Category — Hearing Aids

Losing one’s hearing can devastate a person. Not only does this mean that one will no longer be able to hear the birds in the morning or be able to listen to their favorite television programs, but it can definitely make a person feel isolated. After all, one’s hearing is an essential piece of communication. If a family member can no longer hear, he or she may struggle to understand what is going on around them and may feel as if they have limited means by which to communicate their needs and emotions. This is where hearing aids can really make all the difference. By investing in hearing aids, a person can improve their quality of life, improve communication with their family, and succeed in work and school. The following are some ways to find the best possible hearing aids for your loved one so that they can lead a full and happy life.  Read more... (520 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

I have been asked this question at least 4 to 6 times a week.  You may think this sounds strange; however, this is asked by people who are close to, or are friends of, someone who has a hearing loss.

It’s not that they haven’t tried or told their family member or friend to get a hearing aid.  The person who is losing out and misunderstanding conversations often doesn’t see the need — or their ego prevents them from taking steps to get help.

Over the last 35 years of helping people hear better, I have found the best way to encourage someone who has put off for years getting help is to realize you are perhaps the reason they are not getting that help.  Read more... (339 words, estimated 1:21 mins reading time)

Many are confused by the term “open fitting” in relation to their hearing.  The term “open fitting” is describing how the feeling would be when you are wearing your hearing aid.  You want an open, not an occluded or plugged up, feeling.

Open fittings are used when a patient has a high frequency hearing loss.  This means that they hear most of the lower tones in a normal range.  With this type of loss, fitting the hearing aid with any mold that occludes or fills up the ear canal would, in most cases, prevent the wearer from hearing the low tones.  This causes your voice to sound hollow or you would get a plugged up feeling, like when you talk with your nose plugged up.  Read more... (353 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Many people are surprised that most hearing aids need to be replaced every three to five years.  It does seem logical that with the capacity to reprogram most hearing aids they would last much longer.

The problem is not the reprogramming capability but usually a quality issue when you consider where you wear your hearing aid (inside an ear canal that is swimming in ear wax or maybe behind your ear where perspiration and sweat are constantly bombarding your aid).  Most people wear their aids from 8 to 16 hours a day.  Continually being exposed to these conditions simply affects all the components of your hearing aid over time.  This is why most insurance companies who participate will help purchase hearing aids every three to five years.  Read more... (335 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

Sons or daughters are often the caretakers for their parents.  Or at least they are usually consulted with before any major purchases such as a hearing aid.

My advice is, of course, to make sure they have seen their Doctor and get a hearing test to be sure a hearing aid will benefit them.

The next issue that is most important when getting a hearing aid is the servicing aspect of the aid.  Purchasing a hearing aid is the most important first step.  However, without proper cleaning and servicing, that great-sounding amplification won’t last long.  Read more... (373 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

No one knows I’m not hearing a lot of the conversation.  That’s right.  No one knows I didn’t get what was said unless I asked or said: what, repeat that, excuse me or what was that again.  After awhile I actually just got tired of asking people.  Most of the time they didn’t even know I wasn’t getting it, or at least I think they didn’t know.

Hearing aids have changed most of those situations for me.  I know I don’t get everything,  but I know I get almost all of it.  What a difference this has made — not only for my family but most importantly, for me.  Read more... (382 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Baby Boomers are changing the attitudes of everyone about hearing aids.  The past view of Hearing Aids is less than desirable…from making someone look old to not even working for people who have a sensory neural hearing loss.

It is so great to see how attitudes are changing about wearing hearing aids.  To me it is downright refreshing.  For the past 35 years I have done everything within my power to try to convince people they should at least try wearing a hearing aid.  It has been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to motivate most people to at least try to see if they would benefit from amplification…even when the patient agrees they have a hearing loss and know their hearing loss is causing much pain in their lives.  Read more... (488 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

We all agree that the most important aspect of communication is, of course, the words we use.  Then comes the inflections and tones of sounds that the words are presented or spoke in.  We all have heard it said that it’s not what you said, it was how you said it.

Communication all comes down to so many levels of receiving information that we try to decipher what was said or how it was said.  Bottom line, we will always remember how we felt after having a conversation much more than what was said during a conversation.  The reason for this is that it is the tonal part of words that communicate the most powerful part of communications and that’s our feelings.  Read more... (381 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Almost all patients who I’ve fit with hearing aids have some degree of tinnitus or ringing in their ears.  What’s the cause?  So far there are a lot of ideas; however, no one as yet has come up with a cure.

The question is:  Can a Hearing Aid help?  The answer is:  Most of the time.  A hearing aid will bring all the sounds you are missing up to a normal level of hearing.  In doing so almost 85% of my patients notice that their tinnitus is reduced greatly when they wear their hearing aids.  About 15% say they can’t hear the ringing at all and about 10% say it doesn’t seem to have any affect.  Read more... (387 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

I remember when the only people that would buy a hearing aid were people who were dragged into my office by someone who usually said he or she “is going to buy hearing aids or I am getting a divorce”.  There was no doubt that hearing aids were going to be purchased that day.  There had to be an extreme amount of motivation to overcome the resistance of purchasing hearing aids.

Hearing aids have always been talked about as not working by most Doctors as they told everyone if they had nerve loss, hearing aids wouldn’t help.  Well, come to find out, that’s the kind of hearing loss the hearing aids helped!  Interesting how the story changes when Doctors are dispensing hearing aids; isn’t it?  Read more... (440 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)