Have you heard....Hearing in background noise

Imagine having a great meal and for the first time in a long time a   conversation which was just as good – that even continues on the drive home in the car!

For a great deal of people with hearing loss this is just wishful thinking, but now with the cutting edge        technology of the ReSound Unite™ Mini Microphone, our clients do not have to worry about the noise around them when they are out     dining, or think about where the sounds are coming from.

The ReSound Unite™ Mini Mic is a small personal portable  streaming device for transmitting sound and/or external audio sources directly to the hearing instruments of the user. It picks up sound at the source and uses 2.4GHz technology to transmit speech directly to your hearing instruments. 

About the size of a matchbox and weighing in at less than 16 grams, the Mini Microphone is elegant and discreet and can be clipped to clothing.  Users often ask their partner or friend to wear the Mini Microphone when they are in the car, out shopping or in a restaurant and are able to hear every word they say, clearly and without straining.

The Mini Microphone helps to improve the clarity and understanding and makes a real difference to everyday lives.  So when you are next with friends or family, you can just relax and    enjoy.

Hear the difference for yourself by making an appointment for a demonstration —01424 733030

HEALTH AND MEDICAL:

Wax Facts – some things you didn’t know about earwax: Earwax can be gooey and gross, and it is not the most scintillating of conversational topics. We all have it, but who wants to talk about it? We do!

Do you know your  type?

Earwax comes in two types – wet and dry. The kind you have depends on genetics. People of North-eastern Asian descent tend to have dry ear wax, while the earwax of people from other regions is wet.

How earwax protects...

Earwax is another of our body’s mundane, under-appreciated, yet totally amazing protective devices. Earwax shields our body from outside invaders, including dust, bacteria, and other micro-organisms that can get in and irritate, inflame, or infect.

Earwax cleans up after itself

Thanks to earwax, our ears are self-cleaning. Whenever you move your jaw or chew, you help keep earwax churning slowly from the eardrum to the ear opening, where it will then either dry up, flake off, or fall out.

Your ears are “no trespassing” zones

Since our ears are self-cleaning, we should never, ever stick anything in them! That includes those cotton tipped swabs that seem perfectly designed to fit inside the narrow ear canal. Keep these swabs and any other objects - including your fingers - out of your ears.  When you put something in your ear – to scratch an itch or to attempt to remove wax – you

risk pushing wax further into the ear, where it can become blocked.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Danny Hellier, Audiologist, founder and  proprietor of Bexhill Hearing Centre, celebrates 40 years this month since he gained his professional title.

On August 3rd 1973 Danny became an official member of the Hearing aid council, now the Health Care Professions Council. Initially he worked and trained with Amplivox hearing centres, until 1980 when he set up his own business from his home in Bexhill.

Since he has grown a reputable, respected company on the high street offering professional advice and the finest aftercare service.

Last year his work within the elderly community was recognised at the 1066 business awards, where he was commended with the lifetime achievement award and later that year at the Bexhill Achiever's Awards; winning service with a smile.

The family business is still growing steadily with Danny at the helm and his son and daughter along side him, and still remains Bexhill’s only local independent hearing aid specialists.

Have you heard....WIRELESS HEARING TECHNOLOGY

Today our lives are made easier by the many devices and gadgets that allow us to live life on the go. Technology has given us mobile phones, iPods, televisions and much more but for hearing aid wearers and people living with a hearing  impairment, interacting with all of these different devices can prove   difficult.

Now there is a solution. Wireless technology that we see in so many other  applications has now been applied to hearing aids; making the devices more advanced than ever. Wireless hearing aids make connecting to the world and devices around you effortless and being truly wireless there are no cables, no neck loops and no wires!

Advanced wireless hearing aids such as 3 Series from Starkey Laboratories combined with their innovative SurfLink® devices not only deliver crystal clear sound but can also stream stereo sound from your TV, radio, computer and even your mobile phone directly to your hearing aids.

The volume level on the TV is often the first sign of hearing loss, and usually because of a partner, friend or family members frustrations rather than the hearing loss sufferers. Many clients visiting our centre may claim to have good hearing in most aspects of their lives but still admit to excessive volume when it comes to TV, but mainly because of “the mumbling presenter” or the “over use of background music”

Whatever the excuse may be; SurfLink Media from Starkey Laboratories is an easy solution to aid effortless TV listening. This set-and-forget media streaming solution connects to TVs, as well as MP3 players  and more to wirelessly stream audio directly to your Wi Series hearing aids,  so you can hear the volume at the level you want, while everyone else in the room can listen at the volume they want. The technology that sets this unit apart from other TV listeners on the market is its automatic  range response; no switching channels on the hearing aids or placing any neckloops on. When in range of the TV, something you set yourself, the sound is streamed, automatically to your ears. Simple as that!

Have you heard....Wax removal

In may I posted about ear wax and told you that  

"Earwax is a waxy material that is produced by sebaceous glands inside the ear. It cleans, lubricates and protects the lining of the ear by trapping dirt and repelling water. 

