Can Ear Plugs Cause a 700 fold Increase in Germs in the Ear Canal? (Headphones, Hearing Aids, Stethoscopes, etc)

It was recently brought to my attention an interesting urban legend that wearing ear plugs can cause a 700 fold increase in germs in the ear canal. Curious about how this statement came to life, I scoured the internet and discovered the following info that may have relevance for people who regularly use earbud devices that require insertion into the ear canal whether it be ear plugs, headphones , hearing aids , stethoscopes , etc. In 1992, US Naval researchers published a study that discov…

6/03/2016 0

Continue Reading

Sleep Apnea Increases Risk of Cancer

Obstructive sleep apnea has been getting accused of causing all sorts of medical problems including hypertension, stroke, heart disease, heart attacks, peripheral vascular disease, etc. We can also add cancer now. According to Australian researchers , moderate to severe sleep apnea increases the risk of cancer by 2.5 times and death from cancer by 3.4 times. They also reported that sleep apnea increases risk of death (any cause) by 4.2x and stroke by 3.7x. This conclusion was reached eva…

4/22/2014 0

Continue Reading

Mouthwash May Increase Risk of Oral Cancer

Drinking alcoholic beverages is known to increase risk of oral cancer. It is now suspected that using mouthwash containing alcohol (i.e., original Listerine) may also increase risk for oral cancer. When it comes to drinking alcoholic beverages like beer, individuals who consume 50 or more grams of alcohol per day (approximately 3.5 or more drinks per day) have at least a two to three times greater risk of developing oral cancer than nondrinkers. Moreover, the risk of cancer is substantiall…

4/05/2014 0

Continue Reading

Snoring is Bad for the Heart? Not so fast...

This past week, media has both aired and published a story regarding new research that suggests snoring WITHOUT obstructive sleep apnea may lead to potential increased risk of heart disease as well as stroke. Apparently, researchers in Michigan examined the data of 913 patients between the ages of 18 and 50 who had undergone a sleep study between 2006 and 2012. None had been diagnosed with sleep apnea , but did have significant snoring . These patients underwent an ultrasound that mea…

1/27/2013 1

Continue Reading

Stress Can INCREASE a Person's Allergies!

Researchers at Ohio State University recently published an article in the June 2009 journal Psychoneuroendocrinology titled " How stress and anxiety can alter immediate and late phase skin test responses in allergic rhinitis ." What they found was that allergic responses to a skin prick increased after a stressful event compared to a non-stressful event. Anxiety also substantially enhanced the effects of stress far into the future as even skin tests performed the day after the stre…

8/17/2009 0

Continue Reading