In this episode of the Louisiana ENT Specialists Audio Blog, Dr. LeBourgeois delves into the multifaceted impacts of hearing loss and the crucial role audiologists play in treatment and prevention. Discover the latest in hearing aid technology and surgical options available for those experiencing hearing difficulties. Whether you're just noticing changes in your hearing or are exploring options for a loved one, this audio blog offers valuable insights into maintaining and improving hearing health.
Shelby Stockton:
Welcome to the Louisiana ENT Specialist Audio blog. I'm your host, Shelby Stockton, and today I talked with audiologist Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois about hearing loss. Dr. LeBourgeois explains the effects of hearing loss and why it's important to work with an audiologist. We also discussed different treatments for hearing loss that include the newest advancements in hearing aids and surgical procedures. Whether you suspect that yourself or a loved one may be suffering from a loss of hearing, this audio blog is a great introduction to help you with the facts. Hi, Dr. LeBourgeois thanks so much for joining me today on the audio blog.
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Of course. Thanks for having me, Shelby.
Shelby Stockton:
So today we're going to talk about audiology, and my first question for you is, what are the effects of hearing loss?
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Yeah. So there are several things that can kind of be associated with hearing loss. The most important one, the most obvious one is just the loss of the ability to communicate, navigating everyday conversations, especially in background noise. A lot of patients can really compensate for their hearing loss because it happens really slowly and in quiet. You can really guess what people are saying through context clues, but when you add in noise, it just creates that whole additional layer of difficulty. And usually that's when patients really start to kind of fall apart. There's also the loss of awareness to sounds and surroundings. If somebody's at the door, you're not hearing that doorbell. It's a high frequency sound and t hat's typically where hearing loss kind of affects us first. Tinnitus is another thing, or tinnitus that can impact patients with hearing loss. Sometimes that's a symptom of hearing loss.
And then of course, it's also going to be correlated with social isolation, loneliness, frustration. It can increase your risk of falls just because that inner ear also helps with balance too. So those two things are kind of hand in hand. Sometimes with loss, we are seeing a balance concern as well. And then there's that correlation with the risk of dementia and the decrease in memory. So a lot of things are kind of compounded by hearing loss that are not really thought of as frequently as just the difficulty hearing, saying what, huh. It's a lot that kind of comes along with that. So definitely treatment is always going to help kind of keep those things at bay.
Shelby Stockton:
Yeah. I do notice that a lot of people are surprised that dementia can be a side effect of hearing loss.
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Yeah. Of course, when you're withdrawing, you're not using your brain, you're not stimulating those areas, and all of that can definitely impact our outcomes.
Shelby Stockton:
Why work with an audiologist when it comes to hearing loss?
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Yeah. So audiologists, we are doctors of audiology. Those who aren't with masters, they're grandfathered in, so they've been audiologists and have years of experience behind them to kind of stand up to that same level of care that the new doctorate has as well. We have doctor of audiology providers here. We also have masters. All really excellent. And being a part of an ENT setting is great because we work hand-in-hand with those physicians. We're following a medical model for hearing healthcare. We have the full scope of practice for testing and treatment, including tinnitus. So we really work together. If a patient comes in and we need medical management, we can get that done that same day. We're all under one roof. If patients come in, they're full of wax, we can get you in, get you cleaned out. If we have concerns for anything beyond just we need to treat the hearing loss, if we think something looks like it could be potentially central or conductive that needs medical management, we're all in-house to really be able to handle that in a very holistic and complete model for the patient.
Shelby Stockton:
How do you introduce hearing aids to patients who've never worn one before?
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Yeah. So what we typically do for our patients, we get you in for a hearing aid consult. Either we have a hearing test done prior or we do the hearing test that day. We go through what a hearing aid looks like. We put one in your ear, we let you listen to it. Sometimes we let you take one home and really experience it in your real world and see if it is going to be something that's helpful and beneficial to you in your life. We really want patients to feel in control of their own hearing healthcare and be an active participant in that treatment plan because that's really the only way you're really going to have good faith in what you're doing. You really have to be involved in that process, and we really want our patients to feel empowered to be able to work towards better hearing and better communication.
Shelby Stockton:
Do you find that it's hard sometimes to get people to accept hearing aids since there's kind of a stigma attached to them?
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Yeah, of course. Usually it's patients that have kind of those preconceived notions to hearing aids. Oh, my grandpa wore hearing aids. It was always whistling. He's always adjusting it, things like that. Usually those are the patients that are more hesitant. The patients that really have no frame of reference are usually a little more open-minded, but hearing aids have come a really long way. There's a lot to prevent feedback, and that whistling and all that stuff that you really think about when you think of older devices. They're a lot smaller. They are rechargeable. They're connecting to your phone. So they're a lot more like an AirPod than when you think of a big old beige hearing aid up on your ear nowadays.
