Why do we experience hearing loss as we age?
As we age our body changes and does not work the same as when we were younger. This is also true of our hearing. Hearing loss due to the aging process is very common. Now while 17% of Australians have a hearing impairment which affects their ability to discriminate speech; a whopping 60% of Australians over the age of 60 have a hearing impairment! Further, over 75% of Australians over the age of 70 have a hearing loss, with hearing loss increasing steeply from the age of 51; being more common in men than women. On average people suffer from hearing difficulties for 7-10 years before seeking help, a staggering statistic!
Hearing loss is a very common problem, especially as we age. Presbycusis is the name given to this. It is typically characterised by:
• A high frequency hearing loss e.g. difficulty hearing treble sounds such as women’s or children’s voices.
• A moderate degree of hearing loss.
• Death of the hair cells (nerves) in the inner ear, such as the cochlea or auditory (hearing) nerve.
• Difficulty understanding (clarity) what people are saying.
Presbycusis is most common in the cochlea, but can occur in other parts of the ear too. Two common types of Presbycusis include:
• Sensory Presbycusis is the most common type. It involves death of the hair cells in the cochlear, whereby the cochlear can no longer detect some frequencies (pitches) below a certain level. This causes difficulty with volume and clarity.
• Neural Presbycusis occurs when the nerves travelling from the cochlear to the brain degenerate and can no longer transmit the messages well. This can make clarity and distinguishing between differing sounds such as background noise and speech especially difficult.
If you feel your hearing has become worse since your last check it is recommended that you contact us. Click here to fill out our enquiry form and a friendly NHC staff member will contact you to discuss your concerns.
How to make the most out of your hearing instrument
It doesn’t matter what style or technology level of hearing instrument you decide upon, there will usually be an initial period of adjustment to your hearing device. Immediate results are not always noticed and the sounds you hear will not seem to resemble those you heard when you had “natural” hearing. The naturalness comes when you realise you are back in the swing of things, participating and contributing to daily activities. As your ears have been deprived of full stimulation it takes a time for them to acclimatise to a flood of additional sounds.
“Practice makes perfect.”This is a very true statement for the most of things in life and especially so for your hearing instruments. The more you wear the instruments the more sounds you will hear, which will become a part of everyday life. Remember you must do this gradually. Good results will occur with regular use, great results may take longer.
The National Hearing Care ‘Hear for Life’ booklet contains a Hearing Aid Listening Program designed to introduce you gradually to the sounds of life. We have found this approach to be the best method of assisting people achieve success with their new hearing instruments. Naturally some people may be able to progress through the training program at a more rapid pace than others. Please do so only with the guidance and support of your NHC Audiologist.
It is important to remember that you have been deprived of the full spectrum of sound for some time and you may initially be shocked at the new sounds of your environment. Over time you will relearn how to focus on aspects of your environment and enjoy all that you can hear. You may have forgotten how noisy turning the page of a newspaper can be, that the indicators in your call actually make a sound or realise you suddenly have a lot of dripping taps and squeaky doors in your house! In time you too will learn to readjust to the sounds of life.
Are you experiencing difficulties wearing your hearing device? Fill out the enquiry form on the right and a friendly staff member will contact you .
5 Important Handy Hints to Better Health this Winter
It’s winter and as the weather becomes colder it’s important you stay warm and importantly stay healthy. Each winter most of us feel the symptoms of a cold or a cough. This often results in time off work and time away from doing the activities we love. These simple tips will help you stay healthy this winter and reduce the risk of getting sick.
1. Layering
Keeping warm is essential for staying healthy. Consequently, what you wear is greatly important. One strategy of keeping warm is to wear one or two big and thick items of clothing. Wearing many thinner layers of clothing may in fact keep you a lot warmer. Start off with a base layer such as thermal undergarments. Ideally, your thermal undergarments should fit tightly, keeping your body heat in. Then wear your first layer of clothing followed by your outer layer which may be a jumper or a skivvy and then finish up with a jacket or coat.
It is also important to remember that if you head outside to the shop or garden there are two important areas which you must keep warn. Make sure your head and your feet are covered and warm as a lot of your body’s heat escapes from these two areas. You should always wear thick socks and you can always wear or beanie or hat if your head feels cold.
2. Evaluate your power
Many of us choose to leave our heating off as much as possible during the winter simply because gas and electricity expenses can be very expensive. It is however, essential to heat your home properly, especially if your house is quite old or you have children in your household, as they can become sick quite easily.
One way to make savings on your energy bill and enable you to keep your heating on more than what you currently can afford may be to switch energy suppliers or ask your current provider for any available discounts. www.switchwise.com.au is a website which aims to make this task a little easier as it compares a number of the energy providers available in your area. It’s definitely worth having a look!
3. Eat right, stay healthy
Your diet plays an enormous role in your overall health and fitness. Fruit and vegetables are important but don’t forget citrus fruits are also very important. Citrus fruits such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, tangerine, kumquats and grapefruit all contain valuable vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C which is commonly known for keeping the immune system healthy and fighting off colds and flu’s.
