HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – You may have received new earbuds or headphones during the holidays. But there are a few things you keep in mind when it comes to protecting your hearing.

Dr. Ross Shockley, an otolaryngologist with Wilcox Medical Center and Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, offers the following tips for hearing, as well as head and neck health.

Head and neck cancers

Many people are not familiar with head or neck cancers. What causes it and when should someone see a doctor?

• Traditionally, head and neck cancers were mostly associated with longtime smokers and drinkers. Now, more cases are tied to human papillomavirus (HPV), even in nonsmokers and drinkers. HPV is the same virus that can lead to cervical cancer in women. It is common and can have no symptoms.
• If you have throat pain, pain when swallowing that doesn’t go away, or a mass in your neck that feels firm and isn’t moving, don’t wait. See your doctor.
• Head and neck cancers can be treated, no matter the cause, if caught early.

How to prevent hearing loss

More young adults, in their early 20s, are experiencing hearing loss. Can hearing loss be reversed?

• Hearing loss can’t be reversed. Once ringing in ears starts, that can be permanent.
• Wear appropriate hearing protection when using power tools or firing weapons.
• You can find ear protection that blocks out sound for about $15. Protection that covers the whole ear are better than earplugs.

How do you know if music or movies are too loud?

• Don’t turn anything up to the maximum.
• You want the volume to be at the lowest level where you can still hear and understand.
• If there is background noise, don’t crank up the volume all the way to fight it. Use noise-cancelling headphones or go somewhere quieter.

Dangers of cleaning your ears

You may feel the urge to clean your ears. Shockley says do less, or even nothing at all.

• Our ears clean themselves. As new skin grows, it takes wax with it out of your ear.
• When you clean your ears, you’re interrupting that natural cleaning process.
• You can also put yourself at risk for external ear infections – or make your ears itch more.

Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

>> Higgy Katoa (Punahou), La Verne: Had 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds in a 74-70 loss to East Texas Baptist, missing a 3-pointer with six seconds left. Cody Aquino (Moanalua) rejoined the starting lineup and scored 12 points to lead the team a night later in a 104-76 loss to Grinnell, his second time this season in double figures.

>> Landyn Jumawan (Leilehua), Northwestern State: Lost his starting job but responded with 13 points with three 3-pointers in a 74-68 win over New Orleans. We was fouled on another 3-point attempt with two minutes left and buried all three to run the margin to four points.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

>> Paige Oh (‘Iolani), Puget Sound: Spent one game coming off the bench and led the Loggers with 10 points in a 42-36 win over Middlebury, returning to the starting lineup three nights later to extend the team’s winning streak to five.

>> Emi Wada (Hawaii Baptist), Pacific Lutheran: Grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw with less than a second left in regulation and put it back with 0.2 seconds left to send the game into overtime, but the Lutes lost 72-62 to Lewis & Clark. She played a team-leading 45 minutes in the contest and scored seven points but didn’t get a shot off in overtime.

FOOTBALL

>> Gavin Hunter (Mililani), Arizona: Had a career-high eight tackles with one of them for a loss and broke up a pass in a 24-19 loss to Southern Methodist in the Holiday Bowl. Kaena Decambra (Saint Louis) started on the offensive line.

>> Iapani Laloulu (Farrington), Oregon: Kept the offensive line under control against a stiff defense in a 23-0 win over Texas Tech in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, helping the offense generate 309 yards of offense while committing one turnover and allowing Dante Moore to get sacked only twice. Kawika Rogers (Kapaa) and Will Straton (Punahou) also contributed to the victory.

>> Blazen Lono-Wong (Kailua), Arizona State: Got onto the field but didn’t record a tackle in a 42-39 loss to Duke in the Sun Bowl. It was his first time since early October he has failed to make a stop, a span of seven games.

>> De’Zhaun Stribling (Kapolei), Mississippi: Caught seven passes for 122 yards in a 39-34 win over Georgia in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, his first time this season over the century mark. It was the captain’s first time over 100 yards since November 2024 against Texas Tech when he was with Oklahoma State. His big catch was for 40 yards on third-and-5 with 32 seconds left to set up the game-winning field goal.

>> Aliki Vimahi (Kahuku), Utah: Collected three tackles and his first sack of the season in a 44-22 win over Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl and Brock Fonoimoana (Kahuku) added a tackle. Pupu Sepulona (Saint Louis) and Mana Carvalho (Kahuku) also contributed to the victory.

MEN’S WRESTLING

>> Xander Erolin (Hanalani), San Francisco State: Opened his year with a third-place finish at 157 pounds in Linfield’s Mat Cat Open, going 3-1 with winning scores of 16-0, 11-2 and 15-4. His lone loss was 4-2 to the eventual champion.

WOMEN’S WRESTLING

>> Michaela Sarmiento (Kalaheo), Southern Oregon: With most of the rest of the nation off to prepare for the national duals, she took third place at 103 pounds in Linfield’s Mat Cat Open. She began the tournament with a 16-4 victory and ending it with a 9-8 win over teammate Diamond Lopez.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Island police are renewing their request for the public’s assistance in locating 82-year-old Jacquelyn Glenn of Kailua-Kona, who was reported missing by her family.

Police said she is considered endangered due to her age.

Glenn was last seen on Friday, Dec. 5, around 6:37 a.m., on the 75-200 block of Nani Kailua Dr. in Kailua-Kona.

She was wearing a peach-colored shirt, blue denim jeans, and black tennis shoes. She reportedly mentioned going to Hilo with friends, but did not say when she planned to return.

She is described as 5′6″, 125 Ibs, with curly grey hair and brown eyes.

Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jacquelyn Glenn to call the Hawaii Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.

Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.