Did you know that there are nearly one and a half million heart attacks alone in the USA each year? Of those there are nearly five hundred thousand deaths. A heart attack occurs about every twenty seconds and a death by heart attack nearly every minute! Sudden death is more common in women than in men.

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Many different digital hearing aids are available.  Some of them include a  two channel value aid, which is a low cost aid, a mid-level four channel aid that provides feedback reduction and a speech amplifier, and the best level (also a four channel aid), which offers echo suppression and layered noise reduction.  All of these aids come with a wax remover.  (Wax seems to be a problem for hearing aid wearers and must be kept to a minimum for the best reception.)

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The Siemens company understands how hearing loss can occur due to medication, ear infections gone out of control, head injuries, childhood diseases, and birth defects.  Loud noises are often taken lightly and grossly miscalculated risks are taken which wear on a person’s ability to hear properly until one day, they realize it’s time for a hearing aid.  Siemens knows the importance of getting evaluated for the proper aid and proper fit, and also the importance of taking care of the needs of children with hearing problems.

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Myocarditis is an inflammation of the myocardium. When the heart becomes inflamed, it
Is unable to pump as well because of damage to its cells and swelling (edema). The heart muscle may be damaged even more if the body’s immune system sends antibodies to try to fight whatever started the inflammation. Sometimes, these antibodies attack the tissues of the heart instead. If too many heart muscle cells are damaged, the heart muscle becomes weakened. In some cases, this process happens very quickly and results in heart failure or even sudden death.

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Hearing your car make a noise when starting up or traveling may be crucial to your engine being repaired properly and may keep you from having an accident.  Hearing a vehicle approach may save your life or the life of a small child who is with you.  Hearing your child scream for help may be what keeps them from being injured further or kidnapped by a stranger.  Hearing the phone ring, hearing a baby cry, hearing a warning to keep you out of danger or hearing an animal approach could all be important life happenings that you’d miss should you choose to buy a cheap hearing aid.  Suppose you were at an important event and your child or grandchild was counting on you to hear them sing or to hear their important part in a play?  If your cheap aid is inhibiting your lifestyle, maybe it would be well worth the investment to treat yourself (and your family) to a quality hearing aid.

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Phonak hearing aids come with different levels of technology.  Analog is the least advanced.  These are manually adjusted and do not accommodate themselves to a person’s preferences automatically.  They just receive sound, amplify it, and send it to the ear.

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You’ll often hear the term ‘occlusion’ when learning about hearing aids.  This means something which blocks the passage.  Like some hearing aids that make you feel like you have a big cotton ball stuffed in your ear, occlusion can make you more aware that you have a hearing loss.  If you’ve ever gone under water and tried to hear someone speaking to you who is still above water, you can understand occlusion.  You shouldn’t feel intimidated by the big terms used when discussing hearing aids or hearing loss.  The person who is helping you should be willing to break the terms into more acceptable explanations so you won’t walk away feeling like you just don’t get it.

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Angina is chest pain or discomfort that occurs when your heart muscle does not get enough blood to it. It may feel like pressure or a squeezing pain in your chest. The pain may also occur in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back. It can even feel like indigestion.

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All known heart diseases can lead to cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death. Most of the cardiac arrests that lead to sudden death occur when the electrical impulses in the diseased heart become rapid (ventricular tachycardia), chaotic (ventricular fibrillation) or both. This irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia) causes the heart to suddenly stop beating. Some cardiac arrests are due to extreme slowing of the heart. This is called bradycardia. Bradycardia is common in premature infants.

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Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a heart condition similar to that of coronary artery disease and carotid artery disease. In PAD, the fatty deposits build up in the inner linings of the artery walls. These blockages restrict the blood flow circulation, mainly in arteries leading to the kidneys, stomach, arms, legs and feet.

In its early stages, a common symptom is cramping, or fatigue in the legs and buttocks during activity. Such cramping subsides when the person stands still. This is called “intermittent claudication.” People with PAD often have fatty buildup in the arteries of the heart and brain. Because of this association, most people with PAD have a higher risk of death from heart attack and stroke.

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