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Delay dementia—could hearing aids be the answer? Seniors who have untreated hearing loss may be at an increased risk for developing dementia, a loss of brain function that can affect memory, thinking, language, MXGJPHQW DQG EHKDYLRU 7KLV LV WKH ĂĹźQGLQJ of a study conducted by researchers from the Division of Otology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The study included 639 people whose hearing and cognitive abilities were tested over a period of time, starting in 1990 and concluding in 2008. Researchers found that study participants who had hearing loss at the beginning of the study were VLJQLĂĹźFDQWO\ PRUH OLNHO\ WR GHYHORS GHmentia by the end of the study. How might hearing loss and dementia be connected? Investigators aren’t sure, but they think a common pathology may underlie both conditions, or possibly the strain of decoding sounds over the years may overwhelm the brains of people with hearing loss, leaving them more vulnerable to dementia. The article concludes that, whatever the FDXVH WKHVH ĂĹźQGLQJV PD\ RIIHU D VWDUWLQJ point for further research as to whether interventions, even as simple as hearing aids, could delay or prevent dementia by improving patients’ hearing.
With Miracle-Ear, You’ll Hear Everthingâ€Ĺ
Mayors to study road pricing regardless B y J e f f Nagel Black Press
Metro Vancouver mayors aim to introduce road pricing, which could replace the current system of tolling only new bridges, with consistent tolls on all existing crossings, or per-kilometre road use charges on all major routes. So is that idea also scuttled if Metro voters defeat the proposed 0.5-per-cent sales tax increase that would fund transit expansion across the region? The Mayors’ Council intends to explore road
pricing options regardless of the outcome. A referendum No vote on the congestion tax does not block tolls on a replaced Pattullo Bridge, nor does it prevent an eventual move to road pricing. Mayors propose road pricing be revenue-neutral under a Yes outcome that authorizes the new sales tax; road use fees would replace bridge tolls within eight years and allow a six-cent-per-litre reduction in the TransLink gas tax. A No vote that blocks the extra $250 million per
year from sales tax may create more pressure to instead pursue the idea as a revenue generator. Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore said there’s been no debate about that and the province has been clear that any new funding source has to go to referendum. Road pricing is part of the mayors’ long-range vision because making drivers pay to travel by road is expected to have a profound effect on how they choose to get around. Road tolls that change by the time of day – charging more at peak
times and less or zero offpeak – would spur some drivers to drive at cheaper times or take transit, easing the worst congestion at rush hour peaks and making the system more efficient, experts say. “It spreads the peak,� says Robin Lindsey, transportation and logistics professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. “Those people who are more flexible will go to the off-peak and the people that have no choice but to travel on the peak and pay will have quicker trips.� The ideal system, he
says, would be one where vehicles are tracked by satellite and charged according to how far they drive. Years of study is expected before one recommended model for road pricing emerges. According to mayors’ council estimates, each penny charged per kilometre could add up to $100 million a year in revenue under a road pricing scheme. Transportation Minister Todd Stone has promised a review of the province’s current tolling policy, for new infrastructure.
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2015 METRO VANCOUVER TR ANSPORTATION AND TR ANSIT PLEBISCITE Elections BC is administering the vote-by-mail plebiscite from March 16 to May 29, 2015. You can vote if you are:
â– A Canadian citizen â– 18 years of age or older, on or before May 29, 2015 â– A resident of B.C. for at least six months, on or before May 29, 2015
Even The Things You’re Not Supposed To!
â– Registered to vote in B.C.
Call to Schedule your Free Hearing Screening Today!
You can ask for a voting package to be mailed to you by calling 1-800- 661-8683 or online at elections.bc.ca /ovr. You can ask for a voting package until midnight on Friday, May 15, 2015.
â– Living in Metro Vancouver
Elections BC must receive your completed ballot package before 8 p.m. on Friday, May 29, 2015. Visit elections.bc.ca or call 1-800-661-8683 for more information.
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