Earwax is slightly acidic and has antibacterial properties. Without earwax, the skin inside your ear would become dry, cracked, infected or waterlogged and sore."

AND THAT

"Earwax can usually be removed using ear drops. If ear drops don't work, another treatment called ear irrigation may be recommended. It involves using a pressurised flow of water to remove the build-up of earwax."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a regular basis in fact I give advice about the treatment of ear wax and what should be expected if a client has a blockage, even how it is removed and what it feels like, and yet I had never had a wax blockage nor had I had wax removed; that was until today!

Around 2 weeks ago I started to have temporary blockages of my left ear whilst laying in bed, this would quickly "pop" open and my hearing was restored each time on that ear within a few seconds.

Then on Monday morning I woke up to find that I had no hearing in my left ear, and when I spoke to my wife my voice was echo-like (something my clients would describe as having your head in a bucket) I waited a few minutes, had a shower; using warm water to try and free the occlusion, but to no end.

I have had a slight build up in this ear for a long time, know idea why, possibly an infection I hadn't been aware of causing over production of fluids starting the inevitable. I have never sought treatment, because it had never caused me a problem, as it probably wont for many people; completely unaware that their ears are on the brink of closing up shop.

So my first stop was the chemist, we stock ear wax preventer but that wouldn't be strong enough for this, so Otex it was. Otex is hydrogen peroxide amongst other things, it dissolves the ear wax layer by layer.

Whilst blocked up I took the opportunity to come to terms with how my clients must feel; friends sitting on the left of me had no chance of a decent conversation, and outside amongst traffic noise I found myself trying to lip read, and concentrating so hard on what was being said. The worst environment was coaching at the Rowing club 40+ children, rowing machines, other coaches shouting and music in the background; my hearing distance was reduced to literally a few inches.

Unfortunately Otex didn't do the job, and so I got to experience removal first hand also. Booking an appointment was surprisingly easy, phoning on Thursday I was booked in the next morning with the nurse. (Usually they would like you to see a doctor first)

In anticipation I had been applying oil to lubricate since the start of the blockage otherwise I may have had to wait another week. The "remover" was a hand held pressurised water "probe" inserted into the ear the pressure simply mixes up any debris and forces it out. All in all it was quite a pleasant procedure, with the  sudden release of sound feeling very satisfying.

Have you heard...Hearing Link

Recently I attended the Eastbourne Seniors Forum "The Good Life" exhibition at the Congress Eastbourne as one of a number of stall holders showing their wears.

Whilst there I spoke to many members of the public, and dispensed what I would like to think of as invaluable hearing knowledge. As well as talking to the public I also had a look around the other stalls which is when I came across Hearing Link.

Firstly, quite refreshing in the world of hearing, their stall looked clean, modern and friendly. After speaking with their representatives based in Sovereign Harbour Eastbourne, I found out that they are a charitable organisation set up to help hearing impaired in day to day life, with the focus being more on education rather than what we often see just the normal re tubing service.

Always keen to be involved with local organisations and initiatives, Bexhill Hearing Centre will now be volunteering our time to hold a presentation with them on Tinnitus at the end of the month, which we are really looking forward to.

Below an insight taken from their website (www.hearinglink.org)


Hearing Link works for and on behalf of adults with acquired hearing loss who communicate through speaking, listening and lipreading. We raise their awareness about the impact of hearing loss and increase their ability to manage this impact. 

When people are becoming concerned about hearing loss, we help them find:

• what to do and where to go
• who can help in their local area
• which national services are most relevant to their needs

When people are really struggling to cope with hearing loss, we:

• offer personalised emotional support to reduce isolation
• put them in touch with appropriate local services and organisations, and support them where necessary while they approach these services
• provide specialised services ourselves where these do not otherwise exist

When people are managing long-standing hearing loss, we make it easy to:

• contact others with similar interests
• form local groups and clubs
• find out about relevant local and national public consultations and participate in these where relevant

We support their relatives, friends and colleagues. We help them understand the wider impact of hearing loss, and we offer them direct support for their own needs.
We work with all relevant organisations (local, regional and national) in the voluntary, commercial, and public sectors. We raise awareness about their services and roles among potential service users. Where requested, we assist organisations and public bodies to gather user feedback to enhance the quality of their services.

Have you heard.....Living with a hearing loss

Sorry for the lack of blog entry last week, I was away in Devon racing at the South Coast Rowing Championships.

I did however do some great market research, using a close friend, also a rower, as my test dummy.

Born with a profound hearing loss he has grown up wearing hearing aids and using assistive listening devices. A few years ago he took an amazing step, and had a cochlear implant fitted.

A Cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is severely-profoundly deaf. In the most part the implant is embedded under the skin just behind the ear, with a magnetic link to an actual hearing aid sitting on the ear itself. The implant is also connected via tiny wires to the real cochlear, where through the use of many electrodes, it stimulates the cochlear in the appropriate places according to the sounds transmitted from the microphone of the hearing aid. (for a more detailed explanation visit wikipedia)

I have known this friend for several years now (post cochlear implant) but never really questioned him about his hearing, until last week, and even without asking questions it was interesting to stay with him for a few days and begin to appreciate just how it effects his life.

