Why do you need an Audiologist?
There an many options for people considering a hearing aid. You
could purchase an Over The Counter or OTC hearing aid. These tend to
be cheaper and they look much like the a hearing aid purchased from a
professional.
What does the Audiologist provide to make up for the increased cost?
Hearing is very
complicated. To determine what will best meet your specific needs you
need a hearing evaluation In a hearing evaluation we look at all
three systems that impact your hearing.
- Outer ear through the ear drum
- Middle ear assessing health and possible chronic middle ear problems.
- Brain stem and neural function.
Further we evaluate your life, and the communication issues you face in life.
What is your environment, quiet at home or a high noise job?
Do you deal with soft spoken people?
Where are you having problems?
-In all settings.
-only in noise.
-only with women's voices or children.
Do you have tinnitus?
How much does this bother you?
This is a very thorough evaluation of your hearing and your
communication needs.
From this information we prescribe the best communication solutions for you.
Once you are wearing hearing aids we will work with you to get the most from these aids to enhance your life. This is a relationship that will last for years from first using the aids to being an experienced hearing aid user. We will provide you as much or as little help as you need.
Many people with hearing losses are not ready to use amplification. I often tell my patients It does not matter what the test says if you are not ready in your heart to accept a hearing aid it is the worse thing you can do. As good as current technology is you still have to put it on, clean it and get used to wearing it. If you are not ready it will end up in your pocket or a draw and when you are ready you will say. " Oh, I tried hearing aids and they did not work for me.
If you are having problems talking with friends and family. There is a communication method called clear speech it is very useful whether you have hearing aids or not when you are having trouble understanding. Help your loved ones learn to speak more clearly. Simply ask them to do four things when communicating with you.
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slow down a bit,
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speak a tiny bit louder,
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say things as clearly as possible without exaggerating their mouth movements,
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pause at meaningful places so that your ears can catch up with their mouths.
These 4 simple rules can make a huge difference for you.
When you have a mild hearing loss you are risking that the brain centers devoted to speech and hearing may be re-purposed by the brain to other senses. There are other ways to keep these centers active. These can also be used to help reactivate them if they have already been re-purposed.
LACE (Listening and Communication Enhancement) was developed by two audiologists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Robert Sweetow and Jennifer Henderson Sabes developed LACE specifically for older adults with hearing loss.
LACE training is conducted for 30 minutes, five days a week, for one month. You can do the training on your home computer.
This is a program specifially designed for speech proccessing and hearing aid use. Its not free but can give you a tool to help preserve these centers.
http://www.heara.ca/content/case-lace
Brain training using puzzles is also an effective way to keep the cognitive centers active. Word puzzles have been shown to keep the speech centers active even with mild hearing losses. And these can be a lot of fun.
http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2006/09/28/attention-and-working-memory/
Music therapy is also a great choice. Music progams have been shown to hlep ""remodle" children's brain's in a away that improves sound processing, which could lead to better learning and language skills" said study lead author Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles professor of communication sciences in the School of Communication and of neurobiology and physiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern
Dr. Kraus has also reported “Lifelong musical training appears to confer advantages in at least two important functions known to decline with age -- memory and the ability to hear speech in noise,”
“If the materials that you work with are sound, then it is reasonable to suppose that all of your faculties involved with taking it in, holding it in memory and relating physically to it should be sharpened,” Kraus adds. “Music experience bolsters the elements that combat age-related communication problems.”
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2011/05/musical-experience-kraus.html
As an Audiologist , I am often asked. "Do I realy need two hearing aids?" A simple answer is would you go to your Eye doctor and ask for a Monicle.
For most people, two hearing aids is the best answer. Do you ever wondered why we have two ears instead of one? The body is a finely tuned "machine," and our ears are designed to pick up sound waves from our surroundings. If you've ever had hearing loss in one ear, you know that it can be challenging to decipher noise, or understand where it came from. Two ears provide balanced hearing. This allows a person to "focus" their hearing based on the subtle differences in the sound arriving to each ear.
Some of the binaural benefits include
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Hearing from both ears.
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Safety: You can tell direction sound is coming from.
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Improved Speech understanding
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Restful Listening: People only using one ear need sound twice as loud to understand.
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Cushions loud sound. Less loudness required to hear.
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Better able to Identify what a sound is.
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Better sound quality
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Increase sound range: Helps to hear quieter sounds and increases tolerance for loud sound.
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Ability to focus hearing improving ability to Understand speech in noise.
If you have problems hearing clearly any time it might be time to get your hearing screened. Come to A&D Hearing Center for a free Screening. We have been serving the Leavenworth area since 1976. Let us help you hear the sounds of your life.
HEAR BETTER LIVE BETTER.
As an Audiologist, I am often asked the question. If I only have a small hearing loss it wont hurt me to wait a while before I do something about it will it?”
The brain is truly an amazing thing. When a person loses a sense the brain compensates by using the areas normally dedicated to that sense to heighten others. A blind person will often have heightened senses of smell and touch.
When a person loses their hearing the same thing happens. Recent research has shown that this occurs even with very mild hearing losses.
As an Audiologist I am often asked. Do I realy have a hearing loss, do I realy need Hearing aids. My response is. If you have a hearing loss you have a hearing aid. This may be an electronic device in your ear or a significant other who answers you question. "What did they say?"
Many people with hearing losses are not ready to use amplification. I often tell my patients It does not matter what the test says if you are not ready in your heart to accept a hearing aid it is the worse thing you can do. As good as current technology is you still have to put it on, clean it and get used to wearing it.
The problem is even with a small hearing loss the brain begins to change how you understand speech. The brain is truly an amazing thing. When a person loses a sense the brain compensates by using the areas normally dedicated to that sense to heighten others. A blind person will often have heightened senses of smell and touch.
When a person loses their hearing the same thing happens.As the brain centers devoted to speech and hearing become used for other functions the areas of the brain normally used for higher level thinking and short term memory take over the essential functions of hearing. If they are busy hearing these areas are not available for the work they are meant to do. These findings lend support to the researchers that has shown a link between hearing loss and cognitive declines.
Are you the significant other of a person with a hearing loss? Are you their hearing aid.? The earlier you stimulate the speech centers of your brain the better you will maintain your ability to understand speech. Don't wait. Get help early and you will preserve the best function of the speech centers of your brain. Understanding those you love as they talk to you.
Give the gift of hearing LIVE BETTER HEAR BETTER.
If you have problems hearing clearly in noise it might be time to get your hearing screened. Come to A&D Hearing Center for a free Screening. We have been serving the Atchison/Leavenworth area since 1976. Let us help you hear the sounds of your life.
HEAR BETTER LIVE BETTER.
- Keep aid clean. Use soft tissue and the cleaning tools provided. Do not use liquid on the aid.
- Never shower or bathe with the aid in your ears. Do not remove your aid in the bathroom, but in your bedroom before entering the bath. Many people have lost their aid down the sink or toilet.
- Never use hairspray while you are earing your hearing aid.
- Never place your aid near heat or direct sunlight.
- Never set your aid down while still on.
- Pets are annoyed by the noise and will chew the aid.
- See or call Kevin if your hearing aid is not functioning properly, or if you just can't hear.
- The proper care and cleaning of your aid will increase its life and can make the difference between continuous and satisfactory use or experiencing frequent problems.