Welcome to the Southern ENT audio blog! In this episode we delve into the world of hearing health with audiologist Dr. Tori Triche. We explore the pervasive effects of hearing loss, the vital role of audiologist, and the latest innovations in hearing aid technology. Ideal for anyone concerned about their hearing health or that of a loved od, this episode provides insights into understanding and treating hearing loss, and maintaining brain health.
Welcome to the Southern ENT Associates Audio Blog, I'm your host, Shelby Stockton. Today I spoke with audiologist Dr. Tori Triche about hearing loss. We discussed the effects of hearing loss, why it’s important to work with an audiologist, and Dr. Triche explained some of the exciting advancements in hearing aids. If you’re concerned with your or a loved one’s hearing, this audio blog is a great place to start educating yourself on the path to different treatments.
Shelby Stockton:
Hi, Dr. Triche. Thanks so much for joining me on the audio blog.
Dr. Triche:
Not a problem. How are you today?
Shelby Stockton:
I'm wonderful, especially because I get to talk to you about audiology.
Dr. Triche:
That's great.
Shelby Stockton:
Yes. I have a few questions for you, and my first one is, what are the effects of hearing loss?
Dr. Triche:
So hearing loss in general is always kind of a difficult conversation for people. So the big thing is we want to make sure that communication is what we're not missing. So, with patients with hearing loss, it's understanding that we're more worried about versus anything. So when we're not understanding what's going on in a conversation, I always make the joke with patients, you're going to end up nodding your head to the wrong question one day and you're going to get stuck doing something you don't want to do.
But on top of that, you also have to look at safety of hearing loss as well. So with certain types of hearing losses, more severe losses, your safety's at risk, being able to hear vehicles on the street, things coming up around you, those real profound losses, being able to hear alarms.
The last thing that's going to be obviously brain health overall. So making sure that we're keeping our brain working. The brain's a muscle, we want to make sure that it gets the exercise that it needs. So if we lose a lot of that, it starts to go into that seclusion of hearing loss where, well, I'm not going to hear it anyway, so I'm just going to stay home or stay out of the conversation. That's kind of the big thing that we always talk to patients about, we don't want your hearing loss to be the main thing affecting you from not interacting.
Shelby Stockton:
Yeah, I think a lot of people are surprised that actually the brain can atrophy a bit when you're not hearing.
Dr. Triche:
Right. So we use auditory deprivation when that brain gets lazy and stops working on us, it's really hard to understand and communicate and be present with your family members and the main thing.
Shelby Stockton:
Why work with an audiologist when it comes to hearing loss?
Dr. Triche:
So the big thing about audiologists is we're, not to sound braggy, but we're experts in our field. We do eight years of this. So we do four years undergrad and then four years to get our doctorate. That whole four years, all we're learning about in grad school is the ear. We are ear specialized. So anything that happens there, we should have the answer for it. Absolutely, we're focused on the hearing center, but also the balance center so we're looking at all of that in general, but we go to school for this. It's our main focus. That's the big thing. You're getting someone who should know the ins and outs of the ear, any question you should have.
Shelby Stockton:
And you want to go to the best.
Dr. Triche:
Right.
Shelby Stockton:
How do you introduce hearing aids to patients who've never worn one before?
Dr. Triche:
So hearing aids are always a difficult conversation. Nobody wants hearing aids. That's the biggest thing. But I feel like there's a lot of stigma behind it. Whenever we think of hearing aids, I feel like everybody goes back to 20 years ago where they were the giant things hanging off of your ear whereas now they've gotten really small. They've gotten kind of cute. Some of them even look like AirPods or earbuds that are sitting in your ears.
The big thing is, I think just explaining this is just a conversation. It's not anything where you have to commit. You don't have to walk out the door with an idea. It's just letting you know this are your options. This is where we're seeing you're having difficulty. This is where you may receive some help from that. But ultimately, I mean, hearing aids are purely motivation based. If we don't want them, we're not going to do well with them.
So the big thing is just kind of explaining. It may not be where we want them right now, but we need them right now. So at least if it's a bug in their ear, that kind of sticks out where they start noticing all their friends and family members that have hearing aids that didn't tell anybody. I think we've done a good job on that point, just having that thought in their head where they start looking for it and they start catching it.
Shelby Stockton:
Yes. And humans, we need time to process these things.
Dr. Triche:
Yes, absolutely. And it's a big change. That's a big thing. Hearing aids are a lifestyle change because it's like with glasses, it's an adjustment as well. You're walking, you're waking up in the morning, the first thing you do is you're putting your glasses on so you can see to go to the bathroom or get ready for the day. With hearing aids, it may not be where you put them on the second you wake up, but before you walk out the door, you've got to remember you need your ears.
Shelby Stockton:
What are some other treatments for hearing loss?
Dr. Triche:
So it depends on what we're talking about. So obviously those more severe losses that don't fit hearing aids that are a little bit more profound, that's when we start talking about those cochlear implant options, which is basically a device that's implanted into the ear for those really severe losses that hearing aids don't benefit.
Other options could be bone anchored devices, so people with more conductive or mixed type losses, meaning their eardrum is the problem or something past the eardrum, not directly the inner ear so that more neural loss. So those conductive losses, the bone anchor hearing aids are an option for them, which it is a surgical option, but it is something where they're getting the help that they need without something that's sitting in the ear.
And then of course, we have sound amplifiers that we recommend for some patients or over-the-counter devices if hearing aids just aren't an option and we're not sitting at that more severe type of loss, there are those things out there. But of course, it all depends on what the medical professional, whether it be that your ENT or your audiologist would recommend.
Shelby Stockton:
So lots of different things. Great.
Dr. Triche:
Anything to help those ears.
Shelby Stockton:
Anything.
Dr. Triche:
I always tell patients anything's better than nothing.
Shelby Stockton:
Isn't that the truth? Isn't that the truth? What's your advice for anybody who might be afraid to visit an audiologist?
Dr. Triche:
Most of the time we're real nice. You're not going to see an audiologist that's going to sit there and push things on you. We're going to explain what's going on. We're going to make sure that you feel comfortable with what we're doing. I mean, audiology is weird. We're coming at you with things. We're putting stuff in your ears. We're talking about hearing loss that a lot of people don't think they have. A big thing is a lot of people will just come in and they're like, oh, I feel like I have some hearing loss, or I might have some ringing in my ears. And then you tell them, okay, well you've got a pretty severe hearing loss. Well, that can be kind of jarring first visit. So we try to make it a pleasant experience. Hearing loss is the one thing that can be invisible to a lot of people.
So by just letting them know this is, hey, we're going to figure out what's going on. At the very least, we've got a good baseline on you. If you don't want to go any further today, fine. But if you want to talk about other options, we're here for you. So it's a big thing of we want you to feel comfortable because we know it's not the best. It's not a fun situation. It's a weird thing.
Shelby Stockton:
Totally.
Dr. Triche:
You can't pass or fail your hearing test. It's the one test you can't pass or fail.
Shelby Stockton:
That's good to hear. No one wants to fail. And I've talked to a few audiologists and I have to agree, you're good people. Well, Dr. Triche, thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate it. You gave us some great information.
Dr. Triche:
Of course. Thank you so much.