Natural Health

Archive for the ‘First Aid’ Category

Recognition of hearing loss

If you experience hearing loss, one of the first steps is the decision to try a modern hearing aid. The earlier you recognize the hearing loss and take action, the earlier you are able to recover your hearing ability and increase your quality of life.

A hearing aid is personal

The adjustment of a hearing aid is done in several steps. In the course of this individual process, the device is customized to fit your hearing loss, the shape of your ear and your hearing habits. This ensures the best possible adjustment that will satisfy you completely.

Phase 1: Consultation with a Hearing care professional or ENT doctor

First, a hearing care professional or ENT doctor will do a hearing test to determine whether you have a hearing loss. He or she will determine the type and degree of hearing loss individually for each ear from the information provided by the hearing test. The professional will then discuss and explain to you which technological options are best suited to your needs.

When selecting your future hearing aids and their technology, the expert will consider the degree of hearing loss, the shape of your ear canals, your personal needs, your taste and your budget. You can choose between custom models and behind-the-ear models, digitally programmable or analogue devices with or without remote control or FM receiver etc. The hearing aid specialist will take a cast of each ear to ensure that your device will fit you with the best possible comfort later on.

Phase 2: Customization and adjustment of the hearing aids

The hearing care professional has now prepared your hearing aid. He or she will insert it into your ear adjust it to your hearing loss and your hearing preferences. In addition, you will receive detailed operating instructions: How to insert the device, how to use it and how to control the volume. The specialist will also explain the maintenance to you, how to replace batteries, cleaning and drying the devices. Finally, the specialist will explain how your hearing aid reacts in different hearing situations. Now you can take your new hearing aids home.

First steps with your new hearing aid

Over the first few days, you should familiarize yourself with your new hearing aid. At first, you should wear it for a few hours per day in familiar surroundings. Some things may seem strange to you during this time. The best way to explore the new hearing sensation is to talk to people or watch television. Your own voice may sound strange or too loud to you, because you may have developed a habit of talking too loudly in order to hear your own voice. Practice speaking more softly. Write down your experiences – it will help your hearing care professional with fine-tuning your aid.

Fine-tuning from your hearing care professional

Now you will have the opportunity to discuss your first experiences with your hearing care professional. Your hearing aid will then be adjusted to suit your very specific needs. The specialist will answer all your questions and give you general advice. Your hearing aid may be adjusted at this appointment to further improve your comfort and speech understanding.

Phase 3: Using your new hearing aid

You will now enter a phase in which you are able to regain a little bit of quality of life every day. Keep using your hearing aid for a few hours per day. Take your time. You will learn how to make the best use of your hearing aid and will soon be enjoying all the benefits it has to offer.

If you have any questions, please contact your hearing aid specialist at Center for Hearing Aids, who will be happy to help you.

Roughly 20 million Americans deal with hearing loss of one degree or another, and hold fast to the hope that they will not come to live the old proverb “silence is golden”. However, due to technological advances in modern hearing amplification devices, many patients are able to improve their hearing enough to enjoy the sounds of life. With a former US president openly wearing a hearing aid, the stigma attached is slowly wearing away. When the former president wore his ear canal hearing aid, it was on a national television network. Of even greater significance is the fact that he let into having hearing issues. Merely 12.4 percent of roughly 20 million Americans with some degree of hearing loss actually use hearing aids. Experts believe that this is due, in part, to many patients not actually doing something about their hearing loss until approximately five years or more after they first notice the loss. Hearing aids have a stigma attached to them that make them undesirable. Besides the fact that hearing aids are associated adversely with getting older, many people think of them as bulky and unattractive devices.  Though many associate it with older people, it is common to see children suffering from hearing loss as well. Hearing aids have been around for a while, and in the last 50 years according to the audiologist they have come an incredibly long way. There are more choices available today that make hearing devices tolerable. The canal hearing aid is among the smallest and most recent innovations in hearing aids. This kind of hearing aid has been dubbed the Reagan aid, due to the former President’s use of one.  The canal aid, which was created just over a year ago, is a highly progressive piece of equipment designed to fit and tailor to a person’s unique ear canal; being that it is barely visible, it weighs a mere two grams. She also remarked that the canal aid was contrived to bring greater focus to high pitched noises instead of just helping hearing loss. Although it is very aesthetically pleasing, the tiny size of this hearing aid is what causes trouble. The amount that can be produced is limited and quality control can be hard. Because of its diminutive size, it is not possible to produce the aids in significant quantities at low prices.  While canal aids are the most interesting and innovative product available, they are not the most common. The behind the ear model is the biggest seller for hearing aids. A recent poll taken by the national hearing aid society indicates that this kind of hearing aid represents roughly 52 percent of the market.  Close to 50% of sales can be equated to in the ear aids, such as the canal aid. Thanks to their long hair being able to cover behind the ear aids, women will usually opt for these hearing aids while men will rather having a canal aid. Even with all the popularity of the behind the ear aids, there are still other devices being manufactured.  Those wishing to buy a hearing aid ought to seek a formal diagnosis of hearing impairment. The permission of a specialist is needed before you can acquire a hearing aid. What’s more, while a medical doctor can permit you to get a hearing aid, specific ear issues can be better determined through a hearing specialist.  Due to the fact a hearing loss might be the result of an infection or other problems that could be corrected with surgery or medicine, be sure to consult with a physician. It is now state law that you will need a medical slip in order to get a hearing aid, although it is possible to ignore this formality if the person wanting a hearing aid signs a waiver.  Before a hearing aid dealer can sell you a hearing aid without your physician’s consent, he must read the waiver aloud and explain to the patient why it would be in their best interest to get the medical exam anyway. The hearing aid seller can test for loss of hearing and fit the patient with the device if the one making the purchase has understood and signed the waiver. Most of the experts will recommend you consult with a qualified audiologist and have the proper testing before buying a hearing aid device. Certain hearing aid vendors offer hearing assessment services as well.  Customers should ask whether the hearing aid vendor offers trial periods before the hearing aid purchase is finalized. If so, you might be able to try out the hearing device for free. While the size of hearing aids are going down and they’re increasing in popularity, they’re only a stopgap measure. Although they are great little devices, she said, they only amplify sounds and could never fully replace this valuable sense.