Lauren Mulenos, the founder of LMents of Style, has always had some degree of hearing loss. Her first diagnosis was when she failed a hearing test in elementary school, but at that time, it was not treated.
Lauren’s family has a history of hearing loss, and numerous childhood ear infections also affected her hearing. Her family’s “normal” was to turn up the volume on everything rather than get hearing treatment, and they didn’t use hearing protection either.
Because of all these factors, Lauren’s hearing declined further over the years to where she had many hearing problems – she was doing a lot of lip reading and deliberately wearing headphones at work so that people would get within her range of hearing to talk to her.
They Didn’t Even Know She Had Trouble Hearing!
Because she adapted to her hearing loss so well, even Lauren’s close friends didn’t know she had difficulty hearing and simply thought she didn’t want to talk or was ignoring them most of the time.
As Lauren’s hearing worsened further, she turned up the volume even higher, always used subtitles, and made sure all her conversations were done face to face so she could lip read. But then everyone started wearing masks during the pandemic, and with other people’s words now muffled and her sudden inability to lip read, Lauren was struggling.
Lauren’s Pivotal Point for Wearing Hearing Aids
The pivotal point in Lauren’s life that motivated her to research hearing treatment was her pregnancy. With twins on the way, she was terrified of not being able to hear them should they need her. That’s when she made an appointment with Pacific Hearing and Balance.
Once diagnosed, Lauren chose Phonak hearing aids for her hearing treatment, and today she feels more confident in every area of her life – so much so that she is now a Phonak hearing aid brand ambassador.
She encourages everyone to get their hearing checked every year or two — even if they think they have normal hearing — and have it treated, if needed, for better overall hearing health.
Lauren’s twins have already had their required hearing tests at birth, and she will be making sure they have annual hearing tests because of their higher risk family history. She wants to make sure her children don’t miss out on any aspect of their social, relational, or cognitive development.
“Hearing loss can lead to a faster atrophy rate in the brain and contribute to dementia. Hearing issues can affect more than just your social interactions, so don’t forget to take care of ALL of your body.”
– Lauren Mulenos
Think You Have a Hearing Loss?
If you notice signs that you or a loved one might have a hearing loss, schedule a hearing assessment at Pacific Balance and Hearing. We’ll give you the results immediately after the test, and if we have diagnosed a hearing loss, we’ll also discuss treatment options with you so you can be knowledgeable about your choices and prevent your hearing from becoming worse.
If your hearing health is good, we can give you advice on how to find the best hearing protection to keep it that way. We look forward to meeting you and helping you on your hearing journey.
