Category: General Health

There Are Celebrities Who Have Deafness Problems

There are celebrities who have deafness problems and you just dont know it. Read this article to find out who some of these people are.

If you love the series and the movie Star Trek, both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy suffer from deafness problems. Sadly for these two individuals, this was caused a loud explosion from a stage prop which occurred during one of their shoots for this series during the mid-1960s but through the years, both have still appeared in television and movies showing to everyone they still have what it takes to be in the entertainment industry.

Former President Ronald Reagan also suffered from a deafness problem but this happened before he made it to the Oval Office or even into politics. Just like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, this happened when he someone fired a gun near his right ear. Although the effects were not felt back then, in 1983, he was fitted with hearing aids which many are grateful for because it encouraged people who had deafness problems to get help.

Another former president who also has deafness problems is former President Bill Clinton. The joke is that he wears hearing loss because Hillary screams at him all the time but the truth is that this was caused by playing his saxophone regularly. We know practice makes perfect but since you play this instrument often and it is close to you, the ear will eventually reach its temporary threshold shift and if repeated, does result in permanent hearing loss. Former President Reagan wore one hearing aid while Former President Clinton wears two.

Former Miss America Heather Whitestone suffered from a deafness problem. Unknown to many, she lost her hearing when was 18 months old after she suffered from a high fever and the only way to help her was for the doctor to use a life saving anti-biotic.

When she was crowned Miss America in 1995, she was the first female to accomplish this feat. Eight years later, she was able to undergo a cochlear implant making it possible for her to finally hear what people were actually saying.

American body builder and actor Lou Ferrigno also suffers from a deafness problem. He got this when he was three years old due to an ear infection which permanently lost 80% of his hearing. His father put him down because of that but body building helped him combat low esteem making him win various body building competitions and roles in movies like the Hulk.

Jeff Float, a great athletic also has a deafness problem. He got this as a result of meningitis when he was 13 months old. As a result, he lost 90% of hearing in his right ear and 65% in his left ear. Children at school teased him because of his disability which lowered his self-confidence. Swimming changed that which made him a gold medal winner in the 1984 Olympics.

An accident, a sickness or loud music in the case of people who are in the music industry is the causes of deafness problems. It can happen while you are still a baby or later on in life. The only consolation is that there are now ways to treat it so you can communicate with people when you hear what they have just said.

Noise Causes Deafness Problems

Too much noise can make you deaf. If you think this is a joke, ask the estimated 10 million Americans who had had this kind of hearing problem.

The kind of deafness problem they have is what is known as noise induced haring loss. This occurs when too much noise hurts the hair cells in the inner ear and it can result in permanent damage. If this should happen, you will have to use haring aids since there is no way to correct the problem.

You will know when you begin to have this hearing problem when you have a hard time hearing what someone is saying. You will probably have to move closer to that person and even tell them to repeat what they just said.

Two factors that cause deafness problems are time and the intensity. Time is the duration at which you were exposed to it while intensity is measured in decibels.

Almost everyone works a 9 to 5 job or something similar to that which is equivalent to 8 hours. If you happen to work in an environment with noise levels of up to 85 decibels or even more, you could lose your hearing and it is only a matter of time.

You dont become deaf only from working in a loud environment. Studies have shown that this can also happen if you are exposed to firearms, loud explosions, certain hardware equipment, going regularly to a rock concert, using an MP3 player, watching television or listening to the radio, riding a motorcycle or snowmobile, farm machinery and selected childrens toys.

What is so astonishing about this deafness problem is that you dont feel any pain. It is only when you go somewhere that there is not that much noise that you will notice a ringing in your ears and might have a hard time hearing people. This does go away after a few hours or several days but if this happens regularly, this will become permanent.

Some of the early signs of noise induced hearing loss aside from having something repeated to you include the need to turn the volume higher and not being able to hear high pitched sounds. If you think you have this problem, it is best to have your ears checked by a trained professional.

Can this deafness problem be prevented? The answer is yes and this is done by using the proper safety equipment. Examples of these include canal caps, earplugs and earmuffs. You can buy this in the drugstore or from the hardware store.

You should make sure to keep this clean and in good condition at all times. If it is not as effective as it was before, be sure to replace it.

Now that you know that there is such a thing called noise induced hearing loss, you should take the necessary precautions so you dont lose your hearing. If you dont need to buy ear protection, dont stay too long in places that have loud sounds.

As an added precaution, have yourself checked annually by a certified audiologist especially if your job is a high risk for hearing loss. These jobs include construction, farming, firefighting, law enforcement and music. Your employer should provide free hearing protection but if they dont, you should get what is needed to avoid becoming deaf.

