If you have been advised to use two hearing devices, we want to share with you some of the important advantages of using two.
Most people think of ”hearing” as something that happens in the ears, but in reality, the BRAIN interprets the signals from the ears and converts those signals into something the brain recognizes as speech. So, in many respects, we really don’t fit the ears with hearing aids, we ultimately fit the brain.
Each one of our ears actually lateralizes to the opposite side of the brain and each serves a specific function. For example the right ear, crossing to the left side of the brain, is mostly responsible for “technical” interpretation; differentiating the English language from Spanish for example. The left ear, crossing to the right side of the brain handles more of the aesthetics of language such as deciding if someone is speaking sweetly or sarcastically for example! Pretty important stuff!!!
Today’s sophisticated technology actually tries to mimic this process by “talking to each other”, constantly adjusting to the environment around you. If you have a sound directed at you from one side, for instance, the devices will automatically make some changes by turning one side up and possibly the other side down. This all happens automatically without you doing anything!
Studies indicate that people who wear two hearing devices usually have a better experience with hearing in noisy environments because the sounds are being shared by both ears and both sides of the brain.
Other important benefits include:
Better directionality (locating where sounds are coming from)
Better sound quality
Keeps both ears active
Better clarity
You can have your hearing devices at a lower volume when you wear two
So you have come to terms with the fact that you may be experiencing the perception of “Sound Voids™” and have decided to pursue a solution. As part of Audigy Group, we feel it is critical to not only know how you are hearing but to understand specifically where you would like to hear better. For this reason, we conduct a 4-step process. To make this even more meaningful, we recently made a significant investment in some new technology called e-patient™. e-patient is a first-of-its-kind, interactive digital education tool that visually communicates the causes, symptoms, and available treatment options for your specific type of hearing loss during your evaluation.
With e-patient, you decide
Where you want to hear
When you want to hear
How you want to hear
What price best suits your budget
e-patient is revolutionary because it is turns your hearing evaluation into an interactive visual dialog.
We sit down and talk with you to determine the nature of your concern and uncover any specific areas that may require further attention. We will spend time getting an understanding of the environments in which you are having difficulty hearing. We believe that when someone is struggling with their hearing it actually affects everyone who lives in the household. For this reason we ask that you bring your significant other or other family member with you to your appointment. This is important because we utilize that person’s voice during parts of the testing as well as include them in the interview process.
2. The Examination
This is the physical part of the exam, where we take a look inside your ear to determine whether the perception of Sound Voids you might be experiencing could be caused by an obstruction or damage to the ear canal or eardrum.
3. The Diagnostic Process
We will perform a comprehensive, computerized hearing evaluation to determine the nature of your Sound Voids by mapping out your hearing levels on an audiogram. We will also evaluate your ability to hear and comprehend speech while in the presence of background noise.
4. Treatment Solutions
Once we have fully evaluated your ability to hear and understand speech, we will discuss the results with you in depth and from there we will make a recommendation as to the type of treatment solution best suited to you. This could be Assistive Listening Devices which are specialized technologies that help people with all degrees of hearing loss and can improve face-to-face communication as well as telephone signals and other important warning sounds. A second treatment solution might be a medical referral to discuss surgery or implants. Finally if needed, a hearing aid technology solution might be recommended. If you should need a hearing aid technology solution, we may provide you with several alternatives, but most important, we will suggest a system tailored to your individual lifestyle and budget needs.
Today’s hearing aids are available in many technology levels which offer some amazing features. These features provide a multitude of benefits dependent upon the environments you have the most difficulty hearing in. We spend a great deal of time getting to know you, your environments and your lifestyle so that we can make an appropriate recommendation for you. We have found through our own experience and from feedback from our customers, it is critical that the technology level chosen contains the features you need to obtain the benefit you desire. To learn more about environments, click this page of our website: www.treasurevalleyhearing.com/hearing_aid_comparison.php. We have found that a hearing device that does not suit your environments and lifestyle could turn out to be a very frustrating purchase. To view the types of hearing devices we may recommend to you, this page of our website will help you: www.treasurevalleyhearing.com/hearing_aid_styles.php.
