Mostly for my personal reference. These are some of my favourite sites for tracking coronavirus cases.
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Coronavirus Prediction
So the number of global coronavirus cases quadrupled during the last 3 weeks from 500,000 to 2 million.
I get my coronavirus stats at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Doing some math we should expect the following when it comes to prediction the virus numbers:
Now you might think, okay, that is a lot... We will be near the peak sometime in August. It could happen sooner, or later, depending on how much people try to quarantine and self-isolate to slow down the spread. But it is going to continue to spread. We cannot quarantine everyone. We still need to be able to buy food/toilet paper/etc.
But by the end of 2020 I am predicting 1.5 billion cases unless we manage to quarantine and isolate people so we can keep the numbers lower.
Presently the coronavirus is killing 20% of the people who get it.
So about 300 million deaths. That puts it on par with 4 times the total death count of WW2 (75 million people died during WW2).
Of course... Some people are calculating the total differently. I have seen other estimates of 100 to 400 million deaths. It really depends on how many people get it.
The biggest deciding factor of course is how much people are self-isolating. If lots of people refuse to isolate then the number will be much higher. If many people do the right thing and self isolate then we can expect a lower number.
I get my coronavirus stats at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Doing some math we should expect the following when it comes to prediction the virus numbers:
- May 6th, 8 million coronavirus cases.
- May 27th, 32 million coronavirus cases.
- June 17th, 128 million coronavirus cases.
- July 8th, 600+ million coronavirus cases.
Now you might think, okay, that is a lot... We will be near the peak sometime in August. It could happen sooner, or later, depending on how much people try to quarantine and self-isolate to slow down the spread. But it is going to continue to spread. We cannot quarantine everyone. We still need to be able to buy food/toilet paper/etc.
But by the end of 2020 I am predicting 1.5 billion cases unless we manage to quarantine and isolate people so we can keep the numbers lower.
Presently the coronavirus is killing 20% of the people who get it.
So about 300 million deaths. That puts it on par with 4 times the total death count of WW2 (75 million people died during WW2).
Of course... Some people are calculating the total differently. I have seen other estimates of 100 to 400 million deaths. It really depends on how many people get it.
The biggest deciding factor of course is how much people are self-isolating. If lots of people refuse to isolate then the number will be much higher. If many people do the right thing and self isolate then we can expect a lower number.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Why you should get your hearing checked by an audiologist
As someone who suffers from hearing loss I am a strong supporter of getting your hearing checked. Below is an article I found on the topic. Don't worry that it focuses on the elderly, many people suffer hearing loss at different stages of their lives.
Myself I personally enjoy visiting my current audiologist in Oakville (he is so talkative) and he provides free hearing tests, so even if you buy nothing from him at least you are getting a free hearing test and talking to someone who genuinely cares about people who have hearing loss like myself.
Anywho, back to the article below. I am posting it in the hope that people out there who have noticed they don't hear as well as they used to will be inspired to go get their hearing tested. Just google your local city and the words free hearing test and you should be able to find a place that provides hearing tests for free.
Especially if you work in a place where you are surrounded by loud noises regularly or constantly. Many people have hearing difficulties from working in places that are too noisy and harmful to their ears.
Hearing Loss in the Elderly and Subordinate Side Effects
By D. Eze
Hearing loss affects people of all ages for a variety of reasons. Some children are unfortunately born unable to hear very well, some people progressively lose their hearing over time and hearing loss is prone to many people above a certain age. This hearing loss can be a result of many different reasons including degenerative diseases, through the natural degeneration of hearing over time as part of old age or through some sort of traumatic event that severally affects hearing almost in an instant.
Despite the variety of reasons and causes of hearing loss, hearing loss overwhelming affects those at retirement age. Statistics say that one in three people from ages ranging from 64 - 75 will have some sort of hearing loss and one in two individuals over the age of 75 will be dealing with hearing loss. These are overwhelming numbers when one thinks about it. If one were to add that number of baby boomers who are about to be or already are at retirement age, hearing loss is becoming a major issue in our society today. Our mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles are currently dealing with substantial hearing loss and we do not even know it.
