A hearing test will confirm if you need a hearing device or not. While there are different types of hearing aids available, the digital ones can do most of the automatic adjusting for you.
Advancement in technology is making our lives easier every day, no matter how much we damage our organs, technology has a way of giving us hope again.
Hearing aids are just one such device, that has made millions of lives easier
What is the role of a hearing aid?
As we all know the job of a hearing aid is to collect sounds from around and deliver them to the ear. They are called BTE (Behind the ear) and ITE (In the ear). There are some that are in the ear canal (CIC) and completely in the ear canal ones as well called mini CIC. Younger Children usually have BTE, which also comes in a wonderful color range, while older ones will have the ITE version, which is much smaller and fits perfectly in the ear.
If someone has a very severe hearing problem, they might be advised to use a Cochlear implant. It’s a tiny electronic device that is surgically implanted and helps people who cannot be helped by external hearing aids.
All kinds of hearing loss can be helped with modern technology, if not completely, then at least to a very great extent.
Basic Parts and Science of a Hearing Aid
The microphone is the aid that receives sounds, which are then converted to signals with the help of a computer chip. It analyses and adjusts the sounds based on your needs.
The amplifier increases the strength of this signal. In advanced devices, the noise-cancellation feature kicks in, or some other features are processes.
The speaker produced a magnified signal in the form of the sound wave and delivers it to your ear.
A battery is the oxygen of the hearing aid. Some devices now come with rechargeable batteries, while others come with disposable ones.
Modern Features in Hearing Aids
Today, hearing aids come with improved technology and have many new features like –
Noise Cancellation Feature: This is a modern feature, which has improved the quality of hearing aids a lot, by enhancing its purpose.
Directional microphones: These can be aligned to pick up sounds from the direction you want. This helps when one is in an environment where there is a lot of noise, or generally in a crowded place.
Rechargeable batteries: Although this feature comes mostly with BTE hearing aids only, it makes them very cost-effective.
Telecoils Technology: Also called T-coils is a technology that can help hearing aids to be paired with telephones or other kinds of listening devices.
Wireless connectivity: They can also be called Bluetooth systems in hearing aids. Today hearing aids can connect to most of the gadgets without the help of an external device, making users participate in meetings, listen to music and carry a lot of mobile functions seamlessly.
Remote controls. Some hearing aids come with remote control devices too, which can help you adjust features without actually touching the hearing aid. With remote control, you can adjust volume, switch between wireless features, and T-coil technology effortlessly.
Hearing aids are usually helpful to people who have suffered sensorineural hearing loss, caused by damage to the small sensory cells inside the ear known as hair cells. The damage can be caused by disease, aging, or injury from noise or drugs. Some even have reported a hearing loss after they got infected with Covid. A hearing aid is a useful device that helps the surviving hair cells to detect vibrations and convert them into signals that the brain can read. In simple words, Hearing-aids take the effort of listening from your brain and deliver the sound signals directly to them
Hearing aids are now modern communication devices, which have given sounds a whole new meaning to human life. With the added comfort, it reduces stress levels and restores confidence in individuals.
]]>Italian physician Scipione Riva-Rocci developed an auscultation technique (listening to the internal sounds of the body) in 1896 which required only a stethoscope and an arm cuff hooked up to a manometer.
The method was not very difficult. The arm cuff is pumped full of air, that cuts off the circulation in the brachial artery, and the pressure is then released gradually. The blood flow remains turbulent for as long as the artery is partially compressed. A noise phenomenon known as Korotkoff sounds comes as a result, which can be counted by placing a stethoscope on the brachial artery or by installing a noise enhancer into the cuff.
Systolic blood pressure readings can be taken from the manometer as soon as they occur. The sounds disappear when compression of the artery is released fully and the blood can flow again. The pressure that can now be measured in the cuff is known as the diastolic blood pressure.
With the passage of time and advancement in medicinal techniques, however, the auscultation technique has how been widely replaced by automatic blood pressure monitoring devices. The automation and simplicity of the hardware has made these devices fit and friendly for home use as well. There is only one major difference in the operating principles of the model developed by Riva-Rocci and the modern blood pressure monitoring devices. The former records the resultant sounds and the latter records vibrations or oscillations of the vascular walls of the arteries.
