Each year when the weather changes from fall to winter, there’s an influx of people heading to the doctor with a sore throat and little to no voice. They’ll quickly be diagnosed with laryngitis. If you’ve ever had it, you may be looking for help for laryngitis.

What is laryngitis?

The larynx, a two-inch tubular chamber in the throat, is also called the voice box. Laryngitis occurs when the vocal cords (which are made up of cartilage, ligaments, and membranes) are inflamed. Laryngitis generally isn’t a serious condition and usually lasts less than seven days. It can last longer but long-term laryngitis is rare.

What are the symptoms?

Many of the symptoms associated with laryngitis can also be symptoms for other illnesses. Most people will experience one or more of the following:

* Sore throat
* Hoarseness
* Weak or no voice
* Sensation of needing to clear the throat
* Dry cough
* Fever
* Tickling sensation or rawness in the throat
* Dry throat  Read more...

What is that ringing in your ears? It could be a condition called tinnitus. See your doctor if you notice a ringing that wasn’t there before.

Tinnitus is more commonly known as ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is a symptom of several conditions. Think of it as being similar to the sounds you hear when you hold a seashell up to your ear. You hear the ocean as if it were a swishing sound. Some people who report ringing in the ears hear a similar sound.

Ringing can arise from any area of the ear. After a loud rock concert you may hear ringing in your ears. Ear infections can cause ringing or swishing sounds in the ear as the middle ear fills up with fluid. Even something as simple as having too much ear wax in your ears can cause ringing sounds.

Start with common explanations for the sound. It could be that your iPod volume is too loud and over time, tinnitus had become an issue. In quiet places, you hear sounds in your head that you couldn’t hear before because of other noises. This is normal.  Read more...

Maybe you have seen that golden viscous liquid in the cute little bear jars in your grocery store. It tastes as delicious as it looks. Learn what honey bees have known for centuries about the curative properties of honey.

Honey is a sweetener that comes from bees. It is made in their hives. Before you get it in the stores, the honey has been pasteurized but it still maintains the cure that people seek. You can also purchase pure honeycombs from the farmer’s market.

As an alternative to sugar, honey is used to sweeten drinks and food dishes. And when someone has a sore throat they often reach for the honey and add a spoonful to their tea or simply eat it off the spoon. You may not know that it was also revered as a medicine in ancient civilizations.

What is it about honey that makes it so special? Maybe because it comes from honey bees it has some of their natural immunities which are passed on to us. So what are some of the healing properties that have been attributed to honey?  Read more...

In society, getting older is a cause for concern. The elderly are viewed as feeble and in need of care. All elderly people are not the same but more likely than not, they will keep hearing loss a secret to avoid the stigma associated with it.

As you age, hearing loss is a fact of life. Depending on your health, hearing loss may be more profound in some than in others. There is a name for this type of hearing loss, called presbycusis. Presybcusis has many causes including age, exposure to loud noises for many years, illness and auditory damage due to chemicals. Whatever the cause, the result is the same: you will slowly lose your hearing.

With moderate hearing loss, elderly people can learn to “fake” it. You can still hear well enough to distinguish conversations. When you can’t, such as in a crowded room or when someone is calling to you from behind, you pretend not to hear or to be distracted. That will work well for a while but is not a permanent solution.  Read more...

Cochlear implants are a form of implantable hearing device that helps people with sensorineural hearing loss. Cochlear implants restore the hearing chain in your head so that you no longer have to suffer with a total hearing loss. Where other hearing aids fail for this type of hearing loss, a cochlear implant makes all the difference.

There are two types of hearing loss: conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss. The first is a result of something wrong with either the eardrum (tympanic membrane) or one of the three small bones in the middle ear that conduct sound to the inner ear.

Sensorineural hearing loss has to do with the cells of the inner ear which turn sound into electrical impulses for the brain to interpret. The bones of the middle ear vibrate and get fluid in the cochlea to begin moving. This movement causes hair cells in the inner ear to move and turn those vibrations into electrical impulses.  Read more...

Wearing hearing aids is a fact of life for many thousands of people. As technology has evolved, so have the types of hearing aids available to both young and old hearing-impaired patients. With each type, the cost of owning that particular hearing device varies.

Hearing aids are designed to amplify sound in your ear. If you have diminished hearing, it is hard to distinguish a conversation in a crowded room or hear the television. A hearing aid increases the volume of the sound that you hear without having to shout or turn the TV up louder.

Hearing aids used to be just the type that fits over your ear to enhance your hearing capability. They weren’t very stylish and everyone could see them. Now, hearing aids can be worn and remain completely invisible to the casual observer allowing you the privacy you want.

The most common type of hearing aid is the “behind the ear” model. The main part of the device sits securely behind your ears. A tube inside the plastic hearing aid delivers sound into the ear canal.  Read more...

Your hearing is a wonderful and delicately balanced system. Three small bones in the middle ear conduct the sound you hear in the outside world into electrical impulses that go to your brain and interpret the sound. But, the range of hearing – especially among young people – is diminishing as the loudness of their musical devices increases.

Hearing intensity is measured in decibels (dB). At 0 decibels, you can hear sounds that are near to total silence. At the 20 decibel level, you are hearing sounds just above a whisper. On the other end of the scale, listening to a jet engine is pushing 120 decibels. The human ear can distinguish all of these sounds when your hearing is normal. After damage has been done, however, your decibel range is limited.

One reason that hearing becomes impaired is listening to loud sounds for long periods of time. Musicians are a group that is no stranger to hearing problems. Listening to loud music can be physically painful to your ears. At that point, the damage has already been done.  Read more...