Buying Advice for Kids’ Headphones

July 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

One thing you can look forward to if you have kids is that sooner or later they will ask you to buy them some headphones to work with their music players, game systems and computers. And there are valid reasons for this, because headphones can enhance the experience with these multimedia, but at the same time there are certain characteristics you should look for when you buy.

An important feature that most buyers would not normally consider is making sure that the headphones fit correctly. Headphones which are intended for grownups are made for their full-sized heads, and will not simply not fit the right way on kids, they won’t provide a complete spectrum of sound to them. You should not rationalize the size difference by believing that the kids will grow into them. In reality, the constant fidgeting and adjusting will probably result in a shorter life due to breakage. Headsets made for children are developed with a growing child in mind. Most have an adjustable head band which allows your child to obtain a perfect fit now and for years to come.

The most crucial characteristic you should look for, however, is that the headphones are equipped with some type of Sound Limiting Technology. By nature, children will use the highest possible volume settings to completely immerse themselves in the experience. Parents recognize that this is a very terrible idea which could contribute to future loss of hearing. Seeking out headphones that have a volume limits built in – somewhere around 80 to 85 decibels – is the most effective way to combat this tendency. This recommendation is just as true for ear buds or similar devices that one inserts into the outer ear canal as it is for over-the-ear headphones.

A different thing take into consideration is durability and sturdiness, because kids are hard on delicate things, and certain headphones can be very fragileindeed. Refer to consumer guides or parents’ magazines to learn which models of headphones have a reputation for durability and for lasting a long time. Make sure you balance this desire for durability with a bias toward light weight, however because you don’t want your kids to be wearing headphones that are too heavy for their body and head.

Whichever model headphones you go with, make an effort to restrict your children’s use of them to just a couple hours daily. Being inundated by sound all day, even if the earbuds or headphones restrict the volume level, can still create subtle damage to youngster’s sensitive ears.

Filed Under: Preventative Care Tagged With: , , ,

Swimmer’s Ear Prevention and Treatment

June 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Swimmer’s ear, officially known as acute external otitis, is an infection of the outer ear canal (the area outside your eardrum). It was given the name “swimmer’s ear” because it is frequently a result of water remaining in the outer ear after swimming, which creates a damp environment which promotes the growth of bacteria. Swimmer’s ear can also be triggered by putting your fingers, cotton swabs, or other foreign objects into the ears, because they can scuff or injure the delicate ear canal lining, leaving it open to an opportunistic infection. Luckily for us swimmer’s ear is easily treated. If untreated, swimmer’s ear can cause severe complications so it is important to identify the signs and symptoms of the infection.

Swimmer’s ear develops due to the ear’s natural protection mechanisms (which include the glands that secrete ear wax or cerumen) becoming overloaded. Moisture in the ears, sensitivity reactions, and scrapes to the ear canal lining can all encourage bacterial growth, and cause infection. Specific activities will increase your likelihood of getting swimmer’s ear. Swimming (obviously), use of inside-the-ear devices (including hearing aids or ear buds), overly aggressive cleaning of the ear canal and allergies all increase your risk of infection.

Itching inside the ear, slight discomfort or pain which is worsened by pulling on the ear, redness and an odorless, clear liquid draining from the ear are typical signs of a mild swimmer’s ear infection. Severe itching, heightened pain and discharge of pus indicate a moderate case of swimmer’s ear. Extreme symptoms include severe pain (occasionally extending to other regions of the face, neck and head), fever, redness or swelling of the outer ear or lymph nodes, and actual blockage of the ear canal. If left untreated, complications from swimmer’s ear can be very serious. Complications might include short-term hearing loss, long-term ear infections, deep tissue infections which may spread to other parts of the body, and cartilage or bone loss. Therefore if you experience even the milder indicators of swimmer’s ear, it’s a wise decision to visit your doctor immediately.

Doctors usually diagnose swimmer’s ear after a visual exam with a lighted instrument called an otoscope. They will also check at the same time to see if there is any damage to the eardrum itself. Physicians usually treat swimmer’s ear by first cleaning the ears thoroughly, and then by prescribing eardrops to fight the infection. If the infection is serious, your physician may also prescribe oral antibiotics to help combat it.

To avoid swimmer’s ear, dry your ears completely after showering or swimming, avoid swimming in untreated water resources, and do not insert foreign objects into your ears to clean them.

