Visit our website to download your free copy of the guide.
Showing posts with label hearing aids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hearing aids. Show all posts
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Your Guide to Care and Maintenance of Hearing Aids
Visit our website to download your free copy of the guide.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Seven Reasons You Hear Better With Two Ears
It is called binaural listening: bi for two; and aural for ears. The human hearing mechanism is the most advanced stereophonic wonder known to man. With all of its amazing accuracy and versatility, it provides the listener with space perception, depth perception and balance.
Hearing does not happen in your ears, it happens in your brain. Your brain requires reliable information from your ears in order to decipher sound. Using just one hearing aid when hearing test results indicate that two are needed reduces your brain's chances of hearing and understanding by 50 percent, as well as removes your ability to perceive depth and space. Here are seven reasons to wear two hearing aids if indicated by your hearing test:
1. Less power needed when two hearing aids are worn. When your ears work together, lower volume settings are required for comfortable hearing. You will experience greater efficiency and clarity with two hearing aids as compared to monaural listening. The reduced need for power saves your hearing from damage caused by excessive amplification. The benefits are that loud sounds are more comfortable and listening is less stressful.
2. Stereo listening gives depth perception. Anyone who has enjoyed music in stereo, compared to mono, knows the difference. Mono makes all sounds seem shallow, flat, and unnatural. Your brain has the ability to hear in stereo but to do so requires that sounds be delivered by both ears. Not only are sounds more natural, they can also be understood more clearly.
3. Detecting sound direction saves embarrassment and saves lives. A one-eared listener is always wondering "where is that sound coming from?" when someone speaks. He can also never tell from which direction the screeching automobile is coming, unless he sees it. Hearing with two ears gives you the ability to know sound direction. Binaural listening gives the listener a sens of location and the ability to locate sounds not only horizontally but also but also vertically, 360 degrees in all directions.
4. Good manners takes two ears. One-eared listeners may be considered rude because they tend to ignore the speaker on their unaided side. In business and social situations binaural hearing aids can be your best ally for being the best listener possible.
5. Give your brain what it needs for auditory intelligence. The two halves of your brain work in harmony to give you an auditory image. Just as your brain converts the two images your two eyes see into a single picture, the same special perception happens with your two ears. It is the different signal each ear sends to your brain that makes this perception possible. The ears' sound signals travel up the brain stem via complicated pathways. Some cross over and eventually stimulate the opposite side of the brain. Other stimulate the same side. These complex patterns of stimulation make up auditory intelligence. If the two halves aren't sharing their signals, auditory intelligence is reduced. Binaural hearing aids help the ears get the messages to both sides of the brain, thus increasing your auditory intelligence.
6. Two ears hear better in noise. Whenever several people are talking at the same time, such as in a restaurant, it becomes more difficult to understand the one person at the table with you. The one-eared listener hears all of the voices blending together. Voice discrimination in noise is difficult with two ears and becomes impossible with only one. Binaural hearing aids give the best advantage to hearing in noise.
7. Quality of sound is better quality of life. The majority of hearing aid users who have worn both binaural and monaural hearing aids report a significant difference in sound quality. The vast majority of people who now use binaural hearing aids will tell you that listening with two aided ears is the only way to fully enjoy the 3D world we live in. The advantages of superior sound over the burden of persistently poor sound should not be underestimated. Seize the opportunity to enhance your listening quality, should your test results indicate two hearing aids are needed.
Hearing does not happen in your ears, it happens in your brain. Your brain requires reliable information from your ears in order to decipher sound. Using just one hearing aid when hearing test results indicate that two are needed reduces your brain's chances of hearing and understanding by 50 percent, as well as removes your ability to perceive depth and space. Here are seven reasons to wear two hearing aids if indicated by your hearing test:
1. Less power needed when two hearing aids are worn. When your ears work together, lower volume settings are required for comfortable hearing. You will experience greater efficiency and clarity with two hearing aids as compared to monaural listening. The reduced need for power saves your hearing from damage caused by excessive amplification. The benefits are that loud sounds are more comfortable and listening is less stressful.
2. Stereo listening gives depth perception. Anyone who has enjoyed music in stereo, compared to mono, knows the difference. Mono makes all sounds seem shallow, flat, and unnatural. Your brain has the ability to hear in stereo but to do so requires that sounds be delivered by both ears. Not only are sounds more natural, they can also be understood more clearly.
3. Detecting sound direction saves embarrassment and saves lives. A one-eared listener is always wondering "where is that sound coming from?" when someone speaks. He can also never tell from which direction the screeching automobile is coming, unless he sees it. Hearing with two ears gives you the ability to know sound direction. Binaural listening gives the listener a sens of location and the ability to locate sounds not only horizontally but also but also vertically, 360 degrees in all directions.
4. Good manners takes two ears. One-eared listeners may be considered rude because they tend to ignore the speaker on their unaided side. In business and social situations binaural hearing aids can be your best ally for being the best listener possible.
