Silver Audiology

10/24/2024

This time of the year, especially during an election year, are your ears ringing? New research has determined that tinnitus, ear noise, may be due to stress alone and not necessarily due to a hearing or balance issue. Curious to find out if your ear noise is due to a hearing loss or just a hectic schedule? Time to schedule a hearing test! Send a text or give us a call 575-993-9849

10/12/2024

Stop by the Mimbres health fair today for a free hearing screening!

07/31/2024

Low Energy Bluetooth is coming. If you stream or use bluetooth devices with your hearing aids this will be a game changer for battery conservation. LE Bluetooth will be available to hearing aid users later this year. If you have questions please contact me at 575-993-9849

03/12/2024

An interesting article on restaurant noise and a group that is pushing to bring back quieter restaurants. Signal to noise ratios in our Silver City restaurants often drive hearing impaired and hearing aid users to avoid going out. Perhaps it is time for a change?

An abstract is unavailable.

02/03/2024

New study states Rural America has a higher risk of Hearing Loss! Grant County we are in that zone!!!

Rural Communities at Higher Risk for Hearing Loss
Analyzing data from over 20 sources, including federal health surveys, the study defined hearing loss as mild, moderate, or any level of loss in both ears. Nationally, an estimated 37.9 million Americans have bilateral hearing loss, with higher rates associated with older age, male gender, and white race.

But drilling down to the county level, clusters of heightened hearing loss emerged in states like West Virginia, Wyoming, and Arkansas. Meanwhile, lower prevalence appeared in counties surrounding cities like Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Though reasons for this urban-rural divide are not entirely clear, audiology experts suggest occupational and recreational noise exposure may drive more hearing damage in rural settings.

In rural areas, there are likely fewer large employers with hearing conservation programs and popular pastimes such as hunting, motorsports, and woodworking often lack consistent hearing protection measures.

01/25/2024

Want to support Tinnitus research?

On February 5th, Texas Roadhouse restaurants across the country will host a special fundraising event to support the American Tinnitus Association (ATA) and raise awareness for tinnitus.

The event, held on the first day of Tinnitus Awareness Week, invites guests to dine at their local Texas Roadhouse or Bubba’s 33. All profits for the day will be donated to the ATA. This marks the third year the restaurant chains have hosted the nationwide fundraiser.

01/11/2024

“This indicates that occasional hearing aid use may not provide any life-extending benefit—regular, consistent use is key”

–Janet Choi, MD, MPH

New studies are out that reveal consistent use of hearing aids...."every day, the majority of the day"....can lead to a longer life.

If you are ready to prove this theory, please call/text me...575-993-9849

11/30/2023

There is a new "game changer" in the hearing aid world. One company, Signia, has offered a two processor hearing aid which can separate noise from speech. From my patients who have graciously tried this product, they are reporting it can control background noise much better than their previous premium technologies. In the higher tech levels there is also the ability to "track" conversation. If you are an active and involved adult who relies upon hearing in dynamic, active conversations....meetings, courtrooms, busy retail centers...... these hearing aids may be the ticket to better communication strategies. If you are interested in learning more about this technology, please call or text Silver Audiology to set up a demo trial so you can judge for yourself. 575-993-9849

11/30/2023

There is a new study that is investigating hearing loss and the development of dementia which has produced some interesting new information on how important hearing is to the activation of the entire brain! Here is a small clip from the medical journal describing their findings. If you question how you are hearing or how you are beginning to manipulate your sound environments to hear better, please call for an appointment for a hearing test. 575-993-9849 Silver Audiology will test for speech recognition in quiet and in noise to determine your needs for any amplification.

Brain Changes in Patients with Hearing Loss
By conducting hearing tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, the researchers observed microstructural differences in certain areas of the brain among participants with hearing loss.

Their findings indicated that individuals with hearing issues displayed distinct variations in brain regions linked to auditory processing, speech and language comprehension, and executive function.

“These results suggest that hearing impairment may lead to changes in brain areas related to processing of sounds, as well as in areas of the brain that are related to attention. The extra effort involved with trying to understand sounds may produce changes in the brain that lead to increased risk of dementia. If so, interventions that help reduce the cognitive effort required to understand speech — such as the use of subtitles on television and movies, live captioning or speech-to-text apps, hearing aids, and visiting with people in quiet environments instead of noisy spaces — could be important for protecting the brain and reduce the risk of dementia.”

–Linda K. McEvoy, Ph.D., Principal Investigator

10/05/2023

October 4 2023

Had the pleasure of attending a Signia Training seminar in Tucson today. So many things to take back to my patients in Silver City, NM

There is a new platform in their hearing aids which will track conversations so much better than before! Coupled to the new innovations in sound management this advancement will improve hearing aid performance in noise. I have demos in my office if you would like to take a listen. If you have TruHearing they will provide this technology under your insurance!

Also..hearing aid prices are going up this month. Industry leaders are passing along anywhere from 4 to 10% increases. Silver Audiology will be raising the cost of hearing aids accordingly. I have some stock on the shelves at last year's prices and will beavailable until they are gone! If you need financial assistance with a purchase please ask about our Access Program. All hearing aids come with a 3 year manufacturer warranty.

08/24/2023

Fall Risk in the Aging Adult

August 17, 2023
Falls are one of the costliest mishaps affecting older adults, and there is evidence suggesting a link between age-related hearing loss and falling. Dr. Laura Campos, a clinical audiologist at the University of Colorado, recently joined Brian Taylor to discuss her study’s focus on hearing aid usage and the potential for reduced fall risk in older adults.

The research revealed that individuals with hearing loss face a 2.4 times higher risk of experiencing a fall compared to their normal-hearing counterparts.

Dr. Campos and her team investigated whether hearing aid use could mitigate this risk. The study findings demonstrated that individuals who consistently wore hearing aids, particularly for at least four hours a day, exhibited a significantly lower likelihood of experiencing falls. While the study couldn’t establish causality, it underscored a strong association between consistent hearing aid usage and reduced fall risk. Dr. Campos emphasized that incorporating discussions about the potential link between hearing loss, cognitive decline, and falls into clinical practice could offer valuable insights for clinicians. She also highlighted the need for further research to uncover the underlying mechanisms driving these associations and the potential for using objective outcome measures to track the impact of hearing aid usage on fall risk over time.