Jenny Beck
Bio
I am a chiropractor, health advocate and advocate for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. I love to travel and spent several years working overseas in Indonesia and Ghana. @aslchiro- Instagram
Stories (24/0)
Volcanic Craters and Tea Fields
I stared at the hissing lake, a gray greenish color, spewing blasts of sulfur into the sky. It smelled distinctly like rotten eggs. The crater lake bubbled and roared. It was a scene straight out of Mordor in Lord of the Rings. However, instead of evil rings and dark wraiths, this Mordor was filled with tourists and small buses. People chatted happily as they began the trek around the lake. Nema and I opted to take the quieter path that led around the side of the volcano. As we moved away from the crater, the greenery enveloped us, a direct contrast to the bare mountain and seething lake.
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Wander
Sultans, Temples, and Coconut Rice
I stood in the pre-dawn darkness outside of the Losman (Indonesian hostel) and waited for the bus. When I entered the bus, I was pleasantly surprised to meet two young European women about my age. They were both from the Netherlands and we chatted as the bus wound its way through the Indonesian countryside. The sky lightened and we could see the rice fields and terraces in the mountainside where the tea fields were. The sun rose above the horizon and the sky filled with color. I looked at Mt. Merape in the distance, Yogyakarta's famous active volcano, to see the sun hovering above its peak, illuminating the mountain and the countryside below. I gazed at the stunning beauty before me, imprinting the image in my memory. After about an hour of scenic beauty, the bus arrived at Borodobur, the ancient Buddhist temple site.
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Wander
- Top Story - January 2019
Tears and Fears in Kakum National ParkTop Story - January 2019
"Don't look down," I whisper to myself. Ahead of me lies my nemesis, two planks with a rope handle hanging over empty space. Never a fan of heights, I consider backing out and heading down the mountain. The faces of several small children half my height eagerly walking across the bridge make me swallow my fears and step on the shaky boards. The pit in my stomach grows larger but my ego goads me on. My pride demands that I don't wimp out in front of these children. I stare fixedly ahead and slowly place one foot in front of the other, my fingers clenching the rope handle in a death grip.
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Wander
When Silence Becomes Shrill
My Dad suffers from Meniere's Disease. In addition to tinnitus and vertigo attacks, he is deaf in one ear. At least, sometimes he seems deaf in that ear. My family is often surprised to hear him say from another room that we are being too loud and it hurts his ears in response to us talking and laughing. Yet, when we call to him from the other room, he doesn't hear us. This phenomenon is known as recruitment.
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Longevity
Hearing With Your Heart
Deaf. Hard of hearing. Unilateral hearing loss. Bilateral hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss. Some of these terms may be confusing to you. After all, hearing loss is hearing loss, right? Actually, no. There are many different types of hearing loss and it affects the way people hear in drastically different ways.
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Longevity
Am I 'Disabled?'
Disability. When you hear this term, what is the first image that pops into your head? Someone in a wheelchair? Someone who is blind? What emotions do you feel? Sadness? Pity? Relief that you don't have a disability? Or rejection of the term "disability" in regards to yourself? Do you make assumptions as to what the "disabled" person can and can't do?
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Longevity
Moringa
If you've never heard of Moringa, you are not alone. Although this tropical plant grows abundantly in parts of Africa and Asia, many people living in Western countries are not familiar with it. However, if you have never tried it, you are missing out on a nutritional superfood. This humble plant is packed with nutrients, especially iron, which makes it ideal for those who struggle with anemia or for vegetarians who may need to get more iron in their diet.
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Feast
Making True Health Accessible to All
Chiropractic is a form of holistic healthcare that can benefit everyone, from young to old. Sadly, the healing message of chiropractic is not reaching many due to communication barriers. The deaf community is considered to be an under-served population in terms of holistic healthcare and the primary reason is because the message of true health and wellness is not being communicated in their main language, American Sign Language.
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Longevity
Understanding Meniere's Disease
Meniere's Disease is a complicated condition that may have several underlying causes. It is believed to be caused by an excessive amount of fluid in the ear which causes symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss and clogged ears. Some possible underlying causes of tinnitus include an autoimmune disease, allergies, head trauma, migraines, viral infection or a blockage in the eustachian tube. This is a condition that affects my family personally as my Dad was diagnosed with it a few years ago.
By Jenny Beck5 years ago in Longevity
Tinnitus
As I sit here in a quiet room, my ears are ringing, a loud hum that I am attempting to ignore. For me and millions of others who suffer from tinnitus, the world is never truly quiet. So, what is tinnitus? Tinnitus is defined as phantom noises that a person hears. In most cases, tinnitus is only heard by the person experiencing it but in rare cases, the tinnitus can be heard by others. The noises range from humming and buzzing to a roaring noise or even chirping sounds. Beethoven, the famous deaf composer, also suffered from tinnitus, telling friends he constantly heard the noise of crickets chirping. The effect of tinnitus can be so severe that it can make people go crazy. Tinnitus is a symptom of many ear related conditions including hearing loss due to noise exposure, ear infections, and Meniere's Disease, a condition that usually includes vertigo and hearing loss along with severe tinnitus.
By Jenny Beck6 years ago in Longevity
Listening Fatigue
I am sitting in a lecture hall, trying desperately to concentrate. Seemingly outside of my control, my mind wanders. I pull my focus back on my professor, only for my mind to start wandering again mere minutes or seconds later. Taking notes only makes my lack of concentration worse. With my head down, I cannot rely on lipreading to understand what the professor is saying. I miss a few words. Then a few more. Soon, I am several sentences behind what the professor is saying, desperately trying to catch up. The constant push and pull with my waning attention span and the struggle to understand what the professor is saying while attempting to fill in the blanks of half heard sentences leaves me exhausted. At the end of the two hour class period, I feel reprieved but it doesn't last long. Too reserved to draw attention to my hearing loss by asking the professor to repeat themselves, I muddle through the rest of the day. Labs are the best part since they involve hands on learning and not as much listening. I go home feeling exhausted, too tired to study until many hours later. The administration is of little help since their suggestion at an academic review is for me to tape record the class, not an ideal solution for someone who depends on lip reading for comprehension. A few attempts at using a tape recorder leave me frustrated since I can't understand what is being said when I playback the tape. I soon give up and continue to muddle through my classes. I blame myself for my short attention span, believing that if I concentrated harder, I would do better in school.
By Jenny Beck6 years ago in Longevity