Hear, Here

By: Dr. Dawn H. MacMillan, Audiologist  It's hard to believe, but school starts locally in just about two weeks. Like so many other parents, I've been running around buying school uniforms and shoes because my kiddos have outgrown almost everything this summer. We've been busy with school supply lists and finishing all the back to school tasks required before August 5th when they return to school. For my little one who will begin kindergarten, I had to verify she had her required hearing test to enter school  (funny to me considering her mama is an Audiologist!) and was up-to-date on her vaccinations. All this running around and list-checking got me thinking about my pediatric patients. How my back to school lists mirror the lists of the parents of my pediatric patients with hearing loss but they have more things they need to do to prepare their little ones for the new school year. It got me thinking about childhood hearing loss and what I can do to help prevent hearing ...

So what is it? Fun,Sun, Sand, Chlorine....Swimmer's Ear. Nothing will ruin a good time like an ear infection. Swimmer's Ear, or Otitis Externa, is an infection of the ear canal. It can be caused by many types of bacteria and fungi. The exernal ear canal is a great breeding ground for the infection due to the fact that it is warm and dark, and then moisture is introduced from being in the water. Though we see an increase in Swimmer's Ear in the Summer, it can happen to most anyone year-round. The infection commonly occurs in individual who spend a lot of time in the water. Because summertime is a time where we are constantly in the water, this excess moisture in the ear canal can break down the delicate skin of the external ear canal, allowing bacteria and fungi to grow. The skin can also be broken down and irritated when the ear canal is scratched, as when people use cotton swabs or use foreign objects to scratch their ear, like pen caps, bobby pins, and paperclips. ...