Columnists

Hearing Loss, Dementia, & Staying Connected

Issue 12.15

Dr. Richard Luekenga, Dr. Ryan Whitaker & Dick Nourse, retired KSL channel 5 News Anchorman, took the time to educate a group of St. George locals about the relationship between how we hear and how we connect (cognitively and socially).  This very important theme has been researched and studied by our doctors at the Hearing & Balance Doctors of Utah for years.

Dr. Luekenga expressed prior to the presentation, “We all have a Neuro-Audiology sub specialty allowing us to really evaluate how sounds are being processed in our more central systems.  We devote a significant amount of our clinical time helping individuals understand their peripheral abilities (how they hear) as well as their Neuro-Cognitive abilities (how well they process and understand sound).”

Dick Nourse told his personal story of what it has been like to fight Throat Cancer.  He acquired a moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss as a result of radiation therapy, and he now has learned how to reconnect by improving his ability to hear and understand speech through his new Personalized Hearing Treatment Plan.

He told the audience, “At first, I really did not want to try Hearing Aids.  When my wife let me know that my hearing loss does affect her and the rest of the family, I decided that I better go see what my options are.  Everybody at Hearing and Balance Doctors of Utah, from the front office to the Doctors of Audiology, really seemed so interested in my hearing health.  At my visit, I discovered that there is a very real relationship between hearing loss and dementia.  I never knew what an important role my ears play in helping maintain certain parts of my brain.  I have known some people that have done well with hearing aids and others who have not.  These Doctors really have helped me know how to achieve my very best.  These hearing devices not only sound great, they are so comfortable and you cannot even see them.”

If you feel like you are not hearing as well as you used to or your current hearing aids are not performing like they should, please call us for an appointment. Our phone number is (435) 688-8991.

 

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