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It's a Lung Story: Aging and Cystic Fibrosis

It's a Lung Story: Aging and Cystic Fibrosis

By: Dr. Ahmet Uluer and Lauren Harvey
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About this listen

 Aging and cystic fibrosis are words you don’t always hear in the same sentence — but on this podcast, you’ll hear them all the time. Thanks to medical advances, many people with CF are living longer, and we thought it was time to get into some real conversations about what living longer with CF means—the good and the not so good. We’ll bring in expert guests and people from all walks of CF to talk about different aspects of the challenge — and hopefully a little authenticity and laughter on the side. After each guest, stay tuned for our “What’s up with that?” segment, when we have honest conversations about what we learned from each guest.© 2025 It's a Lung Story: Aging and Cystic Fibrosis Dr. Ahmet Uluer and Lauren Harvey Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease
Episodes
  • Can You Hear Me Now? Hearing Loss & CF

    Can You Hear Me Now? Hearing Loss & CF
    May 30 2025
    This month, we discuss something often overlooked in cystic fibrosis (CF) care: hearing loss. If you catch a faint, high-pitched beeping during the episode, don’t adjust your headphones—it’s Andrea’s diabetes pump. Ironically, she couldn’t hear it, because of her high-frequency hearing loss. Consider it a real-world remix of chronic illness, notification fatigue, and assistive tech that sometimes...isn’t. Andrea, Ahmet, and Lauren are joined by Dr. Angie Garinis: an audiologist, researcher, and expert in hearing and balance disorders—especially when caused by medications like aminoglycoside antibiotics (specifically tobramycin) commonly used to treat lung infections in CF. She breaks down the science of ototoxicity and shares what people with CF need to know about protecting their hearing and vestibular health. Annual hearing checks, she argues, should be as routine as eye exams—and yes, there are apps for that. We talk tech advances like over-the-counter hearing aids, app-based screenings, and why not all devices are created equal. Andrea also shares her post-transplant experience with sound sensitivity, balance challenges, and advocating to avoid receiving aminoglycoside antibiotics. From partner dynamics to portable audiograms, this episode blends humor, insight, and lived experience. Ghost stories, snack confessions, and singing audiologists are, of course, included. It’s the episode you didn’t know you needed to hear.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Salty & Sexy: CF Reproductive & Sexual Health (Part 2)

    Salty & Sexy: CF Reproductive & Sexual Health (Part 2)
    Apr 30 2025

    In Part 2 of Salty and Sexy, we go further into what it means to age with cystic fibrosis—and how that intersects with reproductive and sexual health. Dr. Raksha Jain and Dr. Traci Kazmerski are back to talk about the realities of perimenopause and menopause in CF—including hormone therapy, bone density, and the growing need for cancer screenings. They also discuss recent research initiatives—including the PROTECT Workshop and the Mayflowers study—which are exploring the effects of prenatal exposure to CF modulators.

    We talk honestly about the unspoken intimacy challenges of CF and offer practical advice for navigating them. The conversation also addresses the emotional and clinical gaps in care for CF patients as they age, and the importance of making space for sexual and reproductive health in clinic conversations.

    CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains candid discussions of sexual and reproductive health in CF, including references to anatomy, intimacy, and fertility.

    RESOURCES:

    • Mayflowers Study (U.S.)

    https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04828382

    • "Menopause in people with cystic fibrosis"

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36720079/

    The content presented in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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    45 mins
  • Salty & Sexy: CF Reproductive & Sexual Health (Part 1)

    Salty & Sexy: CF Reproductive & Sexual Health (Part 1)
    Apr 23 2025

    Sexual and reproductive health isn’t always talked about in CF clinic—but we think it should be part of normal clinic discourse. In episode 3 of It’s a Lung Story, Ahmet, Lauren, and Andrea are joined by two incredible guests; pulmonologists Dr. Raksha Jain and Dr. Traci Kazmerski, national leaders in CF sexual health research and absolute pros at keeping it real. Together, we talk about how modulators are shifting fertility expectations, what male infertility in CF actually means, the pregnancy boom, and why pH levels matter more than you’d think.

    We also get into why CF care teams need to talk more openly about contraception, capacitation (look it up!), and yes—there’s a chocolate visual you’ll never unhear.

    And don’t worry—there was so much good stuff we had to split this one in two. Part 2 will drop on 4/30—we'll we tackle menopause, intimacy, hormone therapy, and things you didn't even know you wanted to hear about.

    RESOURCES:

    • Mayflowers Study (U.S.)

    https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04828382

    • North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference (NACFC) – Plenary 3 Presentation by Dr. Raksha Jain and Dr. Traci Kazmerski

    Reproductive Health in Cystic Fibrosis

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MwRUD222U0

    .

    The content presented in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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    35 mins

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