ReSound is partnering with hearing professionals nationwide to host a series of patient education seminars designed to help the hearing impaired get on the road to hearing better.
ReSound, the industry technology leader in hearing aid solutions, is partnering with hearing professionals to host a series of patient education seminars about “hearing better”.
ReSound is taking new steps to help the hearing impaired overcome the stigma associated with wearing a hearing aid and understand what they can do to hear better.
“When it comes to hearing better, the number one obstacle for people with hearing loss is accepting that they need a hearing aid,” said Kurt Schaffer, Strategic Account Manager, ReSound. “Our patient education seminars are a place for people with hearing loss to ask questions and become comfortable with taking the next step.”
ReSound estimates that the typical hearing impaired individual will endure 7 years of denial before seeking treatment. With one in six baby boomers experiencing hearing loss and only 13% of doctors routinely screening for hearing loss during a physical, it is hardly surprising that the number of hearing impaired Americans is expected to rise to 78 million before 2030.
Hearing loss, when left untreated, can lead to social isolation, depression and a decrease in quality of life. It is also common for family members and friends to feel irritation, frustration and even anger because communication is difficult and attempts to offer help are met with denial.
“My audiologist honestly saved my marriage”, said Emil Spears, a patient at ENT Associates of Greater Kansas City. “My wife was at breaking point. She was tired of me not being able to communicate and having to be my interpreter in social situations. My advice to others like me, don’t think about what you have to lose. It’s what you have to gain.”
To learn more about hosting a Hearing Better seminar at your practice, Contact the ReSound Consumer Marketing Team at 1 (800) 248-4327 or ConsumerMarketing@gnresound.com
About ReSound
ReSound is the industry technology leader in hearing solutions. Since the company’s inception in 1943, ReSound has been responsible for a number of hearing industry firsts, including Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC), Digital Feedback Suppression (DFS) and the first open-standard digital chip. Headquartered in Ballerup, Denmark, GN ReSound is part of The GN ReSound Group, one of the world’s largest provider of hearing instruments and diagnostic audiological instrumentation. Visit www.gnresound.com
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Hearing Health 4U
HearingHealth4U, a non-profit organization committed to helping people hear better by providing quality used hearing aids at affordable pricing.
The only way we can accomplish this is by support of the hearing aid community. We are in need of as many used hearing aids as possible to meet the ongoing growing demand of the hard of hearing community that can't afford the high cost of new hearing aids.
We know that there are thousands of used hearing aids lying around in drawers, boxes, on shelves etc. that could have a second chance of helping someone in need hear again.
Maybe you are one of these people that has an extra set or two of used hearing aids lying around, not having any use for them anymore. We would ask you to consider donating them to help someone in need hear again.
To learn more visit: http://www.hearinghealth4u.com
The only way we can accomplish this is by support of the hearing aid community. We are in need of as many used hearing aids as possible to meet the ongoing growing demand of the hard of hearing community that can't afford the high cost of new hearing aids.
We know that there are thousands of used hearing aids lying around in drawers, boxes, on shelves etc. that could have a second chance of helping someone in need hear again.
Maybe you are one of these people that has an extra set or two of used hearing aids lying around, not having any use for them anymore. We would ask you to consider donating them to help someone in need hear again.
To learn more visit: http://www.hearinghealth4u.com
Monday, March 21, 2011
Hearing Loss in Play for Dolphin and Whale Strandings
Researchers urge hearing tests for stranded animals before and after antibiotic treatment.
Few events in the marine world are as upsetting to the public and mystifying to experts as dolphin and whale strandings.
But a new study by a team of scientists led by the University of South Florida and Mote Marine Laboratory has discovered that hearing loss may play a role in some of the animals’ distress.
In a study published in the new edition of the journal PLoS One, researchers found severe to profound hearing loss in 57 percent of the bottlenose dolphins and 36 percent of the rough-toothed dolphins studied after the animals stranded.
Given that these species rely on echolocation for orientation and feeding, the researchers believe that hearing loss could play a significant role in some strandings, said David Mann, a USF biological oceanographer and the paper’s lead author. The finding might also provide good cause for veterinary experts, scientists and resource managers to rethink the rehabilitation and release of dolphins given the role hearing loss might play in their trauma.
The finding also has implications for how stranded dolphins and whales should be treated, Mann said.