Filed Under: Common Conditions of the Ear Tagged With: , , ,

Should You Repair Your Old Hearing Aid or Replace It?

June 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

One of the most common questions we hear is, “My hearing aid is damaged or is not functioning the same way it used to – do you think I should replace it and buy a new one, or have it fixed?” Provided with only that much information, we have to answer truthfully, “That depends.” It is really an individual choice, and the “correct answer” is as individual as the individuals who ask it.

It is worthwhile to state upfront, that all hearing aids, irrespective of their original price or quality, can be expected to break down at some point. Why? Primarily due to sustained use in an inhospitable environment containing moisture and ear wax. Ear wax is normal and necessary because it safeguards the sensitive lining of the outer ear, but it can be hard on hearing aids; water that is left in the ears after showering or swimming can be even harder on them. Additionally, there is always the chance of breakage from an accident or dropping the hearing aids, and the inner tubing and other parts inevitably wear out with time, so after several years you can count on your aids needing repair or replacement.

Likely the major thing you should consider when making the “repair or replace” decision is how you feel about your current hearing aids – do you like them, and the sound they deliver? If you like them and are familiar with the sound that they generate or really like the fit, repair could be the better option for you.

One more consideration, of course, is cost – brand new hearing aids might cost thousands of dollars, but fixing your present aids may cost only a couple of hundred dollars. The part we can’t answer in this article is the influence of insurance. A few insurance policies cover replacements, but not repairs or have different policies on full or partial coverage.

If you decide to pursue a repair, the next logical question is “Should I take them back to where I purchased them?”Although you could choose to deal with a remote repair laboratory directly, your local audiologist is a marvelous resource. To begin with, they can establish if repairs are in fact necessary. Second, they may be able to get the repairs done on-site decreasing the amount of time you do not have your hearing aid. For hearing aid repairs that cannot be completed locally, your hearing professional will take care of the shipping, paperwork and lab directions for you. Because they work in volume with suppliers, their prices may be the same or better than you could get yourself.

Far more options are open to those who choose to replace their existing hearing aids. It is advisable to be open-minded about new designs and technologies understanding that anything different takes some getting used to. Newer hearing aids are more compact and offer superior programability to achieve the sound quality you want. So the choice whether to “replace or repair” is still yours to make, but we hope this information will assist you.

Filed Under: Caring for Your Hearing Aid Tagged With: , ,

Tinnitus in Your Ears? Music Can Help You

June 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Sound is an integral part of our world, but like most things, its impact on us depends on both the quality of the sounds we hear, and the quantity of them. Listening to music can be soothing and relaxing, but it can also be annoying and irritating if the volume is excessive.

When it comes to music and other sounds, quality is subjective, one that depends on individual preferences; the quantity of it (as measured by volume, in decibels), however, is incredibly objective, and can be measured. We know that when people are exposed to very loud sounds or music above a specific decibel level for prolonged amounts of time, those sounds can harm the miniature hair cells in our ears, and cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). It has been estimated that in our raucous society, as many as one in five Americans have developed some amount of tinnitus (a constant ringing in the ears) or other forms of hearing loss as the result of NIHL. Even muted sounds below 10 decibels (half the volume of a whisper) may cause stress and anxiety if you are exposed to them long enough; have you ever been kept awake at night by the sound of a dripping faucet or ticking clock?

But despite the fact that sound can be a cause of stress and hearing damage, it can also be a tool to treat the effects of hearing damage. Many people have experienced the soothing effects of soft music, the relaxing sound of falling water or ocean surf, or the meditative sounds of chanting or Tibetan singing bowls. Increasingly, these types of sounds are being used by psychologists to treat anxiety rather than create it, and by audiologists to treat hearing problems such as tinnitus rather than cause them. In hospitals and clinical situations, music therapy has been successfully used to accelerate recovery from operations, to aid stroke victims during their recovery, and to impede the development of Alzheimer’s dementia. People have successfully used white noise generators (which create a blend of frequencies similar to the sound of ocean surf) to help people conquer insomnia and sleep disorders, and to reduce their perceived awareness of background sounds in noisy environments.

More specifically related to hearing loss, sound and music therapy is being used more and more to treat tinnitus by creating what specialists call a threshold shift, which allows tinnitus patients to psychologically disguise the constant buzzing or ringing sounds they hear. By using specialized tones or carefully chosen music tracks, hearing specialists have been able to teach tinnitus patients to retrain their minds to choose the sounds they want to hear over the ringing sounds caused by the tinnitus. It’s not as if the ringing disappears; it’s more that the music therapy has allowed them to focus their attention somewhere else, and thus no longer feel the anxiety and stress that tinnitus causes.

