Photo credit -Jacob Sierra, Pexels. Man with dark hair wearing sunglassess and headphones with coloured stars on his cheek. He has one had behind his ear as if trying to listen to something. If you’ve just been diagnosed with hearing loss it’s a lot to take in. Sometimes the explanations and terminology can be confusing. So here’s a guide to the different types of hearing loss, how to understand your audiogram, and what support is available. How the ear works When we hear something, sound waves are captured by the outer ear and travel along the ear canal where they cause the ear drum to vibra ..read more

Photo credit pexels-karolina grabowsk Woman with dark hair and glasses wearing a green shirt and cream jacket. She is sitting at a desk with one hand on her face. There are three people standing round her with their faces out of shot. They are holding their hands out and pointing as if arguing. Why do you feel stressed out? We all have a natural survival instinct, it’s called a ‘fight or flight’ response. A mixture of hormones is released which allows us to react quickly to dangerous situations. Modern life can produce stressful situations where this ‘fight or flight’ response is triggered ev ..read more

Eight cream coloured clock faces, all with different times, lying on brown fabric. Practising mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, and improve your general wellbeing. Mindfulness can help you to be present in the here and now instead of focusing on past worries or future events which may or may not happen. There are plenty of courses and books on mindfulness, but you will find the greatest benefit by working it into your everyday routine. However, if you’re rushing from one thing to another each day with no time for yourself, meditation or mindfulness can feel like another ..read more

There are blurred images of leaves in the foreground of the photo. Past the foliage is a blonde woman wearing red lipstick and gold earrings, she is looking thoughtful. Don’t have time for mindfulness? It’s possible to bring mindfulness into your daily life without making big changes.  You can be mindful by noticing your breathing and body sensations at different times during the day. When life offers you a natural pause – such as waiting for a meeting, or in a queue, bring your attention to your breathing.  Is it deep or shallow?  Where is the sensation strongest?  You co ..read more

Woman with dark hair wearing a green top and jeans. She is sitting with her legs crossed on a chair with her hands over her ears. What Is Tinnitus? Often described as a ringing or buzzing noise, it can also sound like a lawnmower under your pillow when you're trying to sleep at night. It can change in frequency and volume, sometimes it's a mild irritation that you can distract yourself from by having the radio or tv on in the background, other times it's loud enough to drown out the conversation around you. What Causes Tinnitus? There are many possible causes, including hearing loss, allergie ..read more

Photo credit, Alina Levkovich, Pexels. Blonde woman in orange dress and black shoes lying face down on orange sofa. My worst experience of hearing fatigue was when I started my teacher training for mindfulness. Due to the pandemic, the training had been moved online. The course was fantastic, but after spending all day on a Zoom call, I’d retreat to bed, tired and stressed out, my head was throbbing and I was barely able to hold a conversation. After a day’s rest I’d be back to normal, but I knew that I’d never finish the course if I didn’t find a better way to cope with it. What is listening ..read more

We’ve all heard that mental health is important. But why do we need it? How can we improve it? What is it anyway? Mental health is more than not having a mental illness. It keeps us physically healthy. It maintains good relationships, and helps us focus on what’s really important. How is health affected by wellbeing? We’re all familiar with the relationship between stress and  health problems like tension headaches and IBS. According to a statement by the American Heart Association discussed in Medscape, stress, depression, anger and anxiety can also cause high blood pressure or irregular ..read more

Practising mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, and improve your general wellbeing. Mindfulness can help you to be present in the here and now instead of focusing on past worries or future events which may or may not happen. There are plenty of courses and books on mindfulness, but you will find the greatest benefit by working it into your everyday routine. However, if you’re rushing from one thing to another each day with no time for yourself, meditation or mindfulness can feel like another thing to tick off your to do list. And its always at the bottom of the list.  ..read more

Sometimes it feels like you have no time for the things you want to do. Work and family life spill into each other. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Creating boundaries at home and work will give you more time. It can also make you more organised and productive, giving you more control. So where do you start? Here are six essential boundaries for work life balance Learn to say no at work Being a ‘yes’ person at work may earn you friends, but it could also give you burn out. You’ll find yourself so busy doing things for other people you won’t have time to get your own work done. ( And that’s the ..read more

We’ve all met difficult people at work. Sometimes there are people we just can’t seem to get along with. Most of the time this isn’t a problem as we have a choice over who we spend time with. But in the workplace it’s another matter. It’s part of the job. And we can’t choose our co-workers. Somehow you get drawn in, they know your triggers and seem to stress you out all the more.  Because you know they upset you or stress you out, you find yourself mulling things over afterwards, a spiral of dark thoughts and negativity. Or you start to anticipate when something will happen. Making you mo ..read more