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One of the little known features of the iPhone is the ‘LED Flash for Alerts.’ When you enable this feature, the flash on the back of your iPhone will signal the notification that you have a message/call/etc. This prevents you from having to have the ringer turned up to the maximum position and it keeps you from checking your phone a hundred …

Apple has always designed its products with accessibility in mind. As we begin to crest the wave of yet another extraordinary innovation, let’s look back at some of the accessibility features of our beloved iPhones. Did you know the iPhone has a “mono” option for transmitting audio? Most audio signals, particularly from music and movies, have a dedicated ‘right’ and …

If you are a Sprint customer using an iPhone or Android device, you can now enjoy captioned calling on your cell phone. This is welcome news for cell phone users with hearing loss! If you have a Sprint Everything Data Plan, the app is free from the iTunes App Store or from the Google Play store. Go to your app …

‘ Among the myriad challenges faced by individuals with hearing loss, one recurrent and frustrating complaint is the difficulty of understanding conversations in noisy environments. Despite the remarkable advancements in hearing aid technology, there is still a persistent gap between the capabilities of hearing aids and the ideal solution we all wish for. A significant part of this problem stems …

Did you know the first demonstration of closed-captioning was held at Gallaudet College in 1972? The first TV show? Mod Squad! Real-time captioning was developed in 1982 when court reporters were trained to give television viewers virtually instant access to live news, sports and entertainment broadcasts. During the 1980s, television networks began to caption their shows, but viewers had to …

As we age and our bodies betray us; the last thing that remains are the human voice and meaningful words. Speaking and listening are often the last thread of connection we have with each other. Caring for someone we love who also has a hearing loss and dementia can be particularly hard. How do you know if the communication problems …

#1- Wear them all day, every day. It is tempting to leave your hearing aids on the dresser when you’re home alone or will be in a quiet environment for hours. But think about that for a minute. Your ears are always ‘on’ even in the most peaceful times. Because an area is quiet does not mean it is completely …

Hearing aids aren’t very fun at the best of times. When they constantly stop up with earwax they can be downright maddening! Take heart, this is a universal frustration and, for the most part, can’t be helped. Your ear produces wax as both a skin conditioner and as a defensive mechanism to prevent the intrusion (or expedite the removal) of …

Earwax (or, more properly, cerumen) is really cool stuff! It is a bug repellent, dust catcher and skin conditioner; it also has both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. A little earwax is a good thing! Most people don’t like the wet feeling they have after a shower and will use a cotton swab to dry out the canal. An effective solution …

A patient came in last week with tremendous pain in his right ear. He was cleaning his ears with a cotton swab and succeeded only in firmly packing the earwax further in his ear. In an effort to remove the wax, he used an over-the-counter wax softener that made the impacted wax swell and put additional pressure in his eardrum. …