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Tinnitus: Not ExactlyMusic To The Ears

BY DR. MIKE ROSMANN

A recent report by the National Network toEnd Domestic Violence (NNEDV News for Janu-ary 30, 2013 at: www.nnedv.org ) indicated thatin 2012 69% of 56 state and territorial domesticviolence coalitions experienced cuts in fund-ing, while 88% of these coalitions experiencedincreases in requests for services.

The failure of the U.S. House of Representa-tives to reauthorize the Violence AgainstWomen Act is mostly responsible for the fed-eral portion of the financial shortfall, but theNNEDV report also cited reductions in statefunding and private contributions.

The report said the financial cuts place do-mestic violence victims in jeopardy. Lingeringeffects of the economic recession may havecontributed to both the increase in need forservices and the downturn in private contribu-tions to domestic violence intervention pro-grams.

Domestic violence in rural areas differsfrom urban areas. In August 2012, MinnesotaPublic Radio indicated that domestic assaultsare reported about half as frequently in ruralareas, but the actual incidence might behigher than in urban locations.

The Nebraska Domestic Violence Sexual As-sault Coalition says domestic violence in ruralareas is underreported because of fear ofrepercussions from the perpetrator, and some-times from the local community if a “family se-cret” were to become public. They cite asadditional reasons: inability to obtain trans-portation away from the scene of the violence,cell phone transmission problems in remotelocations, lack of resources such as safehavens, and lack of knowledge of who to callfor help.

Still other abused persons remain withtheir partner because they are financially de-pendent on that person, their religious beliefsor cultural expectations require submission orthey feel an abusive partner is better thannone.

Farm crisis telephone hotlines/helplines Ihave worked with report relationship prob-lems as the most common reason farm resi-

dents contact the crisisservices. Duringepisodes of financialpressure, the volume ofcallers increases.

How is domestic vio-lence defined? Domesticviolence involves physi-cal abuse and often apattern of controllingbehaviors that are di-rected by a spouse or re-lationship partneragainst the other per-son. It could entail with-holding access tomoney, friends or the

telephone.Research studies indicate that 60-90% of

the time the victims are female. Women areabout two thirds more likely to be injuredphysically or killed than men.

Regardless of who initiates the violence,the male partner is much more likely than thefemale to be charged as the perpetrator and tobe removed from the home. This is becausemales are usually physically stronger andmore likely to commit harm.

In cases where it is dangerous for the vic-tim to remain in the home, the woman and thechildren usually are protected by judicial re-straining orders and offered shelter by domes-tic violence programs.

Partners in a healthy relationship canargue and resolve disagreements, but the dom-inant partner in an unhealthy relationship maydemand compliance with his or her wishesand use intimidation to secure submission. Anabused victim submits out of fear of doing any-thing that triggers the aggressor’s anger.

That is why law enforcement officials andanyone dealing with domestic violence mustbe careful to learn the full story and protectany suspected victim. Perpetrators some-times disregard restraining orders and surrep-titiously stalk their victims.

Sometimes one person sets out to humili-ate a partner by attacking that person so theindividual reacts by doing something that can

be claimed is abusive and lose face when theincident becomes public knowledge.

Still other couples fight so they can experi-ence the “thrill” of making up. They sometimesstay together even when legal interventionsand counseling have been undertaken. The un-healthy relationship usually ends only whenone partner has been jailed, injured or killed,or goes into permanent hiding.

Every domestic violence situation is differ-ent and physical separation of the partners isalmost always necessary.

Long before a physical injury or death hasoccurred, the victim and sometimes theabuser, has already experienced psychologicaldamage. It becomes harder to trust a partner.Small reminders of violence trigger anxious be-haviors.

Children are also seriously impacted bywitnessing parents participate in violence. Re-search shows children tend to copy their par-ents’ behaviors when they deal with their ownrelationship conflicts. They might emulate ei-ther parent as a victim or perpetrator.

Help with domestic violence issues is avail-able through at least two national telephonehotlines and websites: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)or www.thehotline.org, which is the NationalDomestic Violence Hotline, and 1-800-621-HOPE (4673) or www.safehorizon.org. TheSAFE website has a “quick escape” procedurefor helping assure safety from surveillance.

Each state has a domestic violence coali-tion and a list of regional shelters and other re-sources that can be found by contacting thenational hotlines or websites or by conductingan online search with the words “domestic vio-lence” and the name of your state. Use a pub-lic computer so the identity of the user cannotbe traced by a perpetrator.

Domestic violence is a case of “better safethan sorry.”

