This is one of the questions we are asked most often. If you are concerned that you are experiencing some hearing loss, you are not alone, because the hearing of over 22 million Americans has become somewhat impaired, and 10 million of them have suffered hearing loss (which is defined as being unable to hear normal conversations).
We lose our hearing for countless reasons but more often than not hearing deteriorates as we get older. This type of age-related hearing loss is known as presbycusis. As we get older the nerves and sensitive hair cells in the inner ear begin to break down resulting in presbycusis or age-related hearing loss. Symptoms of this type of hearing loss are experienced as being unable to distinguish the difference between consonants like T, K, S, P, and F, or not hearing high-pitched sounds like the voices of women and children. The next most common cause is noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), also called acoustic trauma, which is caused by repeated exposure to loud noises. It can happen as a result of being around loud music (such as attending or working in loud nightclubs) or working with noisy machines or equipment. Both of these conditions are examples of sensorineural hearing loss and in many cases cannot be easily reversed, only treated using hearing aids or other technologies to amplify the sounds you can no longer hear and filter them to make them more understandable.
Another condition is conductive hearing loss, meaning that something is blocking the passage of sounds from the outer ear to the eardrum, and the most common cause of this is a buildup of ear wax, which can be easily treated and eliminated. This type of hearing loss may also be caused by a buildup of fluid in the middle ear, by otosclerosis (abnormal bone growth that renders the inner ear less able to transmit and understand sounds), and by the eardrum having been perforated or scarred.
Other known causes for hearing loss are infections in the ear canal and middle ear, as well as medications including antibiotics and drugs used in cancer treatment. Certain diseases may also cause hearing loss, such as M√©ni√®re’s disease, acoustic neuroma (noncancerous tumors on the bones of the middle ear), diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
The important thing, if you are experiencing any degree of hearing loss, is to make an appointment so that we can test your hearing and determine what the cause of it may be and advise you on how to best treat it. Hearing loss is in most cases progressive, meaning that ignoring it or pretending that it isn’t there will not get rid of the problem and may cause the hearing loss to become worse, or permanent.
My Hearing is Getting Worse – Why?
Tinnitus Indicators and Warning Signs
The American Tinnitus Association defines the condition (which can be pronounced either tin-NYE-tus or TIN-ni-tus) as hearing sounds that no one else can hear. Experienced generally more often by men over the age of 50, tinnitus appears to be age-related. An estimated 50 million Americans have tinnitus; for some reason more of them in the South than other parts of the country.
There are several types of tinnitus, and there are many different sounds that those with the condition tend to hear. Subjective tinnitus is the most common, and is defined as the person hearing sounds that no one else can hear; objective tinnitus is much more rare, and is indicated when a doctor or audiologist can also detect these sounds. Other less common types of tinnitus include 1) hearing low-frequency sounds, often mistaken for being actual sounds in the environment, 2) pulsatile tinnitus, in which the person hears rhythmic beats in time with their pulse, and 3) musical hallucinations, or hearing music that is not really present.
If there is a single most common symptom of tinnitus, it is hearing a persistent, high-pitched ringing noise, in one ear or in both ears. This symptom may also be experienced as a buzzing, hissing, roaring, whistling, or clicking sound, one that can change in both pitch (frequency) and amplitude (loudness). If you have mild tinnitus, you might tend to notice it only in quiet environments, because the ambient sounds of noisy environments can mask the buzzing or ringing sounds. Some experience the symptoms of tinnitus more when they are lying down or sitting, as opposed to standing up. Although for most people tinnitus is more a nuisance than anything else, for some it has severe repercussions: they may suffer increased levels of stress, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Interruptions in sleep or concentration are often found in many of these severe cases. Tinnitus can be diagnosed by one of our specialists by performing a short, painless examination. Tinnitus can be a warning sign of diseases like high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and Meniere’s disease. If any of these symptoms describe your situation please make an appointment to see us today.
How Professional and Amateur Musicians can Protect their Hearing
In addition to all of them being musicians, what do Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck have in common? They all suffered permanent hearing loss, directly as a result of playing their music.
When I treat musicians, I have to tell them a sad but unavoidable fact of life – the very music they love to play may be damaging their hearing. Noise-induced hearing loss or NIHL is caused by exposure to loud music and produces a ringing in the ears known as tinnitus; continued exposure to loud music can cause permanent hearing loss.
