Joey Wahler (Host): It's sometimes overlooked. So, we're discussing hearing health. Our guest is Madison Howe. She's an audiologist also Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Education at the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at UAMS. This is the UAMS Health Talk from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Thanks so much for joining us. I am Joey Wahler. Hi there, Madison. Welcome.

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Hi, Joey. Thanks so much for having me

Host: Great to have you aboard. We appreciate time. So first, for those don't know, in a nutshell, what does an audiologist like yourself actually do?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: That's a great question. We do a lot of different things. So, an audiologist is an expert in hearing health, but we're also experts in vestibular disorders, which are issues with balance. And we can serve patients across the entire life span. So, I myself am a pediatric audiologist, but we see patients from birth all the way end of life.

So, audiologists are in lots of different settings. You'll see them in ENT clinics, in hospitals, and in private practice. But at heart of we do is helping patients communicate and hear better, and also help with balance disorders.

Host: ' Because it's definitely a part, a central part really, of communication, as said. Why does hearing deserve more attention than it typically gets? I alluded to the fact at the top that some people take it for granted, right?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Absolutely. So, you know, I think those of us that are blessed with normal hearing, we don't realize how much hearing loss could impact day-to-day life. And we're seeing more and more research these days that is supporting a connection between good hearing and mental health and memory. So, we're actually seeing between increased risk for dementia and Alzheimer's because if you're not able to hear things, your brain isn't actively processing speech, memory starts to become a problem. So for adults, that is really important. And then for children, obviously, they are at a critical age where they're developing speech and language and learning and developing social relationships, and hearing can have a really big impact on that.

Host: Yeah, no question about So many think hearing changes are a normal part of aging. When should people actually start paying closer attention and maybe think about getting professionally addressed if they think they might be an hearing?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Sure. There's really never wrong time. A hearing test is painless. Most doctor offices can at least do a screening for hearing if you're concerned. So, there's never a wrong time. It's never too early to just ask your doctor about having a screening or referring to an audiologist, but really if you notice that it's really starting to impact you and your social relationships.

So a lot of people, the first they notice is difficulty in background noise. They're at a noisy and they can't hear the person that they're with. That's a really good first signal that maybe something's going on with your hearing. But really, it's never too early. It's a very simple procedure to have a hearing test done. Even just to get baseline to see where you're at and monitor changes, it's never too early.

Host: So, you mentioned the item there about not being able to hear someone close because of background noise. Any other signs of hearing difficulty in adults that maybe people commonly miss?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Sure. So, starting to miss just little things, subtle things like the meaning of how something was said, or maybe you missed someone was actually being sarcastic because you missed of the tone of their voice. Those subtle cues that your hearing might be changing.

Another big one that people don't realize is tinnitus. So, tinnitus is ringing sound or a buzzing sound in the ear. It's natural. We all have it, but it becomes not normal when it's to the point that it's interfering with daily life. So if you're hearing it constantly or it's keeping you up at night, that can be a signal to us that something is changing in the inner ear, and typically we see hearing loss follow. So, that ringing sound is also something that we should really be paying attention to.

Host: You touched on this earlier when about hearing issues can affect other things. What's the biggest way, if this is unaddressed, the hearing issue, that it can impact overall health for adults? of the things it can lead to?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Yeah. So, some of the biggest ones that we see, social isolation is a huge one. So, when you're able to hear people, eventually you quit trying to participate socially, and that can lead to some big problems. That can also lead to memory issues because you're not participating and engaging your brain. The brain is like a muscle. And if you don't use it, you lose it. And so, we want to make sure that you're able participate and have good quality of life and great social relationships. There's also a safety factor. If you're still working and you're not able to hear people that working with in certain environments, that could be a safety hazard.

So, there's lots of things other than just maybe not being able to hear your spouse, which is what most people come in complaining about. There's a lot of other ways that hearing can affect your life.

Host: Absolutely. Switching gears just a little bit here. Why now is hearing especially important during childhood for younger folks?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Yeah. Well, Joey, I don't know if you are around kids very often, but they all have AirPods in their ears 24/7 it feels like. And so, we're seeing a really big increase of kids with noise-induced hearing loss. So, this is typically something we would see later in life or for people the military that have been around loud sounds, but we're starting to see lot more of this in children.

And they're doing a lot of research, but I really think lot of it has to do with the fact that we're constantly having earbuds in our ears and listening to loud sounds. And so, we've to make sure that we're monitoring these kids and their listening habits so that we're not causing hearing loss from them just having AirPods in their ears all the time.

Host: Yeah. terms of firsthand experience, we have a soon-to-be four-year-old daughter. So far, no earbuds. So, that's not an issue. more of a challenge trying to get her eyes away from the kiddie tablet, but a whole other podcast, right?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: That definitely is. We'll to do a follow-up on that one.

Host: Yes, sure. So, speaking of children though, Madison, a child passes their newborn hearing screening, that doesn't necessarily mean parents never need to address their hearing again, correct?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: That's correct. Yeah, newborn hearing screening is a wonderful program. That was something that was nationally mandated the late '90s, and it's wonderful that we're screening all newborns. So if a parent listening and you don't remember or weren't told the results of your child's newborn hearing test, go and see if you can look that up because that is important to know.

