. . . It's "National Protect Your Hearing" Month!
Dr. Judith Reese (shown with Rays mascot during the game in which the Rays clinched their first ever playoff berth), Audiologist with JC Audiology Clinic in Lutz, is offering complimentary hearing screenings during October in conjunction with “National Protect Your Hearing Month.” This is especially important to Tampa Bay area fans, who endure loud cheering from the Rays victories, as well as Bulls and Bucs cheering. Exposure to noise is linked to permanent hearing loss.
The American Academy of Audiology, of which Dr. Reese is a member, has launched the month-long awareness initiative to heighten attention to the more than 36 million Americans today who have hearing loss. One in three developed their hearing loss as a result of exposure to noise. Dr. Reese urges her patients to protect their hearing by:
- Wearing hearing protection when around sounds louder than 85dB for a long period of time;
- Turning down the volume when listening to the radio, the TV, MP3 player, or anything through ear buds and headphones; and
- Walking away from loud noise.
Dr. Reese says that noise-induced hearing loss is caused by damage to the hair cells that are found in our inner ear. Hair cells are small sensory cells that convert the sounds we hear (sound energy) into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Once damaged our hair cells cannot grow back, causing permanent hearing loss. “That’s why I wore my earplugs when I watched our long-beloved Rays clinch the playoffs against the Twins,” she explains. “So, come by JC Audiology for your free earplugs before the 2008 World Series games.”
In addition to October being “National Protect Your Hearing Month,” the American Academy of Audiology also designated the month as “National Audiology Awareness Month.”
The American Academy of Audiology states that an audiologist is a highly educated and clinically experienced health-care professional who specializes in evaluating, diagnosing, and treating people with hearing loss and balance disorders. Audiologists treat patients of all ages, from newborns to centenarians. The first step in treatment of a hearing problem is a hearing evaluation by an audiologist.
Although hearing problems are commonly associated with the normal aging process, more than half of all hearing-impaired persons are younger than 65. With the increased use of personal music players (MP3s) and earbuds, the number of Americans experiencing hearing loss at a younger age is growing.
JC Audiology is a locally-owned clinic founded by Dr. Judith Reese, a nationally-known audiologist who was cited as among the best in the nation by the Hearing Journal for her research. The clinic is in the North Fork Professional Center, 1541 Dale Mabry Highway, Suite 201, Lutz.