Some might say that hearing loss is not that bad of an issue and that people can cope with it by simply asking other to speak louder, but this is misleading. Hearing loss can in and of itself affect ones standard of living. "Especially in the elderly, hearing loss can impair the exchange of information, thus significantly impacting everyday life, causing loneliness, isolation, dependence, and frustration, as well as communication disorders" (Bianchini, Ciorba, Pelucchi and Pastore, 2012). It can also lead to dementia, depression, memory loss and stress. These are all physical and mental states that should be avoided especially for elderly people.
A recent study has looked to see the factors that lead to hearing loss in a varied group of Americans. The results of the study have shown that with people who have moderate hearing loss about 43% actually where hearing aids with those who have mild hearing loss the number drops dramatically to 3.4% (Lin, Thorpe, Gorden-Salant and Ferrucci, 2011). This shows that people only see to seek to get help for their hearing loss when it becomes more progressive as opposed to when it is just starting. More visits to an audiologist after the age of 50 can help to mitigate the issues that come with hearing loss much more quickly and increase the elderly populations quality of life much earlier.
Therefore why suffer when something like hearing loss and it subordinate effects can be dealt with in a relatively easy fashion. A quick visit to the audiologist and spending some time being fitted with a hearing aid can mitigate all of the bad side effects of hearing loss and greatly improve ones standard of living overnight.
To some a visit to the audiologist might be daunting. Most people have not been to a audiologist or do not know what going to an audiologist might entail. But going to the audiologist is very similar to going to the optometrist. It is a very short process where the doctor will test how well you are able to use your hearing against a standard of measurement and using various auditory testing equipment. In the end the audiologist will provide you with an apparatus that will allow you to hear better if need be or provide you with information and suggested equipment that will allow you to prevent further hearing loss. Specifically for an audiology test you will subjected to hearing sounds of different tone, volume and frequency. This is in order to ensure that the audiologist is able to determine the breath of the hearing loss as well as the source of the hearing loss. Depending on your needs, the audiologist will decide on which tests to perform and develop a plan to resolve your hearing loss issues.
Hearing is often the ignored sense. If our ability to see is diminished even slightly we all are very aware of it and often seek to fix the problem immediately, but with hearing it is usually something we consider not important enough to investigate. Additionally, for the elderly, when one ignores their inevitable hearing loss it can lead to very dire consequences. The fact is an hour test can preserve a very important sense and ensure that your quality of life is not unnecessarily diminished. Got get that test, if need be go get that hearing aid. Your ears will thank you.
Sources
C. Bianchini, A. Ciorba, S. Pelucchi, A. Pastore. (2012). The impact of hearing loss on the quality of life of elderly adults. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 7, 159-163. http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3393360/reload=0;jsessionid=AELCaUJ7cNkXolRlK0rx.24
F. Lin, R, Thorpe, S. Gorden-Salant & L. Ferrucci. (2011). Hearing Loss Prevalence and Risk Factors Among Older Adults in the United States. The Journals of Gerontology, 66A(5), 582-590. http://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/66A/5/582.short
Myself I personally enjoy visiting my current audiologist in Oakville (he is so talkative) and he provides free hearing tests, so even if you buy nothing from him at least you are getting a free hearing test and talking to someone who genuinely cares about people who have hearing loss like myself.
Anywho, back to the article below. I am posting it in the hope that people out there who have noticed they don't hear as well as they used to will be inspired to go get their hearing tested. Just google your local city and the words free hearing test and you should be able to find a place that provides hearing tests for free.
Especially if you work in a place where you are surrounded by loud noises regularly or constantly. Many people have hearing difficulties from working in places that are too noisy and harmful to their ears.
By D. Eze
Hearing loss affects people of all ages for a variety of reasons. Some children are unfortunately born unable to hear very well, some people progressively lose their hearing over time and hearing loss is prone to many people above a certain age. This hearing loss can be a result of many different reasons including degenerative diseases, through the natural degeneration of hearing over time as part of old age or through some sort of traumatic event that severally affects hearing almost in an instant.
Despite the variety of reasons and causes of hearing loss, hearing loss overwhelming affects those at retirement age. Statistics say that one in three people from ages ranging from 64 - 75 will have some sort of hearing loss and one in two individuals over the age of 75 will be dealing with hearing loss. These are overwhelming numbers when one thinks about it. If one were to add that number of baby boomers who are about to be or already are at retirement age, hearing loss is becoming a major issue in our society today. Our mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles are currently dealing with substantial hearing loss and we do not even know it.
