Introducing Phonak Bolero V and CROS II Hearing Aids

Phonak Bolero V 

The Finest in Performance and Reliability

Phonak Bolero V Behind-the-Ear (BTE) hearing aids feature Phonaks latest high-performance technology and are designed to provide you a seamless listening experience, even in the most challenging environments. In an appealing and robust design, Bolero V is available in four performance levels and offers a wide choice of colours to either blend in or stand out from your hair or skin tone. You benefit from a better all-around hearing performance with additional reliability and ease of use.

• Newly designed models at different performance levels
• Water resistant and dust tight
• Connects to the entire Phonak Wireless Communication Portfolio

Styles and Colours

Phonak Bolero V is designed to suit your individual style and preferences. It comes in a choice of 11 colours, so you can match your personality, hair or skin with either vibrant or subtle tones.

 

Phonak Programs, Features & Benefits

Thanks to unique and unmatched features you will be able to capture more of the voices and sounds you want and need to hear. Actively holding a conversation while enjoying the outdoors on a windy day or focusing on a single voice in a noisy crowd. These are just two examples of challenging environments where you will be able to communicate and understand more with ease.

More Information

Call The Hearing Care Centre on 01473 230330. 

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Phonak CROS II

The smart solution for single-sided deafness

Phonak CROS II is the discreet wireless CROS transmitter based on the Venture platform. It transmits the sound from the ear with no hearing to a hearing aid on the better hearing ear. As a result, persons can hear speech from the side they have not heard from before.

CROS II will transmit sound and voices to let your good ear hear for both your ears. If you have good hearing in one ear and non hearing in the other, then CROS II will work for you. CROS stands for ‘Contralateral Routing of Signal’ and consists of two parts:

• The CROS aid with a microphone to pick up sounds and voices from the non-hearing ear and wirelessly transmit them to the hearing aid.
• The hearing aid to receive the signal from the non-hearing ear and play it to your good ear.

With CROS II, you will immediately feel included in a conversation, regardless of the situation. Whether at dinner with friends or in a meeting at work, you don’t have to position yourself so that everyone sits on your good side.

More Information

Call The Hearing Care Centre on 01473 230330.

FREE BEER!* By HCC patient, Geoffrey Holdcroft

"Right now that I've got your attention, I want to discuss men and hearing loss.

Ask any medical professional and they will tell you that we men are very bad at seeking help when it comes to health issues. Hearing loss is just such an issue. Hearing loss is a problem which will creep up on you. Whereas the ladies will deal with the issue when they know they have a problem us men just ignore the problem and put off dealing with it. How do I know this? Well, I've lost count of the number of ladies who tell me their male partner has a hearing problem and refuses to deal with it!

Why does it matter, I hear you ask? The posh term the professionals use is “auditory deprivation”. Eh?? In a nutshell the mechanism of hearing is a complex system involving the ears and the brain. If you fail to deal with a hearing problem when you or your family notice you have a problem, the system gets into a vicious circle and you lose the ability to hear. Having a hearing test and getting the right aids for you will prevent the system “forgetting” how to hear and becoming a degenerative downward spiral. Modern hearing aids are a wonder of miniature high tech engineering. I wear hearing aids myself and I can tell you that the aids themselves and the connecting wires are so small, nobody notices them.

My own experience is quite interesting. I suspected I had a hearing problem so I went for a hearing test at HCC. Quite properly I was told, yes I did have hearing loss but I wasn't in need of aids immediately. I decided to go ahead anyway because I had come across an article giving pointers that socially I did need aids. For me the ones that resonated were:

1. Do people appear to be mumbling?       

 Yes especially female check-out assistants.

2. Do you find it difficult to hear when a lot of other people are talking?

Yes our family gatherings are nothing short of riotous!

3. Do you get a very bad headache after attending an event as described above?

Yes this is the killer reason I decided to get hearing aids. I was getting really bad headaches when I had been straining to hear in difficult conditions.

There are lot of other pointers which might apply to you. For example: Do you say pardon a lot? Does your family complain that you have the TV or radio far too loud? Everyone is an individual and there are lots of other pointers.

*Sorry, I'm not giving away free beer I lied - but I do urge anyone, especially the men amongst us to book a hearing test if you suspect you have a problem."

Geoffrey

Give your hearing aids a spring clean

Cleaning out the cupboards, window washing, dusting, gardening, washing the car are all activities that seem to keep us busy each spring.

The spring season is an important time of the year that triggers renewed energy urging us to clean up clutter and unwanted items that have accumulated during the winter months, and start a fresh.