He has never been to a private Audiologist like myself, this is often the case with congenital hearing losses as the National Health Service would have always been his parents first point of call.
So he wears a large power aid in his left ear and the cochlear implant in his right both of course NHS, strangely not from the same hospital though, right one from Bristol and left from Barnstable.

Having no experience with cochlear implants, this was what I was most interested in, I have seen the videos on the internet when children first have an implant switched on and assumed, naively that this is what it must have been like for him, not so.

Firstly there were severe balance and nausea issues, we often forget that our ears not only help us to communicate but also control our ability to stay on our feet. Once this had worn off the new sound itself was enough to drive him mad, a simple rustle of a crisp packet sounded like the roar of thunder and noisy environments had to be avoided at all costs. At the time he was quite serious when he asked the doctor to have it removed, but luckily he persisted. It took about a year for the benefits to begin to outweigh the negatives, the turning point he tells me being the first time he was able to recognise birds song.

Both being rowers we soon moved on to how hearing loss effects him in his sport. He tells me that he used to wear them both whilst rowing, which although a little hap-hazard (sweat would often transfer inside the aids and prevent them from working for a short time) this at least meant he could hear the calls from the coxswain, or even the start of the race. After one aid took a knock whilst out on the water and ended up at the bottom of the river however*, he now chooses to row deaf. This has its complications, his son who rows infront of him in the boat tells me that he can feel his dad take his first stroke moments after they do, and having rowed with him myself a few weeks ago; sitting on the water waiting to race is quite a social event for most, but without any hearing a long silence for him.

*he recovered the aid at low tide, and once dry worked right-as-rain!

Simple problems that probably become everyday routine also occurred over the week, like the batteries dying without any notice, sounds quite normal but try to appreciate that when this happens he doesn't hear anything...like someone suddenly sticking their fingers in your ears. Or when trying to reach him by phone, simply arranging dinner may take 4 or 5 texts. 

There are strangely, some benefits to being deaf. Whilst staying with him, he reminded me that there was no need to be quiet in the mornings, as there was no way I would wake him up. For the same reason the lack of double glazing on a main street flat has no affect on his sleep. In order to wake up in time for work he uses a simple vibrating alarm clock, placed under the pillow.

All in all how much his hearing loss affects his life is completely relative. The hearing he has now is far better than it was only a few years ago, however if tomorrow his hearing was the same as mine, he would then realise quite how much he was affected by it.

He was surprised to hear of the technology that is available privately however, water proof aids, wireless mobile connection, convenient charging would all benefit him, and perhaps that's the difference between private and NHS, both can improve your hearing, but only we can give flexible, convenient solutions to everyday problems.

Have you heard...Wind made

Widex first company in the world to become "WindMade"

Ref: http://www.widex.com/en/newsroom/2012/windmade/

Widex is the first company in the world to receive the recently established WindMade label – a new global consumer label for companies that use wind energy.

The label, which is backed by the UN Global Compact, requires participating companies to obtain at least 25% of their electricity from wind power. A wind turbine at Widex’ global headquarters in Denmark covers 95% of its energy needs, including production, thereby greatly exceeding the basic requirements for joining the WindMade programme.

"Being a high tech company, we have an uncompromising approach to innovation and we always strive to find the best solution. By completely eliminating the use of fossil fuels, we believe that we have created the best possible foundation for the future – both for our company and for society," says Richard Tøpholm, Manager at Widex and member of the Board.

The WindMade label was created to allow companies to communicate their commitment to renewable energy while providing consumers with the choice to favour companies and products using wind power.

“We congratulate Widex for becoming the first ever WindMade certified company. By committing to renewable energy and using the WindMade label, Widex has set a great example that will inspire companies and consumers all over the world”, stresses Henrik Kuffner, CEO of WindMade.

Read more about Widex' eco-friendly headquarters

Blogging With John O: Hi Everyone,Hope everyone is doing well and exci...

Blogging With John O: Hi Everyone,

Hope everyone is doing well and exci...: Hi Everyone, Hope everyone is doing well and excited for the weekend..TGIF.  I thought I would send everyone into the weekend strong with ...

Have you heard...Dome tips

Often when someone imagines a hearing aid they think of the type in the picture below; beige in colour, obvious behind the ear, and filling the ear canal with the "plug" on the end, not to mention the endless whistling.

Hearing aid around 10 to 15 years old

Apart from its less then covert appearance the biggest draw back with this hearing aid is the large ear mould.
Firstly the taking of an ear mould can be an uncomfortable experience for some clients; whereby a foam block must be inserted deep into the ear canal, and the ear is filled with a quick setting gel.Secondly the ear mould will slowly discolour and need constant cleaning.

The most important factors however are occlusion and moisture; by blocking the ear the hearing loss will obviously increase and their voice will sound louder (just like it does if you place fingers in both ears) this is called the occlusion effect; whereby vibrations through the scull are transferred to the ear canal, and without an open pathway to escape reflect back into the hearing system, giving the experience of amplification.