Soup is perfect for those cold days. It’s hot, tasty, easy to make and nutritious. Not only can soups contain a number of important vegetables, they also contain plenty of fluids which are important for recovery and for your everyday fluid intake. Warm liquids also help break up congestion which is great if you are sick.
For thousands of years tea has been used to treat many aliments including colds, coughs, body aches and pains and all kinds of other illnesses. Tea is a natural source of antioxidants called flavonoids, which help strengthen the body's immune system. There are so many varieties of tea available, you are sure to find something you like. Green tea, lemon tea and organic tea are a few varieties which are well known for their health benefits.
Garlic are ginger are also everyday foods which can be very beneficial to your health. Garlic and ginger have been known to improve the immune system's ability to fight off infections. Its warming effect on circulation also helps to reduce fever. Incorporating garlic and ginger into your cooking is easy, give it a go!
4. Being active and breathing clear
It is proven that smoking has many negative effects on your overall health and wellbeing. Smoking affects your respiratory system, circulatory system, immune system and musculoskeletal system, all of which impact considerably on your overall health and wellbeing. Smoking actually slows down your circulation and causes tightening of blood vessels in the skin, resulting in a drop in skin temperature so you get colder quicker, which means you are more susceptible to getting sick.
The benefits of stopping smoking are enormous and can be noticed quickly. Within a short period of quitting smoking your oxygen levels will increase and circulation will begin to improve. You will begin feeling better in a matter of days.
Exercise also does wonders for your overall health and cardiovascular activity. You don’t have to sign up at your local gym in order to keep fit. Gardening, walking in the morning, lawn bowls, yoga, pilates, golf, swimming or just being active will get you moving and help to keep you healthy.
5. Keep that cold air away
Houses can often have unnoticed areas where cold air is getting in. Are there are any areas in your house where you can feel a draft? Check around the door frame and also under the door. You may want to buy a door sweep or you can improvise by putting a blanket or old towel at the base of door or window. Put up sets of heavy curtains. These can block drafts on both windows and doors.
Close off any unused rooms. The closed door creates and additional barrier between you and possibly some cold air. It also reduces air from circulating, which reduces heat loss. Your heater will work more efficiently and the warmth will be concentrated in the rooms you choose. This saves money and keeps you warmer!
Remember your health and wellbeing is so vitally important. It is important you do whatever you can to limit your chances of getting sick in the cold. If you need professional medical advice you should consult your general practitioner.
Warm Winter Recipe - Osso Bucco
Ingredients:
• 4 veal shanks
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion (chopped and peeled)
• 1 celery stalk (chopped)
• 1 carrot (chopped and peeled)
• 1 cup chicken broth or dry white wine
• A couple sprigs of fresh herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme or a combination works well)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
- In an uncovered slow cooking pot, (Dutch oven is ideal but a large slow cooking pot is fine) over medium heat, brown the veal on both sides in the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil (about 20 minutes. Remove the veal from the pan and set them aside.
- Brown the onion, celery, and carrot in the remaining olive oil until soft (about 5 minutes)
- Return the veal pieces to the pan and add the broth or wine, and herbs. Simmer on the oven, covered, until the meat is fork-tender, about 1/1/2 hours.
- Turn off cooker and remove the meat. For a thicker sauce pour liquid into a saucepan and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.
Tips
- If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can use a large slow cook baking pot.
- To reduce time boiling the sauce afterwards, simply thicken with cornflour or arrowroot.
- When cooking meat like this, I like to get as much flavour from it as possible so taking the extra 20 minutes in the beginning to sear the meat will give you a wonderful flavour in the end.
- Traditionally Osso Bucco is served with saffron rice and garnished with a sprinkle of the classic Italian gremolata (finely chopped parsley and lemon rind). Mashed spuds and couscous also works beautifully, especially when served with steamed broccoli and beans.
Bon appétit!
20 Tricky Trivia Questions
1. What is the floral emblem of Australia?
2. What do the letters of the television network SBS stand for?
3. On which Australian decimal banknote was the portrait of Henry Lawson?
4. Who designed the Sydney Opera House?
5. In which state would you find Lake Eyre?
6. Who recorded the album Graceland?
7. What animal-linked word describes someone who always gets blamed?
8. How many pieces at are used at the commencement of a standard chess game?
9. What do you call an angle more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees?
10. Who painted the Mona Lisa?
11. What's the capital of Kenya?
12. Who gave his name to the month of July?
13. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?
14. What is the name of Australia highest mountain?
15. What is the name of the current pope of the Catholic Church?.
16. The Victoria Falls are shared between which twwo african countries beginning with 'Z'?
17. Which musician was born David Robert Hayward-Jones on the 8th January 1947?
18. Muhammad Ali also known as Cassius Clay refused to fight in which war?
19. In Greek mythology which animal is said to be half man half bull.
20. In a movie title Elvis Presley said Viva to where?
Answers
Sudoku
- Sudoku Rules - The object of Sudoku is to fill the empty cells with numbers between 1 and 9 (1 number only in each cell). Each number can appear only once in each row, each column and each bolded region (3 squares x 3 squares)
- To print this Sudoku simply select the 'Print this Sudoku' link below and select print from your internet browser.
- Print this Sudoku
- Answers
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