Brain & Heart & Courage. Oh My!

February is American Heart Month, a time when we can focus on our cardiovascular health.
Cardiovascular disease robs the life of nearly one American every minute, and yet an alarming number of Americans don’t understand how serious the threat of heart disease is to them personally, or how closely intertwined it is with other health conditions, such as hearing health. Good circulation plays a role in maintaining good hearing health. Conversely, inadequate blood flow and trauma to the blood vessels of the inner ear can contribute to hearing loss. This means a healthy heart helps maintain healthy ears!

Did you know some heart conditions even cause certain types of hearing loss? It’s just one more reason to get your hearing evaluated on a regular basis!

Individuals with untreated hearing loss demonstrate a 30% to 40% accelerated rate of cognitive decline during a six year period compared to those with normal hearing. Treating hearing loss can reverse brain reorganization, a large contributing factor of cognitive decline.

Heart and brain health go hand in hand with hearing health and It takes courage for patients to treat their hearing loss.

As simple and cute as the above graphic is, the message holds true. The tin man with his heart, the scarecrow with his brain and the lion with his courage all are stronger together as a team heading down the yellow brick road and in this case that road is the road to hearing health.

Ch’ears'!
Whitney Swander, Au.D.
Owner, Doctor of Audiology

After I finished graduate school and landed my first job I decided I wanted to continue my education by becoming a yoga instructor. I taught yoga for about a year - until I got my job at HHCC. I love teaching yoga and interacting with the students but it became very not fun once COVID hit. I still go to yoga as much as I can - it is my preferred type of exercise. Probably because I was an intense dancer all throughout my life! Including in college! Fun Fact: I have a genetic hearing loss in my family and that's what led me to the wonderful field of audiology!

Here are a couple of fun questions to get to know Dr. Kuehne better.

What motivates you to work hard?

Definitely my dad. He worked extremely hard my entire life. He even worked on holidays and weekends. His hard work provided us with an amazingly blessed life. I want to provide that for my own kids. And I don't want to continue to depend on my dad for that lifestyle! I want to get it for myself and make him proud!!!

What makes you laugh the most?

My boyfriend playing with my cat. He has tied one of her toys to a string and they now play catch. Eventually, my cat will pick up the toy and my boyfriend will have the other end of the string and he will walk her around my house. It's super cute and hilarious! I wish I could describe it better.

What is your pet peeve?

I HATE little pieces of paper. Specifically, I hate when people wad their gum into a torn off piece of paper or play with a tiny ball of paper. I don't know why, but little pieces of paper FREAK. ME. OUT. I remember being a little girl thinking how gross it was that people put gum in paper and that eventually turned into me disliking all little pieces of paper.

Here are a couple of fun questions to get to know Pam better.

What is your biggest fear?

My biggest fear is that I would develop dementia. My mother suffered dementia and it was so sad to watch her decline.

Have you ever had a nickname?

I had a nickname as a child, of which I will not repeat! My family was so ornery with the nicknames. I named my children Heather and Joshua because my family could not make nicknames out of those names. As a teenager I refused to answer to my nickname. My grandfather was the only who called me by my nickname until he passed. I loved him so much, I never made him change.

What makes you laugh the most?

I am such a happy person that lots of things make me laugh. But right now, it has to be our new puppy Mattie. That pup does the funniest things and brings so much joy into my life.