The office of Gary D. Schwartzberg, Au.D., Doctor of Audiology is proud to celebrate National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, which occurs every May! We love taking the opportunity to raise awareness of communication disorders and discuss how caring for your hearing health is a critical part of healthy communication.
Why Healthy Hearing Matters
Hearing and speech health are essential for effective communication, strong relationships and overall well-being. Healthy hearing means that you can participate fully in family gatherings, enjoy conversations without difficulty, reduce misunderstandings at home and at work and feel confident in social settings.
As hearing health professionals, we encourage you to use National Speech-Language-Hearing Month as a call to action to take care of your hearing health, whether you are currently diagnosed with hearing loss or not.
Protect Your Hearing
Protecting your hearing should be a priority for you all year, not just in the month of May. Exposure to loud noise is the second leading cause of hearing loss (right behind aging), making noise-induced hearing loss, or NIHL, a major public health concern. NIHL is irreversible; once the delicate cells in your ears are damaged, your body cannot regenerate them.
Therefore, we’re taking the opportunity to remind you of the importance of protecting your hearing. Here are some small ways you can take care of your ears in your daily life:
- Lower the volume on entertainment devices, such as the television or radio.
- Follow the 60/60 rule when listening with headphones: no more than 60% the maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes.
- Wear earplugs when doing noisy activities, such as attending a concert or sports event, or working with power tools.
Get Your Hearing Checked
Because hearing loss most often develops gradually, it can be hard to detect changes at first. You may instinctively think that everyone is speaking too quietly or not even realize that you’re missing out on background noise, like birdsong or appliances humming in your home. Getting your hearing checked regularly can help detect these subtle changes before hearing loss progresses.
Like all health conditions, hearing loss is managed best when it’s detected early, so you can get the treatment you need as soon as possible. This is the perfect time to schedule a hearing test and make sure you have a good picture of your hearing health. Call us today to make an appointment!
Spread the Word
Encourage your friends and loved ones to prioritize their hearing and speech health, as well. Give them the same advice we gave above: protect your hearing and get your hearing checked regularly. Everyone can benefit from this advice!
By talking about communication and communication disorders with the people around you, you show them that strong, healthy communication matters to you and that you’re a supportive presence in their lives as they consider their own hearing and speech health.
We’re honored to participate in National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, and we want this to be a productive time for you as well. Call us today to make an appointment or learn more about hearing health and how it benefits communication.