Thursday, February 23, 2017

Can hearing aids affect relationships?

This is a great question! How can hearing instruments affect your relationships? Typically people will experience a positive change in their relationships once they begin to wear hearing aids.  When a hearing loss goes for years without any intervention or without addressing the issue, it can take its toll on a relationship.  Loved ones can often become frustrated with untreated hearing loss because they have to repeat themselves numerous time, and even then their communication partner still didn’t understand.  Hearing aids can help you maintain your speech understanding capabilities and they can help you communicate with your partner more effectively.  The person trying to hear is less tired from all the effort put towards understanding, less frustrated being they don’t have to ask people to repeat as often and less apt to avoid social situations out of fear of not understanding.  The person communicating with the person with hearing loss is less frustrated and less resentful of their partners because they have taken a positive step toward trying to help themselves hear better.  If you are considering hearing instruments and would like to make an appointment, call 440-205-8848. 

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!


Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD
8897 Mentor Ave
Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818



Thursday, February 16, 2017

How are heart disease and hearing loss related?

This is a great question and with Valentine’s Day coming, a great time to talk about matters of the heart.  It was a group of Harvard University researchers who discovered a relation between heart disease and hearing loss.  They found that hearing loss occurred 54% more often in people with heart disease then in the general population.  At this time we are not sure what causes this link, but they have a theory.

Cardiovascular disease reduces blood flow through veins and arteries, and it is the blood that brings oxygen to the body’s organs. This lack of oxygen can damage the heart and other organs including the hearing nerves (hair cells) deep in the inner ear.  Hair cell damage is the most common cause of permanent hearing loss.

The researchers also believe the hearing nerves are so fragile that the ear is likely the first organ to be damaged by cardiovascular disease.  There are those who feel that one day hearing loss may be used to predict heart disease.

The good news is, a healthy cardiovascular system has a positive effect on hearing.  Eating right and exercising helps your hearing too!  Exercising once a week reduces the risk of heart disease by 32%. 


Have regular hearing checks and use hearing aids when recommended. Taking care of your hearing is part of taking care of your health.  Those who use hearing aids report greater overall health, a physically more active lifestyle and a more active social life.  And it’s a physically active life that can help reduce heart disease.  

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!



Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD
8897 Mentor Ave
Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818


Thursday, February 2, 2017

You mentioned using Sound Therapy as a means of tinnitus management. What is Sound Therapy?

Tinnitus is the presence of sound in the ears or head.  Commonly, people report ringing, humming, buzzing even clicking sounds and at times, there may be multiple sounds.  Tinnitus can present in various degrees and can be constant or intermittent.  When severe, it can cause stress, anxiety and sleep deprivation.  Often there is no cure for it.  Sound Therapy is a means for you to change your perception of it and decrease its interference with your life.
Many times people are able to just ignore tinnitus.  While others’ can’t seem to take their focus off it.  We know that those who shift their attention to other things are much less bothered by it.  Progressive Tinnitus management including Sound Therapy, is a method for triaging, assessing and managing tinnitus on an individual basis.  It provides you with tools to aid you in changing your perceptions of your tinnitus and shift your attention away from your tinnitus.
Sound Therapy is a corner stone of tinnitus management.  It uses three types of sound, interesting sounds, soothing sound and background sound.  Soothing sound can reduce anxiety and stress.  Background sound reduces the contrast of tinnitus to the room noises, reducing perceived intensity of the tinnitus. Interesting sound shifts attention from the tinnitus to other sounds.
If your tinnitus interferes with your life, causing anxiety, stress and or sleep deprivation, call for an appointment.  It will start with an evaluation of your hearing and tinnitus.  From there we will assess your candidacy for sound therapy and work with you to design and implement a personal management plan including Sound Therapy.  

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!



Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD
8897 Mentor Ave
Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818