Take steps toward better hearing with this timely offer

This paid event listing is sponsored by Baker Audiology & Hearing Aids.

You can win some great prizes with a digital event this month raising awareness of hearing loss — but that’s only part of the potential reward.

In honor of Protect Your Hearing Month, Baker Audiology & Hearing Aids is sponsoring a digital scratch-off game. While you can win great prizes, each time playing also reveals a fact about hearing health.

“It is our goal to spread the word about hearing health, and we thought a fun little game would entice people to see the message,” owner and audiologist Melissa Baker said.

After playing the game, you’re registered to win prizes, including:

• $100 Minervas gift card.
• $100 Morrie’s Steakhouse gift card.
• Free Apple custom-form earbuds.
• Free pair of hearing aids.

Click on the image to play.

“We hope to change how society thinks about hearing health and hearing protection and being aware of too much noise in the same way we’re now all aware of too much sun or secondhand smoke,” Baker said. “Listening to loud music or working in a noisy environment without hearing protection can result in hearing loss. Once your hearing is gone, it’s gone.”

Aging is the biggest cause of hearing loss, but you’re never too young to have your hearing tested or find a benefit from a variety of hearing aids, she said.

“We hope to reduce the stigma and isolation of hearing loss. Hearing aids are often viewed as a sign of old age. Although hearing aid technology, design and fit have improved, and devices have gotten smaller, there is still that uneasiness that often holds people back from getting hearing aids and experiencing the many benefits they can offer.”

Melissa Baker, audiologist/owner, and Dr. Libby Benson

In honor of Protect Your Hearing Month, here are some tips to consider:

• Be mindful of the volume in your earbuds, car radio and environment. If you work in a noisy environment or frequently attend concerts and stadium events, consider ear protection or earplugs.
• Recognize the signs of hearing loss, and get your hearing tested. Your audiologist will assess your hearing in both ears to determine your type of hearing loss and talk through options to help you discover a journey with better hearing.
• Be understanding if you know someone with hearing loss. That person might avoid complicated listening situations such as restaurants and social gatherings with a lot of background noise or multiple people speaking at the same time. When people feel uncomfortable going into social situations and engaging with others, they can start to feel isolated.

An increasing number of children are experiencing hearing loss. The main concern is the volume on their technology devices and the repeated misuse of personal technology. It takes only 28 seconds of high-volume listening to cause permanent hearing damage, and young children are still developing, making them much more vulnerable to high-volume damage.

In adults, excess use of earbuds at a high volume can cause hearing loss and tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. The sensitive hair cells in your inner ear never grow back once they have been damaged. Signs of a hearing loss that adults can recognize easily include difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds like a doorbell, telephone or alarm clock and difficulty understanding conversations in a noisy place.

Over-the-counter hearing aids are devices that make sounds louder. While they’ve been around for more than a century, they were not regulated by the FDA until this year. Although not required, any consumer can get a hearing test from an audiologist before buying OTC hearing aids. The key benefit is finding out if an OTC hearing aid device can be useful for the consumer’s hearing loss.

To learn more, call Baker Audiology & Hearing Aids at 605-306-5756, or click here.