Blog Posts

July 2016
Resound Article

January 2016
Phonak Chip Article

Aug 2015
Update on Hearing Loss and Dementia

May 2015
Is there anything new in hearing aid technology?

Feb 2015
I can’t hear in situations with background noise.  Will hearing aids help?

 

 

 

Blog

July 2016

Resound Article

I recently fit a client with a set of hearing aids and after two months or so of continuous adjustments and tinkering I was just unable to get the hearing aid to sound "right". The background noise was either too harsh or speech was not distinct enough when she was at her bridge group or in the dining room at Berwick. Sometimes, simply changing models to another hearing aid manufacturer can work wonders, and in this case, I switched to a ReSound Linx 2 product and it made all the difference in the world. Read More>>


January 2016

Phonak Chip Article

My first appointment today asked me about a recent advertisement in the Record regarding a new 'chip' designed to 'restore' speech comprehension. This ad claims that Swiss researchers have 'developed a chip to solve speech comprehension problems'. I carry all the hearing aid manufacturers, including this one, and was intrigued by its claims. Read More>>


August 2015

Update on Hearing Loss and Dementia

Numerous studies have been conducted in the past few years researching the relationship between hearing loss and dementia.  Frank Lin, an E.N.T. doctor and epidemiologist, conducted a study that tracked the overall cognitive abilities (i.e., concentration, memory and planning skills) of nearly 2,000 older adults whose average age was 77. After six years, those with hearing loss severe enough to interfere with conversation were 24 percent more likely than those with normal hearing to see their cognitive abilities diminish. Essentially, the researchers said, hearing loss seemed to speed up age-related cognitive decline. Read More>>


May 2015

Is there anything new in hearing aid technology?

Yes!  Many years ago, hearing aids were big and bulky plastic pieces that continually produced feedback and needed endless fiddling.  Not anymore.  Tiny micro-processors or digital ‘chips’ sit inside today’s hearing aids that allow the devices to automatically regulate volume without the need to adjust.  Much like a stereo equalizer, hearing aids can be set using well over 20 channels to match someone’s hearing loss at every pitch, or frequency so it is individualized. Read More>> 


February 2015

I can’t hear in situations with background noise.  Will hearing aids help?

One of the most common problems people have with their hearing is an inability to hear in situations with competing background noise, such as a restaurant environment.  In quiet settings, and one-on-one situations there can be very little difficulty understanding conversation, but in the presence of four or five people comprehension can dramatically decline.  This is what is known as the ‘cocktail party’ effect. Read More>>