Moisture is also an important factor when wearing a full mould such as this one. If the clients inserts their hearing aid first thing in the morning at 7am and removes it last thing at night at 10pm, they have had their ear blocked for 15 hours. Over 15 hours of being blocked the ear will produce a great deal of heat and moisture, possibly causing irritation, dermatitis, inflammation, wax build-up, and even infections.

Enter the Dome Tip. One of the most recent, and simplest innovations was the introduction of soft, generic dome tips like the one above; offering the free movement of air, moisture and sound in and out of the ear.

These tips have only been available since feedback cancellation technology came about. If a tip like this was placed on the hearing aid seen earlier it would simply whistle it's not so little head off. With the use of a feedback stopper function however this hearing aid will even struggle to whistle within a closed fist.

The benefits this type of hearing aid offer are quite simply the exact opposites to the drawbacks of earlier aids:

# Small discreet shell hidden by the pinna (outer ear)
# Disposable tips which cost literally pennies
# Better hygiene, easier to clean, and needed less frequently
# NO OCCLUSION
# Does not exacerbate the hearing loss.
# More natural sound
# Comfortable

Have you heard.....Hearing Tests

Whether with ourselves, the NHS or other independants, we want your experience with hearing aids to be a good one. So below is a guide for the steps you should take when tackling your hearing loss.

To guide you through your next steps, below is a checklist of what you need to plan for and consider:

• Find a licensed, reputable Hearing Health Care Professional
  This could be an audiologist, hearing instrument practitioner, otolaryngologist or an otologist. Most offer the hearing test at no cost, so check beforehand.
  
  
  
• Make an appointment for your hearing test
  The Hearing Care Professional will examine your ears for possible physical causes of hearing loss like excessive wax build-up, infection, or growth. A hearing test will also be performed to measure your ability to detect sounds at various frequencies or pitches. The entire process may take about an hour. It doesn‘t hurt and will help your Hearing Care Professional find a solution to suit your particular needs. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and try to be as open and relaxed as possible. The more your Hearing Care Specialist knows about you, the better he or she will be able to help you.
  
  
• Choose your hearing system
  Depending on your test results, your Hearing Care Professional will give you a recommendation of hearing solutions best suited to your hearing and personal needs. Feel free to do your own research as well on the solutions available and perhaps compare prices at other Hearing Instrument Specialist stores.
  
  
• Have your ear impression made
  If you have chosen a custom hearing instrument, then you will be scheduled for an ear impression, which is an exact duplicate of the contours of your ears. Your ear impression is sent to hearing instrument manufacturers to make your hearing instrument. This usually only takes a few days.
  
  
• Schedule your fitting
  Your next appointment will be for your Hearing Care Professional to optimally adjust your hearing instrument. The adjustments are done with a computer, based on an audiogram and your own comments. Your audiologist will teach you how to operate your hearing instrument, and how to hear best in different environments. You will also practice inserting and removing your hearing instruments and learn how to clean and care for them.
  
  
• Follow up visit(s)
  Wear your new hearing instruments for a few days in your regular surroundings. You may want to keep a diary to record your impressions of the sounds you hear. Based upon how well you can hear in your everyday surroundings, your Hearing Health Care Professional may make additional adjustments to your hearing instruments if necessary.
  
  
• Learn to enjoy sound again
  Learning to listen with hearing instruments takes time and a degree of patience in the beginning. You may need to learn to ignore unwanted sounds, just as you used to do with normal hearing. It‘s also important to be realistic and not to expect 100-percent hearing in every situation.
  

Have you heard...Assistive listening

Hearing aids are not the sole solution for hearing loss, in fact in many cases and for many people hearing aids would not be the correct choice. Some clients who present hearing loss, may not be in a financial position to purchase a hearing aid, others are not regularly in situations of a social nature or feel that communication is difficult to "*hear".

This is where assistive listening devices may be of more benefit than a hearing aid. Many clients come to us complaining of the TV and radio being too quiet; or more commonly their spouses bring them in complaining of the TV and radio being too loud!

In most circumstances the later may not be very excepting of a hearing aid, for some it denotes the perception of becoming old, or having a disability. In others as said above the client for a multitude of reasons may not need a hearing aid.

There are many great assistive listening devices now on the market, unfortunately there are also some that don't cut the mustard in our mind. Here we have provided our top 5:

NUMBER 5 - The CL-10 Corded Phone.
Corded phone with adjustable volume up to 28 dB, includes flashing ring indicator. Other features include tone dialling, 3 different ringer levels and melodies as well as being network service compatible.

This product has made it into our top 5 due to cost and simplicity.
It's about as simple as it could get with one cable to plug in, large easy to use keys, 3 save able numbers and a slider with 3 choices for volume control.

