Illustration of two hands; one holding a green puzzle piece and the other holding a yellow puzzle piece.

5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Mood This Winter

Hearing health and mental health have a clear connection.

In fact, untreated hearing loss increases your risk of depression, anxiety, social isolation, and more. Winter is also a prime time for seasonal blahs. If you could use a little mental-health boost, here are some simple ways to get started.

Express Gratitude

Gratitude improves happiness, well-being, and mental health. The best-researched method is keeping a gratitude journal. Once or twice a week, choose one act or person you’re grateful for and write a few sentences detailing why. In daily life, you’ll begin to seek out the positive — rather than the negative — and writing it down allows you to really savor that positive emotion. 

Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, which relieve stress and boost your mood. You can even use small things that add more activity to your day, like skipping the elevator …

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5 Tips to Hear Better in Virtual Meetings + Gatherings

Working remotely with hearing loss can be a big challenge.

Whether you’re conducting business online or just want to virtually connect with family and friends, these listening strategies and tactics can go a long way toward helping you stay engaged.

Explore the conferencing platform well before the online meeting or gathering — including reading a little about it or checking out a few quick instructional videos from other users — to build familiarity and confidence. Encourage everyone to use the video function — not just the audio option — to aid in lipreading and interpreting facial expressions. Also, try to keep your eye as much as possible on the person speaking rather than on your own camera image. Turn on the closed-captioning option, which can help take a big load off. In addition, consider using the real-time chat function, when available, to get clarification if you missed a point or …

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Illustration of couple traveling with hearing aids

Hear Your Best On The Go

6 Tips to Keep Your Hearing Aids at Their Best

Whether you’re on the town or out of town, you depend on your hearing technology to keep you consistently connected. Don’t miss a moment when you’re on the go with these tips for maximizing your hearing.

 Protect Your TechHearing aids are tiny computers — keep them safe! If you’re in warmer climes, invest in hearing aid accessories such as a splashguard, a wind protector, or a sport clip. For those of you in less toasty towns, a hat, a scarf, or earmuffs can provide protection.

Use GeotagsMany hearing aids now come with a smartphone app that can assign a geographical “bookmark” — or geotag — to your favorite locations. Simply optimize your hearing aid settings for a location (for example, a coffee shop) and apply a geotag. Every time you return to that spot, the app automatically switches to your …

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Drawing of ear and hearing aid types

You Need Hearing Aids. Now What?

Q: It turns out I need hearing aids. What’s my next step?

A: Hearing aids aren’t one-size-fits-all devices, so your question is a good sign you’re approaching this with the right mindset. Your first step is to confirm you’ve had a complete audiological evaluation.

An online “hearing test” can’t determine whether you need hearing aids — it simply reports whether you’re hearing certain sounds. Only an audiological evaluation can determine if you have hearing loss that requires hearing aids. If you haven’t had one, this is your next step. If you have, it’s time to schedule your hearing aid consultation.

Choose Your ProviderAny hearing aid is simply a tool. It has to be selected, customized, and fit to your ear by an experienced professional in order treat your specific hearing loss. Then it’s your key to a better quality of life.

A clinical audiologist or doctor of audiology has had …

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Are You Protecting Your Hearing?

Fireworks and concerts might come to mind when pondering ear-busting sounds, but power tools and even some livestock can reach dangerous decibels, too. Let’s talk hearing protection, which can go a long way toward keeping harmful noise at bay.

Types of Hearing Protection

At home, work, or play, the world can be an exciting but noisy place, putting your hearing health at risk. How? Loud sounds — especially those in the danger zone of 85 decibels or higher — can lead to hearing loss, tinnitus, or both.

It’s helpful to avoid loud environments in the first place. That’s not always practical, however, especially if the job you love, favorite hobbies, and other important activities bring joy — and add some noise — to your everyday life.

Let’s talk about different types of hearing protection that can help keep you and your loved ones listening — and living — your best. …

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