Dr. Rosmann is a Harlan, Iowa farmer andpsychologist who can be contacted at:www.agbehavioralhealth.com.

Sponsored By Lewis And Clark Behavioral Health

Dr. Mike

ROSMANN

The Mount Marty College Nursing Programhosted a Pledging Ceremony for its newly-ad-mitted BSN Nursing Class of 2015 and PracticalNursing Class of 2013 on Jan. 28, 2013, in theBishop Marty Chapel. BSN and Practical nurs-ing students pledged their commitment to thenursing profession — a life of work and dedica-tion.

This year’s BSN nursing student pledges in-clude: Zachary Bauman, Sioux Falls; AlexanderBayse, Polk City, Iowa; Tiffany Bergeson, Yank-ton; Amanda Bernard, Madison; Kristen Boyle,Norfolk, Neb.; Bryton Carlson, St. Michael,Minn.; Jillian Dickerson, Yankton; Sarah Dono-van, Gretna, Neb.; Paul Foss, Yankton; BrittanyHealy, Harrisburg; Samantha Huber, SiouxFalls; Angel Johnston, Wakonda; Sarah Kokesh,Wagner; Nick Kummer, Parkston; Ashle Lais,Yankton; Raegen Layher, Douglas, Wyo.; MeganLeader, Crofton, Neb.; Gina Ludens, Springfield;Sara Means, Granville, Iowa; Courtney Miller,

Mitchell; Lauren Orwig, Norfolk, Neb.; AshleyRiibe, Yankton; Carissa Scherschligt, Mitchell;Christin Slemp, Yankton; Kaitlyn Smelker, Strat-ten, Colo.; Jessica Tant, Volin; Kristie Tessmer,St. Michael, Minn.; Megan Turner, Sioux City,Iowa; Heather Weber, Watertown; and RebeccaZimmerman, Utica, Neb..

Practical nursing student pledges include:Toni Haberman, Fordyce, Neb.; Laura Hays,Yankton; Ashleigh Koehler, Groton; MirandaKuhl, Omaha, Neb.; Garett Lohff, Yankton;Alexis Luger, Bloomfield, Neb.; Sherry Maddox,Yankton; Hillary Perez, Wagner; Dorothy Schu-macher, Hudson; Andrea Van Osdel, Yankton;and Jeffrey Veen, Yankton.

The Pledging ceremony is one of commit-ment to uphold the standards of the nursingprofession. It celebrated the beginning of eachnursing student’s career as a student and thenas a professional nurse. During the ceremony,the MMC nursing faculty reviewed the respon-

sibilities professional nurses assume in theirpractice and the students took a vow indicat-ing their dedication to the profession of nurs-ing.

Dr. Joseph Benoit, MMC president, and fac-ulty members of the Mount Marty CollegeNursing Program participated in the pledgingceremony. Dr. Benoit and Shelly Luger, Chairand Director, Division of Nursing, welcomedthe BSN and Practical nursing students, family,and friends. Readings were provided by KatieHuff, Instructor of Nursing, and S. Sharon AnnHaas, Assistant Professor, while InstructorCarol Stewart presented both nursing classes.Sister Kathy Burt, Assistant Professor of Nurs-ing, and Sister Corinne Lemmer, Professor ofNursing, anointed the students’ hands as asymbol of their responsibility to use them con-scientiously. Instructor Michelle Rohde led thestudents in a Nurses’ Prayer before the cere-mony concluded.

Mount Marty Recognizes New Nursing StudentsSUBMITTED PHOTO

Mount Marty Practical Nursing Students are sworn in.SUBMITTED PHOTO

Mount Marty BSN nursing class of 2015 members are sworn in.

BY MATTHEW D. RUMSEY, AU.D. Avera Medical Group Ear, Nose &

Throat Yankton

Most of us have probably ex-perienced it-that annoying ring-ing, buzzing, humming or cricketchirping in our ears. In fact, inthe United States, nearly 50 mil-lion adults suffer from this per-ception of sound called tinnitus.Tinnitus occurs when sound isperceived without an externalsource. Sometimes tinnitus iscreated in the middle ear, arearight behind the eardrum, orsomewhere else in the sen-sorineural auditory system.Some of the most commoncauses of tinnitus include noiseexposure, aging, earwax im-paction, head injuries, or evenas a side effect to certain med-ications; however, severalcauses of tinnitus remain un-known. Frequently, tinnitus is as-sociated with hearing loss. Inother cases, sensitivity to loudsounds, called hyperacusis, mayalso coincide with tinnitus.