Same as with the auscultatory method, blood flow through the artery returns when the cuff pressure falls below systolic blood pressure level. Vibrations in the artery walls are caused due to the turbulent, the maximum of which correlates with what is known as ‘mean arterial pressure’, or ‘MAP’. The so mentioned vibrations are detected by the sensors in the arm cuff. If the cuff pressure drops below the diastolic pressure, the vibrations stop. A record is created based on the changing oscillation amplitude between systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
It has been proven that detecting oscillation maximum is easier than it is to start and stop it, hence the MAP (mean arterial pressure) constitutes the most reliable figure for automatic blood pressure measurement. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure can also be calculated using the appropriate algorithms, the oscillogram and the MAP. However, there may be differences in measurement between individual devices and manufacturers.
Irrespective of whether blood pressure checks are performed digitally or in the old fashioned way, they are important for basic healthcare of every individual. Many problems like heart attacks and strokes can be effectively avoided if high blood pressure is detected early on. It may help save a life from premature death. Prevention and treatment of high blood pressure includes physical exercise, a change in diet and weight loss or medication.
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The force of blood on our artery walls is called blood pressure or BP. Arteries are those blood vessels in your body that are responsible to carry oxygen and other nutrients from your heart to tissues.
If you or anyone in your family has the very common lifestyle problem of BLOOD PRESSURE, then it is advisable to keep a constant check and keep a tab on fluctuations. Ideally, a balanced diet and some exercise should be part of everyone’s daily regime, along with a daily check of BP, as ignoring it for long can have very serious repercussions.
Generally, the narrower the artery, the higher the blood pressure.
There are two very popular kinds of equipment –
Blood Pressure is measured both ways, once the heart contracts, (called Systolic Pressure) and second when the heart relaxes (Diastolic Pressure). Systolic Pressure of 115 mm of mercury is considered normal, as is Diastolic Pressure of 70 mm of mercury. Normally this world be called – 115/70 reading.
Stressful situations cause BP to rise, and if a person’s readings are consistently 140/90, or higher would be called suffering from High Blood Pressure.
Traditionally, doctors used only an air cuff and a stethoscope to listen to arterial wall sounds, this method is still adopted by physicians where there are very limited resources, but modern times have given us better monitors, which not only give us accurate readings but which can be done at the comfort of our homes.
Understanding a digital BP monitor is very easy – it has an inflatable air cuff or band (usually black), these cuffs also have two variants – one for the upper arm, and one for the wrist. Other attachments to the BP monitor are - an air pump, and a sensor to monitor air pressure. This sensor plays the main role in sensing arterial wall vibrations to measure BP in an artery.
This cuff or band tightens with air and stops your blood flow. The pressure is then released from this band, and when the blood flow resumes again, the sensor at this point collects data for BP.
When the blood flow resumes in the arteries, it is a bit rushed flow, because it resumed after an obstruction, this, in turn, causes vibrations in your arteries wall, and this vibration helps the sensor to collect data on flow and pulse. The sensor is located in your cuff itself.
Regular readings help in keeping a tab on your health condition and prevent some serious health issues like stroke and heart attack. A home monitor is not only easy to use, but would save you from unnecessary outings and bills at clinics. Keeping a regular tab is easy with home monitors, and even advisable for people who need to measure their BP 4-5 times a day. If you go to the gym, or go for a jog or run, it is also advised for such people to keep a regular check on their BP.
Unattended BP conditions have many repenting with hospitalizations and organ failures later. Better to keep a tab on your health and change your diet or exercise regime accordingly.
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Regular monitoring of blood sugar levels is important as sometimes serious ailments can be avoided if we keep track our blood sugar levels.
As such all Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients should do this regularly, but if you have any of the below symptoms, you might be pre-diabetic, and with early detection, you can get it under control.
