March - Williamsburg , VA Magazine , Next Door Neighbors

TWO BIG NIGHTS at GIUSEPPE’SMonday isMEATBALLMADNESS!Wednesday isLASAGNANIGHT!Two homemade meatballsserved with a generous portionof linguine & marinarasauce. Served with soup orsalad. Excludes beveragesand gratuity. Mondays only.Awesome Italian lasagnathat’s so good you’ll wishevery day was Wednesday!Served with soup or salad.Excludes beverages andgratuity. Wednesdays only.$7 95onlyEACHwith couponExpires 4/30/11(757) 565-19775525 Olde Towne Road • www.giuseppes.comIt’s About How You Feel,It’s About How You Look,It’s About You!“I get it. Come see me!” SheriA properly fitting bra is key to comfort and style.Offering bandsizes 30 - 46and cup sizesAA - H (UK)427 W Duke of Gloucester St., Merchants Square, Williamsburg757-220-8440 • www.bellafinelingerie.comSTENOSIStaking too much away from you?Work?(can’t)Travel?(tried it - big mistake)Hobbies?(had to give them up)Sports/Fitness?(no way!)Maybe Ican help.Daniel Carlson, D.C.The Spine Center of WilliamsburgA Modern Chiropractic Practice757-259-0077219 McLaws Circlewww.WilliamsburgChiro.comMEDICARE, ANTHEM , HEALTHKEEPERS ANDMOST OTHER INSURANCES ACCEPTEDFamily Fun?(what’s that?)Sleep?(I wish)“If it is sensorineural hearing loss, it is permanent,” he states. “That isthe most common type I see. If the patient has a certain base percentageword recognition score, the only thing we can do is treat the loss withhearing aid technology. That’s all we can do. We can’t re-grow nerves.”Audiologists also test for balance and dizziness problems possiblycaused by ear issues. “Vertigo,” Dr. Liptak labels it. “Used to be, we hadto refer people to Richmond for vertigo – that’s a long way to drive ifyou’re dizzy.” There were no other VNG (Videonystagmography) centersnearby to run the series of procedures needed to diagnose a person’sdizziness or balance problems. “We started the Vertigo Dizzy Clinic,”he says. “It’s a redundant name for the clinic, but a lot of people didn’tknow what vertigo was. We do a lot of that testing here in Williamsburgnow. It helps us isolate the cause of the dizziness, whether it’s the centralnervous system or in the inner ear.”Another common type of hearing problem is tinnitus, which is sometimesdescribed as a ringing in the ears. “The nerve endings twitch inthe inner ear,” Dr. Liptak says, “creating phantom sounds. Some say itsounds like ringing, crickets chirping, low hissing, the ocean’s roar andeven clicking.” There are many different types of possible treatmentsdepending on the exact type of tinnitus the patient experiences.The technological solutions for hearing loss have changed dramaticallyfrom the squeaky, squealing, putty-colored apparatus in your grandmother’sear twenty years ago. The hearing aids of today have many optionsand few visual clues that other people would notice. Digital technologyhas allowed hearing aids to become significantly smaller and smarter inthe past several years.Technology moves fast in audiology, and Dr. Liptak stays on top ofthe latest advancements. “This is really cool – high frequency transposition,”he says. “We can move the frequencies where you hear things. Sayyour hearing is normal in the mid-frequencies, but falls off the table onthe high frequencies. We can shift those over so that, for example, the‘st’ and ‘th’ sounds can go to other frequencies. Not a lot of people knowabout this. A lot of ENTs (Ear, Nose, Throat doctors) don’t know aboutthis yet.” This ability to shift frequencies has Dr. Liptak excited. “I neverthought this would happen,” he says.For the future, Dr. Liptak wants to see assistive listening technologiesemployed in public spaces. “Induction loops, t-coils – they are really bigin Europe, like in Sweden and Norway,” he says. “All the state buildingsand public buildings are looped for people who are hearing impaired.You can hit a button on your hearing aid and pick up the t-coil. It wouldbe like having head phones on. This technology is in some places likemuseums and airports and here in Williamsburg at some churches.”Dr. Liptak has donated inductive loops to several local churches, butthat has slowed recently with the birth of his and Lucia’s son. “He’s sixmonths old,” Dr. Liptak says. “We do well to get to work and back homethese days. The baby has decided he doesn’t want to sleep through thenight.”Whether a baby’s cry or a complaint from a spouse, we need to hearclearly. The old clunky hearing aids of the last generation are gone, replacedwith smaller and smarter technology. If you find yourself withdrawingfrom conversations or having to guess what is being said, it maybe time for a hearing evaluation. Don’t let vanity keep you from participatingin life. “A hearing loss is more noticeable than a hearing aid,” Dr.Liptak adds. NDN38 NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORSMARCH2011