Listen and Learn - 11-16-24

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, welcome to listen and learn. This is the
show where we learn more about your health and hearing,
how they are connected, how you can keep both at
their very best. I'm Danny and with us is hearing
instrument specialist Kat Klower from Concept by Iowa Hearing Center.
Say good morning, Kat, Good.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Morning, Happy Saturday everyone, and you know, happy November. We
got a great topic today and I want to thank
everybody for tuning in.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Oh yeah, we always get so much great information from you. Kat.
Let me just give you the number right now. You
can write it down for Concept by Iowa Hearing Centers.
This is how you contact them so you can set
up your complimentary hearing evaluation. Eight seven seven six three
two thirty six ninety. That's eight seven seven six three
two thirty six ninety. You can go to their website too.

(00:48):
It's a great and very handy resource. Iowa Hearing dot com.
That's Iowa Hearing dot com. A great place also for
you to schedule that complimentary hearing exam now today. The
promo is two hundred and fifty dollars off per device
on any series package and twenty four months no interest

(01:10):
financing with approved credit if you call and schedule that
appointment by one o'clock today. Have it on your schedule
before the end of the month. Okay, So it is
something you won't want to miss out on, and that's
how you take advantage. Now, kat Klower, let's talk more
about our health and hearing and tell us more about,
you know, this time of the year and how we

(01:32):
can keep both at their very best.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yes, you know, it's the holidays are here. I'm not
even gonna say they're around the corner. We're probably going
to be buying turkey soon, you know, we're the holidays
are upon us and and fall is definitely in full swing.
And hearing well keeps us connected to everything around us

(01:54):
more importantly our friends and family, but our environment as well.
So I kind of want to talk just a little
bit about some of our favorite sounds of fall. So,
you know, I spent some time outside recently and in
our area right now. My favorite sound are the sounds

(02:17):
of the red tail hawk by just love hearing them.
I think it's such a majestic call. People may disagree,
but I kind of like opening the door and stepping
out in the backyard and hearing their calls. Do you
have any favorite sounds of fall right now.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
I'm gonna throw out two. One the sound of a
football game. Oh, it's just it's fun, you know that
people are having a good time. And then the second
one I went through out there is the sound of
like a leaf blower. And the reason is because then
you know yard work is almost done. When people get
out to that point, you know you know you're going

(02:55):
to be done with that yard work very soon.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
That's true, the leaves have fallen in. We're good to go.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Well.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
November is also Alzheimer's Awareness Month, and this is such
an important topic. Dementia Alzheimer's is a public health priority,
so of course we're going to take a little bit
of time to talk about that, and then we're going
to get into how dementia, Alzheimer's, and hearing loss all
get tied together. So first let's start with what are

(03:25):
the symptoms of Alzheimer's or dementia? You know, how do
we recognize this and loved ones they maybe are having
difficulties with everyday tasks, so things that they were people
were able to do before, but now they're all of
a sudden struggling with confusion and familiar environments, difficulty with

(03:48):
words and numbers, of course, memory loss, and changes in
mood and behavior. So these are all symptoms of Alzheimer's
or dementia. And when can we talk about who is affected?
Nearly ten million new cases emerge every year, and as

(04:09):
our baby boomer generation continues to age, I think that
number is only going to increase. They say about one
case is diagnosed every three seconds, which is kind of crazy. Yeah,
fifty million people worldwide and that number is really set

(04:30):
to triple by the year twenty fifty, so it is
on the rise. And what is the cause? There are
conditions that affect the brain, and we're going to kind
of get into the hearing loss aspect of that. So
what we really need to remember that is although dementia

(04:50):
is diagnosed later in life, the brain changes usually begin
to develop years before, so we need to take sooner
before we get that diagnosis, and acting now will vastly
improve life for many people with to mention their families

(05:11):
and can kind of transform our future as a society
and community. So how does hearing loss and dementia relate? Basically,
not hearing changes our brains in a negative way. Very
simply put it's that old philosophy. If we're not using it,

(05:33):
we're losing it. We all know, you know, if we
sit around all day and that's what we do all
day every day, you know we're going to have muscle
atrophy in our legs for sure. And it's kind of
that way with our brains as well. Hearing loss affects
our brain structure and it shrinks our gray matter. That
sounds so scary, but it is true. Anything that's not

(05:57):
used shrinks and atrophies. If you don't use it, you
lose it. And hearing loss accelerates that atrophy in the brain,
which is not exclusive to processing sound as it also
plays a role in our memory, our thinking ability, and
our gait and balance. And if you have hearing loss

(06:21):
and you're not treating it, or you've gotten hearing aids
and you're not using them, that's kind of the same
as not treating your loss. Maybe you can figure out
what someone is saying because you can still hear, but
it's hard to figure out. I mean, you can hear
people talking, but you cannot figure out what they're saying.

