More than thirty -one million Americans are affected by hearing loss and fully two-thirds are over the age of 55. Among the great chronic health conditions of the 65 and older group, hearing impairments ranks number three, right after arthritis and hypertension. Fully a third of age 50-plus persons in the United States have hearing disabilities. Over age 70 the incidence of hearing disabilities increases to near 50 percent. Unfortunately, loss of hearing is more prevalent than ever in history, yet the gradual course of auditory aging is not the primary cause of this problem. What has changed in our society since 1960′ is the increasing acceptance of loud noise and loud music.

Hearing instruments have continued to advance technologically. The most revolutionary advancement is probably the “Open Fit” (also called open ear or open canal) hearing instruments, which are largely invisible to the observer and can be fitted to people with mild through moderately severe hearing losses. But this new design is especially friendly to seniors with characteristics audiograms that fall off in the high frequencies and physical handling difficulties experienced with some other types of hearing instruments.

Many older persons listen to music, although a hearing difficulty may interfere with their enjoyment. Since a typical hearing loss during the aging tears robs them of higher pitch sounds that are audible to normal hearing people, the hard of hearing tend to increase the volume in order to make the music more audible, sometimes to the

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder among all ages, especially among senior citizens. The patient should remember or write down all the insomnia symptoms he/she experiences and discuss with the physician to help in making a correct diagnosis. The most typical of all insomnia symptoms is difficulty in sleeping. Encounters with anxiety and/or depression are two main symptoms associated with insomnia. Insomnia symptoms include poor concentration and short memory. Insomniac people usually awake prematurely during sleep and have trouble falling asleep again. Insomniacs feel irritability without any obvious cause. It is especially experienced during the day. People suffering from insomnia frequently experience decreased alertness and mental sluggishness.

Insomnia symptoms may last for a little or longer time, depending on the type of insomnia. In case of Transient Insomnia, the symptoms last for a few nights. In Short-Term Insomnia, the symptoms stay for two to three weeks. If they last more than three weeks, the patient is suffering from Chronic Insomnia. Health experts also sometimes distinguish between primary and secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia is characterized by symptoms of difficulty in falling asleep, waking several times during sleep, and fatigue. These symptoms last for a month and has unknown cause. In secondary insomnia, there is a known underlying medical condition. Depression is major cause of secondary insomnia.

To diagnose the condition of sleeplessness as insomnia, the physician makes sure that the symptoms are not being caused by other sleep disorders or other disease or side effects of any

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…from folk wisdom to scientific study, all agree that conditions and character are passed down from generation to generation, whether by nature or nurture. Though most generational physical diseases have a genetic (nature) element, many behavioral conditions seem to be generational mostly by nurture, or parental programming. Since Mom and Dad didn’t set out to mess us up, it’s important we understand their roles in our mental health and find a way to get beyond our programming and become who we want to be. That’s what this article is about.

Patterns Of Anxiety, Anger, Addiction, Depression, Etc: My father has been dead over 30 years, but I often find myself leaning on my porch rail exactly as he did. I first discovered his subconscious influence on my life when I began verbally abusing my wife for no reason. That sparked what has become a 20-year study in human behavior. The patterns exist in every family, for good and bad, alike. With a few exceptions, traits of kindness and decency, addiction, cruelty, even odd tilts of the head and other quirks are found throughout every family. I believe these things could even be mapped if you had enough generational information.

Family behavioral traits are so reliable that many have tried to prove a genetic cause. While it’s convenient to pin our bad behavior or mental health issues on our genes, that kind of thinking may duck very real causes and

Almost everybody, no matter how confident they may seem, has a great fear of the unknown. Everybody has his own anxieties and combating fear is such a great challenge for everyone. For some, it may even be a source of entertainment as portrayed in the hit reality TV show “Fear Factor”.

Anxiety is something not just shown on TV, it is something very real. One place that can create great anxiety in people can also be the place where most people built their careers and the place where they get their own source of income – the workplace.

Work is one of the leading sources of stress and anxiety. Dealing with strict supervisors, chances of a demotion, whether you can get your job done on time and ultimately, the fear of getting fired can really give every worker something to be anxious about.

In any workplace, there is an existing system that you are forced to adhere to. These may include rules, regulations and office policies. Sometimes anxiety is brought about the fact that there may be some conflict of interest between doing what you think is right and what the present system dictates. This may be further illustrated when workers have to deal with customers or with their relationship with their co-workers. It is human nature to ease his or her own anxiety – either by adapting or leaving your workplace.

The first step in combating anxiety is to accept that you are undergoing such stage. No matter how society