
Improve Full Health
Physical health
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Fatigue
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Falls
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Traumatic Brain Injury
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Nerve damage
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Hospital stays
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Exercise
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Sleep
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Hydration

Fatigue
Feeling of tiredness, lack of energy is common with hearing loss due to increased brain activity
Fatigue can lead to falls and injuries
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Brain is overworked trying to 'listen' to the poor-quality auditory signals and interpreting them
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Hearing loss with tinnitus can disturb sleep and add to tiredness
Many medical problems and treatments can add to fatigue
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Chemotherapy and radiation, or recovering from major surgery, infections
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Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart, kidney, lung, thyroid diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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Untreated pain and diseases like fibromyalgia
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Anemia, sleep apnea and other sleep disorders
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Recent stroke, Parkinson’s disease
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Taking certain medications, such as antidepressants, antihistamines, and medicines for nausea and pain
Manage fatigue with hearing aid use
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Increase hearing aid wear time especially in environments where you have the most difficulty in hearing
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Keep a fatigue diary to check for patterns throughout the day and plan use of hearing aids
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Manage your calendar to focus on activities that mean the most to you
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Seek help if you feel overwhelmed with daily activities
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Be cautious about late night or early morning drives
Manage fatigue in workplace
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Take rest breaks for jobs requiring physical work
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Shift workers and night workers can manage schedule by rotating shifts
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Speak with Safety Officer if you have concerns

​Falls
Hearing loss harms balance and situational awareness
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Damage to vestibular system
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Disturbed situational awareness by lowering ability to sense changes in the environment
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Fatigue and tiredness
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Missed safety instructions, alerts
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Vertigo linked to hearing loss
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Vision problems, weak muscle strength
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Medications causing drowsiness
Wearing hearing aids and other preventive steps can lower falls
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Manage fatigue so the body can have a quick response time to correct from a fall
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Have a better situational awareness, hear alerts, safety instructions
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Important for situations where you cannot see sound source - busy streets, workplace with heavy machinery
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Wear prescription glasses, along with your hearing aids
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Use sensible footwear, manage medications that can cause drowsiness
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Diet (rich in Vitamin D, calcium) and muscle strengthening exercises
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At Work: Use the right and properly maintained safety equipment - harness, guardrails, lifelines
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At Home: Remove clutter and tripping hazards, use ladders per directions, use non-slip mats, improve lighting

​Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
These injuries can worsen hearing loss due to damages to the inner ear or damage to part of the brain that processes sound. This can be prevented.
Most TBIs are mild TBIs or concussions and are due to
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A bump, blow, or jolt to the head
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A hit to the body causing head and brain to jerk back and forth
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This sudden movement can cause
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Brain to bounce around or twist in the skull
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Chemical changes in the brain
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Stretching and damaging brain cells
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Check mild TBI symptoms
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Physical: Bothered by light or noise, dizziness, feeling tired, headaches, nausea, vomiting, vision problems
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Thinking and Remembering: Concentration problems, feeling slowed down, groggy, short- or long-term memory problems, trouble thinking clearly
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Social or Emotional: Anxiety, irritability, feeling more emotional, sadness
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Sleep: Sleeping less or more than usual, trouble falling asleep
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Seek immediate medical help
Prevent TBIs
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Buckle Up Every Ride – Wear a seat belt every time you drive or ride in a motor vehicle
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Never drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
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Choose a sports program that enforces rules for preventing head impacts
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Wear a helmet, or appropriate headgear over your hearing aids, in any situation that can cause head injury​

​Nerve damage
Acoustic nerve damage can be caused by acoustic neuroma, certain viral infections
Monitor for signs and get prompt medical attention
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Due to overproduction of Schwann cells—the cells that normally wrap around nerve fibers to help support and insulate nerves
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Due to this growth, the hearing and balance nerves are affected
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Can worsen hearing loss, cause tinnitus, loss of balance
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Can interfere with the face sensation nerve causing facial numbness
Certain viral infections (chicken pox, shingles) can damage nerves affecting hearing
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The virus can affect face, tongue and inner ear nerves
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Blisters on the outside of the ear (pinna) and in the ear canal
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Severe ear pain, ringing in the ear, increased sensitivity to sound
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Hearing loss on one side
Watch signs for sudden worsening of hearing loss and consult with ENT doctor

​Hospital stays
Hospitalizations in those with hearing loss can be longer due to
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Missed patient-doctor communications
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Increased falls that can lead to complications
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Re-admission due to missed post-discharge instructions
To better manage hospital stays
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Tell doctor and hospital staff that you have hearing loss
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Wear hearing aids when speaking with doctor, hospital staff
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Ask for communication accessibility support that is required to be provided by hospitals
Improve hospital stays by wearing hearing aids and asking for communication accessibility support as available

​Exercise
The body’s balance system and brain health are helped by physical activity along with good hearing and vision health
Being physically active is important at any age
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At least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate-intensity
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Moderate intensity - you can talk but not sing
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Aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bone-strengthening activities
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Muscle-strengthening - weights, resistance bands
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Bone-Strengthening - brisk walking, running, jumping rope, lifting Weights
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Practice safety to prevent injuries

​Sleep
Sleep is important for physical and mental health - which support good hearing health
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7 to 8 hours a day
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Heals and repairs your heart and blood vessels
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Lowers risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke
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Helps your brain work properly
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Feel energized after waking
Good sleep habits
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Set comfortable sleeping environment, set sleep times
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Avoid noises, bright lights, clocks, TVs, personal devices about 30 minutes before sleeping
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Check with a doctor if you have sleep problems

​Hydration
Water is important as all body cells need water to work - including hearing well
It is also the base for all body fluids, including saliva, blood, urine, sweat, and joint fluid
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About 9-13 cups everyday
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Water (the best)
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Other low-calorie beverages, such as plain coffee or tea, or sparkling or flavored waters
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Nutritional beverages, such as milk or milk alternatives
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100% vegetable juice
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Low nutritional value - Soda, sugary beverages
Signs of dehydration and treatment
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Feeling very thirsty and having headaches
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Mouth or skin may feel very dry
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Urine is darker
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Confusion, fainting
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Treat with liquids, Intravenous fluids