(06:42):
And that really comes at a cost because you can
be using a majority of your cognitive resources or your
brain power in order to figure out that message. So
really what's happening is we're reallocating our brain resources and
we're taking from areas that become compromised like memory, gait

(07:08):
and balance, thinking ability, and that really puts us at
a greater risk for dementia. In fact, in the United States,
treating our hearing loss is the number one modifiable risk
factor for dementia and Alzheimer's. So you know, it's pretty simple.

(07:28):
If you haven't had your hearing tested regularly or recently,
it's time to come in and get that baseline. Just
give us a call today before one o'clock.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
Right The number four concept by Iowa Hearing Centers eight
seven seven six three two thirty six ninety. That's eight
seven seven six three two thirty six ninety. You can
also go to their website which is a great resource
but also a good place to book your hearing exams.
Iowa Hearing dot com is their website. That's Iowa Hearing

(08:02):
dot com. Of course, the promo is a great one,
and so you will have to contact them by one
o'clock today to make sure that promo is like underneath
your name, so you can take advantage of two hundred
and fifty dollars off per device on any series package
and twenty four months no interest financing with approved credit.

(08:25):
That's again, call by one o'clock and get it scheduled
and on the calendar before the end of the month.
Works out really well because concept by Iowa Hearing Centers
is a great place to have that complimentary hearing evaluation.
In fact, the gal who gave it to me, hearing
instrument specialist Kat Klower, who is today letting us know

(08:46):
all about our health and hearing and how they can
be at their best. We especially want to take care
as we talk about Alzheimer's and dementia because those are
really crucial things that we all want to try to
do our best to avoid.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
That's right, and I'm going to talk a little bit
more about the brain and to not be all doom
and gloom. Its kind of nice to find the silver
lining sometimes and thing exactly. So, first I want to
talk a little bit about fluid intelligence. So fluid intelligence

(09:22):
is the speed and the ability to resolve problems in situations.
Our processing speed, our inhibition, our episodic memory. So this
fluid intelligence declines as we age, this is kind of depressing.
So fluid intelligence generally peaks at about age twenty oh no,

(09:47):
and then declines at a consistent rate throughout adult life,
which you know is going to happen. It's a normal process.
That's how life works. But we don't want to speed
up the spe process by you know, taxing our brains.
And we know that not hearing at a normal level

(10:08):
does in fact do that. It has negative effects on
our cognitive abilities. But on the silver lining, I always
like when we can hear about improvement something called crystallized intelligence,
which is an accumulation of use of skills, knowledge and experience,
including storage of lexical information. What does that mean. It

(10:32):
really means our vocabulary really throwing out the words there,
and our syntax, our arrangement of words, structuring things. This
actually increases as we age. So I always like to
hear that. And really, when I think of crystallized intelligence,
I kind of think of wisdom, and I think of that,
you know, the wise old out and I'm like, hey,

(10:54):
there's there's some truth to that. But during normal aging,
you know, we do have aspects of our cognitive ability
that does decline, but we don't want to be in
that position where we're making it worse. So the other
thing that we really need to realize. You know, I
mentioned earlier how these numbers of dementia and Alzheimer's are

(11:18):
really going to be increasing in the upcoming years, and
that leads to as a society, higher health costs and
more hospitalizations. And untreated hearing loss is linked to that,
and how do we get to that point. It's because
older adults with untreated hearing loss and develop additional health

(11:43):
problems that lead to more frequent hospitalizations and higher health
costs than people with normal hearing or people with treated
hearing loss. So one study followed about five thousand people
for a decade starting when they were aged sixty one,

(12:05):
and half of the people had untreated hearing loss. Over
ten years, this group translated into twenty five thousand dollars
more per person in total health costs and over forty
percent higher odds of hospitalization and repeat admissions. So you

(12:26):
know where does this come from. There are potential causes
linking hearing loss to higher healthcare spending and utilization. And
this is from a study out of the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The first is that
hearing loss is associated with the increased risk of falls,

(12:48):
increase risk of cognitive decline, increase risk of dementia, increased
risks of depression, and increased risk of social isolation, and
all of these can contribute to a higher healthcare spending
in use. And another thought is that if you do
not treat your hearing loss, it could be that the

(13:11):
patient provider communication or relationship could be hampered. So you know,
if you can't hear clearly or understand clearly the medical
advice that's being given to you, that's a pretty big deal.
So there was also another study that was done in
the same journal that used insurance claims data to examine