But there's also hearing disorders that develop later in childhood. So just because you passed at birth doesn't mean that they may not develop hearing loss down road. So, it's important that any time parents are concerned, that they talk to pediatrician about repeating hearing screening. It takes about a minute to two minutes. It's painless and very easy for us to do.

Host: So, we talked about it earlier for adults. How about for children? What are signs that a younger one may be having difficulty hearing?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Well, speech and language development is probably the biggest and probably the easiest one to spot. So, kids should be saying saying their first word around a year old, and then they should be starting to put together sentences between and three years old. If kids aren't meeting those speech and language milestones, hearing is one of the first things we want to check.

Now, it doesn't always mean they have long-term permanent hearing loss. They could have some ear infections and cause some temporary problems, but we still want to get those things checked. Also, parents will recognize if a child not engaging with things, like you said, your four-year-old's always on the tablet, if not really engaged by things that make sound, like a tablet or a toy, that could be an indication that something is off with hearing.

Host: You talked about this earlier. I want to go back to for a moment delve in just a bit more. In terms of earbuds and kids, I think as you pointed out, it's pretty accepted fact that they're going to use them. Any advice for using them in terms of limiting them? Is there a certain type that's better or worse than others? How can we use them safely as kids?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: One of my favorite things about this is if you're using a device like an iPhone or an Android or a tablet, that you can set the maximum volume, you can actually change it in the settings and set the maximum volume that they can turn it up to. That would be kind of step one to make that you're controlling the volume.

I would recommend no more than 80% when you're adjusting that. So, that's one really easy way to set that parental control. But also talk to kids about it. You know, it's more than just listening loud sounds. It's also that they're not engaging in their environment and socialization when they have those AirPods in, and they're losing critical time to develop language and socialize with their peers. So, talking to your kids why it's important. There's some great resources online. Dangerous Decibels has a great website on teaching kids about appropriate listening levels. And so, talking to them can really help too.

Host: Okay. And so speaking of understanding why this is all important, what can people do to protect their hearing? hear so much nowadays in healthcare about prevention, trying to head things off at the so to speak. What can we do when to hearing along those lines?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Absolutely. And thankfully, it's pretty simple to prevent hearing loss. Stay from loud sounds as much as you can. When you are near loud sounds, wear hearing protection. So, a big one that people want to wear protection to is concerts, because we all want to hear the band that we paid a lot of money to go see.

But they actually make specialty earplugs that are music filtering. So, you can enjoy the music, still hear all the quality. It just turns it down a little bit, and you can find some of those online at Walmart, at Amazon. Those are a great option.

And rule of thumb, if you are exposed to loud sounds, try to limit the amount of time as much as possible. So, if you are going to a concert, maybe don't go to two back to back. Just go to one and then let your ears have a break after that.

Host: Great advice there sure. Couple of other questions for you. How the latest treatment for hearing issues? If you do have one, how is it addressed by a professional like yourself?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: It's the most exciting time to be in audiology because we have so many cool new things coming out in the field. So, we do still have hearing aids, but not the ones that you would have pictured, you know, your grandma or grandpa wearing that looked like a big ball of bubble gum in their ear. We have devices now that you can barely see. They are connected to Bluetooth. Honestly, I think sometimes jealous because they can listen to music and phone calls and all these cool things through hearing aids now.

If your hearing is bad enough, cochlear implants an option. That's a device that actually some of the damaged structures in the inner ear, and that's a really new development that's come out in the last few years. But Joey, I think we're going to some cool things coming soon. They're doing trials right now of trying to regrow the sensory structures in the inner ear in some animal trials. And eventually, I really do think we might get to the point where we can do that in humans. So, it's definitely something to keep an eye on for the future. I think audiology is going to become better known in the next 10 years because we've got a lot of cool things coming up.

Host: So, that will likely mean that instead of what we mentioned earlier, people not talking about it enough, hopefully people be talking about this a whole lot more, right?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: I hope so. I'm going to keep spreading the word and it's really cool see what science is coming up with in our field.

Host: And then finally, in summary here, how often someone see an audiologist presuming they have no risk factor, no issue, if you're just the average person?

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Sure. You know, again, there's never really a wrong time. But if you're just thinking that you might have a hearing problem, talk to your primary care provider about doing a basic hearing screening. They can typically do that in their office. And then if there's a concern there, they can refer to an audiologist.

If you do have known hearing loss, we recommend going annually to your audiologist because unfortunately, as we age, our hearing and so we want to keep a close eye on things. So once a year if you have hearing loss is recommended.

Host: Well, we trust you're familiar with good hearing health. Madison, we forward to those exciting developments in future in world of audiology. We can hear the passion in your voice. So, keep your great work, and thanks so much again.

Madison Howe, Au.D.: Thanks so much for having me, Joey. And everybody, go get your ears checked. Keep your ears protected. Wear earplugs when you're around loud sounds.

Host: a reminder, the Speech and Hearing Clinic is located at 4021 West 8th Street in Rock. For general information and for appointments, please call 501-320-7300. For more information, please visit uamshealth.com.

you found this podcast helpful, please do share it on your social. I'm Joey Wahler. And thanks again for being part of UAMS Health Talk from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.