“If you have a dolphin that comes in with high-frequency hearing loss, there may not be much point trying to release it,” Mann said. “All stranded rehab animals should have their hearing tested — because rehabilitation and release is time and money intensive, and everyone wants to do what is in the best interest of the animal.”
During the study, a team of 16 scientists from marine science colleges and institutes across the United States and the Caribbean examined 36 dolphins and toothed whales in Florida and at a number of aquariums and rehabilitation centers. The animals had been found stranded or entangled in fishing gear between 2004 to 2009, and ranged in age from calves to adults, including one dolphin believed to have reached a ripe old age, given his lack of teeth.
The scientists found strong trends among the bottlenose and rough-toothed dolphins suffering from hearing loss, and the only short-finned pilot whale examined also had profound hearing loss. Interestingly, no hearing impairments were detected in any of the seven Risso’s dolphins from three different stranding events, or from two pygmy killer whales, one Atlantic spotted dolphin, one spinner dolphin, or a juvenile Gervais’ beaked whale that were also part of the study group.
The researchers tested the animals’ hearing using “auditory evoked potentials.” So-called AEPs are commonly used to measure hearing in human infants. Sensors are placed on an animal’s head to measure brain activity in response to a sound.
The method was used to measure hearing in the stranded cetaceans and compared to measurements obtained during health assessments of the free-ranging dolphins living in Sarasota Bay, which are the subjects of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. The program, a collaboration between Mote and the Chicago Zoological Society, began in 1970 and today is the longest-running study of a dolphin population anywhere in the world.
More than half of the dolphins tested had been brought to Mote’s dolphin hospital for treatment. Randall Wells, director of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, said hearing loss has long been discussed as a potential reason for dolphin strandings.
“Cetacean hearing problems were hypothesized to be a cause of strandings even before the 1970s, when Mote became one of the first organizations studying why marine mammals strand, through necropsies and treatment of live-stranded cetaceans,” Wells said. “Finding that many stranded cetaceans do indeed have hearing problems is an important advancement in our understanding of these phenomena."
As a result of the study, the researchers urge marine mammal veterinarians to conduct hearing measurements both before and after drug treatment. Rescued dolphins are sometimes treated with a class of antibiotics that could damage crucial hair cells in the ear that allow the animals to hear. Mann said dolphins released back into the wild with damaged hearing may be at risk.
Mann said while hearing may be a factor for some stranded animals, other dolphins and whales may still have a multitude of health issues. That’s why it’s important that hearing tests be incorporated into the animals’ care and rehabilitation.
There are five main contributing factors to hearing loss in marine mammals:
The researchers did not know the noise exposure history in the dolphins found to have hearing loss, although they suspect that two rough-toothed dolphins that stranded when they were young might have had hearing defects from birth.
Taken from usfweb3.usf.edu/.
Few events in the marine world are as upsetting to the public and mystifying to experts as dolphin and whale strandings.
But a new study by a team of scientists led by the University of South Florida and Mote Marine Laboratory has discovered that hearing loss may play a role in some of the animals’ distress.
In a study published in the new edition of the journal PLoS One, researchers found severe to profound hearing loss in 57 percent of the bottlenose dolphins and 36 percent of the rough-toothed dolphins studied after the animals stranded.
Given that these species rely on echolocation for orientation and feeding, the researchers believe that hearing loss could play a significant role in some strandings, said David Mann, a USF biological oceanographer and the paper’s lead author. The finding might also provide good cause for veterinary experts, scientists and resource managers to rethink the rehabilitation and release of dolphins given the role hearing loss might play in their trauma.
The finding also has implications for how stranded dolphins and whales should be treated, Mann said.
“If you have a dolphin that comes in with high-frequency hearing loss, there may not be much point trying to release it,” Mann said. “All stranded rehab animals should have their hearing tested — because rehabilitation and release is time and money intensive, and everyone wants to do what is in the best interest of the animal.”
During the study, a team of 16 scientists from marine science colleges and institutes across the United States and the Caribbean examined 36 dolphins and toothed whales in Florida and at a number of aquariums and rehabilitation centers. The animals had been found stranded or entangled in fishing gear between 2004 to 2009, and ranged in age from calves to adults, including one dolphin believed to have reached a ripe old age, given his lack of teeth.