Some might say that hearing loss is not that bad of an issue and that people can cope with it by simply asking other to speak louder, but this is misleading. Hearing loss can in and of itself affect ones standard of living. "Especially in the elderly, hearing loss can impair the exchange of information, thus significantly impacting everyday life, causing loneliness, isolation, dependence, and frustration, as well as communication disorders" (Bianchini, Ciorba, Pelucchi and Pastore, 2012). It can also lead to dementia, depression, memory loss and stress. These are all physical and mental states that should be avoided especially for elderly people.
A recent study has looked to see the factors that lead to hearing loss in a varied group of Americans. The results of the study have shown that with people who have moderate hearing loss about 43% actually where hearing aids with those who have mild hearing loss the number drops dramatically to 3.4% (Lin, Thorpe, Gorden-Salant and Ferrucci, 2011). This shows that people only see to seek to get help for their hearing loss when it becomes more progressive as opposed to when it is just starting. More visits to an audiologist after the age of 50 can help to mitigate the issues that come with hearing loss much more quickly and increase the elderly populations quality of life much earlier.
Therefore why suffer when something like hearing loss and it subordinate effects can be dealt with in a relatively easy fashion. A quick visit to the audiologist and spending some time being fitted with a hearing aid can mitigate all of the bad side effects of hearing loss and greatly improve ones standard of living overnight.
To some a visit to the audiologist might be daunting. Most people have not been to a audiologist or do not know what going to an audiologist might entail. But going to the audiologist is very similar to going to the optometrist. It is a very short process where the doctor will test how well you are able to use your hearing against a standard of measurement and using various auditory testing equipment. In the end the audiologist will provide you with an apparatus that will allow you to hear better if need be or provide you with information and suggested equipment that will allow you to prevent further hearing loss. Specifically for an audiology test you will subjected to hearing sounds of different tone, volume and frequency. This is in order to ensure that the audiologist is able to determine the breath of the hearing loss as well as the source of the hearing loss. Depending on your needs, the audiologist will decide on which tests to perform and develop a plan to resolve your hearing loss issues.
Hearing is often the ignored sense. If our ability to see is diminished even slightly we all are very aware of it and often seek to fix the problem immediately, but with hearing it is usually something we consider not important enough to investigate. Additionally, for the elderly, when one ignores their inevitable hearing loss it can lead to very dire consequences. The fact is an hour test can preserve a very important sense and ensure that your quality of life is not unnecessarily diminished. Got get that test, if need be go get that hearing aid. Your ears will thank you.
Sources
C. Bianchini, A. Ciorba, S. Pelucchi, A. Pastore. (2012). The impact of hearing loss on the quality of life of elderly adults. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 7, 159-163. http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3393360/reload=0;jsessionid=AELCaUJ7cNkXolRlK0rx.24
F. Lin, R, Thorpe, S. Gorden-Salant & L. Ferrucci. (2011). Hearing Loss Prevalence and Risk Factors Among Older Adults in the United States. The Journals of Gerontology, 66A(5), 582-590. http://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/66A/5/582.short
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Hearing Loss and my life as a pianist
But ever since I suffered hearing loss in 2010 I must admit I feel a certain affinity with deaf people.
Due to mistaken identity, in 2010 I was stalked by a woman from Thornhill who thought I looked like her ex-husband (and this is why I don't put photos of myself online any more). The stalker was so convinced that I was her hated ex-husband, and so angry at whatever misdeeds he had done, that she stabbed me three times with a knife. Once in the left shoulder, once in my arm while I was trying to fend her off, and once in my right ear.
The woman then fled the scene, but was later arrested by police. Her lawyer pleaded insanity and she got away with a lighter sentence and mandatory time in a provincial mental ward.
Meanwhile my right ear suffered permanent hearing loss - she has severed several important nerves in the ear and damaged the eardrum itself with her knife. I am not deaf in that ear, but I do now use a hearing aid.
Despite this injury - and thanks to my perfectly good left ear - I was able to finish my Doctorate of Musical Arts at U of T. I must admit I was almost done anyway at the time of the stabbing.
I would also like to take a moment to thank the Omni Hearing Clinic in Vaughan for all their help during that trying time. I am very thankful that I still have my left ear to hear with, but I am very thankful that with an hearing aid I can now hear with my right ear again almost as well as before the incident.
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