Keeping a home testing kit with you is always a good idea, as you can immediately know if there is fluctuation in your blood sugar levels, also with the rapid increase in Covid cases, it is best to visit pathology labs only when it is very necessary. Home testing kits would serve the purpose of being contact-less, and nowadays home testing kits are as reliable as pathology labs results.
But when you are handling home testing kits yourself, you need to follow proper instructions, to avoid injury infection.
This is many times done by people to replicate the pathology lab procedure, but this should not be done at home, as it will be very painful when the needle pricks or the pore is left open after pricking. In some cases, such a thing can also lead to infection. It is best advised to stick to instructions stated on the manual you get with the home testing kits.
The fingertip pad is the most sensitive, so pricking it will cause more pain than pricking at other places. Ideally press your fingertips and palm together, pricking at visible edges will hurt less. Alternatively, pricking at the same spot again and again daily or alternate days is not helpful either, it can cause serious injury and infection.
This is the most common cause of infection while using home testing glucose kits is that people try to use the same needle for up to 10 pricks. Almost all medical professionals will tell you that the needle which you use to prick to get a blood sample in a home testing kit also called a lancet, should be changed after every prick. After each prick, it is going to lose more and more of its sharpness, and if you continue using it, you are essentially hurting yourself more.
We can’t stress enough, how important this step is, and this is the one most omitted one. Even if your hands don’t look dirty, or you feel they are clean, please do wash your hands with soap and water before using kits. Not washing hands will temper your result, chances are the elements of whatever thing you help before testing would reflect in your result, making your testing inaccurate,
Complement regular blood sugar testing with a proper diet and mild exercise as well.
When proper precautions are followed, one can rely on home testing blood sugar testing kits effortlessly, and be sure of their results as well. Eat healthily and stay healthy!
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Nebulizers are gaining a lot of popularity, both in hospitalization, and post-Covid lockdowns in-home treatments as well. A major reason is a surge in lung and respiratory disease – which are a result of pollution or an unhealthy lifestyle. Whatever be the reason, once you suffer from respiratory disease, it is important to get immediate attention and relief, as prolonged trouble in breathing can have lasting damage.
According to American Medical Association, oral medicines are effective only 20 to 30% especially for the lungs
A nebulizer supplies medicine directly to the lungs giving relief from inflammation, clearing cough, and making breathing smooth again. They are easy to use and more effective.
A nebulizer is a machinethatfacilitates breathing and inhales medicinal vapors. Some even use it to inhalesteam when they are suffering from extreme cough and have difficulty even breathing and inhaling with normal steamer. They are increasingly used with children, who can’t handle inhalers.
There may be many reasons for coughing, but a nebulizer is something that would provide you with instant relief from cough, where even steamers and inhalers fail.
Asthma attacks don’t give a lot of time to rush to medical clinics or hospitals. A home nebulizer instantly supplies medicine to the lungs in form of mist and has saved countless lives. If one suffers from asthma, an inhaler would not help in case of an asthma attack, but a nebulizer would, and thus it is advisable to keep one near at all times.
A nebulizer is a very practical option when it comes to kids, whether it is to treat them for cough or other lung diseases, a nebulizer at home is not only handy, it will work 80-85% more than any oral medicinal intake.
A nebulizer machine gives you instant relief, can be used any time of the day, and even save you from countless hospital trips. They are easily available online and offline, a good quality nebulizer can benefit your lungs in a range of diseases.
The basic reason for this is that any medication taken orally would need to enter your body and break down to start working. This process takes time in line with the body’s system, which is a minimum of 30 to 40 minutes. While, in contrast, a nebulizer starts treating the source of information directly, bypassing the digestive process altogether.
A nebulizer puts you at rest easily, and has no side effects – so are very safe options for children and aged people as well. However, if the coughing persists or one sees some other kinds of effects like nasal bleeding, or vomiting, or dizziness, then one needs immediate medical attention. Also, it is advisable to use a nebulizer after getting a green signal from a practitioner, rather than just opting to use it by ourselves with self-diagnosis. Unnecessary use may not be such a good idea for the health of your lungs.
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