For tinnitus sufferers seeking new remedies, music therapy is worth looking at. Give us a call to go over your specific situation.

Filed Under: Tinnitus Tagged With: , , , ,

Are Hearing Impairment and Alzheimer’s Connected?

June 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

If you have some type of hearing impairment, do you ever find that listening to people speak is work, and that you need to try hard to understand what people say? You are not alone. The feeling that listening and understanding is tiring work is typical among individuals with hearing loss – even those that wear hearing aids.

Unfortunately, the repercussions of this sensation may not be limited to loss of hearing function; it may also be related to declines in cognitive abilities. In the latest studies, researchers have discovered that hearing loss substantially raises your chances of developing Alzheimer’s and dementia.

A 16-year research study of this link from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine included 639 participants between the ages of 36 and 90. The data indicated that 58 study volunteers – 9 percent – had developed dementia and 37 – 6% – had developed Alzheimer’s. The degree of hearing loss was positively correlated with the likelihood of developing either condition. For every ten decibel further hearing loss, the risk of developing dementia increased 20%.

A different 16-year research study with 1,984 participants revealed a similar connection between dementia and hearing loss, but also identified noticeable decline in cognitive function in the hearing-impaired. In comparison to individuals with normal hearing, those with hearing impairment developed memory loss 40 percent faster. A vital, but disconcerting, conclusion in each of the two studies was that the negative cognitive effects were not diminished by using hearing aids. A number of hypotheses have been put forth to explain this apparent relationship between hearing loss and loss of cognitive performance. One of these explanations is related to the question that began this article, about having to work harder to hear; this has been termed cognitive overload. The cognitive overload theory suggests that the hearing-impaired individual expends so much brain energy trying to hear, that the brain is tired and has a diminished capacity to comprehend and absorb verbal information. Maintaining a two-way conversation requires comprehension. A lack of understanding causes conversations to break down and might bring about social isolation. Another idea is that neither hearing loss nor dementia cause the other, but that they’re both linked to an as-yet-undiscovered disease mechanism – possibly vascular, possibly genetic, possibly environmental – that causes both.

Although the person with hearing impairment probably finds these study results dismaying, there is a bright side with valuable lessons to be derived from them.If you wear hearing aids, visit your audiologist regularly to keep them fitted, adjusted, and programmed correctly, so that you are not straining to hear. The less effort used in the mechanics of hearing, the more brain power available for comprehension. Also, if hearing loss is related to dementia, knowing this may bring about interventional techniques that can avert its development.

Filed Under: Hearing Loss Tagged With: , , , ,

In Truth, What is a Normal Life for Hearing Aid Batteries Under Real-Life Conditions

May 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Even though the battery life for hearing aids might seem a straightforward question to answer, in truth it varies according to a variety of factors. Just how long a battery lasts is dependent upon who manufactured it, and may even vary between different hearing aid models from the exact same manufacturer. How you use your hearing aid will also affect battery life; the more hours a day yours is turned on, the more often you will use up batteries.

Additionally, there are differences in battery life across battery manufacturers, and the exact same manufacturer may offer different lines of batteries, some that last for a longer period of time than others. Battery life also hinges on battery type; for example some varieties are only being drained when they are inside a hearing aid that is switched on, and other varieties (such as, zinc-air batteries) start losing stored energy as soon as you take away the adhesive strip on the bottom of the battery and they’re in contact with oxygen, whether the hearing aid is on or not.

If you are in the market for a new hearing aid, you may wish to do some research in advance to see which have the best ratings for battery life, because that could influence your decision about which type or which model of hearing aid to purchase. In the same way, a little time invested in research may help you uncover better batteries for your existing hearing aids. To make things somewhat easier for you, hearing aid batteries are available in 4 common sizes, each of which is marked with a specific color code, which is always the same no matter who the manufacturer is. The following list of battery life is an approximation, of course, but it may give you a general idea of how long hearing aid batteries of each size should last:

  • 80 hours – #10 – Yellow
  • 175 hours – #312 – Brown
  • 240 hours – #13 – Orange
  • 300 hours – #675 – Blue

To ensure the longest life for your batteries when they’re in the hearing aid, turn the hearing aid off when you are not wearing it. And to make sure batteries you’ve already bought but have not used yet stay fresh and retain their power as long as possible, store them indoors in their original unopened packages, and at room temperature.

