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."

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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

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....Preventing hearing loss *by John O'Connor*

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

bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com

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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.