It works well too, we have one in the office which never leaves it's first volume setting. We especially like the ringer feature, which, with the flick of a switch, allows you to turn off the ringer sound. Great for when we are holding hearing tests (you are still alerted to the call by a flashing LED)

The cost is what really pushes this simple bit of tech into our top 5
Our Price £29.99



NUMBER 4 - CL2L Ringer

• Extra loud ringer :up to 95 dB

• Volume and tone control

• Led flasher

• Outdoor range: 60 meters

• Indoor range: 20 meters

• 3 doorbell melodies

• 3 individual tracking LED

 This feature rich door and telephone ringer comes in at number 4 on our list. With a combination of sound, lights and vibration it will alert even the profoundly deaf to the door or telephone. It's simple to install also with a simple plug and play use and convenient wireless doorbell button.

Our price is only £54

NUMBER 3 - CL8300 Mobile Phone

Extra Loud Mobile Phone with volume control up to 45dB

Product Features:

•     Volume control (up to a record +45dB)
•     Tone control (+/- 10dB)
•     Hands free speakerphone
•     Visual ringer indicator
•     Vibrating alert feature
•     Extra loud ring (up to 100dB)
•     External boost button on the handset
•     Three direct memory buttons
•     Extra large black and white display
•     Extra large characters (adjustable size and contrast) 
• ....and more 

As with all current mobile phones the CL8300 is feature rich providing all that you would expect in the latest technology. Something you may not expect however is the volume this handset provides, making it one of the loudest phones in the world, added to that the large buttons and LCD display this unit can be used for either a hearing or visual impairment.

Our price, only £105

NUMBER 2 - A200 Headset

The A 200 is a stereo personal sound amplifier for people who may sometimes need to rely on artificial assistance for their hearing. Due to the stereo amplification via two integrated permanently polarised microphones, the user can clearly determine the direction of the sound source. Dynamic headphone transducers ensure a natural and transparent sound reproduction with optimum speech intelligibility.

Great for the localisation of sound, especially in social environments and particularly popular in meetings and seminars due to its portable, wireless nature.



This products sits comfortably at number 2 because of it's functionality. We have fitted hundreds of these products with only good comments.


Particular benefit may be for those whom a hearing aid is just slightly out of their financial reach.


Our price £280






NUMBER 1 - 830-TV

 

The Set 830-TV is an infra-red stereo TV assistive listening system. The set enables assistive listening anywhere in the room without the need for cables and without disturbing others. Directly connectible to a TV, hi-fi system or radio, the Set 830-TV guarantees outstanding sound quality, which, for example, thanks to treble emphasis, can be customised to the listener’s hearing.
What’s more, the receiver is extremely lightweight and, with its perfect-fitting ear pads, offers maximum comfort when worn. Ergonomic controls and
visual signals for the individual control processes mean that operation of the Set 830-TV couldn’t be easier.



Our number 1 assistive listening product, although named the 830-TV this instrument can be connected to any device with with an audio output, and even numerous devices at once. Functionality and reliability along with great sound puts this device at the top of our list. It's easy to use too, simply placing the headset into your ears turns it on and the large volume control can be used with out looking, giving volume independent of the level the TV is set at. Whats more clients with a unilateral hearing loss can adjust the volume to each ear giving maximum control of sound.

 Our price is only £257

Have you heard....Preventing hearing loss *by John O'Connor*

This weeks post is by John O'Connor, please checkout his blog at:

bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com

.......................................................................................

Learn to Protect Your Family’s Ability to Hear

Taking care of your hearing now will pay off tenfold later.  Many people see the doctor on a regular basis for blood sugar check-ups, heart check-ups, and normal growth and development wellness check-ups.  But many people often forget to take care of their hearing until it is too late.  Simple solutions are available to take assertive action to protect your hearing that can benefit you now and in the future.  Teaching your children about hearing and how to maintain great hearing ability is also important so children can grow up aware and educated to protect their ears and their hearing ability.

Family Meetings Are the First Step

It is often the case that children will follow the habits they view their parents doing.  If a parent constantly has a cell phone or Bluetooth to his or her ear, the child will think this is cool, normal, and appropriate.  If parents are constantly turning up the television or radio to drown out the sounds of voices in the household, children will soon be doing the same thing.  The steady and consistent rise of noise can play a major part in how well a person is able to hear.  Constant exposure to loud noises within a household can have a damaging effect on the hearing of both children and adults in the household.

Holding a family meeting and informing your children that you are going to take active measures to reduce the consistent noise level will be a great way to introduce your children to education about protecting their hearing.  Explain to your children how being around constant loud noises can lead them to end up wearing a hearing aid in order to hear fully.  If you have allowed loud noises for years in your household, it is never too late to reverse the cycle of this habit and begin a new and healthier cycle.  The benefits can potentially be enormous for your entire family.

Be Aware of Outside Noises

Outside noises such as loud lawnmowers, weed eaters, tractors, and machinery can also have a negative effect on how a person hears.  When children get to an appropriate age, they often are asked to help their parents by mowing or using basic electric tools.  Teaching your children to wear earplugs or safety headphones to mute the loud noises of machinery will help to protect their ears.  Many times, parents try hard to teach their children great safety habits and then neglect to apply the same practices to their own self.

