Long-time mobile phone users who talk more than an hour a day on the devices may be may be more likely to have high-frequency hearing loss, researchers say. “Our intention is not to scare the public,” says Naresh K. Panda, MS, DNB, chairman of the department of ear, nose, and throat at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India, and researcher for the study. The study, he tells WebMD, is preliminary and small. “We need to study a larger number of patients.”

His team found that people who had talked on cell phones for more than four years and those who talked more than an hour daily were more likely to have these high-frequency losses. These losses can make it difficult to hear consonants such as s, f, t and z, making it hard to understand words. But another hearing expert familiar with the study says there is as yet no cause for alarm.
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If you’re one of the estimated 57 million people in the U.S. with prediabetes, an expert medical committee has some advice for you. The committee, assembled by the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, has been meeting in Washington, D.C., for the last two days talking about prediabetes.

Don’t blow it off. In prediabetes, blood sugar levels are above normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes yet. But prediabetes isn’t harmless; it makes diabetes (and its many complications) more likely. And it’s a risk for your heart right now. The bottom line: Prediabetes is an immediate risk and a shadow hanging over your future health. So get aggressive about dealing with it now. Don’t wait until it gets worse.
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People with the disorder have difficulty hearing in complex situations with competing noise, such as making out what one person is saying while many people in a group are talking at the same time. “Central auditory processing dysfunction is a general term that is applied to persons whose hearing in quiet settings is normal or near normal yet who have substantial hearing difficulty in the presence of auditory stressors such as competing noise and other difficult listening situations,” according to background information in the study. “Central auditory testing is important in evaluating individuals with hearing difficulty, because poor central auditory ability, per se, is not helped by amplification and requires alternative rehabilitation strategies.” Read more

Before you buy home exercise equipment, it’s important to make sure you’re making the best choice for you and your lifestyle. Here are things to keep in mind when selecting exercise equipment, courtesy of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

* Consider less expensive options that offer more variety in your exercise. Look for a stand to convert your regular bicycle into a stationary bike, or consider free weights and a bench instead of a resistance machine. Read more