You may not realise but your hearing aids could use the same attention. Proper hearing aid care helps maintain optimum hearing, extends the life of your hearing aids and ensures healthy ear hygiene.

Debris, oil, moisture and earwax can build up on your hearing instruments, clogging the parts that release sound to your ears. This can affect the hearing aid’s performance which is why it is really important to clean them daily and if it has been more than six months since you have had a professional hearing aid service, I would recommend you book to see your hearing professional for a good spring clean!

If you would like some assistance regarding cleaning them yourself, I have noted some useful tips below:

ITE (in the ear) model and RIC (receiver in the ear) model

You’ll want to concentrate on cleaning the sound outlet area and the microphones, with the use of a soft-bristle brush and any other specific tools you have. Hold the hearing aid firmly and gently sweep the bristles over the outlet area. Angle the brush downwards so any particles will fall on the ground instead of inside the holes. Change the wax guard if your aid is fitted with one. Then, finish by wiping the device with a clean, dry tissue.

BTE (behind the ear) model

Cleaning this type of device is similar, but there is the additional earmould to also clean. This needs to be removed from the hearing aid and washed in soapy water. Rinse thoroughly using luke warm water and then using your puffer blow air through the tube to dry. Refit the earmould to the hearing aid.

Avoid contact with harsh products

You should avoid using any hair products while a hearing aid is in situ, as this can create a sticky surface and increase accumulation of dust and debris buildup. These products can also cause damage to the plastic, volume control or program control of the hearing aid. Before using any body products, including face washes and creams, it’s best to remove your hearing aid and place it in a safe, dry location. Hearing aids also need to stay out of contact with direct heat, so always take it out before drying your hair with a hair drier.

Sound advice: turn down your music!

Last week saw the return of International Ear Care Day organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to raise awareness of hearing loss and to promote prevention of hearing loss.

A very big concern of mine is that more than one billion teenagers and young people around the world are at serious risk of developing hearing loss due to unsafe listening behaviours. According to data release by WHO, nearly half of 12-35 year olds in middle-income and high-income countries listen to dangerous levels of sound on devices like smartphones and MP3 players. Additionally, almost 40% of these young people are exposed to hazardous noise levels at entertainment venues like nightclubs, concerts and sporting stadiums.

As they go about their daily lives doing what they enjoy, more and more people (not only youngsters) are placing themselves at risk of hearing loss. My advice to everyone is to look after your hearing because once you lose it, it won’t come back. Hearing loss can have a devastating effect on your life. It can damage your physical and mental health, and have an adverse effect on relationships, education and employment.

The WHO defines an acceptable level of noise for prolonged exposure as 85 decibels – roughly the volume of heavy city traffic. As volume increases, safe exposure duration falls steeply. For example, it is not safe to spend more than 15 minutes around noise levels of 100 decibels, which is typical for sporting events, clubs and bars.

Everyone should protect their ears against hearing loss by wearing earplugs at noisy events. They should also keep the volume down on their personal audio devices, and try to limit use of these devices to fewer than 60 minutes per day.

If you feel your hearing is already being affected, I would highly recommend that you book a hearing test with a qualified audiologist.  How much time do your children spend listening to music, headphones seemingly permanently clamped to their heads?

Hearing aids can help those with tinnitus

Imagine wearing a pair of headphones which are playing the sound of a whistling kettle.  Now imagine wearing those headphones all day, and all night, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Horrific it might sound, but that’s what life is like for many people who fall victim to tinnitus.

It is estimated that 10-15% of the population experience tinnitus - a ringing, roaring, whooshing or chirping sound in the ears. However, while there is no cure, scientific research has proven that real tinnitus relief is possible.

The key? Treating the most common underlying cause – hearing loss, which 80% of people with tinnitus have to some degree – alongside one-on-one coaching to help the individual better understand and manage their tinnitus.

There is evidence to suggest hearing aids can mask tinnitus sounds to help improve communication and reduce stress and anxiety levels, which normally exacerbate tinnitus. The loudness and prominence of tinnitus is decreased by activating the auditory system and amplifying background sound.

The knowledge that you can mask tinnitus with a hearing aid is not an innovative concept, but previous hearing aids occluded the ear canal with a tight fitting ear mould. Patients reported a hollow reverberation amplifying chewing sounds and the sensation of tinnitus. A more recent type of hearing aid called the open-fit has been designed to successfully alleviate tinnitus symptoms by introducing a noise-reduction control.

The slim tube connected to the hearing aid is cosmetically appealing, comfortable to wear, as well as eliminating external sound sources without interfering with the transmission of sounds from the outer ear to the inner ear.

