Ask the Audiologist – How do I clean my hearing aid?
Posted by HearingAids on October 29, 2010 under Ask The Audiologist Q&A, Hearing Aids | 
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Ask the Audiologist – Will QTips damage my hearing?
Posted by HearingAids on October 26, 2010 under Ask The Audiologist Q&A, Hearing Loss | Be the First to Comment
Dear HearingAids.com
I clean my ears with cutips every day, after I shower. Will that habit damage my hearing? What purpose does ear wax serve? Ok, and this part is gross: but what is the significance of the color and texture of your ear wax (being clear and oil-ish vs a deep yellow and thick)?
These really are my questions.haa Luckily I know about your blog and can ask! Thanks is advance!
Sincerely,
Vivian
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While Q-tips are very popular for cleaning ears, they can be very dangerous and are generally not recommended by hearing healthcare professionals. Earwax (cerumen) is made in the outer ear canal and is basically a mixture of 40 %secretions from cerumen glands, 40% dead skin sloughed off from canal skin, and 20% dust/dirt from our environment. This concoction presents itself in a variety of consistencies and colors based on genetics, age, and environment. The longer the earwax is exposed to air (“old” cerumen) the darker the color.
Ear wax is a good and useful “tool” of the human body as it is a natural deterrent to insects who might be looking for a home in the cozy and dark ear-canal space. Additionally, earwax will naturally keep the skin of the ear canal lubricated and free of dead skin sloughs. The ear canal hair naturally allows ear wax to migrate to the external ear canal entrance for easy removal with a washcloth.
- Suzanne
Ask the Audiologist – What is your opinon of Wow and Lyric Hearing Device
Posted by Alex on October 22, 2010 under Ask The Audiologist Q&A, Hearing Aids, Product Reviews | Be the First to Comment
Ask The Audiologist Question
Posted by HearingAids on October 20, 2010 under Ask The Audiologist Q&A, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss | Be the First to Comment
Hi.
I have a sister who has impaired hearing since she was little . She is
26 now and she bought the hearing aids . But it does work very well.
She said if she put them on . The value is higher, but she can’t hear
thing clearly, she felt even unclearer than before . What should we do
now ?
Pleasel reply .
Thank you
发自我的 iPhone
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If your sister has purchased hearing aids and is not hearing clearly, she needs go back to the provider for service. There could a number of things causing the problem:
1. It could be a programming issue – Most hearing aids can adjust the sound quality and/or clarity for a variety of different parameters such as loudness, pitch, as well as speech processing. The hearing health professional should be able to make a number of adjustments to find the best solution for your sister. It is a good idea to be as specific as possible about her experience thus far with the new hearing aids. Also, a qualified hearing care professional should be able to verify the response of the hearing aids and make sure that it is meeting the needs of her hearing loss. Often this process of verification can be done using Real-ear measurements or speech mapping. Ask the provider how they are verifying the fitting of your sister’s hearing aids.
2. Another reasons to follow-up with the provider is to review your sister’s expectations and the possible outcome she can expect with hearing aids. It is very important for the hearing provider to explain what is achievable with her hearing loss. Since hearing aids do not restore normal hearing, but provide an improvement, it is likely that your sister is expecting something that might not be possible based upon her hearing loss. Hearing aids will not give you back the hearing you once had, but should provide an improvement for her quality of life.
Keep in mind, this is a process, and as such requires retraining of the auditory system. With the technological improvements in digital hearing aids, we can now do marvelous things with amplification. Sometimes, an issue can be solved simply be approaching it by a different feature or technology. The best way is to explore these options with a qualified, licensed hearing care professional that you trust.
Ask the Audiologist – How to be a Mom to a kid with hearing aids
Posted by jonathan on October 15, 2010 under Ask The Audiologist Q&A, Hearing Aids | Be the First to Comment
Ask the Audiologist Question
Posted by Alex on October 11, 2010 under Ask The Audiologist Q&A, Hearing Loss, Prevention | Be the First to Comment
Christine R writes:
What if someone feels or knows they have a hearing loss but they choose not to treat it? Or what if they feel a loved one has a hearing loss but doesn’t address it? What are the consequences?
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Christine,
As the third most chronic health affliction in the US, it is sadly one of the most often neglected. Many people recognize that their hearing has changed but are reluctant to seek help. What many of us don’t realize is that impact that hearing loss can have on quality of life not only for the individual, but for everyone who is in contact with him or her.
According to the Better Hearing Institute, “Studies have untreated hearing loss to:
- irritability, negativism and anger
- fatigue, tension, stress and depression
- avoidance or withdrawal from social situations
- social rejection and loneliness
- reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety
- impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks
- reduced job performance and earning power
- diminished psychological and overall health
These effects go well beyond hearing alone. In fact, those who have difficulty hearing can experience such distorted and incomplete communication that it seriously impacts their professional and personal lives, at times leading to isolation and withdrawal.
The good news is that 95% of those individuals with hearing loss can be treated with hearing aids and other assistive devices. Although there is no way to restore normal hearing, advancements in technology have dramatically improved patient satisfaction and ultimately quality of life for all those who with hearing loss.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions,
Alex
Can I Wear Someone Else’s Hearing Aids?
