Seven effective habits to prevent hearing loss

(ARA) - Hearing loss is common, but the perception that hearing loss is only caused by aging is incorrect. More than 36 million American have hearing loss. Changing lifestyle habits, and treating a variety of health conditions can help to prevent hearing loss.

Seven healthy habits may help prevent or delay the onset of hearing loss.

1. Noise
Noise-induced hearing loss is the most common yet preventable cause of hearing loss. Exposure to dangerous levels of noise can occur at work, home and in many recreational activities. Wear ear plugs or muffs when operating loud equipment (i.e., lawn mowers, power saws, leaf blower, etc.) or when using firearms. Buy quieter products (compare dB ratings advertised on the products - the smaller the better).

2. iPod/MP3 Players
Listening to MP3 players at dangerous levels can cause permanent hearing loss. You can download apps to ensure noise exposure through your iPod does not exceed dangerous decibel levels. "Volume Limit" is a switch in the "settings" section of your iPhone or iPod to make sure that your hearing is protected. This allows you to set a maximum level for the volume output of the media player and even put a 4-digit code on it to keep it fixed.

3. Diabetes
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has found that hearing loss is twice as common in people with diabetes. Furthermore, of the 79 million adults with pre-diabetes, the rate of hearing loss is 30 percent higher than in those with normal blood sugar levels. Moderate weight loss, eating healthy and exercise can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes among adults at-risk for diabetes.

4. Smoking
Smoking is a risk factor for hearing loss. Smokers are nearly 70 percent more likely than nonsmokers to suffer hearing loss. Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke almost doubles the risk of hearing loss among adolescents. Studies show that smoking, age and noise exposure together increase the risk for hearing loss more than each of these factors alone.

5. Cardiovascular disease
Not only does exercise help to prevent type 2 diabetes, but cardiovascular health and hearing health appear associated. Growing evidence suggests a link between hearing loss and poor cardiovascular health.

6. Earwax (Cerumen)
Don't swab your ear canals. Cerumen cleans and lubricates the skin of the ear canal and provides protection from bacteria, fungi, insects and water. Attempting to remove cerumen or cleaning the ear canal with a cotton swab tends to push earwax deeper into the ear canal. Excess or impacted cerumen can press against the eardrum and/or occlude the external auditory canal resulting in hearing loss.

7. See an audiologist
Susceptibility to hearing loss is often undiagnosed and unrecognized. The Audiology Awareness Campaign, a nonprofit foundation aimed at providing the public with information on hearing loss, is sponsoring the fifth annual Listen Up America Week, National Hearing Screening Week, May 14 to 18, where audiologists will offer free hearing screenings nationwide. Call 888-833-EARS (3277) or visit www.audiologyawareness.com to find an audiologist in your area.

May 15th dealine for Homeowners' - Elderly/Disabled (Circuit Breaker) Tax Relief Program

Program Description
State law provides a property tax credit program for Connecticut owners in residence of real property, who are elderly (65 and over) or totally disabled, and whose annual incomes do not exceed certain limits. The credit amount is calculated by the local assessor and applied by the tax collector to the applicant's real property tax bill. The amount of the credit that may be granted is up to $1,250 for married couples and $1,000 for single persons. Credit amounts are based on a graduated income scale. Application may be made with the Assessor's Office between February 1 and May 15. For more information contact your town/city tax assessors office.  Click here for an overview of the state sponsored programs.

Jelly Beans and President Ronald Reagan

My kids love jelly beans and their favorite brand by far is Jelly Belly. Jelly Belly has perfected the art of making and marketing jelly beans. They make their jelly beans in 50 true-to-life flavors like Sizzling Cinnamon, Orange Sherbet, Strawberry Daiquiri and they are soooo good! Now I've learned that my favorite President Ronald Reagan played a big role in popularizing jelly beans during his time in the Oval Office and helping make the Jelly Belly brand a huge success. Click here to learn more about the history of jelly beans and the story of the Jelly Belly brand.

Alzheimer Diagnosis Possible With Scan

A much-anticipated test developed by Eli Lilly & Co. that detects the presence of proteins in the brain that are related to Alzheimer's disease was approved Friday by the Food and Drug Administration.

A much-anticipated test developed by Eli Lilly that detects the presence of proteins in the brain that are related to Alzheimer's disease was approved Friday by the FDA . Shirley Wang has details on Lunch Break.

The tool could enable clinicians to detect Alzheimer's earlier and more accurately in patients at the earliest sign of memory problems—a potential boon to treatment and developing drugs against the disease. Read More

Ten steps to conquering heart disease

 

(ARA) - You may already know that heart disease is the No. 1 killer in America, and that factors like obesity increase your risk of developing it. But of all the shocking things you know - or believe you know - about heart disease, here's the statistic that you might find the most eye-opening: 80 percent of all heart disease is preventable.

