🍂 Happy Fall from Columbine Hearing Care! 🍂
Wow, we are so blessed to live in such a gorgeous state and enjoy this amazing fall weather. We are sending prayers and well wishes to everyone who’s been impacted by the devastating hurricanes in the southeast. 🙏🏻 It has been surreal to watch this unfold on the news and I’m sure we all have friends, family members, colleagues, or acquaintances who have been touched in some way by the devastation. We are proud that our non-profit, Hearing the Call Colorado, will be providing aid in the wake of these storms. We’ll provide more details in next month’s newsletter. Until then, please know how grateful we are for all of you and we wish you all health and happiness! 💜 We look forward to seeing you in the office soon!
Warmest regards,
Dr. Dusty and the Columbine Hearing Care Team
Office Updates
Dr. Dusty, Brenda and Lisa spent a recent Friday in Palo Alto, CA, at a “Crucial Conversations” training. They were able to learn techniques to successfully conduct difficult conversations not only with each other but others in their lives – patients, family members, friends, etc. It was an enlightening day and also marked the first time that Brenda and Lisa had met in person!! While they’ve spent countless hours on Zoom calls, phone calls, emails and messages, their paths had not crossed until now! The entire event was such a treat for our small-but-mighty team.
Columbine Hearing Care was honored to fit hearing aids on four eligible individuals from our community as part of a recent Hearing the Call – Colorado “Better Together” hearing aid fitting event! A total of 18 individuals were fit across the state on October 4! 🩵
Dr. Dusty was thrilled to have the support and assistance of our colleage, Robin Donnelly, of Vital Hearing in Lakewood, CO.
We are so grateful for any support our patients are able to provide in the form of donated hearing aids or financial donations. If you are interested in donating to this exceptonal non-profit striving to provide hearing healthcare to those in our community, please click HERE for more information.
Upcoming Events
Come on out and visit with Brenda at the Fall 2024 Successful Aging Expo at Concordia on the Lake! The event will take place on Thursday, October 17, 2024, from 1:30 – 3:30 pm and include various venders, activities, raffles and giveaways! It was such a pleasure to meet everyone at the Spring expo; we look forward to this upcoming event! 😊
Dr. Dusty and Brenda will be out of the office on October 24 – 25 in order to attend the Colorado Academy of Audiology Convention in Denver. This year’s conference theme is “Wellness Amplified” and all presentations, including Dr. Dusty’s (!) will highlight at least one of the eight dimensions of wellness. They look forward to a few days of learning and networking and then returning with a wealth of knowledge to incorporate into their daily practice. 💁🏼♀️
October is National Audiology Awareness Month and Columbine Hearing Care and the American Academy of Audiology are urging the public to be aware of the importance of good hearing health. 👂🏼 “Make an appointment with an audiologist and get your hearing checked today,” said Dr. Dusty Jessen. “Hearing is one of the most important aspects of our health – it connects us to people, keeps us vital in the workplace as we age, and when left untreated is associated with other health issues.”
The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders states that approximately 28.8 million Americans could benefit from the use of hearing aids. While age is often cited as a factor, there are growing numbers of younger people reporting hearing difficulties.
A study published by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care cited 11 risk factors for dementia including hearing impairment in mid-life. The report also stated that dementia typically starts many years before it is recognized. 🧠 Untreated hearing loss can impact the brain and cognitive health.
There is also a link between untreated hearing loss and falls. According to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, an increase in hearing loss in an individual, for instance going from normal hearing to an untreated mild hearing loss, is associated with a three-fold increase in fall risk‼️
One of the factors in maintaining healthy hearing is being conscious of the degree and amount of loud sound exposure. 💥 Many hearing losses are caused by damage to the tiny sensory receptors, or hair cells, in the inner ear. The damage can be caused by too much noise, and it is permanent; however, steps can be taken to prevent this damage because sound-induced hearing loss is 100% preventable. The simplest way to protect your hearing if you can’t avoid loud sounds is to wear hearing protection. An audiologist can help to identify the right hearing protection including custom hearing protection that can provide a comfortable fit and good sound quality. 👌🏻
The American Academy of Audiology states that lengthy or repeated exposure to noise above 85 decibels, can damage hearing. To put that into perspective, noise from fireworks can reach up to 155 decibels. A jet plane taking off is estimated to be 150 decibels. Shooting a gun is around 140-175 decibels (depending on the gun). An amplified music concert can be as high (or higher) as 120 decibels. Movie action scenes in the theater have been known to reach 100 decibels. Outdoor sounds can pose a risk too. Lawn mowers are around 85 decibels and chain saws can be 115-120 decibels. Compare these with normal conversation that is around 60-65 decibels.
The four main ways to protect your hearing are:
- Ear plugs
- Avoid loud sounds
- Reduce the level of sounds
- Shorten time in loud environments
Click HERE to schedule your appointment with Dr. Dusty or Brenda and begin the quick and easy process to obtain your own custom hearing protection!
“Anyone suspecting that his or her hearing has diminished or is unsure, should see an audiologist and get tested as soon as possible,” Dr. Dusty recommended. “Changes to hearing tend to happen gradually; by the time hearing loss is noticed, it may have been progressing for a while. Improving hearing improves quality of life – our ears are too important to put off taking care of them.”
For more information or to schedule your appointment, visit www.columbinecares.com. 💜
Check out next month’s newsletter to see if you are the lucky winner!!🤞🏼