It is important for parents to put into practice as many safety habits as possible when using mowers, trimmers, tillers, or other electrical machinery or equipment.  The National Institutes of Health is a government website that has a great collection of articles dedicated to educating people on how to protect their hearing when around loud noises.  Following these simple tips and encouraging your family to participate in these habits will give your entire family great results.

Have you heard....Custom headphones

Music lovers are being warned that the popular 'earbud' headphones worn by users of iPods and MP3 players could lead to hearing loss.

The reason for the warning is because earbuds placed directly into the ear, can boost the sound signal by as much as six to nine decibels.

During the 1980s, when Walkman portable devices first hit the market, audiologists were warning users about potential hearing loss. Nowadays, with MP3 players topping the Christmas wish lists of people all over the world, history is repeating itself.

Hearing loss in younger people typically found in aging adults is becoming far too common. Unfortunately, the earbuds preferred by music listeners are even more likely to cause hearing loss than the muff-type earphones that were associated with the older devices because of this increase in volume.

As well as a more intense sound signal, today's music devices have longer battery life and the ability to store vast amounts of music, facts which encourage users to listen for longer periods of time than their 1980s counterparts.

MP3 devices now reach upto 110 to 120 decibels. That's a sound level that's equivalent to a jet engine and enough to cause hearing loss after only about an hour and 15 minutes.

So what can we do? One solution is the 60 percent/60 minute rule, whereby people use their MP3 devices for no more than about an hour a day and at levels below 60 percent of maximum volume.

Noise-cancelling headphones are another suggestion because they reduce or eliminate background noise eliminating the need to turn the device up to excessive levels.These headphones can be custom made; still as descreet as the fashionable ear-bud types and far more comfortable.

They come as a sleeve which fits over any ear-bud headphone, so even if the headphones need replacing the sleeve can simply be swapped over. At less than £100 they could be the last set of headphones you ever use.

Have you heard...Mini Aids

Traditional Completely in the Canal (CIC) hearing aids were made to sit in the ear canal with the faceplate positioned at the opening of the ear canal, previously this was the most discreet in-the ear hearing aid fitting available.

In 2010 Starkey introduced the first Invisible in the Canal or IIC hearing aid called ‘Soundlens’. Since then the other major hearing aid manufacturers have also brought out similar products, making Invisible In the Canal (IIC) the newest and competitive style of hearing aid.

Improvements in shell design and computer aided design technology, as well as miniaturisation of components mean that the IIC hearing aids can be made significantly smaller and therefore sit much deeper in the ear canal.
If the aid can sit beyond the second bend of the ear canal then it will be totally invisible, however results will vary depending of the physical size and shape of your ear canals.
There are also benefits to IIC hearing aids other than the invisibility:

1. Reduction of the ‘occlusion effect’ – the muffled or blocked feeling that happens sometimes with CIC hearing aids
2. Natural directional hearing and noise reduction due to the placement deep in the ear canal

How do I get an IIC hearing aid?
The first step is to come for a consultation, which will include a hearing test to see if an IIC would be appropriate. Next we need to examine your ear canal and take impressions of your ears. This involves putting some soft silicone based material into your ear canals in order to take their shape. The impression material sets in about 2 minutes and then is removed. These impressions are then used to make the hearing aids.

The importance of good impressions
In order for the manufacturer to make the hearing aids it is absolutely essential to have a detailed and accurate impression, which is deep enough to give all the information needed to make an invisible product. The deeper and more accurate the impressions, the more possibility there is of achieving a truly invisible hearing aid, which will be comfortable and fit properly.

Have you heard...Acceptance

Opticians recommend that we have our eyesight tested every 2 years, and for most of us this seems normal and is accepted as a regular health check-up. Most people would agree that if they were having trouble with their eyesight they would not hesitate in visiting the doctor or optician to have it checked.

Spectacles have become something of a fashion statement of late, with plain glass lenses even being sold to give the look of wearing glasses with no medical reasoning. Glasses have been sold in a multitude of styles for years and in fact have closely reflected the style of each era in their frame shape and size.

We at Bexhill Hearing Centre believe that it won't be long until hearing aids receive the same acceptance that spectacles have today. No longer are they the big, beige embarrassments they were 10 years ago; hearing aids are now sleek, designed objects packed full of features.

The latest hearing aids can be customised to suit the fussiest of clients even changing the colour to suit their hair or match their favourite suit. Different production methods are also available with one supplier offering the first Eco-friendly production.

The product itself is a desirable gadget, which sold as a convenient audio system would do well on its own, with its Bluetooth connectivity, remote control and more, but to call it a hearing aid means that the user must first accept that they have a hearing loss; and this is where the problem lies.

A hearing loss means you’re old. A hearing loss means you’re disabled. A hearing loss means you don’t understand.

The stigma attached to a hearing loss is what prevents a great deal of people from seeking help and improving their quality of life. At Bexhill Hearing Centre we are trying to tackle that stigma and increase the acceptance of hearing loss.

