they may need a bit of help from a professional.  Most individuals experiencing hearing loss are under the age of 65… that’s right UNDER 65, hearing is not just about ‘aging’  The number one cause of hearing loss is exposure to excessively loud sounds (85 decibels or higher). Those orange foam earplugs are a great way to protect your hearing in noisy environments. Your hearing can be damaged permanently even after a single exposure to extremely loud noise (shotgun blast, explosion, etc.). Your ears...

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Animals with Amazing Hearing

Animals with Amazing Hearing The human ear can hear a lot, anywhere between 20Hz and 20,000kHz. We have some of the best sense of vision in the animal kingdom, but when it comes to hearing, there are a few animals that have us beat. Animals have a larger capacity for higher frequencies than humans. Here are just a few animals that have amazing hearing. Moths Believe it or not, moths have the best hearing in the animal kingdom! Moths can hear 150 times more than we can. They use their ultra-sensitive high-frequency hearing to evade predators, like bats. So they would need better hearing than those predators. Bats The old saying ‘deaf as a bat’ is a bit of an oxymoron. Bats actually have very sensitive hearing. Because they are almost blind, they rely very heavily on their hearing. Using echolocation, they squeak at very high frequencies. The sound bounces off any nearby objects back to the bat, allowing them to ‘see’ where it is. Dogs If you’ve ever failed to hear a dog whistle, you’re not alone. Dogs hear frequencies far beyond the human range and can respond to them quite well. Not only is their hearing very sensitive, but also very good a differentiating between sounds… even the difference between their owners' footsteps and a stranger's. Cats However surprising this may be, cats have hearing similar to dogs, with a range reaching up to 64,000kHz. They are able to swivel their ears even further than dogs, making them more...

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Myths about Hearing Aids

6 Myths about Hearing Aids When it comes to hearing aids, there is a lot of misinformation or outdated information. Hearing aids have come a long way and are more science-based then you might think. Check out our myths about hearing aids… maybe you’ve been misinformed.     Myth 1: Hearing aids will make my hearing ‘normal’ again or ‘cure’ my hearing loss Fact: Unlike glasses that can correct vision to 20/20 instantly, hearing aids can’t restore hearing to 100%. Today’s hearing technology is amazing at what it can do: it can pick up speech while turning down background noise; they can also be programmed with your smartphone and other devices for enhanced clarity. The one thing they CAN’T do is correct your hearing to ‘absolute normal’ again. The technology can’t completely replicate all the complexities of the human ear and brain. However, the good news is that hearing aids CAN significantly improve your hearing ability, allowing you to engage with those around you once again, and notably improve your quality of life. It may not be perfect, but it is a phenomenal change.    Myth 2: There is no need to buy two hearing aids. One will work just as good. Fact: Our ears and brains are wondrous and mysterious things, and they like symmetry or pairs. Like other things in our bodies, our ears work best when they work together allowing our brains to interpret sound quicker and with more accuracy. Wearing two hearing aids helps your ears better...

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Love your ears

8 Tips for Better Hearing Health in 2020

As we head into a new year, I'm sure you're thinking about some new year's resolutions. Is your hearing health part of that? Good hearing health is more than just having your hearing tested... eventually. Here are 8 tips for better hearing health to keep your ears happy and healthy in 2020. #1 Wear hearing protection in noisy environments (concerts, working with machinery or power tools, etc.) Any noise over 80dB can damage your ears depending on how long you're exposed to it. The best rule of thumb is if it's loud, use protection. The foam earplugs you can get from the drug store work great. For more information about what sounds are loud and why noise affects our hearing check out our blog 'How Loud is too Loud.' #2 Have your ear wax removed professionally; no Q-tips! Q-tips can cause more harm than good; they dry out your ear canals and can push the wax further into your ear. It's best to have a professional take a look at them or try using natural oil drops at home to help push the wax out naturally. #3 When using headphones, keep the volume below 60% Similar to noisy environments, when we wear headphones we should use caution as well. As the sound is being directly streamed into our ear it can easily become too loud and tire out our ears. 60% or less of your volume will keep you hearing clear without causing any damage to your ears. #4 Get moving...

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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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The History of Hearing Aids: From Past to Present

Hearing aids are incredible pieces of technology. This technology has revolutionized hearing for many individuals around the world. Like any piece of modern technology, there is a rich history behind their development; the ideas, the people, and creativity. For that reason, hearing aids are no exception when it comes to their past.   Believe it or not, the predecessors of hearing aids have been around for a very long time. Did you know the first ‘hearing aid’ goes back to the 1300s! Historically, hollow animal horns, like those from cows and rams, called ear trumpets were used as the original hearing device.   Ancient History: 1800s Traditional ear trumpets were ‘modernized’ in the 1800’s by Frederick C. Rein using different materials. They didn’t necessarily amplify the sound, but collected it and funneled it into the ear; for instance like when you cup your hand around your ear.   In 1870, Thomas Edison, who experienced hearing loss himself, added an adaptation to his telephone which increased the volume by 15dB! [That's the roughly the equivalent of turning your TV from 10 to 20]. It wasn’t a lot, but it began the journey of modern hearing technology.   Hearing aids history follows along with the development of technology, beginning with the discovery of electricity!     Early Hearing Aids: 1900-1920s With electricity came the first electronic hearing aids, known today as the Vacuum Tube hearing aids. Hearing aids became commercially available in 1913. These models were big, clunky, and in most cases not...

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Celebrities with Hearing Loss

Celebrities with Hearing Loss  Have you heard of many celebrities experiencing hearing loss – there are more than you might think. However, finding celebrities that are open about their hearing loss is not as common as those that have other health concerns (Stevie Wonder - Blindness, Michael J. Foxx - Parkinson’s). Maybe it’s because of the stigma and fear that surrounds hearing loss.  But, there are now a number of celebrities with hearing loss that have become vocal advocates for hearing health awareness.  Here are a few…   Actors Whoopi Goldberg, Actor/Comic  The well known actor and co-host of The View has very openly discussed her hearing loss and wearing hearing aids. She attributes her hearing loss to listening to very loud music too close to her ears for too long. Today, she is an advocate for using your portable listening devices at moderate volumes so you can keep enjoying your favourite music.    Gerard Butler, Actor The Scottish actor best known for his rolls in 300 and P.S. I Love You, has hearing loss and tinnitus in his right ear due to surgery he had as a child. He says it’s that surgery that was also responsible for his crooked smile.        Halle Barry, Actress  Although Barry is a Type 1 Diabetic, which gives her a higher risk of having hearing loss, that’s not what caused her hearing loss. Due to an abusive relationship, the actress lost 80% of the hearing in her right ear. She is now...

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