Interestingly, experts also believe that even those without significant hearing loss may find hearing aids are helpful. Straining to listen causes increased hearing sensitivity and this can allow tinnitus to emerge or, if present already, to worsen.

How can hearing aids help?

If you have a hearing loss, a hearing aid can help with managing tinnitus by offering sound therapy in the following ways:

• increase the information available to the brain by amplifying background sounds making the tinnitus seem less audible.
• improve communication with others, therefore reducing stress levels.
• helping to compensate for your hearing loss.
• help you to habituate to tinnitus sounds.

For more information on tinnitus please click here. 

National Tinnitus Awareness Week runs between 2^nd-8^th February 2015 and is organised by the British Tinnitus Association.

The Emotional Stages of Hearing Loss

Experiencing a myriad of emotions from denial, sadness and fear to eventually acceptance, is normal and a natural part of the emotional stages of hearing loss.

Here are the stages that one with hearing loss goes through, as I see it...

STAGE ONE | DENIAL

When normal hearing begins to decline, a natural reaction is for the person to compensate by trying to alter their environment to suit their loss. They may turn up the volume on the TV or radio disregarding complaints from their family members. They may ask their partners to answer the phone thereby avoiding the embarrassment of not being able to understand whoever is on the other end. They may blame others instead of acknowledging their hearing loss  i.e. “If people didn’t mumble, I would be able to hear them!”

STAGE TWO | WITHDRAWL

Hearing loss causes a person psychological hurt and grief. Over time, it also causes intolerance to social interactions, and reduced stimulation to the auditory system can result in a rapid decline of speech recognition. A way to deal with this is to avoid embarrassing situations, such as social occasions where there are likely to be lots of people or background noise.

STAGE THREE | ANGER

A hearing loss left untreated can cause the person suffering to become bad-tempered and the family may say he/she has become difficult to live with.

The person becomes less tolerant of others because of the frustrations and comments focused upon them.

STAGE FOUR | DEPRESSION

All these factors can eventually lead to the person becoming depressed. Low self-esteem, the loss of social interaction, suspicion of others, the inability to do easily what used to be problem free, isolation and loneliness become a part of daily life that wears the person down. It’s really tiring!

STAGE FIVE | ACCEPTANCE

When a person finally reaches this stage, they can then make the transition to seeking treatment with hearing aids, and auditory rehabilitation. A visit to a qualified audiologist will be the first stage on the road to hearing well again and ‘getting their life back’. A thorough test will be performed and hearing instruments prescribed where suitable. It can take up to ten years for someone to reach this stage.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Which stage are you or your loved one at? How long did the process take you? Please let me know your experiences by posting in the comments box below.

For more information on hearing loss please visit www.hearingcarecentre.co.uk

Hear better than ever with Siemens binax hearing aids

Siemens is lifting binaural hearing systems to a new level. For the first time, hearing-impaired individuals can now hear better than those with normal hearing in particularly demanding listening situations*.

Despite their enormous computing power, the new Binax instruments are the most energy-efficient in their class.

Binax exchanges audio signals. Each binaural hearing aid can assess the acoustic environment not only on its own side, but also on the other. In the process, four microphones – two in each device – form a virtual eight-microphone network. New calculation methods work much like the human brain in leveraging the fact that voice signals don't reach both ears at the same speed or volume. Based on such differences, wearers can more accurately identify and focus on the sources of sound.

Binaural hearing aids also use this new technology in windy locations ideal for those golfers and outdoor patients. They automatically determine which side is receiving better signals and replicate them for the other device. These latest Siemens binaural hearing aids are capable of transmitting around a thousand times as much data per second as preceding models.

The new peak performance does not come at the expense of battery life and they can run on conventional hearing instrument batteries or, depending on the model, on rechargeable batteries.

Karen's comments: “We have had amazing success with the last Siemens technology platform called Micon and this new level is so exciting. My team and I can't wait to get started and see how this technology performs and improves peoples lives.”

If you would like to be amongst the first trialling these new instruments, please give our customer care team a call and book your appointment - Freephone 0800 096 2637.

FACT: These latest Siemens binaural hearing aids are capable of transmitting around a thousand times as much data per second as preceding models.

*Two clinical studies have shown that binax provides better than normal hearing in certain demanding environments (Northern Colorado University, 2014; Oldenburg Hörzentrum, 2013): Speech Reception Thresholds in cocktail-party situations improved up to 2.9dB for wearers with mild to moderate hearing loss using Carat binax or Pure binax hearing instruments with narrow directionality, compared to people with normal hearing.