Sikorski Hearing Aid Center, Inc. and the Wisconsin Alliance of Hearing Professionals Recommend a Hearing Check During May’s National Better Hearing Month
WASHBURN COUNTY — May is National Better Hearing Month and Sikorski Hearing Aid Center, Inc. and the Wisconsin Alliance of Hearing Professionals are encouraging the public to make an appointment with a hearing healthcare professional (Audiologist, Hearing Instrument Specialist) if they have not obtained a baseline hearing screening, have not had their hearing assessed in the last 2 years, or if they’ve experienced any recent changes in their hearing.
“Hearing health check-ups are not to be done when one feels they are ‘ready’ for hearing aids; rather, they are an important and necessary step in being proactive with overall health and wellness.”, states Samantha Sikorski, owner of Sikorski Hearing and member of the Wisconsin Alliance of Hearing Professionals.
In 2010, Frank Lin, et al., at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, discovered a correlation between hearing loss and dementia. Since then, many other well-known medical scholars have been publishing further research linking brain health to hearing wellness.
In May 2018, a team of researchers, led by Yune Lee, of The Ohio State University, stumbled across startling research that showed young, healthy people aged 18-41, with only slight hearing impairments, were found to have activity in the right frontal cortex when listening to complex speech – something that should not occur until one is at least 50. While still unclear what this means to people as they age, this research is critical in understanding the correlation between mild hearing loss and cognitive decline.
“There is a reason we are called Hearing Healthcare Professionals,” Sikorski added. “It’s about hearing wellness, not hearing loss. In some cases hearing aids are a solution but it would be a gross misrepresentation to say that people with hearing loss need hearing aids. It is important that people take hearing health just as seriously as they do other aspects of their healthcare.”
Hearing loss, in the early stage has no warning signs. When one starts to experience the outward symptoms of hearing loss, damage to the sensitive inner ear has already occurred. “People incorrectly assume hearing aids ‘fix’ the impairment and they don’t” warn Sikorski, “so it is critical they monitor and address it when necessary.”
According to the National Institutes of Health NIDCD, approximately 20 percent (48 million) of American adults aged 20 to 69, have some trouble with hearing. Growing numbers of younger Americans (including millennials and GenX’ers) are also reporting hearing problems. The NIH NIDCD also states that five in 10 young people listen to music or other audio too loudly and that four in 10 young people are around “dangerously loud noise during events like concerts and sports games.” Hearing loss is due to many factors, including noise, genetics, disease, and illness.
Sikorski Hearing Aid Center, Inc. is a privately-owned hearing healthcare practice with locations in Spooner and Cumberland, Wisconsin. The owner, Samantha Sikorski, serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Wisconsin Alliance of Hearing Professionals. She also serves as the Chair of the Managed Care and Compliance Committee for the International Hearing Society, serves as a committee member of the educational arm of the International Hearing Society – IIHIS, and co-owns a CRM company founded to help hearing healthcare professionals across the United States develop and grow their independent practices.
The organization, currently known as the Wisconsin Alliance of Hearing Professionals, was established in 1967. It is a professional organization of, by, and for Audiologists and Hearing Instrument Specialists. The membership consists of XXX active professionals dedicated to providing the highest level of hearing healthcare to the communities they serve by increasing public awareness of hearing wellness, hearing impairment and assistive technology.
Last Update: May 08, 2019 10:45 am CDT