Shelby Stockton:
Yeah, they've come a long way. For sure.
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
For sure.
Shelby Stockton:
Yeah. What are some other treatments for hearing loss?
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Yeah, so depending on the severity of your hearing loss, sometimes hearing aids aren't the answer. Sometimes for cognitive reasons, hearing aids aren't the answer. So if your hearing loss is too severe, that hearing aids aren't really going to be helpful for you, a cochlear implant can be helpful. Where they go in and it's a surgery to input a different type of hearing, it's an electric circuit instead of really that acoustic hearing that we're used to. They also have a bone anchored hearing aid that can be helpful for patients with a conductive hearing loss. So if there's something medically preventing that sound getting in through the system, that can be helpful. We have some patients that have cognitive decline to the point where I had one this week where they called and they were like, "we love the hearing aids. They're hearing so much better with them in, but their dementia is so severe that we're afraid they're going to lose them.”
For those patients, we'll recommend a pocket talker where they wear headphones, there's a cord on it, and the other person is basically talking straight into a microphone. So that way they have the volume control. We can make the volume louder for the patient to be able to hear, but it's a lot more cost-effective than going with a full set of hearing aids. So that's a really good recommendation for patients who are bedridden or really only in one-on-one conversations where hearing aids aren't going to be as helpful or as appropriate in that situation. Another good suggestion for patients are TV ears where it's a headphone that you wear that connects to the TV. That way you're controlling the volume for yourself, and then everybody else who's listening can control the volume of the TV. So that way you're not blasting people out, people aren't driving up into your driveway hearing what you're watching on TV.
So just a couple things that can be really helpful. And then hearing aids in themselves, they're not a magic pill. They're just designed to aid in communication. So we definitely want to make sure that the environment is really good as well. So you want to make sure there's a pretty basic background. There's not a lot happening. Better lighting can be helpful for communication. You really want to be able to see those visual cues. So being able to read the lips of the person that you're speaking with, all of that is really helpful to give you as many context clues as possible. Same goes for watching TV, turn on the closed captioning. That can help with the communication process as well, just to make sure that we're giving as much help to promote healthy communication and good hearing.
Shelby Stockton:
Wow. There are a lot of options out there.
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Of course.
Shelby Stockton:
Yes.
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
And that's what we're here for, to give you all those options.
Shelby Stockton:
Exactly. Exactly. So what is your advice for anybody who might be afraid to visit an audiologist?
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Yeah. We are here to answer these questions. So the answer isn't always hearing aids. There like, we just talked about there's a ton of different options and solutions and things and we're not there only for when we're treating hearing loss, we're there to protect hearing as well. So earplugs and things like that, and just good hearing healthcare throughout the life and regular monitoring and knowing the hearing status. All those things are important. We're not only here for when it's okay, now it's time for a hearing aid. We're kind of part of that full hearing healthcare journey. We test kids every day. We test adults every day. We're looking at that whole range, that whole gambit. We're here for anything, any question that you have. We are a lot of times starting that process from the ground up. A lot of patients are coming in and just now realizing they're having hearing difficulty and starting that conversation of what does that future look like?
Is it time to just continue to monitor? Is it time to start a treatment plan? Things like that. So that's what we're here for. We're the experts in that. Our doctors defer to us to be the experts in that. So we really just want to help our patients become knowledgeable and empowered and part of that treatment process. If you're not buying into it, we can't make you wear a hearing aid. I tell my patients all the time, "This is something that you're buying and I want you to use. If you're not using it, it is a really expensive paperweight, and I don't want you to keep that." So it needs to be something that the patient wants too. If the patient doesn't want it, then we're all just kind of wasting our time pretty much. So it's definitely just to kind of open that dialogue and patients come in with very different levels of experience with hearing aids, those preconceived notions like we kind of talked about as well.
So we get patients in. We do the consult. It's risk-free. It's really just designed to be a dialogue between us and the patient, and if you want to bring in a loved one, a husband, wife, daughter, son, friend, just to kind of be a part of that and go through any questions that you have, that's really what we want that to be. We want it to be something that you feel included and you don't feel lost or not empowered. We really want our patients to take some of that control of it themselves and feel like they're a part of this.
Shelby Stockton:
Yeah. It's a relationship and it's important. And when you walk in, it doesn't mean day one, this is all happening.
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Exactly, exactly. We can go as slow or as fast as the patient feels comfortable with. I have some patients that come in and we just talk and we don't even put anything on their ears. They're not ready for that yet. So it really is kind of patient guided and patient comfort level driven.
Shelby Stockton:
Wonderful. Doctor, thank you so much for your time. You gave us a lot of great information.
Dr. Kallie LeBourgeois:
Of course. Thanks for having me.