(13:35):
the associations between hearing impairment and additional health problems, and
they found that over five years, people with hearing loss
but did not treat it for fifty percent more likely
than those without hearing loss or treated hearing loss to
have new dementia diagnosis. That's fifty percent we're more likely

(13:57):
to have dementia diagnosis and forty one percent more likely
to have a new depression diagnosis compared to people without
hearing issues. So you know, we all know that staying
connected to others, that social isolation key. It's so important
for our overall health and wellness. And you know it's

(14:20):
not just physical wellness, but emotional wellness as well. So
we just need to look at that big picture and
make sure we're addressing hearing loss. So if you have
not had your hearing tested in the last five years,
and or if you know someone who's close to you

(14:41):
who really needs to have it checked, come in together
and get your hearing tested. It's complementary. It's easy. This
time of year, you can make it a thing. You
can go shopping. We've got lots of shops and restaurants
near our clinic, and you know, kind of check that
off your list and make sure it has been addressed.

(15:02):
It's so easy. Just pick up the phone and give
us a call.

Speaker 1 (15:06):
The number four concept by Iowa Hearing Centers and that
complimentary hearing Examcat was talking about is eight seven seven
six three two thirty six ninety. That's eight seven seven
six three two thirty six ninety. You could even book
at their website. It's super simple. Iowa Hearing dot com.

(15:27):
That's Iowa Hearing dot com. If you bookmark that You
may even be headed back there several times so you
can find out more information about some of the topics
that we talk about right here on Listen and learn. Now,
once you schedule that complimentary hearing evaluation, you're going to
qualify for a great promo, which today is two hundred

(15:50):
and fifty dollars off per device on any series package
and twenty four months no interest financing with approved credit.
You just have to contact Concept to get scheduled by
one o'clock today and make sure it's on your calendar
before the end of November. Kat Klower is a hearing

(16:11):
instrument specialist with Concept by Iowa Hearing Center. She gave
me my hearing exams throughout the past few years. And
she not only there, but there are tons of extremely
wonderful Concept employees who are excellent at their job that
want to get you your complimentary hearing exams. So don't hesitate,

(16:33):
pick up that phone or go to their website and
get scheduled today. So we are talking about Alzheimer's awareness dementia,
and you know the fact that it is a priority
in our life to make sure. I mean, I would
love for a someday Kat to just say Oh, yeah,
Alzheimer's and dementia just doesn't exist anymore. But that's not

(16:53):
the case right now.

Speaker 2 (16:54):
No, that's not the case. And you know, anything we
can do to slow that progression or reverse any symptoms,
I think is you know, why would you not do that?
You know, Elzheiber's dementia is a disease that you know,
most people, you know, when you talk to them, what
do they fear? It's what they fear because it changes

(17:16):
you as a person, and it makes you dependent on
those around you, you know, and we don't want to
be a burden, you know. We want to be independent
and live healthily and have that quality of life. And
I just want to go back and touch upon a
point I mentioned earlier about that patient provider relationship. This

(17:39):
is such a nice story. I had someone come in
about two months ago and his you know why for
coming in to get a hearing test is that his
wife was having a lot of health issues. She was
seeing a lot of doctors here locally, and they were
about to go see some doctors at the University of

(18:00):
Iowa and he said, you know, I really can't hear
and understand clearly what the doctors are saying, and I
need to know. And my wife, you know, she feels horrible.
She's not in good health, so you know, she's not
picking it up. So now it's on me to be

(18:21):
the one to understand what they're saying. And I feel
like I really can't, and so I want to get
my hearing checked. And he did have hearing loss, and
you know, I made a recommendation, and at the end
of his hearing test, he said, you know, gosh, I
wish I could do something right now, because we're headed

(18:42):
to the University of Iowa in a couple of days
to go see these doctors. And he lived further away,
he didn't live right in the Quad City area. And
I fit him with hearing devices right then, and he
was just so pleased that he could walk out the
door with them and have them when they went to

(19:02):
their visit. And I actually saw him again this week.
It was two months later, and you know, we kind
of were talking and I was making some adjustments for him,
and I had the devices linked to the computer and
I noticed that he had, you know, wearing them on
average almost sixteen hours a day, and I kind of

(19:25):
jokingly said, you know, are you getting some sleep, and
he mentioned that, you know, he does wear them, you know,
into the nighttime hours because he wants to make sure
he can hear his wife as she calls to him.
And he smiled and he said, you know what, they've
actually become kind of addictive. I don't really like to

