Do you know which health condition is the number one risk factor death and disability?
You might guess obesity, since so many people have it and it leads to so many different ailments. But you’d be wrong.
Or you might think it’s high cholesterol, since heart disease kills more Americans than any other illness. But you’d be wrong again.
Another good guess would be diabetes.… Read More
Teachers across the country who have returned to in-person instruction have noted one overarching frustration: Mask requirements, while necessary, sometimes make it difficult for students to hear what’s being taught.
Luckily, one teacher reached out to a friend, acoustic researcher Ryan Corey, about the problem. He realized that this is a common issue. Many of us have trouble being heard while speaking through a mask.… Read More
Almost half of people over 65 have some degree of hearing loss.[1]
And scientists have found a surprising reason why so many seniors are going deaf.
Yes, the ear-splitting rock concerts from years ago may have taken their toll…
But there’s another culprit as well, one that may be even more harmful.
Experts at the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Foundation say that the one thing people do most often to maintain their ear health actually can damage their hearing.… Read More
For years, doctors recommended that seniors take a baby aspirin every day to prevent heart attacks and strokes. That advice seemed to make sense because aspirin is a blood thinner.
Doctors and patients figured it could stop the blood clots that lead to those deadly events.
The only problem was that there were no large, well-designed studies that actually showed this to be true.… Read More
Colonoscopy may be the most-hated medical screening.
The prep is miserable. You have to fast the day before. Then you have to take a laxative. This means hours of stomach cramps…and multiple trips to the bathroom.
And the procedure itself is no picnic, either.
It requires general anesthesia and a day of downtime. There is risk of bowel perforation. This is rare, but it can be life-threatening.… Read More
The lungs of people who have tested positive for coronavirus are often densely scarred—even if they didn’t have any symptoms.
That’s the disturbing warning from Dr. Brittany Bankhead-Kendall. She is a trauma surgeon at Texas Tech University.[i]
“Post-COVID lungs look worse than any type of terrible smokers’ lungs we’ve ever seen,” she said.[ii]
All patients who’ve had COVID-19 symptoms show a severe chest X-ray, Dr.… Read More