Dr. Gott: Spoken words escape uderstanding

Dear Dr. Gott: I have a problem of not being able to understand certain words. My hearing is good, but I can’t seem to understand words.

Is there any help for me?

Dear Reader: You may have suffered a ministroke that has affected the portion of your brain that processes speech. If so, ministrokes are treatable using blood-pressure medication, aspirin to keep the blood from clotting and other methods.

Ask your primary-care physician to refer you to a neurologist for an exam, further testing and suggestions for therapy.

I also recommend that you be examined by an otolaryngologist. You may be suffering from auditory neuropathy.

This is a condition in which sound enters the ear but is not transmitted properly to the brain, causing the individual to have difficulty understanding speech. There is no fully effective treatment, but some physicians have had success using cochlear implants, hearing aids and frequency modulation.

Please let me know the outcome.

To give you related information, I am sending you copies of my health reports “Stroke” and the newly updated “Ear Infections and Disorders.” Other readers who would like copies should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 for each report to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title(s).