Ask The Experts on Hearing

Every conversation is a hearing test! How did you do today?

Hearing is the joy of living: the better you can hear, the better you find your way around the world. You find it easier to join in daily life and you are more self-confident in your work with your family. Most take the gift of hearing for granted, they do not notice how the soundscape is slowly becoming blurred.

“I can actually still hear pretty well, but…sometimes I can’t make out quiet voices. “ Or, “I didn’t hear the announcements again.” Or, I’ve started eating alone because conversation is too much of an effort for me.” Or, “I hear everything, I just don’t understand it…” Especially the sounds in the higher frequency range you find harder to understand:

-Women’s and children’s voices, for example.

-Consonants such as s, f, sh, and t are spoken more softly and quietly. With these gaps in what you can distinguish, you can indeed “hear”, but you no longer understand it properly or fully.

This leads to misunderstandings: table not fable, heating not seating, confine not consign. It creeps up on you…and then, when the first difficulties arise with hearing or understanding, you try to compensate.

You pay attention to lip movements and expressions. You try to read what you no longer hear.

You fill in the gaps by putting in what the other person might have said, relying on deductive reasoning and intuition.

You pay close attention to the context of a conversation situation or announcement in order to compensate for what you fail to hear.

You constantly scan your memories for helpful hints. What was this person talking about before? What did he say last time?

It’s hard work when you can’t make everything out clearly! All these compensatory efforts demand good concentration and constant attention. At first the calm your fears, because sometimes the compensation process goes really well. Over a longer period  though, these strategies require a huge effort and cannot be sustained.

Another common problem is that, in situations with a lot of background noise (restaurants, stations, airports, parties etc.), it is necessary to concentrate particularly hard on the person you are speaking to, even with mild hearing loss, it is no longer possible to filter out what is being said using the compensation process alone.

We can help! Call or stop by for an appointment today!

August 2011 Article

New Technology…

I’d like to talk today about some of the new technology available today in various hearing aids.

First of all, nearly every hearing aid available on the market today has digital technology. The differences come with the level and amount of adjustments you can perform on a specific hearing device. Entry level aids have very limited controls and settings. Advanced digital systems have a huge range of adjustments and changes, which mean your hearing health professional can adjust your new hearing system to more closely match your hearing loss and adjust for your concerns.

Background noise has been a constant issue for hearing aid users through the years. While some background is needed for safety reasons, it is the easiest noise to pick up. Dual or directional microphones in digital aids have been proven to be the #1 treatment for background noise. Some aids you have to change manually to activate the directional mics, while some of the more advanced systems will activate and shift automatically as you walk through a crowded room or sit in a restaurant. They are not available on the smallest aids, but can be an option on any of the other types.

Other features such as noise cancellation or feedback managers come with different levels and settings, depending on the circuitry inside the hearing device. This all means better satisfaction with your aid in difficult listening situations. However, you should know that the feedback managers in today’s high end hearing devices are better than Auntie Blanche had in 1990 that whistled and squealed till the dogs came home.

The big secret though, is that you still have to wear your hearing aids. Your brain needs to adjust to the sounds, and then the other systems will work better. It’s the only way to have good hearing health.