Valley Audiology

Diet and Hearing Health

Dr. Kjeldsen — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:30:54 +0000

Authors of a recent article in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology contend that a diet rich in antioxidants can help preserve hearing. 2000 adults ages 49 to 99 were studied and dietary health is shown to correlate with better hearing. This information has been proven in animal models previously but this is the first study showing that humans’ hearing also benefits from eating more fruits and vegetables. Just one more reason to have your 5+ servings a day!

Cochlear Implants

Dr. Kjeldsen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:41:55 +0000

Cochlear implants can be no less than miraculous for people with severe to profound hearing loss. I have patients whose hearing has decreased over the years to the point where the most current high end technology in hearing aids isn’t adequate in day to day conversations. They’ve gotten one or both ears implanted and after several months of rehabilitation they are able to converse with much more ease.

The cochlear implant consists of a strip of electrodes implanted into the cochlea and a removable exterior unit that looks like a large behind the ear hearing aid. Some of the exterior units are water resistant and some have rechargeable batteries. You can get more information at FDA.gov in their Medical Devices section.

Implants are are not for everyone with severe to profound hearing loss and they aren’t without risk. However, if you are struggling to hear your loved ones even in a quiet room, it would be worth the time to have an evaluation at one of the local implant centers.

Get healthy in the New Year

Dr. Kjeldsen — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:08:32 +0000

We get so busy in our lives that we can forget to take care of ourselves. If you’ve been worried about hearing loss and putting off getting a test, here are three great reasons to wait no longer:
1. Hearing loss adds to the fatigue, tension and stress that people experience already. My patients tell me that after they start wearing hearing aids, they are much more relaxed.
2. On average people with untreated hearing loss make less money that do people with hearing loss who are wearing hearing aids.
3. Hearing loss separates us from the people we love by making casual conversation that much more difficult. The consequences are social isolation, loneliness and depression.

And the good news…some people I test don’t have hearing loss and are thrilled to get a clean bill of hearing health. One less thing to worry about!

Battery Sale!

Dr. Kjeldsen — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:50:16 +0000

Our annual battery sale is happening this week! The offer is buy one, get one free. This year we’ve increased the maximum you can purchase – up to 20 packages. Drop by our Concord office Monday through Friday during business hours. We’ll be available in the Walnut Creek office on Tuesday from 11:00 – 1:00, Wednesday from 9:00 – 12:00 and Thursday 12:00 – 2:00 for battery sales. Call our office if you have questions. Happy Holidays!

A few quick tips on hearing in a crowd

Dr. Kjeldsen — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:41:14 +0000

Holidays are fun times to be with friends and family, but they are also frustrating times for people with hearing loss. Understanding speech when there is background noise is the most difficult of all tasks that the hearing impaired face. Here are a few tips to help at the beginning of this holiday season:
1. Speak face to face with people and look at the speaker’s face when he/she is talking.
2. If possible, move away from background noise or turn down the background music in order to hear better.
3. Tell people what you need! Most people without hearing loss don’t know what changes to make to allow you to hear better. Slowing down speech, speaking face to face and rephrasing if you don’t understand are all excellent tips.
4. Don’t stress about it. No one hears everything at a noisy party or family gathering. If you have to ask for repeats occasionally, other people probably are, too.
5. If you notice your hearing aids don’t seem to be working as well as they used to over Thanksgiving, make an appointment before the busy Christmas season to have a check up.
Happy Thanksgiving!

We have a new Audiologist

Dr. Kjeldsen — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:34:32 +0000

We welcome Robert Green Au.D. to our practice. Dr. Green was most recently the head audiologist at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley. He is now working part time in our Concord office and part time for the Contra Costa County health system. He is active in Audiology at the state level by volunteering his time to sit on the Speech Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board. He has impressed us with his thoroughly professional and very caring nature. Please join us in giving him a very warm welcome.

Hearing Science One More Time

Dr. Kjeldsen — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:03:21 +0000

We have students of Audiology at our conference who volunteer their time to help the days run smoothly. We also get several presentations from students on their research and the subject matter gets more impressive every year.

The talk this year that applied most directly to you, my patients, was about speech understanding in a two talker and four talker scenario. The researcher wanted to see what factors would influence how much speech the hearing impaired listener could understand. She looked at cognitive ability, auditory factors and age. For the two-talker situation, she found that people with adequate high frequency amplification (there’s a plug to wear your hearing aids!) were able to distinguish one voice from another best when the voices were different in pitch. She also found that those with faster processing ability did better which shows that we really hear with our brains and not our ears. However, in the four-talker scenario the only factor that was statistically significant was age – younger people understood speech better that older people.

I hope my hearing science posts have been interesting to you. I’ll be onto a new topic for my next post.

More Hearing Science

Dr. Kjeldsen — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:10:04 +0000

Another speaker at our conference, Fan-gang Zang, Ph.D. of University of California, Irvine, presented his discussion on tinnitus and a new tinnitus therapy that he is helping to develop. At least 50 million Americans have some kind of tinnitus, which is explained as a perception of sound in the head when no external sound is present. We know now that tinnitus does not occur in the ear but in the brain and Dr. Zang explained that most parts of the brain are involved in perpetuating tinnitus. He has been active in developing Soundcure a sound therapy device for people who are suffering from their tinnitus.

At Valley Audiology, our focus is on hearing testing and fitting hearing aids. We are happy to discuss tinnitus with our patients and give them what information we have. However, if someone is truly suffering from their tinnitus, we have referrals we make to professionals in the Bay Area who are well versed in current treatment options. If you, a family member or a friend, need a referral give us a call – 925-676-8101.

Updates from the conference – “Hearing Science”

Dr. Kjeldsen — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:26:54 +0000

There are several causes of acquired hearing loss today and audiologists can monitor patient’s hearing but we don’t have the ability to prevent the loss. Exposure to loud noise is the most common reason for acquired hearing loss but also there are medications or therapies that people must take that can damage their hearing. Aminoglycoside antibiotics used for serious infections and cisplatin used in some chemotherapy are known ototoxic agents. Kathleen Campbell, Ph.D. Professor of Audiology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine presented her research on D-methionine, an agent she has been using to protect the inner ear from destruction due to noise or ototoxic medications. Phase I trials have been successfully internationally and she is organizing Phase II trials in the U.S. The results are looking very promising!

Annual California Academy of Audiology Convention

Dr. Kjeldsen — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:25:22 +0000

I just got back from our annual state convention, which took place in Anaheim this year. It is very inspiring to get together with audiologists from all over the state to network and share information about new developments in Audiology.

I am in my fourth year serving on the Board of Directors of the state academy and I’ve seen all the work that goes into putting together a convention of this caliber. The early feedback we’ve gotten from attendees indicates that audiologists found the speakers to be very educational.

I am going to use this blog as one way to get information out about new advances in the science and technology of Audiology. Check back in the coming days for new posts….