There’s a pocket of air sealed in the inner ear. Rapid change in temperature can equal a painful change in airpressure. This change is pressure can be very painful if you are congested because the eustachian tubes (which regulate the pressure) get blocked. Keep you ears and head covered when you head out into a Canadian winter. If you do get an ear ache, deal with it the same way as on a plane: yawning, chewing hard, swallowing, and warm compresses.
Sean Lennox, Audiologist
Watch as Sean Lennox answers viewers questions on Ask the Expert on CTV Live.
Interesting Hearing Facts
- The malleus, incus and stapes (otherwise known as the hammer, anvil and stirrup) are the smallest bones in the human body and are full size at birth. All three together could fit on a penny.
- The whole area of the middle ear is no bigger than an M&M.
- The cochlea (inner ear) is about the size of a pencil eraser.
- The ear never stops working, even when people are asleep. The ear continues to hear sounds, but the brain shuts them out.
- Ears are self-cleaning. Pores in the ear canal produce cerumen, or ear wax, and tiny hairs, called cilia, push the wax out of the ear.
- Sound travels at the speed of 1130 feet per second, or 770 miles per hour.
- A sonic boom occurs when an object breaks the speed of sound. The sound waves from behind and in front of the object crash into each other and create the boom.
- Chuck Yeager was the first American pilot to travel faster than the speed of sound.
- At 115 dB, a baby’s cry is louder than a car horn.
- In Africa, a tribe of people call Maabans live in such quiet that they can hear a whisper from across a baseball field ‹ even when they are very old.
- At birth, the human ear can hear sounds as low as 20 Hertz (lower than the lowest note on a piano) and as high as 20,000 (Hertz) (higher than the highest note on a piccolo).
- The hearing of a dog is more sensitive than humans. Dogs can hear much higher frequencies, which is why they respond to “silent” dog whistles.
- More than 28 million Americans have a hearing loss.
- More than 1/3 of the U.S. population have a significant hearing impairment by age 65.
- Approximately 2 million people are profoundly deaf.
- One of every 1,000 infants is born totally deaf.
- Sitting in front of the speakers at a rock concert can expose a person to 120 dB, which will begin to damage hearing in only 7-1/2 minutes.
- It does not matter if you like the sounds you are exposed to. An orchestra playing Mozart at 120 dB will damage your hearing as quickly as Metallica playing at 120 dB.
- Two out of three babies will have an ear infection before age 1.
- Cicadas have their hearing organs in their stomachs.
- Crickets have their hearing organs in their knees.
- Male mosquitoes hear with thousands of tiny hairs growing on their antennae.
- Fish do not have ears but they can hear. They hear pressure changes through ridges on their bodies.
- Snakes do not have ears, but their tongues are sensitive to sound vibrations.
- In World War One (WWI) parrots were kept on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France because of their remarkable sense of hearing. When the Parrots heard the enemy aircraft coming they would warn everyone of the approaching danger long before any human ear would hear it.
Superior Canal Dehiscense
Sean Lennox, one of Adavanced Hearing Group of Clinics Audiologists recently published an article is the Communique. Here is the link to the article on this rare inner ear condition.
http://www.caslpa.ca/PDF/communique/2012_Winter_English_Communique.pdf
Our Mission Statement
Advanced Hearing Aid Clinic, Inc. is committed to excellence in providing hearing and balance healthcare services to individuals of preschool age and older. Hearing is an essential part of communication between individuals, and Advanced Hearing Aid Clinic has the professional medical team to thoroughly investigate any hearing or balance concerns, including tinnitus, and auditory processing issues, via conventional and neurophysiologic testing.
We offer a state of the art testing facility with professional and caring staff to achieve our goal. We take a stress-free approach with our patients, realizing the sensitivity and acceptance issues that are associated with hearing loss.
Core Values
•Respect
•Empathy
•Personalized Customer Service
•Teamwork
•Patient Education
•Staying current with the latest advancements in the field
Purpose
To improve the quality of our patients’ lives through the use of advanced and cutting-edge hearing technology and diagnostic tools.