Regardless of the possiblecause, tinnitus could potentiallyplay a role in a person’s sleeppatterns, concentration, overallhearing performance, or eventhoughts and emotions. For anindividual experiencing tinnitus,he or she may appear annoyedor bothered. Some individualsmay even find themselves de-pressed or angry because allthat is focused on is the ringingin the ears. When tinnitus is inone of its more severe cases, itcan result in sleep disturbanceor even prevent a person fromcompleting routine everydaytasks. In other cases, the per-ception of tinnitus could act as amasker to important environ-mental sounds or even speech.

At this time, there is no spe-cific cure for tinnitus; however,as more and more research iscompleted, treatments have be-come available to help individu-als adjust to their tinnitus.

Treatments for tinnitus tend tofall into two broad categories:counseling and sound therapy.Counseling can play a key role inlearning how to cope with thedisruptions tinnitus causes indaily life. Through counseling,individuals can learn to changetheir reactions and behaviorswhen tinnitus is present. Justlike any other obstacle an indi-vidual may encounter, attitudematters and an effective supportsystem can help manage lifewith tinnitus.

Sound therapy can be com-pleted in a number of ways. Asmany tinnitus sufferers have re-ported, the presence of someform of surrounding environ-mental noise may reduce theperception of tinnitus. This canbe accomplished by using ob-jects you may already have inyour home. These objects couldinclude having a low level fanrunning, soft music playing, oreven low level radio static. Inother cases, using a wearabledevice could prove beneficial.These devices work by generat-ing a “shh noise”, music, orother sounds to attempt to maskthe tinnitus. Using hearing aidshas also been shown to improveoverall communication, lessenthe stress of exhaustive listen-ing, and act as a masker for tin-nitus. Different hearing aidcompanies have introduced tin-nitus programs that can be builtdirectly into the hearing aid tonot only provide you amplifica-tion as needed but to also pro-vide masking for the tinnitus.These are just some of the manyoptions available in working toovercome the effects of tinnitus.

If you or someone you knoware having difficulties with thatbothersome ringing or buzzing,remember you are not alone. Call(605) 665-6820 to speak with thedoctors at Avera Medical GroupEar, Nose & Throat Yankton formore information.

and the first installment of taxeswill be due May 1.

“There is no statute in SouthDakota law that allows for the ex-tension of the payment of propertytaxes,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Commission Chair-man Bruce Jensen said state audi-tors have been in the YanktonCounty Auditor’s Office this weekcompleting a financial overview.

“They are looking to see howthings are budgeted and makingsure things are paid,” he said. “Weneed a snapshot of our finances sowe know exactly where we are at.”

It was revealed last week thatthe 2012 budget had not beenclosed out by the auditor’s officeand that 2013 budget documentshad not been delivered to othercounty department heads as re-quired by law.

Jensen said the commission hasreceived no word from Jones re-garding her future plans.

“We don’t know what the statusof Paula is, so we’re looking at au-ditors from other counties who canassist with the day-to-day activitiesof her office,” he stated. “We’ve gotto cover our bases.”

Between the Department of Rev-enue and assistance from anotherauditor, Jensen said the staff at theYankton County Auditor’s Office

can be educated on how to dothings they have not had to do inthe past.

He stated that he is pleasedwith the progress that has beenmade to resolve the issues facingthe county.

“There are a lot of things to getsettled yet, but I feel 100 percentbetter from where we were lastweek,” Jensen said. “It’s been hardfor everybody. A lot of people wereunder stress, but everything isgoing to be OK. We’re on the righttrack.”

You can follow Nathan Johnsonon Twitter at twitter.com/AnInland-Voyage

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BROOKINGS — SDSU Exten-sion will host a one-day high tun-nel production workshop on Feb.26 at McCrory Gardens Educationand Visitors Center in Brookings.

The workshop agenda will in-clude discussion on how to se-lect the right high tunnel for yoursituation, soil and nutrient man-agement in a high tunnel and in-sect pest and diseasemanagement. Speakers will in-clude SDSU Extension Specialistsand two experienced growers.

The workshop will be heldfrom 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at McCroryGardens Education and VisitorsCenter, 6 Street, Brookings. Regis-tration includes lunch and re-freshments. Space is limited andthose planning to attend are en-couraged to pre-register by Feb.20.

To learn more, contact Geof-frey Njue, SDSU Extension, Spe-cialty Crops Field Specialist,605-782-3290, geoffrey.njue@sd-state.edu.

High Tunnel Workshop In Brookings

Domestic Violence In Rural Areas