ADVANCED FEATURES
Because today’s more advanced hearing instruments contain microchips, they can be expected to perform many of the operations found in other computer-driven devices. For instance, just as activity trackers worn on the wrist can keep track of how many steps we take throughout the day, hearing instruments with self-learning features can remember the volume and […]
MAKING A QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCE
Hearing loss can affect older individuals in ways that may not be readily apparent. Because hearing loss makes it more difficult to carry on a conversation, it can impair the ability to socialize with others, causing hearing-impaired individuals to become anxious, depressed, and paranoid. From a physical standpoint, uncorrected hearing loss has also been linked […]
A RINGING ENDORSEMENT
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) often accompanies hearing loss. In fact, most tinnitus can be traced to noise-induced damage and age-related changes that occur among the sound-sensing “hair cells” of the inner ear. With this in mind, individuals who experience ringing or buzzing noises in their ears that does not come from an external source […]
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
With a “mild” hearing loss (26 to 41 dB range), people can typically hear one-on-one conversations as long as they can see the speaker’s face and are listening at close range. However, even a mild hearing loss can pose problems if the conversation partner is at a distance or has a soft voice. Understanding conversation […]
WHEN LESS IS MORE
Current digital hearing instruments process the sound that wearers hear to make speech more understandable. By utilizing “wide dynamic range compression,” modern hearing instruments amplify softer sounds while leaving loud sounds untouched. Although this kind of processing allows hearing-impaired individuals to better understand conversation, it can distort music. Compounding the problem for hearing-impaired music lovers […]
GET WITH THE PROGRAM
As we go through our days at home, at work, and at play, we subject our ears to a number of different listening environments. We might have a quiet conversation over coffee in the morning, while work may be conducted in offices with multiple distractions and steady background noise. Because one program on a hearing […]
DIZZYING INNER EAR DISORDER
Ménière’s disease, which is named after the 19th-century French physician who discovered the condition, is characterized by intermittent and abrupt attacks of vertigo (a spinning sensation) and sometimes tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Ménière’s sufferers may also experience hearing loss that can become permanent over time, as well as hypersensitivity to sounds and sound distortion. […]
HYPERSENSITIVE TO SOUNDS
The term “hyperacusis” is used to describe people who find the sounds of everyday life to be intrusively loud, uncomfortable, and even painful. It is conservatively estimated that about two percent of the population suffers from this problem. A minority of this percentage is severely affected, while the rest report that hyperacusis makes it difficult […]
USE IT OR LOSE IT!
We are all familiar with the “use it or lose it” dictum that says if you do not exercise, you will lose muscle mass. As it turns out, this warning applies to areas of the body other than musculature. A study involving mostly seniors found that those living with hearing loss actually experienced brain shrinkage. […]
CUSTOM MOLDED TO YOUR EAR
Just as eyeglass frames with prescription lenses must be properly fitted to the wearer’s face, a hearing instrument’s earmold must fit perfectly in the listener’s ear. To get the fit that will literally place the sound of the hearing instrument in the ear, an audiologist will make a cast (known as an “impression”) of the […]