Editor’s Note: We recently did a survey of all our e-newsletter readers, asking them what they would like to see more of in the future. One item mentioned was testimonials with people’s experiences. In the effort to satisfy that desire, we will occasionally be posting patient testimonials for you. Each person’s experience is so unique, we hope you don’t mind multiple posts on the topic. This way, perhaps you will read something that applies best to your personal situation.
I have been wearing hearing aids since 1992 and have worn several different types and styles. While all have helped me hear and understand better than without aids, there always seemed to be limitations or a compromise. The best way for me to describe the aids I currently use is that the sound quality is “natural” or “normal” with no mechanical influence whatsoever and without a doubt, I am hearing better with them than I have in many years.
Note from the blog editor: We plan to run a series of posts from several of the world’s leading hearing technology manufacturers. Oticon is one of these manufacturers. We sell their products under our AGX label. Now for the post from Jason Dria of Oticon:
Hearing technology continues to change at a rapid pace. One of the most significant changes to occur is including wireless technology and processing in Oticon hearing device fittings.
So, what does that mean for a hearing device user?
First and foremost, our philosophy is truly “People First” and this is how we have developed what we feel is the standard for modern hearing care. We do not want to develop the technology and make the person adapt in ways they are not comfortable or prefer not to, but to develop the technology around the hearing device user and their comforts. This comes from research and listening to the skilled clinicians fitting the products and caring for the patients. The result is often very little, or no “fussing” with the hearing device systems worn by the users.
So, back to the question—What do the new changes in hearing devices mean for the user? First, it’s about the hearing devices themselves. There is very unique, high level communication between the devices. With some of the newest devices, there are two main areas that have shown some significant improvement: 1) a person understands better in challenging environments (noisy places) and 2) listening becomes easier. Some of the technologies contributing to this improvement are the binaural noise management, spatial sound and speech guard strategies.
A second area of improvement is the new technology is allowing users to stay in touch more with friends and family. We need to talk on the phone to continue relationships and this can be a challenge. We know that a good portion of our hearing device users aren’t hearing the TV as well as they’d like. There are also times where we can’t hear someone well in the car, or at a restaurant or even in their own home when there is some distance between the two communicating. So, Oticon created a Connectline system that allows very easy usage by simply tapping a button to answer the phone, to watch TV or hear someone better through a companion microphone with the best sound quality possible.
A great part about this newest technology is that it can easily be experienced. In fact, it’s something your patients can experience during their visits to the Treasure Valley Hearing offices. Experiencing the technology has really taken away the mystery that has sometimes surrounded the process of exploring hearing devices.
Jason Dria is a Doctor of Audiology and an Oticon Factory Representative. He has extensive experience in diagnostic audiology, patient counseling and hearing aid dispensing.
Research has suggested for some time that there is a link between hearing loss and dementia. Previous studies have suggested in hearing loss, brain stimulation gets minimized since the sounds are not able to reach the brain. Now in February of 2011, a new study was released on this subject, which brings to light some new possibilities as to what may be going on in a person’s brain that could cause the dementia. This study suggest perhaps strain on the brain trying to decode words. They also speculate, (which previous studies have already speculated), that the dementia could leave a person isolated, which is already a known cause of dementia and other cognitive disorders.
The scientists in this study point out that anything that can help a person to hear better, hearing aids included, could delay or even prevent the dementia.
To conduct the research, 639 people were studied. Some had previous hearing loss, while others did not. Then over a period of time, these people were watched to see if dementia developed. None of the 639 people had dementia at the beginning of the study. They found that when they took out other correlations with hearing loss, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and age, the link between hearing loss and dementia was still very strong.
This study points out that while people tend to ignore the warning signs of hearing loss as it encroaches on one’s life so slowly, people should be much more diligent with treatment at an earlier stage. Allowing hearing loss to go untreated could cause a person to have even bigger problems down the road.
For more information on this study, you can go to:
Older Entries
