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Live Life To The Fullest
Sound, sight, taste, touch and smell connect us to the world around
us. All our memories are strongly attached to one of our senses. Now
imagine if you woke up one day and you couldn’t hear the sound of a
bird or the whisper of the wind : you would lose part of your
connection with the world around you.
Many
people around the world go through their lives without being aware
of their hearing problem. They often make excuses or ignore the
problem until one of their friends or family members brings it to
their attention.
In
today’s world, it is ever so important to keep ones hearing healthy
for as long as possible. The noise that we experience in our
everyday lives coupled with the natural process of aging all mean
that at some point in our lives, we begin to lose our ability to
hear certain sounds. Other than noise and aging, one can lose
hearing at any age as a result of middle ear infection, heredity,
illness or birth defects, traumatic injury, or tumours.
The
human ear is a remarkable precision instrument. It processes sound
vibrations and together with the nervous system and the brain, these
vibrations are perceived as sound signals. These sound signals are
then interpreted to either be speech or everyday sounds like the
phone ringing. And as with all precision instruments, great care has
to be given to ensure continued accurate performance.
Some
ways to help keep healthy hearing include:
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Keeping ears protected from loud sounds
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Detecting middle ear infections early in both children
and adults
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Not putting anything bigger than a finger inside the
ear
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Using wax removal eardrops to clean the ears
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Keeping water out of the ear
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Having a hearing test as part of the annual health
check-up after age 50
Continued healthy hearing habits will help to maintain clear sound
input but as the years go by, it is almost inevitable that we all
begin to lose some of our ability to distinguish certain sounds.
Thanks to many years of research and the advent of new technology,
help is available. Although there are only a few problems which can
be improved medically, most people benefit from hearing instruments.
A hearing care professional can evaluate the exact nature of a
hearing loss and recommend the appropriate treatment. But even the
most advanced hearing instruments cannot fully restore hearing.
Hearing aids improve hearing considerably and if the necessary time
in adjusting to wearing professionally fitted hearing instruments is
invested, the quality of life changes for the better.
So
ask your self these questions:
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Do people mumble or speak in a softer voice than they
used to?
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Do you feel tired or irritable after a long
conversation?
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Do you sometimes miss key words in a sentence, or
frequently ask people to repeat themselves?
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When you are in a group, or in a crowded restaurant,
do you have difficulty following the conversation?
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When you are together with other people, does
background noise bother you?
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Do you often turn up the volume on your TV or radio?
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Do you have trouble hearing the telephone ring?
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Is carrying on a telephone conversation difficult?
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Has someone close to you mentioned that you might have
a problem with your hearing?
If
you answered yes to any of these questions, you could benefit from a
more thorough examination from an audiologist.
Should you have a hearing problem, your hearing care professional
will advise you on the appropriate hearing instruments which come in
different styles and sizes, from the most inconspicuous to the most
powerful instruments available today.
So
stop avoiding group meetings or social occasions where listening may
be difficult out of fear of feeling embarrassed about
misunderstanding what is said. See your hearing care professional
and live life to the fullest!
And
in Lusaka, we are now lucky to have a hearing specialist, Alfred
Mwamba, who can be contacted via email at
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December
2006