Supporting A Loved One with Hearing Loss in a Nursing Home

Supporting A Loved One with Hearing Loss in a Nursing Home

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Family & Relationships, Hearing Loss

Having a loved one residing in a nursing home can be difficult at times. When your loved one suffers from hearing loss that can add even more pressure. The environment within the nursing home should be able to promote and maintain a social dynamic that fosters positive effects on their daily lives. Being equipped with a hearing aid alone will …

Hearing Aids Are Found to Improve Depressive Symptoms

Hearing Aids Are Found to Improve Depressive Symptoms

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Mental Health

Treating hearing loss goes a long way in boosting hearing abilities and creating better communication. It is also critical to keeping feelings of isolation, of anxiety, and of depression at bay. In fact, people who are experiencing hearing loss, especially when it goes undiagnosed and untreated, often find themselves receding from their social life, wanting to avoid their loved ones, …

Head Injuries & Hearing Loss

Head Injuries & Hearing Loss

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Hearing Loss, Overall Health

The Center for Disease Control estimates that over one million cases of traumatic brain injuries each year, just part of the larger collection of nearly 3 million head injuries that occur each year. A traumatic brain injury is caused when one is hit in the head with force, when the head is violently shaken, and sometimes as the result of …

Know Your Rights with Hearing Loss

Know Your Rights with Hearing Loss

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Community, Hearing Loss, Resource

People experiencing hearing loss have a lot of rights when it comes to their employment and when it comes to existing in and moving through public spaces. Knowing your rights is critically important to your safety and comfort. The Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans With Disabilities Act (known by the short-hand term “ADA”) was signed into U.S. law in …

How Smoking & Drinking May Affect Hearing

How Smoking & Drinking May Affect Hearing

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Hearing Loss, Lifestyle & Leisure

Lots of people will tell you that tobacco and alcohol can be dangerous to your health.  They can affect everything from your lungs, brain, heart, energy level and immune system.  Did you know that a lifestyle of smoking and drinking can also serious affect your ability to hear? It has been proven time and time again that smoking and drinking …

A Brief History of Hearing Loss

A Brief History of Hearing Loss

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Hearing Loss

According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, approximately 48 million Americans (20 percent) report some degree of hearing loss. According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), approximately 28.8 million adults in the United States could benefit from wearing hearing aids. Despite hearing loss being an issue that has affected humans since the beginning of …

A man straining to hear

Why Pretending to Hear Doesn’t Help

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Communication, Hearing Loss, Tips & Tricks

Everyone has encountered situations where they have not been able to follow a conversation whether in a noisy room or understanding the speaker’s voice. It’s normal in our society to pretend to understand, even when you do not. You might feel it is impolite to stop the conversation or you don’t want to make a spectacle and ask the speaker …

Hearing Loss & Cognitive Decline

Hearing Loss & Cognitive Decline

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Brain Health, Cognitive Health, Hearing Aids, Hearing Health, Hearing Loss, Mental Health, News, Research

Cognitive decline has long been an early indicator of dementia, the sixth leading cause of mortality in this country. So it makes sense that we should be vigilant of anything that might compromise our brain functions. That’s why we should start looking at hearing loss. Even adults with a little hearing loss are at a higher risk of dementia, and …

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month!

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month!

Leanne E. Polhill, LHAS, BC-HIS, BA Communication, Hearing Health, Hearing Loss, Mental Health, News, Research

We all know that May is the month of some pretty important events, including Star Wars day, National Hoagie Day and National Clean Your Room Day (seriously), but the whole month is also dedicated to highlighting the communication problems people face. This the aim of The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), who have launched their Better Speech and Hearing campaign this …