Water For Health

Archive for the ‘Hearing’ Category

Being able to hear clearly makes all the difference in almost every situation in daily life. However, certain situations, such as talking on the phone, remain difficult to manage – even with the best digital hearing aids.

But now, with huge advances in hearing aids, not just making them smaller and more lightweight but also making them compatible with mobile phones, TV’s and even music listening devices. A number of leading hearing aid manufacturers now support mobile phones and electronic devices such as Phonak’s and Oticon hearing aids.

Oticon have recently launched the ConnectLine™ series helping to link the Oticon Epoq and Dual instruments to the world of electronic communication. This really is a massive breakthrough for all hearing instrument wearers and provides to them not only amazing hearing and clarity of sound but added convenience of being able to use the mobile phone seamlessly with a hearing aid. Listening to the TV has also become a total joy again for people who wear an Epoq or Oticon Dual as it will bring the sound directly into their ears. This not only helps to increase their own comprehension and enjoyment of the sound but also helps to minimise the frustrations that others often have to bear when the TV volume is too high.

The Oticon ConnectLine solution allows the hearing instrument wearer to talk on the phone, watch TV and listen to music with total ease. In a very similar way Phonak’s new digital hearing aid family: Exelia Art, Versata, Certena and Audeo Yes all have connectivity to mobile phones, TV’s and other electronic devices. Phonak uses a clever device called iCom, which is a wireless communication interface that integrates with all phonak hearing aids. It actually connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to televisions, telephones, MP3 players, computers and other audio sources with a simple touch of a button. So the idea is that with the latest advances in hearing solutions, anyone suffering from hearing loss needn’t be left behind, in fact some may say they have an advantage. Hearing aids that connect to mobile phones, TV’s and other devices are a thing of the future and represent an amazing step forward for all wearers. Hear speech more clearly, the TV directly into your ears, pick up the phone at the touch of a button and talk hands free, even listen to your favourite music. And the best thing is you can do this all at once, with a simple click to tell your hearing device what you wish to engage.

Benefits of open ear hearing aids

There are more and more types and styles of hearing aids available today, as technology becomes more advanced and hearing aid components become ever smaller.

This is a considerable advantage to those with hearing loss and means that however severe the loss, the hearing aid need be nowhere near as large as the hearing aids of past.

There are four main types of hearing aid: Open ear hearing aids, which can also incorporate RITE (receiver in the ear) technology, BTE (behind the ear), ITE (in the ear), and CIC (completely in the canal) digital hearing aids. There are benefits and disadvantages of each type, but the one with the fewest disadvantages is the open ear RITE.

Advantages of open ear hearing aids

There are many advantages of open ear fittings or open ear hearing aids, both from a cosmetic and an audiological point of view, and also a benefit when looking at cost.

Open ear hearing aids, such as those made by Oticon, Phonak, & GN Resound are small, inconspicuous and very light and comfortable. People don’t even know they are wearing them!

The only part of an open ear hearing aid is the part that sits in the ear, which is a small rubbery dome which feeds the sound directly into the ear. It doesn’t need a bulky earmould, so it doesn’t block the ear completely. Conventional hearing aid earmoulds can cause sweating and can also be very uncomfortable. 

Most people with hearing loss can benefit from an open ear hearing aid, but severe and profound losses may find a BTE hearing aid more suitable. If you are concerned about your hearing go for a free hearing test from a local hearing aid dispenser first. He or she will tell you how bad your hearing loss is, and should also offer you a free hearing aid demonstration, and obviously will tell you about hearing aid prices. There are some amazing new digital hearing aids being produced by Phonak, Oticon and GN Resound. Phonak Yes is an amazing new open ear hearing aid, Oticon Dual takes over from Oticon Delta as one of the world’s leading open ear hearing aids.

Open ear hearing aids are beneficial since there are fewer problems with blockages from ear wax. Also, as the ear is left open, it has the chance to ‘breathe’ naturally, thus preventing excessive perspiration.

If you are thinking about getting a hearing aid, you probably want one that is small, that no one can see. Equally important, is that the hearing aid is comfortable and light. Obviously the way your digital hearing aids perform is of paramount importance and that’s why the open ear hearing aids are often the best choice.

Open Ear hearing aid technology has dramatically improved hearing capabilities as well as given vastly improved comfort and discretion and are increasingly becoming the digital hearing aid of choice for many users with all types of hearing losses.

How do they differ?

Analogue hearing aids use a amplifier to raise all sounds by a certain amount, which can be adjusted by a simple volume control. The problem with this is that hearing loss is rarely equal over the range of pitches and by raising the volume to hear speech, we will be raising the level of background noise as well. Difficult!

In fact many of us have been put off wearing a hearing device for just that reason. The latest digital hearing instruments from manufacturers like Phonak, Oticon and Resound can be set not to enhance background noise, and to just concentrate on hearing speech, which is what hearing aids are designed to do. This means that digital hearing aids are much better for more difficult types of hearing loss, and for hearing in background noise.

The newest digital hearing aids are also great at suppressing those unwanted sounds, incorporating features such as wind suppression and feedback cancellation. These two features can alone substantially improve one’s listening experience. Really for anyone wearing an analogue hearing aid they should try and listen to the benefits of these latest devices because the benefits really are incredible and must be experienced.

Its sometimes considered a cliché to hear customers who are wearing the latest devices, comment that “it really has changed my life”, or “i can hear birdsong again”. But its really anything but a cliché and it is only when we are able to experience these amazing new advances in hearing health that we can truly see at the benefits they deliver.

If you’ve got an analogue hearing device, or even if you just think you’ve got a hearing loss, look for free hearing tests from a local hearing audiologist and ask for a demonstration of digital hearing aids. It really is as simple as that, and anyone who is concerned about their hearing or currently wearing the older analogue style should go and have a look for themselves.