Posted by Alex on October 7, 2010 under Hearing Aids, Product Reviews | Be the First to Comment
You might be surprised how many patients ask this question. My greater concern is the number of people who want to ask, and yet are afraid to broach the subject. Why? Doesn’t it seem like a reasonable question?
Here’s the truth: Yes and no. Let’s look at this a little more closely.
Physically, it is now a lot easier to wear someone else’s hearing aids. Many styles of hearing aids (Behind-The-Ear, Open Ear, Receiver in the Canal) are now separate from the custom-molded piece placed in a patient’s ear canal. Since these styles are the vast majority of all digital hearing aids fit today, it is now plausible to wear someone else’s hearing aids as easily as putting on someone else’s glasses. However, just like wearing someone else’s glasses it does not mean that the prescription is accurate and we are not surprised when the vision is not quite clear. My father wore my mother’s old glasses for years, until finally his employer asked him not to return to work until he had his own pair. This doesn’t even take into account the fact that he did indeed look a little funny. To which my mother’s response was bewilderment because of course, the glasses were Gucci’s. Knowing this, I am not sure why we would expect to put on someone else’s hearing aids and hear clearly, but people do.
We are fortunate in that technological advancements in digital processing has enabled us to make specific changes within a hearing aid to alter a prescription. Thus, I had a long-time patient whose personal friend passed away, and inherited a pair of almost new top of the line Behind the Ear hearing aids. I was able to change the programming in the hearing aids to that of my own patient’s hearing test results, and he could utilize them just like they had been purchased for his own hearing loss. Ask your optometrist if they can do that!
It is not always quite that cut and dry. There are a few other important considerations. Even a Behind-the-ear hearing aid has technological specifications and is designed to fit a certain range of hearing loss. For example, I once had a fellow come to see me with a request to fit his mother with a hearing aid he had purchased on Ebay. I had tested his mother and sure enough she had a moderate hearing loss in both ears. However, the hearing aid the son had purchased was only appropriate for someone with a severe to profound hearing loss. In essence, fitting this particular hearing aid on this particular individual could actually result in further damaging the hearing she had left.
By comparison, custom fit hearing aids (such as In-the-ear, In-the-canal, and Completely-in-the-canal styles) offer quite a different picture. I have seen more people than I would like to admit who had in some way managed to force hearing aids originally molded for someone else’s else into their own ear canals, and despite the odd setting reported that they “fit.” In fact, this is hardly ever the case. Even one’s own ears are asymmetrical. There is very little similarity to the size and shape of one person’s ears to another—regardless of heredity. I can best describe this by something one of my professor’s in graduate school said: “I am a size 8 pant. I would love to be a size 2 pant, but I have never been a size 2 pant. Now, can I squeeze into a size 2 if my life depended on it? Yes, probably under grave threat. But I promise you, it would be neither comfortable nor pretty.”
One consideration which is foremost on the minds of hearing care professionals rather than a patient’s is the matter of cost. As hearing care professionals, we are always looking for what will be most cost-effective, provide long-term reliability, and satisfaction to our patients. Most hearing aid purchases are bundled (meaning the cost of the device plus the follow-up care, testing, and fitting are included in the initial purchase). Unfortunately, I have heard of professionals who outright refuse to entertain a plausible solution when fitting a patient with perfectly appropriate hearing aids due to fear of charging appropriate service fees. This type of mentality, in my opinion, is outright shameful. Your hearing treatment is as much about the service and quality of care as it is about the total price. If the hearing care professional is providing an appropriate fitting, I believe both patients and healthcare professionals will find the fees are reasonable and fair.
Many professionals can find it difficult to explain what exactly the fees consist of. So, if you are fortunate enough to find yourself with a pair of appropriate Behind-the-ear hearings, which can indeed be fit to your hearing loss, know that the following charges might apply:
- Initial Dispensing fee (per ear) – includes fitting, programming, and verification that the hearing instruments are functioning to the level of your hearing loss
- Hearing Aid Evaluation—Not just a hearing test, but includes specific information that is important for determining speech understanding, and your success with amplification
- Follow-up Services—This may include subsequent service fees for programming, office visits, and future service that might be necessary
- Earmold(s)—In the case of Behind-The-Ear instruments, these devices often require a custom molded piece which is attached to the hearing aid itself for fitting.
The best advice I can provide to someone who might be wondering “Can I wear someone else’s hearing aids?” is to feel comfortable asking a certified hearing healthcare professional, and to listen to the response. A qualified hearing care professional will provide a reasonable explanation specific to your situation. That individual will consider the type, degree and requirements of your specific hearing loss with the capabilities of the hearing aids in question. They will also take into account the needs based on your lifestyle, and compare the warranty vs. upfront costs to that of something which might be new.
Any hearing care professional who truly has the best interests of your hearing and quality of life will find the appropriate balance between what is available and what is necessary. The small and short of it – Can you wear someone else’s hearing aids? It’s not always a yes, but not always a no.
