The Hear Daily » Active Lifestyle

Celebrate Veterans day: Champion Ear Protection for our Troops

Samantha — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:40:44 +0000

Hearing loss is a serious health hazard for veterans. Consider this:

More than 45,000 vets from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom have hearing loss.
Of the 300,000 vets from the post 9/11/01 conflict, tinnitus is the #1 disability and hearing loss is #2.
35% of returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan have hearing loss.

Any decibel above 85 is considered harmful. Rifle fire is 150 decibels. Bombing practices regularly hit 110 - 130 decibels. Some troops have their hearing damaged during a skirmish and then can not hear commands that lead them to safety. Their fellow soldiers are yelling at them to run or duck, but they can no longer hear. As a hearing-impaired person whose chief complaint is missing out on some conversation during a social outing, this is horrifying.

But here is an even more horrifying part: Most of these cases of hearing loss were because the soldier opted not to wear hearing protection. Air Force Col. Joseph A. Brennan, the ENT doctor at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, asks every soldier whom complains of hearing related issues if they were wearing hearing protection. “Since I arrived here in May, I have not had one service member answer yes to that question,” he says.

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Read your Voicemail

Samantha — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:45:29 +0000

Every hard of hearing person struggles on the phone at some point. Some phones are better than others, some people speak better than others. My most frustrating moments on the phone are usually voicemail related. My family members are regularly called to assist me in deciphering a message. “What did she say? Did she say anything else? Are you sure? Did she saying anything about ….” I ask. I would love to be more independent and have my privacy back!

This week, Line1 Communications announced new service called Spinvox. Spinvox transcribes your voicemail to your email. Now, if you get a voicemail you can’t understand, you can log onto your email and read it. (more…)

Keeping Hearing Aids Dry, even on El Rio Futaleufu

Samantha — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:01:20 +0000

Water and hearing aids don’t mix. If you have ever dropped your Ipod in the bathtub or your cell phone in a cup of coffee, you know that most modern electronic equipment has almost no tolerance to moisture. Hearing aids, nestled daily in a dewy environment, are particularly vulnerable and particulary expensive to replace.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do things we want to do. Go ahead and take that safari across Namibia’s Wild Skeleton Coast or that sea kayaking trip through Micronesia (or, for that matter, a trip down your local slip and slide). Just protect your aids. Here’s what you do: (more…)