The scientists found strong trends among the bottlenose and rough-toothed dolphins suffering from hearing loss, and the only short-finned pilot whale examined also had profound hearing loss. Interestingly, no hearing impairments were detected in any of the seven Risso’s dolphins from three different stranding events, or from two pygmy killer whales, one Atlantic spotted dolphin, one spinner dolphin, or a juvenile Gervais’ beaked whale that were also part of the study group.
The researchers tested the animals’ hearing using “auditory evoked potentials.” So-called AEPs are commonly used to measure hearing in human infants. Sensors are placed on an animal’s head to measure brain activity in response to a sound.
The method was used to measure hearing in the stranded cetaceans and compared to measurements obtained during health assessments of the free-ranging dolphins living in Sarasota Bay, which are the subjects of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. The program, a collaboration between Mote and the Chicago Zoological Society, began in 1970 and today is the longest-running study of a dolphin population anywhere in the world.
More than half of the dolphins tested had been brought to Mote’s dolphin hospital for treatment. Randall Wells, director of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, said hearing loss has long been discussed as a potential reason for dolphin strandings.
“Cetacean hearing problems were hypothesized to be a cause of strandings even before the 1970s, when Mote became one of the first organizations studying why marine mammals strand, through necropsies and treatment of live-stranded cetaceans,” Wells said. “Finding that many stranded cetaceans do indeed have hearing problems is an important advancement in our understanding of these phenomena."
As a result of the study, the researchers urge marine mammal veterinarians to conduct hearing measurements both before and after drug treatment. Rescued dolphins are sometimes treated with a class of antibiotics that could damage crucial hair cells in the ear that allow the animals to hear. Mann said dolphins released back into the wild with damaged hearing may be at risk.
Mann said while hearing may be a factor for some stranded animals, other dolphins and whales may still have a multitude of health issues. That’s why it’s important that hearing tests be incorporated into the animals’ care and rehabilitation.
There are five main contributing factors to hearing loss in marine mammals:
- Intense chronic noise, from things such as shipping
- Transient intense noise, such as explosions and underwater seismic testing
- Age-related hearing loss
- Congenital hearing impairment
- Antibiotic drug treatment.
The researchers did not know the noise exposure history in the dolphins found to have hearing loss, although they suspect that two rough-toothed dolphins that stranded when they were young might have had hearing defects from birth.
Taken from usfweb3.usf.edu/.
Monday, March 14, 2011
ReSound Donates Hearing Aids to Help America Hear Program
ReSound is now the exclusive provider of hearing aids for the Help America Hear program, created by the Foundation for Sight & Sound.
ReSound, the technology leader in hearing aid solutions, has partnered with the Foundation for Sight & Sound to provide hearing aids to Americans in need via itsHelp America Hear program.
In most US states, Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for hearing aids and neither do many insurance companies. Help America Hear was created in 2009 to help hearing impaired individuals with limited financial resources. Since then, 130 patients have received hearing aids through the program.
“There’s a lot of great charity work being done abroad,” said Mitch Shapiro, President, Foundation for Sight & Sound, “but so little here on American soil. Our partnership with ReSound is really a grass roots initiative to get hearing aids to those people that cannot afford to buy them.”
Help America Hear relies on pro bono work from hearing professionals, whether it is participating in mission trips, fitting individuals with donated ReSound hearing aids or simply nominating eligible patients for assistance.
To receive a hearing aid through Help America Hear, the individual must undergo a thorough screening process to ensure that all financial resources have been explored and exhausted. Shapiro interviews each candidate himself, reviews check book statements to determine spending habits and requires the candidate to sign an affidavit stating that Help America Hear is a last resort.
“I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity to hear again,” said Ora Johnson, Dothan, AL, who was fitted with two ReSound hearing aids in December 2010. “This Christmas, I got the best gift of all – the gift of sound.”
For more information on how you can support Help America Hear, visit www.gnresound.com/helpamericahear or talk to your ReSound representative.
About ReSound
ReSound is the industry technology leader in hearing solutions. Since the company’s inception in 1943, ReSound has been responsible for a number of hearing industry firsts, including Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC), Digital Feedback Suppression (DFS) and the first open-standard digital chip. Headquartered in Ballerup, Denmark, GN ReSound is part of The GN ReSound Group, one of the world’s largest provider of hearing instruments and diagnostic audiological instrumentation. For more information about ReSound, visit www.gnresound.com
ReSound, the technology leader in hearing aid solutions, has partnered with the Foundation for Sight & Sound to provide hearing aids to Americans in need via itsHelp America Hear program.
