Movie Captioning Access Update

Posted in Hearing on May 30, 2010

Closed captioning, available on most TV sets under "menu" or "set-up," offers those with many levels of hearing difficulty access to the dialog.  This ranges from those who only look when they feel they have missed something, to others who solely read the dialog for their information.  It has been a long debate how far the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) goes to provide captioning for those with disabling hearing loss in public venues.  All theaters have had "assistive"

Hearing through our teeth… yes you read that right.

Posted in Hearing on May 28, 2010

I have received a request to blog on this new technology, expected to receive FDA clearance in the next few months.

Yes we hear wonderfully without the use of our ears. The cochlea, often referred to as the organ of hearing, is encased within the skull, so movement of the skull passes sound to the organ effortlessly. 

Now as new as this concept seems...in 1812 there was documented use of the teeth for amplification--granted not as small or user friendly--but for almost 200

Tanning beds are aging machines

Posted in Dermatology | General on May 18, 2010

Tanning beds are to your skin as smoking is to your lungs

There is a good reason tanning beds look similar to coffins.  If they don't put you in the coffin  you will soon look like your getting old enough to need one.   Tanning beds are listed along with mustard gas and arsenic in the highest cancer risk category. They cause melanoma in young people.   I like to call them aging machines.  They accelerate skin aging, causing mottled pigmentation, thinned collagen, furrows and

Immunotherapy/Allergy Treatment now in Kirkland

Posted in Allergies on May 17, 2010

Since the September 2009 creation of our allergy department, we have been able to test and treat allergies caused by inhaled allergens, thereby directly addressing additional health concerns of our patients, eliminating the need for outside referrals to allergy clinics, allowing our office to provide a more comprehensive approach to patient care.

Due to the growth of our patient base, NW Face will expand to provide immunotherapy in our Kirkland office. We will continue to have

Food allergies – How do you know if you have them?

Posted in Allergies on May 14, 2010

An article in the New York Times published yesterday casts doubt on the widespread reported incidence of food allergies in the general population. The article states that the true incidence of food allergies is 5% in adults and 8% in children versus the approximately 30% of people in the general population who self-report food allergies. Why is there such a large discrepancy?  The main problem comes from the fact that most people do not truly understand what an allergy is. An