Many people forget (or do not realise) that more people suffer from a hearing loss than a visual impairment, its logical really we hear more than we see. A right handed tennis player will incur more injuries on their right hand than their left due to wear and tear.

Whilst we sleep our eyes are closed, they receive no light and no stimulation, and therefore they rest for around 8 hours every day. Our ears do not close whilst we sleep; they receive sound constantly and are stimulated the whole time, hence why certain sounds (not even loud) such as a creaky floor board will wake you up.

Simple maths shows that in a lifetime we will hear for 26 years more than we see; when you put it like that it’s amazing hearing loss is not more accepted. 

Have you heard...Ototoxicity

There are more than 200 known ototoxic medications that can damage the ear, resulting in hearing loss, ringing in the ear, or balance disorders. These include medicines used to treat serious infections, cancer, and heart disease.

What are the effects from ototoxic medications?

Usually the first sign of ototoxicity is ringing in the ears (tinnitus). Over time, you may also develop hearing loss. This hearing loss may go unnoticed until your ability to understand speech is affected.
Balance problems can also occur as a result of ototoxic medications. You may experience a loss of balance and feeling unsteady on your feet.. Sometimes these problems are temporary because the human body can learn to adapt to reduced balance control.


What is happening inside the ear to cause these effects?

Ototoxic medications cause damage to the sensory cells used in hearing and balance. These sensory cells are located in the inner ear.

Which medications are ototoxic?

There are more than 200 medications and chemicals that are known to cause hearing and balance problems. It is important to discuss with your doctor the potential for hearing or balance damage of any drug you are taking. Sometimes there is little choice. Treatment with a particular medication may provide the best hope for curing a life-threatening disease or stopping a life-threatening infection.

Ototoxic medications known to cause permanent damage include certain aminoglycoside antibiotics, such as gentamicin (family history may increase susceptibility), and cancer chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin and carboplatin.

Drugs known to cause temporary damage include salicylate pain relievers (aspirin, used for pain relief and to treat heart conditions), quinine (to treat malaria), and loop diuretics (to treat certain heart and kidney conditions).

In some instances, exposure to loud noise while taking certain drugs will increase their damaging effects.

What to do before begining treatment with ototoxic medications?

You should monitor your hearing and balance systems before and during treatment. Before starting the treatment, a baseline record of your hearing and balance should be recorded by an audiologist.

This information can help you and your doctor make any important decisions to stop or change the drug therapy before your hearing is damaged.

For cases in which the drugs cannot be stopped or changed, the patient and the audiologist can take steps to manage the effects of the hearing loss that results.

During the course of your treatment, you should have periodic hearing tests as part of the monitoring process. This will help enable you to report any hearing changes, ringing in the ears, or balance problems that you may notice.

Have you heard...Wireless hearing

One of the most recent developments in Hearing aid technology has been the vast range of wireless functionality now available to the hearing impaired; from a basic loop system to Bluetooth, there are now no real excuses why a hearing aid cannot fit anyone’s lifestyle.

Wireless systems offer both an improvement in audibility and in usability. One way in which audibility has been improved is through CROSS hearing where control can transmit from one ear to the other; so that pressing one aid's program button simultaneously changes the other aid, so that both aids change background settings simultaneously. CROSS hearing is particularly useful for clients with no hearing on one side, offering the opportunity to transmit that ears sound over to the other ear.

FM listening systems with wireless receivers are also available. A separate wireless microphone can be given to a partner to wear in a restaurant, in the car, during leisure time etc. which in essence places the client’s ear directly below the speakers chin; offering unmatched speech audibility by eliminating the effects of distance and background noise. FM systems can also be hooked up to a TV, Radio and other input devices.

Very similar to FM; Loop is now used in many public places as a convenient and inexpensive form of assistive listening. Very simply an audio input, be it a microphone, music etc., can be transmitted to any hearing aid user within a chosen area (as long as they have their loop program switched on) this allows everything from general announcements to individual conversations to be achieved comfortably.

Bluetooth connectivity is the most recent innovation in wireless interfacing for hearing instruments to audio sources such as TV streamers or Bluetooth enabled mobile phones. Current hearing aids generally do not stream directly via Bluetooth but rather do so through a secondary streaming device (usually worn around the neck or in a pocket), this Bluetooth enabled secondary device then streams wirelessly to the hearing aid but can only do so over a short distance.

FM systems are considered a cornerstone in the treatment of hearing loss in children as the need for the teacher to be heard is tackled simply by placing a mic transmitter round their neck. Bluetooth has bridged the gap of convenience for hearing aid users, offering all their gadgets tailored to their own hearing prescription.

Many theatres and schools are now equipped with assistive listening systems that transmit the sound directly from the stage; audience members can borrow suitable receivers and hear the program without background noise.

In a world where life itself is requiring more and more gadgets, it's good to see that the hearing impaired have a vast choice of ways to continue hearing comfortably and conveniently.

Have you heard...Hearing in any environment

Life was meant to be lived without limits. Everyday things such as water, dust or shock shouldn’t bring yours to a halt. With its tough build, impressive design, perfect engineering, and cutting-edge advancements, Aquaris™, the first truly waterproof hearing aid from Siemens, lets you actively enjoy every decibel of life to its fullest.

