Q:  How do I know if I need hearing aids?   A: To re-phrase your question, “How will you know if hearing aids can help you?”  To know for certain, you need to wear them.    Before you wear them, you need to have your ears checked for injury or a blockage from wax.  Once […]

  Q:  How do you recommend removing wax from one’s ears?   A: A cotton swab used in a delicate, gentle manner is a healthy way for most people to clean their ears. After a bath or shower, a swab can help remove suds, dead skin and ear wax from around the outer ear and […]

Q: What recent developments have been made in hearing aid technology?   A: Today’s hearing aids are really high-tech “systems.” They use a multitude of performance platforms to enhance a person’s hearing experience. High-speed processors use sophisticated acoustic software that can be wirelessly adjusted during a fitting appointment. In the most advanced systems, the right […]

Q:  I have heard a low-level ringing in my ears for years.  What is it and why is it getting louder?   A:  The ringing you hear is called tinnitus.  If you have heard the ringing for years, it is most likely caused by an errant signal to your brain from your ear’s cochlea – […]

  Q:  My parents seemed practically deaf by the time I graduated college a few years ago. Will this happen to me? A:  First, I hope your parents have a good hearing center helping them with their hearing needs.  Since both of your parents had deep hearing loss at a relatively young age, it was […]

Q:  Can hearing loss be stopped or reversed? A: Ah ha, you are asking two questions here. 1) Can the impact of hearing loss be stopped orreversed?, and 2) Can the natural rate of hearing loss be stopped or reversed?  I’m going to cheat a little and say ‘yes’ and ‘no’.   On the ‘no’ side, […]

Question: My family and I have noticed my hearing getting worse over the past few years. Why can I sometimes hear voices loudly?   Answer:  Indistinct voices and words are a very common symptom of hearing loss.  Depending on the frequencies, pitches, or tones you have trouble hearing, the speech sounds that correspond to those […]