Hearing Center

Get Your Hearing Tested

Check out these fun facts that may prove important to your hearing health: 1. The Watson Clinic Hearing Center has served the hearing needs of our community for nearly four decades. 2. Medicare pays for one hearing test per year. 3. Untreated hearing loss has been found to be a factor in cognitive decline. 4. Hearing loss has been linked to depression. 5. Hearing aids may help with your tinnitus. 6. Hearing aids can connect to your smart phone or your television for streaming. 7. You can listen ...

Prescription vs. Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids

Over-the-counter hearing aids have recently become available to patients who suffer from mild to moderate perceived hearing loss. The availability of these devices might seem like a convenient alternative to prescription hearing aids, but they lack a number of benefits that could greatly enhance the quality of life for hearing-impaired patients. Over-the-counter hearing aids are designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution. That will fall short for many patients, because no two hearing pr...

Hearing Loss, Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia

A growing body of research indicates that there is a link between hearing loss, cognitive impairment, and dementia. Cognitive impairment is considered an intermediate state between normal cognitive decline and dementia. Meanwhile, hearing loss has been associated with faster cognitive decline. According to the National Institute on Aging, there is a relationship between the level of uncorrected hearing loss and the level of dementia risk. Uncorrected hearing loss can lead to social isolation, re...

The Connections Between Kidney Function & Hearing Health

How are kidneys related to a person’s hearing ability? The answers might surprise you. Kidneys are important. They help us filter out waste, regulate blood pressure, produce certain hormones and keep our electrolytes stable. People with chronic kidney disease CKD have a higher incidence of hearing loss than the rest of the population. Both the kidneys and hearing mechanisms function similarly at the cellular level. Poor kidney function means the kidneys don’t filter waste as they sho...

The Ears Have It

You probably think of it as gross gunk, but earwax—what doctors call cerumen—actually deserves your respect. That's because it protects your ears. It helps keep dust and bacteria and other germs from entering and damaging them. It also keeps the delicate skin in your ear canal from getting irritated if water gets into it—say, while you shower or swim. If the merits of earwax surprise you, so might these other facts: 1. The volume of earwax varies. Some people—mostly men a...