5. Give your brain what it needs for auditory intelligence. The two halves of your brain work in harmony to give you an auditory image. Just as your brain converts the two images your two eyes see into a single picture, the same special perception happens with your two ears. It is the different signal each ear sends to your brain that makes this perception possible. The ears' sound signals travel up the brain stem via complicated pathways. Some cross over and eventually stimulate the opposite side of the brain. Other stimulate the same side. These complex patterns of stimulation make up auditory intelligence. If the two halves aren't sharing their signals, auditory intelligence is reduced. Binaural hearing aids help the ears get the messages to both sides of the brain, thus increasing your auditory intelligence.
6. Two ears hear better in noise. Whenever several people are talking at the same time, such as in a restaurant, it becomes more difficult to understand the one person at the table with you. The one-eared listener hears all of the voices blending together. Voice discrimination in noise is difficult with two ears and becomes impossible with only one. Binaural hearing aids give the best advantage to hearing in noise.
7. Quality of sound is better quality of life. The majority of hearing aid users who have worn both binaural and monaural hearing aids report a significant difference in sound quality. The vast majority of people who now use binaural hearing aids will tell you that listening with two aided ears is the only way to fully enjoy the 3D world we live in. The advantages of superior sound over the burden of persistently poor sound should not be underestimated. Seize the opportunity to enhance your listening quality, should your test results indicate two hearing aids are needed.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
How does sweat affect my hearing aids?
Sweat can damage your hearing instruments and/or shorten their life. Recently Sonic Innovations published a technical paper comparing their two high performance hearing instruments with other products in the industry for moisture resistance. What I found most interesting was that sweat damages the battery which in turn releases chemicals that damage the electronics in your instruments. The article isn't very long, only four pages, and is available here to download.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Are Assistive Listening Devices Only For Hearing Aid Users?
No. People with all degrees and types of hearing loss — even people with normal hearing can benefit from assistive listening devices. Some assistive listening devices are used with hearing aids; some are used without hearing aids.
Background Noise
Virtually all patients wearing hearing aids complain about background noise at one time or another. There is no way to completely eliminate background noise.
Remember, when you had normal hearing there were still times when background noise was a problem. It is no different now, even with properly fit hearing aids! The good news is there are circuits and features that help to reduce (or minimize) background noise and other unwanted sounds. In fact, there are research findings that demonstrate digital hearing aids with particular circuit and microphone options can effectively reduce background noises. Please speak with your audiologist about this.
Many early digitally programmable (and even some digital) circuits, which claimed to reduce or eliminate background noise, actually filtered out low frequency sounds. This indeed made the sounds appear quieter, however, not only was the background noise made quieter, but so too, was the signal (the speech sound).
Newer ways to reduce background noise are based on timing and amplitude cues and other noise processing strategies, which 100% digital hearing aids can incorporate. These methods work, but are not perfect. Directional microphones are available and are useful as they help to focus the amplification in front of you, or towards the origin of the sound source. Directional hearing aids can offer a better signal-to-noise ratio in difficult listening situations by reducing a little bit of the noise from the sides or behind you. In most 100% digital hearing aids, the noise control features help make noise more tolerable, but do not completely eliminate the noise.
The best and most efficient way to eliminate or reduce background noise is through the use of FM technology. Please speak with your audiologist about this.
Remember, when you had normal hearing there were still times when background noise was a problem. It is no different now, even with properly fit hearing aids! The good news is there are circuits and features that help to reduce (or minimize) background noise and other unwanted sounds. In fact, there are research findings that demonstrate digital hearing aids with particular circuit and microphone options can effectively reduce background noises. Please speak with your audiologist about this.
Many early digitally programmable (and even some digital) circuits, which claimed to reduce or eliminate background noise, actually filtered out low frequency sounds. This indeed made the sounds appear quieter, however, not only was the background noise made quieter, but so too, was the signal (the speech sound).
Newer ways to reduce background noise are based on timing and amplitude cues and other noise processing strategies, which 100% digital hearing aids can incorporate. These methods work, but are not perfect. Directional microphones are available and are useful as they help to focus the amplification in front of you, or towards the origin of the sound source. Directional hearing aids can offer a better signal-to-noise ratio in difficult listening situations by reducing a little bit of the noise from the sides or behind you. In most 100% digital hearing aids, the noise control features help make noise more tolerable, but do not completely eliminate the noise.
The best and most efficient way to eliminate or reduce background noise is through the use of FM technology. Please speak with your audiologist about this.
Hearing and Vision and Communication
To maximally communicate, you need to use hearing from both ears (binaural hearing) and you need to use your eyes and ears together. You will not communicate well using your hearing aids alone. To facilitate optimal communication, you will need to pay attention to the speaker's gestures and facial expressions! To maximize communication remember to watch the person speaking, reduce the distance between the speaker and the listener, reduce or eliminate background noises from the listening environment and use good lighting. If someone is speaking to you from across the room, while the TV is on, while doing the dishes, it will be very difficult to adequately communicate, despite fantastic hearing aids!