To make the process of dealing with hearing loss and hearing aids, in addition to tinnitus and balance dysfunction, as comfortable and positive as possible.
Philosophy
The philosophy of the Advanced Hearing Aid Clinic team is to care for our patients with respect. We possess empathy for each patient in the delicate matter of accepting and obtaining help for hearing loss and/or tinnitus. We provide education on the latest technologies and how they may be of benefit. If a commitment is made to pursue better hearing, and/or tinnitus solutions, we provide our patients with excellent service and support. We work as a team with the patient to ensure long term success with their hearing/tinnitus solutions.
Auditory Processing Disorders Testing
The ears and the brain work as a unit to identify, and take meaning from sound. An auditory processing disorder interferes with the ability to make sense of what is heard.
There are many aspects of auditory processing, such as:
•hearing speech in noise (auditory figure ground, binaural separation)
•being able to tell one speech sound from another (auditory discrimination),
•being able to block out some sounds to hear others (temporal resolution)
•being able to hear stresses in speech (prosody)
•being able to figure out a message when it is distorted or half heard (auditory closure)
•being able to remember what someone said (auditory memory)
Auditory processing disorders have similar characteristics to that of ADD, dyslexia, hearing loss, behavior and learning difficulties and can lead to language, academic and social problems.
Auditory processing is only one facet of a child. It is recommended that the child have had a recent psychological, psycho-educational or educational assessment, or a speech-language assessment.
OPEN HOUSE!!!
We are having an open House for our Redwoods location February 10, 2012 from 1-4pm. There will be hearing screenings, product demonstrations, and food and beverages provide. Join us in the Fireside Lounge at 2604 Draper Ave along with a representative from one of the manufacturers. We look forward to seeing you.
Use it or Lose It
Auditory deprivation describes a significant decrease in an unaided ear’s ability to recognize speech and a decrease in general hearing ability due to a lack of auditory stimulation. In other words, the ability of the auditory system to process speech declines due to lack of stimulation (hearing loss). With auditory deprivation, the brain gradually loses some of its auditory processing ability which would affect one’s general hearing ability.
Today’s latest hearing aids are better than ever (lightweight, sleek, discrete) and packed with benefits that make hearing fun again. Hearing is a vital sense that keeps us connected to the world. The sooner you act when a hearing loss is suspected, the better prognosis.
Fire Safety and the Hard of Hearing
Hard of hearing people may not be able to take action at the immediate sounding of a fire alarm as they may not hear it when it sounds. Here are some tips for better fire safety if you have a hearing loss.
- Ask your hearing healthcare provider at the Advanced Group of Hearing Clinics about visual or vibrational warning systems. These devices flash the lights in your house off and on or vibrate your pillow if the alarm sounds.
- Maintain your smoke detectors by checking them once a month and changing the battery once a year.
- Talk to your local fire department. They can help with mapping escape routes and they may even be able to come and do a home inspection.
- Ask your emergency provider to keep your special needs information on file. This way, if the fire department is called, they will know that hearing the alarms may be difficult for you and be more ready to help you in the case of a fire.
Give us a call at the Advanced Hearing GRoup of Clinics if you have any further questions concerning fire safety.
(613)728-4327
Noisy Holidays
The new list is out that states which toys are too loud and could cause damage. Check out this link to see if you purchased any of these toys:
http://www.sightandhearing.org/news/healthissue/archive/hi_1111.asp
If you have purchased some of these toys, it is important to diminish the sound when children play with them. Most of them reach dangerous sound levels that can damage hearing in less than 15 minutes. Putting a piece (or several pieces) of duct tape over the speaker will help in making the toy safe, but the best way to ensure safety is to not buy or return this toy.
The holidays are a time of great fun, but there shouldn’t be consequences for children when they play with their toys.
Happy Holidays!
Advanced Hearing Group of Clinics