Filed Under: Caring for Your Hearing Aid Tagged With: , , ,

Promising Research Into Regenerating Inner Ear Hair Cells

May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Many of the problems that cause hearing problems in our patients cannot be reversed which can be quite frustrating for our hearing professionals. One of the main reasons for hearing loss, for example, is damage to the tiny hair cells in our inner ears that vibrate in reaction to sound waves. These vibrations are interpreted by the brain into what we call hearing.

The sensitivity of these tiny hair cells enables them to vibrate in such a manner, and thus makes it possible for us to hear, but their very sensitivity makes them extremely fragile, and at risk of damage. This damage may occur as the result of aging, certain medications, infections, and by extended exposure to high-volume noises, resulting in noise-induced hearing loss. In humans, once these hair cells are damaged or destroyed, they cannot be regenerated or “fixed.” Since we cannot reverse the damage, hearing professionals and audiologists turn to technology instead. We make up for hearing loss due to inner ear hair cell damage with hearing aids and cochlear implants.

This would not be true if humans were more like fish and chickens. Unlike humans, some fish species and birds have the ability to regenerate their damaged inner ear hair cells and regain their lost hearing. Bizarre, but true. Zebra fish and chickens are just 2 examples of species that have the capacity to automatically replicate and replace their damaged inner ear hair cells, thus allowing them to fully recover from hearing loss.

While it is crucial to point out at the outset that the following research is in its beginning stages and that no practical benefits for humans have yet been achieved, sizeable breakthroughs in the treatment of hearing loss may come in the future as the result of the innovative Hearing Restoration Project (HRP). The not-for-profit organization, Hearing Health Foundation, is currently conducting research at laboratories in Canada and the United States Working to isolate the molecules that allow the replication and regeneration in some animals, HRP researchers hope to find some way to stimulate human inner ear hair cells to do the same.

Because there are so many distinct compounds involved in the regeneration process – some that facilitate replication, some that hinder it – the scientists’ work is slow-moving and challenging. But their hope is that if they can identify the molecules that stimulate this regeneration process to happen in avian and fish cochlea, they can find a way to stimulate it to happen in human cochlea. Some of the HRP researchers are pursuing gene therapies as a way to stimulate such regrowth, while others are working on stem cell-based approaches.

Although this work is still in the early stages, our staff wishes them quick success so that their results can be extended to humans. Absolutely nothing would be more satisfying than to be able to offer our hearing loss patients a true cure.

Filed Under: Anatomy and Physiology Tagged With: , , , , ,

Should You Stop Wearing Hearing Aids in Loud Conditions – Could They Further Impair Your Hearing?

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

A standard patient question is whether their hearing aid will increase sounds which can be already too loud, making those sounds louder still. The answer to this common question is very reassuring.

The basic answer is that present day hearing aids won’t increase sounds that are already excessively loud making them even louder, thus potentially harming the wearer’s hearing even further, provided that they’re correctly fitted and adjusted. The phrase in bold type is the critical part, and the reason why you need to seek professional help with choosing and fitting your hearing aids.

The more complex answer has to do with the nature of modern digital hearing aids themselves, and how they work. Digital hearing aids receive sounds through their microphones and turn them into binary information that can then be processed by the hearing aid’s microchip before it is sent to the earphones. These digital hearing aids can be programmed, allowing audiologists to not only set a maximum volume that suits you, but to transform the nature of the sounds you hear. If you have primarily high-frequency hearing loss, for example, we might program the hearing aid to amplify those sounds while reducing the volume of lower-frequency sounds. This preference can be reversed, of course, if you suffer from primarily low-frequency hearing loss.

The newest digital hearing aids can also filter sounds to make them easier for you to understand. For example, if foreground voices are obscured by background noise, the hearing aid can detect the noise and suppress it or lower its volume, amplifying only the voices. The hearing aids can also be adjusted to dynamically compensate for differences in volume; if the speaker or music you are listening to starts softly but then increases and becomes too loud, the hearing aid can compensate for this. This process is aided by directional microphones that can detect where sounds are coming from and thus reduce the volume of background noise coming from behind or to the sides while increasing the volume of sounds coming from in front of you.