Interesting Facts About People Who Are Deaf

There are a lot of interesting things that people should know about people who are deaf. In fact, some of the techniques they used to communicate with one another are used by normal people as well.

Lets start by saying that there are approximately 22 million people in the US who are deaf or who are suffering from deafness problems. It affects both men and women which include infants, children, adults and the elderly. While some were born with it, others lost their hearing later on in life.

In the field of sports, the huddle formation which is used in football was first invented by a liberal arts college for the deaf. This prevented other teams from listening in to what they are planning both during offense and defense.

As for those hand signals that you see in baseball, yes they too were invented by a deaf center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds, namely William Hoy.

Since it is hard for some people to transcribe what is being said, the shorthand was invented by John Gregg who also happens to be deaf.

The deaf use sign language to communicate with one another. Although they cannot understand what someone is saying, they have the ability to read that persons lips and communicate back by talking to the person or using sign language if that person can understand it.

In fact, their own language has been linguistically defined as a separate language such as English, French, and German.

Because of its usefulness, this technique was later adapted to scuba diving since it is not possible to talk with people under water and even by the military when they want to surprise the enemy.

A lot of celebrities have deafness problems. Some of these people include former presidents, athletes, actors, actresses, lawyers, doctors, inventors, teachers, writers, cartoonists and a lot more. Just to give you a few examples;

One of the most famous composers of all time was Beethoven who was profoundly deaf when he wrote the 9th symphony.

Alexander Bell who invented the telephone and was not deaf was originally an instructor for deaf children and invented this device to help his deaf wife and mother.

Musicians and rocks artists such as Eric Clapton, Peter Townshend of the Who, Sir George Henry Martin of the Beatles and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys are deaf.

Because deaf people are not able to hear, their others senses are more developed to compensate for this deficiency. This is probably why they have a better safety driving record compared to people who can hear. This may even be attributed to the fact that deaf people live longer hearing people.

No one wants to be born deaf but it happens. Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, they pressed on with their lives and are known worldwide because of their talent or ingenuity. This is why some invented various techniques and inventions which we just take for granted today.

One thing we have to remember out of all of this is that they too are people. They go to work, go to school, vote, own businesses, pay taxes, drive cars and do other things that we normally do. The only difference is that they are deaf and we must respect and understand that.

How Do You Become Deaf

How do you become deaf? That is a silly question to ask but there are some people who are born with it while others develop it later on in life. Here are some of the causes why some people have deafness problems.

In the case of people in the music industry, studies have shown that deafness problems are caused by loud music. Rock stars like Eric Clapton and Peter Townshend believe that playing in concerts with the speakers at high volumes causes this especially when these are close to you on stage. Permanent damage can only happen if repeated and this business, if you are on tour, this is bound to happen.

If you were an actor or actress, you could develop deafness problems as a result of an accident. William Shatner and former President Ronald Reagan developed this from a loud explosion and gun shot that was fired too close to where they were. The ringing sound did permanent damage to their ears which is why the former president had to wear hearing aid later on in his political career.

A sickness is another cause of deafness problems. Some athletes and celebrities developed a disease at a young age and never recovered fully from it. Two good examples are Miss America 1995 Heather Whitestone and athlete Jeff Float. Although this presented a handicap, this did not stop these two individuals reaching for the stars.

There are also those who are born deaf and in most cases, this is genetic. This is caused by illnesses such as cytomegalovirus (CMV), toxoplasmosis and herpes. Medicines that are used to treat these problems may also cause damage to the hearing system especially ototoxic drugs.

If the infant is born prematurely, he or she is also at risk of being deaf or becoming deaf in the future. This is because they may be born with severe jaundice or experience a lack of oxygen.

It is also possible that the child may lose their sense of hearing as a result of an accident.

Another possibility why you may soon suffer from deafness problems is aging. Studies have shown that as we age, a combination of loud noise, stress, certain illnesses and medicine may make this happen.

You can also suffer from deafness problems if you work in a construction site or airport especially if you do not have any protection.

Can deafness be prevented? In some cases yes while in others no. Since we have no control as to what happens when the female is pregnant, it is hard to prevent that from happening but once the baby is out, there are steps we can take.

First, as parents we should not bring our kids to places that have loud sounds. Since they are young, their ears have not yet fully developed and are very sensitive.

As they grow older, you should teach them about proper safety techniques like wearing ear protectors especially if they have to some home improvement work or when they decide to pursue this later on as a profession.

We should also watch their health because they could suffer from a disease that could give them this problem. If the doctor is about to prescribe a medicine, make sure that one of its side effects is not deafness.