'hearing' posts

An audiologist is a master’s or doctoral level trained professional who evaluates, treats and manages hearing and balance disorders in children and adults. Audiologist work in a variety of settings such as medical centers, private practice clinics, universities, schools, Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) physician clinics, Veteran’s Administration and military settings.

At Swedish, you will find caring and talented audiologists with a wealth of clinical experiences. The audiologists at Swedish have experience with infant through geriatric diagnostic hearing evaluations, auditory evoked potentials, vestibular evaluations, tinnitus management and the selection and fitting of hearing aids. Additionally, audiologists work closely with surgeons to complete the fitting and programming of osseo-integrated devices, cochlear implants and brainstem implants following surgery.

Because most hearing issues are not medically treatable, most individuals with hearing loss work...

SEATTLE, Oct. 9, 2012 - On Tuesday, Oct. 2, Eleanor Day, 79, underwent a cochlear implant procedure at Swedish/Cherry Hill by Dr. Douglas Backous, medical director of the Center for Hearing and Skull Base Surgery. Her procedure was the world’s first live-instagrammed and live-tweeted cochlear implant (hearing restoration) surgery (click here to see a recap). This Wednesday, Oct. 10, Swedish will live stream Mrs. Day’s cochlear implant activation, in which she will potentially hear her husband’s voice without the help of hearing aids for the first time in five years. The Days have been married for 60 years.

Many people joined us last week to see Mrs. Day's cochlear implant surgery live-tweeted and Instagrammed. (You can click here to view a recap and see the pictures from Instagram.)

One of my favorite parts of the event was seeing the many thoughtful tweets & notes were sent in support of Mr. & Mrs. Day:

@swedish good luck, Mrs. Day! An ear surgery (patient) veteran in Virginia is cheering you on!

— Amanda Jenkins (@refinedladybug) October 2, 2012

@swedish I am so proud that you are doing this on SoMe. Thank your patient and the treating team for your willingness to involve the world.

— Pseudo ENT Surgeon (@otorhinolarydoc) October 2, 2012

@swedish Thanks to Mr & Mrs Day for participating & you for sharing - it's been an amazing priviledge to be part of it! #SwedishHear

— Vicki Kirwin (@KidsAudiologist) October 2, 2012

@swedish Good luck Mrs. Day on this new exciting journey in life!! Thanks for sharing!! #swedishhear

— Alaina Leighton (@AlainaLH) October 2, 2012

All the very best Mrs Day! May your surgery be more than a success and beyond! Thank you for sharing your journey! #Swedishhear @swedish

— Doose Ugo (@Deesse26) October 2, 2012

Some of the most frequently asked questions we received during the event were:

1. Why are you doing this? (Answer - read this blog post, and watch this video to learn more about the inspiration behind the #SwedishHear web series.)

2. Are you livestreaming Mrs. Day's cochlear implant activation?

We weren't originally planning to livestream the activation like we've done livestreams before - instead, we planned to host two, text-based live chats so people could type and read questions and engage directly with Dr. Backous, Stacey Watson (Mrs. Day's audiologist), and Karen Utter (President, Hearing Loss Association of Washington State).

Now we're doing both!

If you tune in....

You may have seen a post (Forbes) or two (CNET) in your various newsfeeds recently about the fact the Swedish is live-tweeting and Instagramming a cochlear implant (hearing restoration) surgery tomorrow, on October 2, 2012. (Check it out at www.swedish.org/swedishhear.)

A question we've gotten is why live-tweet or Instagram a surgery? Haven't you done that already? (Yes, we've used Twitter and video before (to educate patients about deep brain stimulation and knee replacement procedures, among others), but not Instagram.)

We're learning from our patients how hard it is to access information if you are deaf or have hearing loss, and, per a study in The Lancet, how this impacts the quality of healthcare. And so we decided to create additional resources to help raise awareness about the option of cochlear implants. (In this Mashable post,  Dr. Backous said only 10% of people who qualify for cochlear implants end up receiving them.)

Here's an example of one of the many stories that inspired this series:

(For closed captioning press the CC button located in the middle of the action bar that appears at the bottom of the video when it is playing. For the best results, watch the video in full screen by pressing the full screen button located in the right hand corner of the action bar.)

People with hearing loss are not able to call on the phone to get more information or ask questions, so we decided to document via text (tweets) and images (Instagram photos) the cochlear implant procedure.

We're also hosting two text-based chats next Wednesday on October 10, 2012 (at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time). The chats will enable patients and interested viewers to talk directly via the chat (text based - no audio) to Dr. Backous, audiologists, patients who have had the procedure, and patient advocacy groups. If you have unanswered questions about hearing loss or cochlear implants, we hope you'll join us for the discussion. (You can ...

(Click 'read more' to see a full recap from the live event)

SEATTLE, Sept. 26, 2012 - Swedish Medical Center and Douglas Backous, M.D., medical director of the Center for Hearing and Skull Base Surgery at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute, will host the world’s first live-instagrammed and live-tweeted cochlear implant (hearing restoration) surgery on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (PT).

The American Academy of Audiology is dedicated to increasing public awareness of audiology and the importance of hearing protection. With October right around the corner, what better time than now to provide a little peak into how exactly our ears work. Check out this video, posted by Schooltube:

As you can see, our ability to hear relies heavily on a very precisely functioning fine-tuned system. But that fine-tuned system is also very delicate, and susceptible to damage. Hearing loss is the third most common health problem in the US, and more than half of Americans with hearing loss are under the age of 65.

Exposure to excessively loud noise is one of the most common causes of hearing loss regardless of age. And recent studies have demonstrated that the incidence of hearing loss from noise exposure has more than doubled among children and young adults in the past thirty years alone.

So what could be causing such a significant increase in hearing loss among our youth? Many researchers point to increased use of personal listening devices at dangerously high volumes. Prolonged exposure to any noise at 85 decibels (that of busy city traffic from inside a vehicle) or greater has the potential to cause permanent noise-induced hearing loss. Some mp3 players...

Persons with mild hearing loss often begin thinking about the possibility of seeking help from hearing aids. But they may do so grudgingly because they have heard stories from friends suggesting that hearing aids are never without complications. And it is true. Hearing aids always bring with them a set of advantages and disadvantages. And the degree to which a person will accept and enjoy their hearing aids depends a great deal upon how much the hearing loss is impinging on their enjoyment of life.

If you have been noticing ....