(19:46):
take him out because now I can hear so well.
And that's just, you know, that makes me feel good.
You know, it's great that we're improving his quality of life,
and not only his qualit of life, but potentially the
quality of life for his spouse as well. And you
know something that I mentioned to him, because he doesn't

(20:08):
live right in the Quad City area, I did mention, hey,
did you know we also have a clinic in Clinton,
So if for some reason you can't make it down
to Davenport, and you know, the Clinton might be a
little bit closer to you, you get the same care
at any one of our clinics. And I'm just going
to quick run down through our clinics. We have a

(20:32):
clinic and Aimes Cedar, Rapids, Clinton, Coralville, Davenport, Dubuque, Grenelle, Marshalltown, Oscaloosa, Pla,
pleasant Hill, Waterloo and West Moine. So you know, if
you're listening and you're going to be with people family

(20:52):
friends over the holidays, and they live in a different
area across the state, but you want them to come
in and get a test. Just we got multiple clinics
across the state of Iowa. And I also want to
remind everyone it is now recommended to get that baseline
hearing tests at age forty and then every five years afterwards.

(21:16):
And we really need to be doing this before the
ages of seventy, seventy five and eighty. And a lot
of this is because we want to mitigate your health
risk as you continue to age. And just remember, if
you're hearing fine, we're going to say, hey, congratulations, you're

(21:36):
hearing is great, You've got that baseline. We'll see you
in five years. Because it's so much better to get
that baseline early have us monitor it. But it's better
to treat hearing loss as soon as we get it
as opposed to later. It's always better to get ahead
of a situation rather than behind it. So just pick

(21:57):
up that phone and give us a call before one
o'clock today.

Speaker 1 (22:00):
Eight seven, seven six three two thirty six ninety is
the number you'll be calling eight seven, seven, six three,
two thirty six ninety for Concept by Iowa Hearing Centers. Now,
if you missed any of those locations of Concept, or
have questions about some of the things that we talk
about on Listen and Learn, or just questions about Concept,

(22:22):
you can go to their website Iowa Hearing dot com.
That's Iowa Hearing dot com and find out a ton
of information as well as booking your complimentary hearing evaluation. Now,
once you get a hold of Concept, you will qualify
for the promo, which is two hundred and fifty dollars
off per device on any series package and twenty four

(22:46):
months no interest financing with approved credit. But you do
need to get a hold of them by one o'clock
today and make sure it's on your calendar by the
end of November. So talking to Kat Klower, who is
an instrument hearing instrument specialist with Concept by Iowa Hearing Centers. Kat,
anything you'd like to wrap up with today while we

(23:07):
talk about November.

Speaker 2 (23:08):
Yeah, I want to talk a little just a little
bit about this promotion. I want to mention that you know,
our twenty four months no interest financing is always appreciated,
but as we roll into the holidays, it might be
appreciated a little bit more because you know, the holidays
are associated with, you know, some higher costs and expenses.

(23:31):
And the other thing that I want to mention about
the twenty four months finance no interest financing that we
offer is that there's no penalty to pay ahead or
to pay off early. So sometimes people just want to
finance for a short period of time to maybe get
through the holidays, get past the first of the year,

(23:52):
or sometimes you know finances are going to change in
upcoming months, you know, whether it's going to be a
tax return or whatever the case might be. The other
thing to remember at this time of year is that
people are have flex spending money that they have in

(24:13):
their account that has to be utilized before the end
of the year. I recently had a current patient, he's
been a patient of ours for a long time, get
new devices, and he wanted to take advantage of the
twenty four months no interest financing. But then he's like,
wait a minute, I need to check on my balance
of my flex spending because I want to use that first,

(24:35):
and then put the remajor on the twenty four months
because he didn't want to lose that flex spending money.
So these are all things to consider as we wrap
up November into December, kind of finishing up our year
of twenty twenty four. So you know, the holidays are here,

(24:56):
We're going to be together with friends and family. Let's
just make sure we're all hearing our best.

Speaker 1 (25:01):
And if you need to get a hold of Concept
again the number eight seven seven six three two thirty
six ninety their website Iowa Hearing dot com and the
promo two hundred and fifty dollars off per device on
any series package. And as Kat talked about, twenty four
months no interest financing with approved credit. You do need

(25:22):
to reach out to them by one o'clock today have
it on your schedule before the end of the month.
Kat Klower is a hearing instrument specialist with Concept by
Iowa Hearing Centers. And thanks again Kat, always always interesting.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Oh and thank you and thank you everyone for listening.
Enjoy your weekend.

Speaker 1 (25:38):
Listen and Learn is brought to you by Concept by
Iowa Hearing Centers on WOC