In most US states, Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for hearing aids and neither do many insurance companies. Help America Hear was created in 2009 to help hearing impaired individuals with limited financial resources. Since then, 130 patients have received hearing aids through the program.
“There’s a lot of great charity work being done abroad,” said Mitch Shapiro, President, Foundation for Sight & Sound, “but so little here on American soil. Our partnership with ReSound is really a grass roots initiative to get hearing aids to those people that cannot afford to buy them.”
Help America Hear relies on pro bono work from hearing professionals, whether it is participating in mission trips, fitting individuals with donated ReSound hearing aids or simply nominating eligible patients for assistance.
To receive a hearing aid through Help America Hear, the individual must undergo a thorough screening process to ensure that all financial resources have been explored and exhausted. Shapiro interviews each candidate himself, reviews check book statements to determine spending habits and requires the candidate to sign an affidavit stating that Help America Hear is a last resort.
“I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity to hear again,” said Ora Johnson, Dothan, AL, who was fitted with two ReSound hearing aids in December 2010. “This Christmas, I got the best gift of all – the gift of sound.”
For more information on how you can support Help America Hear, visit www.gnresound.com/helpamericahear or talk to your ReSound representative.
About ReSound
ReSound is the industry technology leader in hearing solutions. Since the company’s inception in 1943, ReSound has been responsible for a number of hearing industry firsts, including Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC), Digital Feedback Suppression (DFS) and the first open-standard digital chip. Headquartered in Ballerup, Denmark, GN ReSound is part of The GN ReSound Group, one of the world’s largest provider of hearing instruments and diagnostic audiological instrumentation. For more information about ReSound, visit www.gnresound.com
Monday, March 7, 2011
Age-Related Hearing Loss and Flolate in Elderly
Alexandria, VA - Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), one of the four most prevalent chronic conditions in the elderly, is associated with low serum levels of folic acid, according to new research published in the December 2010 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.
Hearing loss is a major public health problem globally, with more than 28 million Americans between the ages of 60 and 74 dealing with the loss. Despite the high prevalence of hearing impairment, the biological basis of age-related hearing loss is unknown. In the current study, findings show that low serum levels of folic acid among elderly people are significantly associated with hearing loss in high frequencies.
"Based on our research, age-related hearing loss may be associated with poor micronutrient status. The role of folate in cellular metabolism, the nervous system, and vascular function are important for the auditory system," said study author Akeem Olawale Lasisi, MBChB, FWACS, FMCORL.
The study included face-to-face interviews with 126 elderly Nigerian men and women above 60 years old who had no known medical conditions and had been examined by physicians. The study excluded those who were found to have a history of diabetes, stroke, hypertension, ear diseases, ear infections, ear trauma, ear surgery, or exposure to noise and ototoxic drugs such as aminoglycosides, antibiotics, and diuretics.
The main finding of the study was that low serum levels of folic acid were significantly associated with high-frequency hearing loss in the elderly. In medically underserved populations like that in the study, relatively low levels of vitamin intake can be expected. That suggests a need, say the authors, for continuing study into the role of vitamins in auditory function, particularly in developing countries where malnutrition is rife.
Hearing loss is a major public health problem globally, with more than 28 million Americans between the ages of 60 and 74 dealing with the loss. Despite the high prevalence of hearing impairment, the biological basis of age-related hearing loss is unknown. In the current study, findings show that low serum levels of folic acid among elderly people are significantly associated with hearing loss in high frequencies.
"Based on our research, age-related hearing loss may be associated with poor micronutrient status. The role of folate in cellular metabolism, the nervous system, and vascular function are important for the auditory system," said study author Akeem Olawale Lasisi, MBChB, FWACS, FMCORL.
The study included face-to-face interviews with 126 elderly Nigerian men and women above 60 years old who had no known medical conditions and had been examined by physicians. The study excluded those who were found to have a history of diabetes, stroke, hypertension, ear diseases, ear infections, ear trauma, ear surgery, or exposure to noise and ototoxic drugs such as aminoglycosides, antibiotics, and diuretics.
The main finding of the study was that low serum levels of folic acid were significantly associated with high-frequency hearing loss in the elderly. In medically underserved populations like that in the study, relatively low levels of vitamin intake can be expected. That suggests a need, say the authors, for continuing study into the role of vitamins in auditory function, particularly in developing countries where malnutrition is rife.
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