A Santa Clarita audiologist is confronting the common myth that hearing loss is all about volume, reminding the community that it often has to do with the clarity of sound as well.
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“One of the things that I’ve been finding lately that people don’t understand is that when they think of a hearing loss, they think of deafness,” said Nola Aronson of Advanced Audiology, noting that a large portion of hearing loss can actually be related to the inability to hear certain letters in the alphabet clearly.
“We have about 20 letters in the English language that are in our language 80 percent of the time — letters like ‘s’ and ‘f’ and ‘th’ and ‘v’ and ‘p,’” Aronson explained. “And when you’re missing just one letter in a word, you’re missing the context of what somebody is saying.”
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Those who find that they often have a hard time understanding others during conversation, constantly ask others to repeat themselves, or assume those they speak to are always mumbling may in fact have a hearing loss, according to Aronson.
For instance, Aronson has a patient that put off getting a hearing device for three years because she was convinced she didn’t have a hearing loss. When she had trouble understanding her pet parrot’s speech during that time period, she assumed the problem was with the bird instead of her hearing.
“‘She said, … ‘I felt like my parrot was getting older and getting lazy,’” Aronson recalled. “‘But you put those hearing aids on me and I went home, and the next morning, my parrot comes out on my arm and says, ‘Good morning. How are you?’ And it was clear as a bell, and I just started laughing (because) it wasn’t my parrot’s speech — it was my hearing.’ And see, that is a true story. I even have a video of it on my website.”
Instead of being in denial about potential hearing loss, Aronson encouraged the community to come in for a free hearing screening and individualized education at her office to help improve their quality of life.
“The reason I’m an audiologist is because I love helping people — I love helping people do better in life, I love helping people with their social lives, just helping in general,” Aronson said. “I’m not out there trying to ‘sell’ you a hearing aid. I’m out there giving you a solution for your hearing loss.”
Ed. Note: This article is a Community Spotlight based on a recent interview with Advanced Audiology.Advanced Audiology was founded in 2010 by Santa Clarita audiologist Nola Aronson, who has been fitting hearing aids, doing hearing test exams and offering hearing aid repairs for more than 30 years. Advanced Audiology is the largest diagnostic hearing center in the Santa Clarita Valley, focusing on clients with hearing loss, tinnitus, ears ringing and more. Hearing tests, hearing aids and new sound infrared devices are also available at Advanced Audiology in addition to a complete hearing healthcare program that includes free batteries, quarterly cleanings and adjustments.
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