This Ear'hurting Winter!

So we are in the throes of winter, that means cold and ear ache. I have a daughter that suffers with her ears and the cold of winter is always very cruel to her. I recently dropped her off at school and as she exited my warm car she was struck by the cold winter air. She immediately grabbed her ears and screamed mommy (kids default word for everything happening in their lives). I was quick to the rescue and whipped out my EarHurts, which she inserted into her cold, painful ear and sighed a big thank you. Mom to the rescue yet again.
Moms be prepared, this winter is harsh on our children’s ears and if you like me you hate sending them into the cold unarmed.
Ear pain usually strikes at the most inconvenient time like then at 7am at school and 12 o’clock at night when aid is far from reach.
I always keep a pair of EarHurts handy for just such an occasion.

Hope winter is over soon!

Penny

DEAF BY EAR BUD

If you have not yet heard that sticking a cotton ear bud down your ear canal is not good for you….. where have you been?

After I read a tweet on twitter where somebody said that they received this information from their doctor, but have been using them for a decade and nothing has gone wrong.  

….. YET!!!

It hit me, that seeing that I am in the Ear care industry, it would make more sense to me that sticking things down that small canal mm away from or actually poking at your ear drum would / will cause damage.

To defend my common sense theory and this being advise that all good doctors , Audiologist and Ear nose and Throat Specialist / Surgeons give, I googled the subject and merely typed in, ‘cotton buds cause ear damage’ that I planned on forwarding to the individual to persuade them to LISTEN …. No pun intended.

Matter of for meters appeared.

With all this information on the internet, I find it hard to understand that most people are either ignorant or just uninformed about ear care.

I learned (from spot reading) through all of these studies, journals, articles from doctors and many more that a cotton bud can cause a rupture in your eardrum (aka - Tympanic membrane perforation) .  It can either heal by its self or in more severe cases it can cause:

1)   Loss of hearing

-       cause by damage to the ear bones – permanent hearing loss

2)   Facial paralysis and vertigo

3)   Middle ear infection

-       The eardrum also acts as a barrier to keep outside material (such as bacteria) from entering the middle ear. When the eardrum is perforated, bacteria can easily travel to the middle ear -causing an infection.

And much more.

Like I always say, I would choose to be safe than sorry, rather use preventative ear care, than to have to wait for a cure, because … there is no cure for hearing loss.

Protect and look after your and your families ears. They are worth it.

Visit saveourear.co.za

Hearing Loss is a disease of civilization

Modern technology has created a high decibel environment from which it is not easy to escape!!

Car stereo, I pods, Cell phones even Traffic and noisy public spaces (sports events, Rock concerts , restaurants) Over the last few years with the rise of industrial society, noise levels have increased dramatically but our ears have not evolved to cope with these. Music for its own reasons has gotten louder, to the point of creating a public health hazard.

The length of exposure is a crucial factor in hearing loss. A constant 100 decibel level can cause damage after two hours!! During the 2010 soccer world cup

Many people suffered temporary or permanent hearing loss. The average sound exposure experienced by spectators was 100.5 decibels with peak exposure that exceeded 140 decibels by spectators blowing vuvuzelas.

Sound pressure levels of familiar everyday sounds:

Normal conversation – 60 db

Baby crying – 70  db

Noisy restaurant – 80 db

Approaching train (people on platform)- 100 db

Chainsaw – 100 db

Rock concert – 120 db

Pain threshold – 130 db

Jet engine/gunshot – 140 db

Rocket launch pad – 180 db

With all this information does it not make sense to protect your ears and those of your family??

Earplugs with a high decibel rating go a long way to protecting your ears and ensuring that they will be healthy for many years to come!!

Take care of what you have ....

Ear care (did I just swear?)

…  It being a very unpopular and under appreciated thing, should be something of the past. There are but only a handful of people who honestly take care of their own and their family’s ears. With our lack of listening closer and more carefully we tend to put things louder, therefore enhancing the possibility of damage to our ears.

Here are some questions that need answering:

Do you have ears?

Can you hear?

Can you imagine being with out hearing?

People only start to worry about their ears once ear problems occur. Are you one of them?

When I start talking to people about ear care, most start pulling a face, others start asking questions and telling stories about their bad experiences involving either them or their children. Whether you are interested or not, you need to be aware of damages and the care to prevent it.

Loud music playing in the car and on earphones. Loud machinery. Instruments playing at close range. At shooting ranges. At Building sites. In mines.  People screaming at events or maybe, blowing the vuvuzela. I can go on for hours. This affects us all.

All of this and many more are the cause of irreparable damage to your hearing.

The key word we should focus on here is PREVENTION. Follow the saying, “Prevention is better than a cure “ because in this case, there is no cure.

Hearing loss creeps up on you, and before you realize what’s going on the damage is done.. Do you want to live in silence???

LOVE HEARING?

LOVE YOUR EARS!

Why don’t you take the first step and visit an Audiologist to have your ears tested. Have your baby’s ears tested. Other than that, there are affordable earplugs in the market.

Take responsibility today, save the ears of your family …. 

Cirrus Healthcare has a range of products that provide different levels of noise reduction for different applications.

xxxxx

Ear Care

We left a chilly Pretoria in the wee hours and were looking forward to a week at the coast, none more relieved than I to be leaving the work , school run and constant sinus problems behind me. As we reached Van Reenens pass and passed the half way mark I noticed that my ears “popped” and kind of “unblocked”.

The weather at the coast was a heavenly 25 degrees and we spent a glorious few days on the beach , but by the third day the wind had picked up and far be it for a little wind to spoil what precious few days we had left to enjoy our last few swims in the ocean.
By the evening my ears were not happy and I had awful pain. Probably a combination of sea water, wind and of course the fact that I had forgotten to protect my ears by bringing my medicated earplugs along.

“Oh well” I thought, it will “blow over” (no pun intended) but ignoring the problem was not really the solution.
To avoid an unpleasant trip back , something had to be done and I was just grateful that it was not one of the children with the problem as it is so much harder to cope with kids with sore ears.
Luckily I found a pharmacy in the area who stocked the Cirrus range of ear  products and got hold of some EarHurts and after inserting one of the plugs into the affected ear , there was huge relief by the next day!!
How grateful I am that I avoided a doctors’ visit and could enjoy the rest of my holiday.

I can certainly recommend using these products.

   Eleni Kyriazis

Hi Eleni, The lesson learnt here is to be prepared and know that ear pain usually strikes when you least expect it (like the evening or the middle of the night). I have learnt from experience to carry Earhurts with me everywhere.

Thanks for your email , Penny

Save Our Ears- 13/04/2011

www.saveourears.co.za
This blog is dedicated to giving readers useful information regarding ear care. Why Ear care?When Cirrus Healthcare Products launched into SA 3 years ago, professionals and consumers were completely in the dark about the concept of taking care of their ears. Never before had such an emphasis been placed on using products that could naturally prevent reoccurring ear problems. As a mom this was a topic close to my heart as I had had 2 children that from young suffered with ear infections. tired of using the usual antibiotics to cure the problem I wanted a form of natural and easy prevention that my children and I could administer without much fuss.
Not only do my kids use the products but so do I. I have become addicted to having a peaceful nights sleep without being disturbed by barking dogs or thunder.
I will be posting regular information tips to assist who ever reads this to care for their ears.
Penny