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 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...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...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...Ear Wax

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.

Earwax can be wet or dry and hard or soft. Soft earwax is more common in children and hard earwax is more likely to cause problems. Dry earwax is golden and flaky and more common in people of Asian origin.

Earwax problems

Earwax doesn't usually cause problems. However, producing too much earwax can lead to a blocked and painful ear or hearing loss.

Having repeated ear infections, flaky skin near your ear, or hair in your ear canals can also put you at risk of developing problems with your earwax.

Every year in the UK, over two million people have problems with earwax and need it removed.
To reduce your risk of developing problems with your ears, avoid putting objects in your ears, such as cotton buds, matchsticks and hairpins.

As well as risking damage to your ear canal or eardrum, sticking things in your ears can result in earwax becoming lodged in your ear canal.

When to see your GP

Visit your GP if you are having problems with earwax. If you have a large amount of earwax, it may need to be removed.

Earwax can usually be removed using eardrops. If eardrops 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.

Do not attempt to remove earwax yourself, without first speaking to your GP.