"It's important that everyone understand as much as possible about heart disease prevention, as 80 percent of heart disease can be avoided," says Dr. Martha Grogan, medical editor-in-chief of the new book "Mayo Clinic Healthy Heart for Life!"

Heart disease claims the lives of 600,000 Americans each year, and another 12.7 million suffer from heart attacks. One in three women are diagnosed with heart disease and 50 percent of men are at risk of heart attacks before age 65. Those statistics may make you feel like you, too, are in the cross-hairs for developing heart disease. Some lifestyle changes, however, can help you greatly reduce your risks.

In the new book, available now online and in bookstores nationwide, Mayo Clinic experts discuss risk factors for heart disease, how to recognize the symptoms, and what lifestyle steps you can take to help reduce your risk. The catchphrase "Eat 5, Move 10, Sleep 8" sums up the approach Mayo experts advocate to minimize heart disease risks. The slogan reminds you to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, do at least 10 minutes of moderately intense physical exercise daily, and get at least eight hours of sleep per night.

In addition, Mayo experts say, 10 simple steps can help you minimize your risk of heart disease. Here's a sampling of the steps that you'll find in the clinic's new heart healthy book:

* Eat healthy - Adopt simple dietary changes such as eating at least five fruits and vegetables each day, switching to whole grains and lean proteins, and eating a healthy breakfast every day.

* Be active - A sedentary lifestyle is as deadly as smoking, experts say. Exercising just 10 minutes a day can deliver significant heart-health benefits. Have trouble sticking with an exercise plan? Finding something you enjoy doing, whether it's playing a sport, running, tai chi, yoga or extreme house cleaning, can help you maintain your commitment to exercising.

* Sleep well - Sleep deprivation has serious health repercussions, including increasing your risk of heart disease. Conversely, getting adequate sleep can actually have a restorative effect on the heart. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says sleep deprivation has become a national public health epidemic. Creating a bedtime routine and a relaxing sleep environment can help you get the eight hours of sleep per night that your body needs.

* Plan for emergencies - A heart emergency can happen at any time, so it's important to know the warning signs of a problem. Learn to recognize symptoms of a crisis, and act quickly to get medical help.

* Enjoy life - A positive attitude, supportive network of family and friends, and good management of your stress not only improve your heart health, they can improve your overall enjoyment of life, as well.

In addition to offering solid advice and the 10 steps to heart health, the "Mayo Clinic Healthy Heart for Life!" also discusses how the heart functions, what can go wrong, tools for ongoing heart health, and tips on how to keep your whole family heart healthy.

"Following these steps can help you dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease, even though it can't be completely eliminated," Grogan says. "If you've done everything in your power to prevent heart disease or live with it as effectively as possible, then you have, indeed, conquered it."

Doctor Panels Recommend Fewer Tests for Patients

In a move likely to alter treatment standards in hospitals and doctors’ offices nationwide, a group of nine medical specialty boards plans to recommend on Wednesday that doctors perform 45 common tests and procedures less often, and to urge patients to question these services if they are offered. Eight other specialty boards are preparing to follow suit with additional lists of procedures their members should perform far less often.

The recommendations represent an unusually frank acknowledgment by physicians that many profitable tests and procedures are performed unnecessarily and may harm patients. Read More.

98-Year-Old Woman Takes On CRT Over Leaky Kitchen Sink

We'll all stop whimpering about living through the Great Recession once Mary Freitas tells us how she got her first job in 1930, at age 16, doing domestic work for $1 a day in Hartford.
That job during the Great Depression also cost her 50 cents each day for the round-trip trolley ride from her New Britain home.
Freitas, 98, still lives in New Britain and still holds firm the beliefs in hard work and accountability that carried her through the 20th century. She demands as much from others, even when someone comes to work for free at the house she built in 1949, with her now-deceased husband, "just the way we wanted it." Read More.

3.8 Million Images. 1 Frustrated Nation.

After 72 years under a cloak of secrecy, the federal government threw open the doors on the details of the 1940 Census Monday, in an unveiling marked by great fanfare – and even greater computer glitches.
For the first time, the census details — the actual answers offered up by our grandparents and great-grandparents – were made available online.  And in the web equivalent of Walmart offering an iPad for $99 on Black Friday, millions of Americans raced for the doors Monday morning, promptly overwhelming computer servers and leaving most would-be genealogists in the dark. Read More.