health – asty.org

Signia Silk X w/CROS: A huge leap for single-sided deafness (SSD) hearing aids

Posted on February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 by chrisa

Model tested: Signia Silk 5X (right side), Silk CROS (left side).

Signia Silk and CROS hearing aids in their case

Design

The Signia Silk X is a completely-in-canal (CIC) hearing aid, which right off the bat differentiates it from every other CROS hearing aid solution I’ve tried so far (which were all Receiver In Canal or RIC models). You can read about different types of hearing aids here. As someone who lost part of their hearing at a relatively young age (30), I feel a lot less self-conscious wearing these hearing aids in public and at work due to their very conspicuous design. Whether we want to admit it to ourselves or each other (or are even aware of …

Mezcla Plant Protein Bar Review

Posted on August 15, 2020August 17, 2020 by chrisa

A delicious post-workout snack, if you like peanut butter or spicy chocolate

Intro

I’ll say it up front, this it the first time I have ever been asked to do a product review rather than just yelling about something because the mood struck me.

Probably because I’ve been covering some health related items recently, the Mezcla folks reached out and asked if I could review their plan protein bars. Here’s a little secret about me: I love protein bars; I could eat them with every meal, and for that matter instead of a meal many times.

Because of this fact, I was happy to review a sample of 3 of their plant protein bars. I am always looking for as …

Single Sided Deafness (SSD) CROS Hearing Aids Compared: Oticon Opn S2 vs Livio AI

Posted on June 13, 2020June 14, 2020 by chrisa

Plus Android & iPhone (iOS) Compatibility for each

My Background and Deafness Situation

I have been deaf on one side due to both Migraine Associated Vertigo (AKA Vestibular Migraine) and the treatment for it since around age 30. While I coped for more than decade without a hearing aid, I recently came to understand that some benefit could be had from wearing as CROS hearing aid to send sounds from my ‘bad’ side to the ‘good’ one. There are far more invasive procedures including BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aids), but my right side hearing is so good that the only realistic option, aside from trying to aid the left side, was the CROS.

This leads to the question of …

My Hands are Declaring War on Wide Phones

Posted on November 5, 2019November 5, 2019 by chrisa

I’ve had it with wide phone screens. I tried to adapt, I’ve reached, strained and contorted my thumb to reach the sides and top of my phone. I even tried to chase the trend that people seem to have of slapping rings on the back of their phone to keep their fingers securely on the back of the device.

I found a great ring/stand that works on almost any phone (affiliate link) which I do like a lot and it’s not even pricey. I’ve tried using text to speech, and become exquisitely aware of both how imprecise and vague words in English sound, and how doomed we really are with this technology, unless tech companies secretly employ humans to correct …

Magic Spoon Review from a Regular Dad (Non-Keto)

Posted on November 3, 2019November 19, 2019 by chrisa

Is it worth getting that cereal you’re always seeing on Instagram?

You have surely seen the Magic Spoon ads if you use Instagram in the slightest, especially if you’ve ever followed someone (or some brand) in the food industry. Their claims are bold to be sure: a very low net carb (total carbs minus protein) cereal with good taste. At $10 per box it was clearly not in the “too good to be true” category, but I was still apprehensive…

Well I did my research and it seemed like something I wanted to try, so off to the Magic Spoon website I went to get the variety pack. The ordering process was smooth, but at this point in my life …

Echelon Fit app and membership: barriers limit its appeal to newbies (thoughts from a casual spinner)

Posted on October 23, 2019November 4, 2019 by chrisa

and the barriers aren’t just about cost…

Like many Americans I am chronically over-pressed for time. I have the desire to get in shape but critically lack the sustained motivation needed to ensure that my earnest beginnings solidify into a consistent regimen. When the pinch happens and I have to choose between a required customer teleconference, or needing to leave work early and fight traffic for 1.5 hours to see my child’s choral concert, that 30 minute exercise block I had scheduled is always going to be the first casualty.

I don’t regret this either – in order for an exercise routine to work it has to make a person want to return. In my case that means enough …