What Does Listening Mean? What effects our Quality of Life?
By Sr. Richard Reikowski, Au.D., Family Hearing and Balance Center, Akron LIVING WELL Magazine (formerly SENIOR Magazine)
Hearing loss can be obvious, particularly to those attempting communication with one having the hearing loss. Repeating words often can create frustrations to both parties involved. The result: missed special moments of sharing personal feelings and stories. Solutions are found when we consider a hearing loss as simply an effect on a person’s ability to communicate.
An audiologist should constantly be looking to fill those gaps and missed moments. The staff should be dedicated in finding solutions to your hearing, balance and tinnitus needs. When a hearing loss effects us, or a loss of balance keeps us from work and family functions, and tinnitus keeps us from sleeping, treatment in those areas will only create better days. The technology for tinnitus treatment has improved significantly over the past year, and our experience has documented reduction in tinnitus successes with real solutions. The office’s balance testing should work with one’s physician, and creating recommendations for physical therapy. Our office is looking for our patients to be able to access their daily freedoms again, like driving a car and going to work safely. Better days all begin when an audiologist starts with you in mind.
Hearing technologies today are digital in nature, and therefore those devices can be programmed on a computer, moving the patient closer to a real hearing. The circuitry is miniaturized to create smaller devices and smarter to focus listening on what you want to hear. Physical therapy is now assisting dizzy patients that cannot safely walk back into the freedom of walking without fear. Tinnitus research through major hospital systems in the Cleveland and Akron areas has created non-evasive therapies that are equal to wearing an MP3 player for two hours a day. An audiology service, without question, needs to find, and be aware of these solutions.
At Family Hearing and Balance Center, we will not settle for your situation to be “good enough,” or “nothing more to be done.” We will dedicate ourselves to finding a solution to your hearing, balance, or tinnitus concerns. We want to give you a great experience from the moment you pick up the phone to call us, to the moment that you realize that you are doing better. We promise to never leave you through this journey once you trust us with your care.
Hearing loss can easily affect our listening skills because it is difficult to listen when we have trouble hearing. This may appear to be an obvious statement, but when one deals with hearing loss, they begin to listen differently. Being able to successfully listen involves hearing the many aspects of speech intonation, speech sounds, as well as assistance with visually seeing the non-verbal parts of communication such as body language, gestures, facial expressions, posture, etc. As the audiologist improves the hearing system and we help a person to have the best ability to hear the total conversation, both auditory and visually, the “quality of life” can possibly improve. As the audiologist finds treatments that are successful in reducing tinnitus, the “quality of life” can possibly improve.
Like when one is experiencing a morning sunrise, that experience would change if our vision was impaired. The colors would seem less important…unless someone took the time to find the right glasses for us to see the colors that we have forgotten.
That is what listening, and hearing you, means to us.
Give us a call at Family Hearing and Balance Center, 330-644-1932. We would love to find solutions to make your day better by addressing your hearing, balance, and tinnitus needs.