Hearing Your Own Voice With Hearing Aids
When you wear hearing aids for the first time, you will probably notice your voice sounds funny! You will hear your voice amplified through the hearing aid. You may describe this sensation as feeling “plugged up” or hearing your voice echoing. This is normal and will usually go away in a few days after you have given yourself a chance to get accustomed to your new hearing aids and learned to adjust the volume control. There are adjustments that the audiologist can do to relieve these symptoms, should these persist beyond the first few days of wearing your new aids.
Realistic Expectations
Hearing aids work very well when fit and adjusted appropriately. They amplify sound! You might find that you like one hearing aid better than the other. The left and right hearing aids will probably not fit exactly the same and they probably won't sound exactly the same. Nonetheless, hearing aids should be comfortable with respect to the physical fit and sound quality. Hearing aids do not restore normal hearing and are not as good as normal hearing. You will be aware of the hearing aids in your ears. Until you get used to it, your voice will sound “funny” when you wear hearing aids. Hearing aids should not to be worn in extremely noisy environments. Some hearing aids have features that make noisy environments more tolerable, however, hearing aids cannot eliminate background noise.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Hearing Aid Compatibility With Cell Phones
Millions of people who wear hearing aids have a difficult time with the use of cell phones. The problem is the way that sound is emitted over a wireless network. The conversation is transmitted using radio waves creating an electromagnetic field around the cell phone. These radio waves or radio frequency emissions (RF) interfere with the desired signal.
Do I Need Two Hearing Aids?
Basically, if you have two ears with hearing loss that could benefit from hearing aids, you need two hearing aids. It is important to realize there are no "normal" animals born with only one ear. Simply stated, you have two ears because you need two ears. If we try to amplify sound in only one ear, you cannot expect to do very well. Even the best hearing aid will sound "flat" or "dull" when worn in only one ear.
Assuming you have two ears that hear about the same, you can do a little experiment at home to better understand how important binaural hearing is:
First, gently close just one ear, by simply pressing the little fleshy part in the front of your ear canal (the tragus) into your ear canal -- a little. Do not apply pressure, do not hurt yourself. Just close the ear canal to eliminate sound from entering the ear. The idea is to close that ear for about ten minutes while you watch TV or listen to the radio, or speak with your spouse. Then, after a full ten minutes, remove your finger. What an amazing difference!
There are many advantages associated with binaural (two ear) listening and importantly, there are problems associated with wearing only one hearing aid -- if you are indeed a candidate for binaural amplification.
Localization (knowing where the sound came from) is only possible with two ears, and just about impossible with one ear. Localization is not just a sound quality issue; it may also be a safety issue. Think about how important it is to know where warning and safety sounds (sirens, screams, babies crying, etc) are coming from. Using both ears together also impacts how well you hear in noise because binaural hearing permits you to selectively attend to the desired signal, while "squelching" or paying less attention to undesired sounds such as background noise.
Binaural hearing allows a quality of "spaciousness" or "high fidelity" to sounds, which cannot occur with monaural (one ear) listening. Understanding speech clearly, particularly in challenging and noisy situations, is easier while using both ears. Additionally, using two hearing aids allows people to speak with you from either side of your head - not just your "good" side!
People cannot hear well using only one ear. There are studies in the research literature that show that children with one normal ear and one "deaf" ear are ten times more likely to repeat a grade as compared to children with two normally hearing ears. Additionally, we know that if you have two ears with hearing impairment, and you wear only one hearing aid, the unaided ear is likely to lose word recognition ability more quickly than the ear wearing the hearing aid.
Assuming you have two ears that hear about the same, you can do a little experiment at home to better understand how important binaural hearing is:
First, gently close just one ear, by simply pressing the little fleshy part in the front of your ear canal (the tragus) into your ear canal -- a little. Do not apply pressure, do not hurt yourself. Just close the ear canal to eliminate sound from entering the ear. The idea is to close that ear for about ten minutes while you watch TV or listen to the radio, or speak with your spouse. Then, after a full ten minutes, remove your finger. What an amazing difference!
There are many advantages associated with binaural (two ear) listening and importantly, there are problems associated with wearing only one hearing aid -- if you are indeed a candidate for binaural amplification.
Localization (knowing where the sound came from) is only possible with two ears, and just about impossible with one ear. Localization is not just a sound quality issue; it may also be a safety issue. Think about how important it is to know where warning and safety sounds (sirens, screams, babies crying, etc) are coming from. Using both ears together also impacts how well you hear in noise because binaural hearing permits you to selectively attend to the desired signal, while "squelching" or paying less attention to undesired sounds such as background noise.
Binaural hearing allows a quality of "spaciousness" or "high fidelity" to sounds, which cannot occur with monaural (one ear) listening. Understanding speech clearly, particularly in challenging and noisy situations, is easier while using both ears. Additionally, using two hearing aids allows people to speak with you from either side of your head - not just your "good" side!
People cannot hear well using only one ear. There are studies in the research literature that show that children with one normal ear and one "deaf" ear are ten times more likely to repeat a grade as compared to children with two normally hearing ears. Additionally, we know that if you have two ears with hearing impairment, and you wear only one hearing aid, the unaided ear is likely to lose word recognition ability more quickly than the ear wearing the hearing aid.
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