A new study published by the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that diabetics are susceptible not only to vision problems, but to hearing problems as well.

            “For years, physicians who treat people with diabetes have regularly ensured that their patients receive regular vision check-ups,” said Dr. William Luxford, BHI Board member and an Otolaryngologist at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles.  “This important study underscores the need for physicians now to encourage each of their patients to get their hearing checked as well.”

 

Most dental offices are now computerized with sophisticated software to simplify the complicated process of clinical practice and patient management. Software serves in a wide variety of applications, ranging from the substitution of routine office paperwork to more sophisticated imaging techniques.

The practice management software (PMS) eases the handling of administrative tasks such as patient recordkeeping, inventory control for dental supplies, appointment scheduling, insurance processing and real-time reporting (billing) when the transaction actually takes place. Many versatile Windows-based software programs exist that allow the dentist to do chair-side data entry and scheduling. At present, many web-based dental PMS programs are also available that provide advanced solutions to improved clinical practices.

If you are like the many millions of people who have bought digital hearing aids, you probably did not fully understand all of the mechanisms at play inside of that new hearing aid. You had your hearing tested and were told which hearing aids would work best for your hearing loss. So just what are digital hearing aids and what makes them different?

Digital hearing aids use computer technology. The comfort and sound level that you hear can be custom-tailored to your unique hearing loss. This is accomplished by connecting the digital hearing aids to a computer and programming them to your loss. But, there are non-digital / analog hearing aids that can be programmed this way too. So, what are the differences between digital hearing aids and analog?

Since their debut in the marketplace, iPods have revolutionized the way we listen to music. iPod hard drives store up to 300 hours of music, batteries last for 12 hours, and the volume can be cranked up to 120 decibels. That’s louder than a chain saw or pneumatic drill, and equivalent to a jet plane taking off! But iPod fans are being warned to turn their music down. Even manufacturer, Apple, includes a cautionary note with every iPod, warning, "permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume."

The purchase of a new hearing aid that can help with hearing conversation, the television, or the telephone is only the beginning of the process of aural rehabilitation. By the time you bring your new hearing aid home, you should have developed an understanding of what it can do to improve your particular hearing problems, based on your hearing tests and your discussions with your doctor and/or your hearing aid dispenser. And, as you now know, your hearing aid is only part of the long-term solution. There are changes that you can make, and requests that you can make of others, in order to further improve your ability to hear conversations on a day to day basis.