Valley Hearing Aid Associates

11/24/2025

Tips to help you stay part of the conversation during holiday gatherings, even if hearing is a challenge. Learn simple ways to enjoy time with family and friends without missing a word.

11/19/2025

The holidays are near, and family gatherings are full of chatter. Making sure everyone, including those with hearing loss, can follow along keeps the season more enjoyable for all.

The new HLAA Hearing Loss Toolkit is your go-to resource for understanding and living well with hearing loss.

11/19/2025

Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) — often called a temporary hearing shift — is a short-term reduction in your hearing sensitivity after being exposed to loud sounds.

What it is

After loud noise (concerts, tools, gunfire, engines, etc.), the tiny hair cells in your inner ear become overstimulated and fatigued. This causes:
• Sounds to seem muffled
• Difficulty understanding speech
• Ringing or buzzing (tinnitus)
• A feeling like your ears are “plugged”

This shift in hearing ability is usually temporary, lasting a few hours to a couple of days, depending on noise intensity and duration.

Why it happens

Loud noise temporarily reduces the efficiency of:
• Hair cells in the cochlea
• Synapses between hair cells and auditory nerve fibers

These structures need time to recover after noise exposure.

When it becomes dangerous

If you experience TTS often, or if symptoms last more than 24–48 hours, it can indicate permanent damage known as Permanent Threshold Shift (PTS).

Repeated temporary shifts add up — the ear can only recover so many times before the changes become permanent.

How to prevent it
• Wear proper hearing protection (earmuffs, custom in-ear protection, or tactical in-ear devices).
• Avoid long exposure to loud noise.
• Take quiet breaks to let your ears recover.
• Keep volume below 60–70% on earbuds.

11/13/2025

Clear hearing supports your brain by keeping you engaged in conversations and everyday activities. Staying mentally active and protecting your hearing go hand in hand for overall cognitive health.

11/11/2025

How do you know if “loud” is too loud? 📱

Decibel meter apps can help you measure noise levels in your surroundings and protect your hearing.

Both free and paid options are available for iPhone, Android, and Apple Watch users.

Check out our roundup of some of the best apps in 2025 to help keep your ears safe! 👂
https://ow.ly/4nOR50XpBVk

11/10/2025

Hearing loss can make chatting with friends or family more tiring, and it’s easy to start skipping social activities. Paying attention to your hearing helps you stay involved and enjoy those moments without extra effort.

A new study finds that providing hearing aids and personalized audiology support helps older adults maintain better social connections.

11/05/2025

This month, for National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, don’t overlook your hearing. Untreated hearing loss can affect brain health and increase the risk of cognitive decline.

Cochlear Center director Frank R. Lin explains why hearing loss has been linked to cognitive issues like dementia.

10/31/2025

Hearing health and dementia are closely linked — in fact, untreated hearing loss is one of the most significant modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline later in life. Here’s how the connection works and what can be done to protect your brain and hearing together:

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🔗 The Connection Between Hearing Loss and Dementia
1. Cognitive Load:
When you can’t hear clearly, your brain works harder to decode muffled or incomplete sounds. This constant effort diverts mental resources from memory, thinking, and comprehension — contributing to faster cognitive fatigue and decline.
2. Social Isolation:
Hearing loss often leads people to withdraw from conversations and social activities. Over time, this isolation reduces mental stimulation — a known contributor to dementia risk.
3. Brain Structure Changes:
MRI studies show that untreated hearing loss can cause accelerated shrinkage in auditory and memory-related brain areas, such as the hippocampus.

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📊 Key Research Findings
• Johns Hopkins (Lin et al.):
Adults with even mild hearing loss have twice the risk of developing dementia. Moderate loss triples the risk, and severe loss increases it fivefold.
• Hearing Aid Use Helps:
Studies show that people who treat hearing loss with properly fitted hearing aids or in-ear devices have cognitive decline rates similar to those with normal hearing.

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🧠 Protecting Hearing and Brain Health
1. Get a Hearing Test After Age 50 (or sooner if you notice difficulty in conversation).
2. Use Hearing Protection:
Prevent noise-induced damage with custom in-ear protection (like TACTICAL HEARING systems) for work, recreation, and loud environments.
3. Stay Socially Engaged:
Hearing clearly keeps you active in conversations and connected with others — vital for brain resilience.
4. Keep the Brain Stimulated:
Reading, learning new skills, and regular exercise all complement hearing health to protect cognition.

10/29/2025

Understand how your ears pick up tiny creaks and whispers that signal when something spooky is nearby.

10/23/2025

Choose hearing protection based on comfort, noise level and how long you’ll wear it. Some styles fit certain situations better than others. https://bit.ly/3xmYzAi