An important point to remember is that hearing aids will not protect your ears from loud sounds like earplugs do. Noise-induced hearing loss can still be caused by loud sounds such as chainsaws or overly amplified rock concerts. But in most situations your properly fitted and programmed hearing aid should handle most of the range of sounds you’re likely to encounter.

Filed Under: Choosing a Hearing Aid Tagged With: , ,

How Does the Classification of Hearing Problems Operate?

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Hearing loss can take many different forms and occur from a number of causes, and to understand them you must understand the way we hear. Along with the eardrum and the ear canal, the outer ear is the portion of the ear on the exterior of the head which collects sounds. The eardrum can also be viewed as part of the middle ear, an area that also includes the 3 tiny bones called ossicles that carry the vibrations of sound and send them to the inner ear. The inner ear has three key parts – the cochlea, the 2 semi-circular canals (important for balance) and the acoustic nerves which send the sound signals to the brain. All of this is incredibly sophisticated and delicate, and a problem in any section can lead to hearing loss. Hearing loss is usually split into four primary classifications.

Conductive hearing loss is due to something hindering the transmission of sound in the outer or middle ear. This form of hearing loss can often be remedied by medication or a surgical procedure; if surgery isn’t a possibility, it can be treated with hearing aids.

Damage to the inner ear, including the cochlea, hair cells lining the inner ear, or the acoustic nerves is called sensorineural hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss can usually not be treated using medication or surgery, but its effects can be minimized using hearing aids to allow the person to hear more normally.

The third classification is mixed hearing loss, which is a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, and which can often be treated using the same combinations of surgery, medication, and hearing aids.

Central hearing loss occurs when sound enters the ear normally, but because of damage either to the inner ear (especially to the cochlea) or to the auditory nerves, it cannot be organized in a way that the brain can understand.

Each of these four main classifications contain several sub-categories, such as the degree of hearing loss, which can be mid-level, moderate, severe, or profound. Additional sub-categories include whether the hearing loss occurs in one ear or both ears (unilateral vs. bilateral), whether it occurs at the same degree in both ears (symmetrical vs. asymmetrical), and whether the hearing loss happened before or after the person learned to speak (pre-lingual vs post-lingual). Additional sub-categories of hearing loss includes whether it is progressive vs. sudden, whether the hearing loss is fluctuating vs. stable, and whether the hearing loss was present at birth (congenital) or developed later in life (acquired). If you suffer from any of these forms of hearing loss, our specialists can help to diagnose it and then to treat it most effectively.

Filed Under: Hearing Loss Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Picking the Right Cell Phone if You Use a Hearing Aid

April 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Hearing aids have not in the past always worked well with cellular phones, because of electronic interference between the 2 devices that caused static, whistling or squealing noises, or lost words. Fortunately, improvements in technology and new government regulations have made the question “Will this phone work with my hearing aid?” simpler to answer. The regulations mandated new labeling requirements and ratings that help you to easily find a mobile phone that works well with your hearing aid.

To understand how this rating system works, you should first understand the two modes that hearing aids work in – M mode (for microphone) and T mode (for telecoil). In M mode, your hearing aid uses its built-in microphone to pick up audible sounds from the environment and amplify them so that you can hear them. In T mode, the hearing aid instead uses an inductive process to pick up electromagnetic signals inside the phone directly, without the need for a microphone. Roughly 60 percent of all mobile phones sold in the US have a telecoil (T) mode.

Under the new regulations, these two modes of operation have ratings that range from 1 (the lowest sensitivity) to 4 (the highest sensitivity). To be sold in the United States as hearing aid compatible (HAC), a mobile phone or cordless handset must have a rating of at least M3 or T3.

In addition, many hearing aids (and cochlear implants) have a similar M and T rating to measure their sensitivity and their resistance to radio frequency interference. When shopping for a phone, to determine its compatibility with your hearing aid, simply add its M and T ratings together with those of the phone to create a combined rating. A sum of 6 or more makes a solid pairing. That hearing aid and mobile phone combination should work well for you. If the combined rating is 5, this combination is considered normal and suitable for most regular phone use. A combined rating of 4 is considered usable for brief calls, but may not be suitable for extended phone use.

If you are shopping for a mobile phone online, you can usually use this combined rating to determine how compatible the phone you are interested in buying will be with your hearing aid. In the end, nothing beats a real world test so you may want to wear your hearing aid to the cell phone shop and test out a few different phone in real conditions.

Filed Under: Hearing Aids Tagged With: , , ,
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