Waterproof

• Completely sealed housing shell and battery door
• IP57 certified: waterproof up to 3 feet (1m) (for 30 minutes)
• Custom-made soft ear mold for swimming

Sweat and dust resistant

• Efficiently repels dust, perspiration, and dirt
• Robust and moisture-resistant surface
• Watertight housing safeguards against corrosion

Shockproof

• Virtually shockproof thanks to ergonomic shape and soft-touch laquering
• Scratch-proof non-slip soft rubber surface
• Attachable Sport Clip for extra security

Innovative

• BestSound™ Technology for excellent sound clarity
• Unique materials and cutting-edge ideas ensure waterproof seal
• Connects seamlessly to Tek and miniTek wireless enhancement systems

Hearing comfortably and safely in every environment is available from Bexhill Hearing Centre from as little as £1800

Have you heard...Loop systems

The Hearing Loop System is a special type of sound system for use by people with hearing aids. It is important to know how loop systems tie in with sound systems in general, since they are frequently used together. This article will also include guidance on how to specify your own loop system and other general aspects of loop systems.

Sound systems for use in public places are generally used to reinforce or relay sound to a hall, church or auditorium or to other parts of the building from some central point.

Sound is said to be reinforced when the audience can hear the original sound (eg from stage or rostrum) both directly and via the sound amplification system. Hence the term sound reinforcement.

A sound system may also relay sound to areas of a building where the original performer, speaker or musician, cannot be heard without the use of the sound system. This may be used, for example, in a large sports arena or to relay speech or music to different parts of a building where the sound source is out of earshot. This type of a system is known as a public address system.

Any sound system may also incorporate a hearing loop system. Ideally they will be used together, as a fully integrated system.

A simple, complete sound system will comprise five main elements: at least one microphone, one sound amplifier, one loudspeaker, one induction loop driver and one induction loop cable. 

How the Hearing Loop System works

• Sound is collected by one or more microphones.
   
• The very small electrical output from these microphones is mixed with any audio required (e.g. CD player) and fed to the Induction Loop amplifier, usually referred to as an induction loop driver.
   
• The loop amplifier drives a powerful current through the loop, which changes with the variations in the speech or music patterns. This sets up similar patterns of speech or music in the hearing aid by magnetic induction. The hearing aid must therefore be switched to 'T' when using a hearing loop.
   
• In this way, any sound picked up by the microphones or from other sound sources, whether speech or music, is heard directly and clearly in the hearing aid.

Remember that loop systems are available anywhere that displays the loop symbol:

Dont forget to turn your loop function (T) on your hearing aid on, if you don't have one ask your Audiologist why not!

Have you heard...Rechargeable hearing aids

The Siemens eCharger

Most of Siemens hearing instruments (BTEs) are always ready to keep up with your busy lifestyle. That’s because you won’t have to stop to change batteries or dry your instruments. Just leave your BTE to the new battery charger to do it for you.

Six hours of rest is all it needs.

Many Siemens hearing instruments offer you unparalleled convenience: they run on standard batteries, as well as rechargeable ones. Simply place your instruments in the eCharger at night and after just 6 hours, they’re ready to work all day. Thanks to the new, improved battery charger, you’ll have no unwelcome surprises of batteries running out and no fumbling with your instruments. Now you can truly rest easy.

It dries while you dream.

While you sleep, the new eCharger not only refreshes your instrument‘s batteries, but also dries the hearing instruments. With the new electronic drying function, you won’t have to bother with drying capsules anymore. It’s fast, reliable and with a little daily care, provides the perfect protection from moisture.

eCharger powers and protects your Siemens hearing instruments. Now available for Pure and Motion P behind-the-ear hearing instruments

Siemens Xcel launch

On Thursday night both the Helliers attended the Siemens Xcel product launch at Bistro Live, Nottingham. The venue for the launch was kept secret right up until the last minute; two very sparkely stretch hummers arrived to pick the select group of audiologists up from their hotel and escort them in style to a local club where they were greeted by champagne and tribal drums.

Once everyone had arrived and seated, the official launch could begin.

We were told that the new XCEL was the new generation of BestSound Technology from Siemens, which introduces features which focus on key aspects of Better Hearing and Sound Comfort; effective Audibility and Sound Quality.

Not only will it provide effective Audibility which contributes to speech understanding without jeopardise sound quality; the Xcell will allow maximum spontaneous acceptance, as well as long-term hearing instrument satisfaction.

The new Xcel range includes upgraded models which may be recognised from the Siemens range such as the pure or motion, but also includes the all new Eclipse ITE, which is said to allow shallow impression taking without the occlusion affect; good news for dispensers and clients.

The night was rounded off with an brilliant 3 course meal, and equally fantastic entertainment from Siren and Tommy T and the Belletones.

Bexhill Hearing Centre is very much looking forward to trying out the new product range on our clients and seeing whether the claims come to fruition.