Not just big-name stadium rock stars are susceptible, all musicians are at risk. Players of all genres from classical, to club and small venues, even while rehearsing at home a musician can cross the threshold to overexposure resulting in NIHL. Any sound with an amplitude (volume) of over 85 decibels (dB) can cause hearing loss if you are exposed to it for long periods of time. An electric guitar played onstage generates 120dB, but a violin can produce 103dB, and thus cause almost as much hearing loss. It has been estimated that musicians do more damage to their ears during the hours that they rehearse alone than they do in the short times they spend on stage.
Fortunately, there is something you can do to protect your hearing – invest in a pair of earplugs; not the cheap foam earplugs you find in drugstores, but high-quality musicians earplugs. The first musicians earphones were invented by Etymotic Research, and other manufacturers still use their design to create specialized ear protection for musicians. Unlike the cheap Styrofoam earplugs that simply block sound, musician ear protection customized for you by your audiologist allows you to hear your normal full range of sound, just at a reduced volume ensuring your hearing is protected. You can find universal-fit musicians earplugs in most stores that sell musical instruments, starting at about $15 a pair. But for the musicians I see – whether they play professionally or just for fun – I recommend custom-molded musicians earplugs with Etymotic filters, because of the greater protection they provide. These will be more comfortable to wear for long periods of time, more effective at blocking undesirable levels of noise while allowing you to hear the music properly, and easier to clean and care for. Yes, they’re more expensive than the earplugs sold in music stores, but since hearing damage is irreversible, how much is your ability to hear the music you play worth to you?
Reasons for Tinnitus
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) is a hearing condition that affects an estimated 50 million Americans somewhere between 60 and 75 years old. More prevalent in men than women, the principal manifestation of ringing ears is experiencing tones that nobody else can hear.
Some tinnitus patients notice the sounds as generated from their ears, and some experience them as coming from within their heads. The most common tones heard by tinnitus patients tend to be a constant high-pitched ringing, a roaring, buzzing, whistling, or humming sound, or in some cases a cricket-like chirping noise. Some varieties of tinnitus will include a pulsing or periodic clicking, sometimes perceived as associated with the individual’s heart rhythm. Many instances are typically generally known as subjective tinnitus, meaning that only the person stricken can notice the particular sound, however in unusual cases of objective tinnitus, a health care professional might actually be able to hear a sound.
Tinnitus often seems to indicate a problem taking place in one of the four portions of the auditory system – the outer ear, the middle ear, the inner ear, and the brain – and as such could be more of a symptom of other issues than a disease in itself. Although it is not a form of loss of hearing per se, it can be connected to other kinds of either conductive or sensorineural hearing loss. Yet since tinnitus causes people to hear the buzzing or ringing sound continuously, this tends to have the effect of reducing a person’s absolute threshold of hearing, making it tougher to hear low-level sounds normally.
There are various reasons for tinnitus, but the most widespread is getting older, and age-related loss of hearing. Some of the other things that can cause ringing in the ears are physical transformations in the bones or hair cells in the inner ear, prolonged contact with high decibel music or sounds, traumas to the ears, neck, or head, and even sustained stress or depression. The problem can also be related to diseases such as TMJ disorder, hypertension and arteriosclerosis, Meniere’s disease, and certain kinds of tumors in the neck or head. A small number of prescribed medicines can induce tinnitus, such as certain antibiotics, cancer and malaria medications, diuretics, and aspirin consumed in unusually high quantities.
There is no surefire cure or treatment for tinnitus.Roughly 35% of cases subside on their own within a few months. Some success has been achieved in managing the remainder of the cases with electrical stimulation, nutrition and drug therapy, and if necessary, a surgical procedure. If you have or think you might have tinnitus, see a specialist for an evaluation.
What is an Audiogram?
To measure the extent of your hearing loss you may be asked to take a comprehensive hearing test. An audiogram is the result of that test in the form of a graph. The audiometry test is very quick and comfortable. The test measures your ability to hear sounds at various decibel levels and frequencies. On the graph produced by the test, the vertical or Y axis charts the volumes of the sounds you were able to hear; these volumes are measured in decibels (dB), ranging from the faintest volumes (0dB) to the loudest measured in this test (100dB). The X axis (horizontal axis) is frequency in Hertz (Hz). The testing range is generally between 100 and 8000 Hz. 100Hz is at the low bass end of the auditory spectrum and 8000Hz is a high-pitched bird song. The graph is created by a testing device called an audiometer. When audiologists give you a hearing test using this equipment, they ask you to put on a pair of foam-padded headphones, through which sounds are played at different frequencies and at different volumes. (Note that some of the sounds your brain registers during the hearing test actually arrive there via bone conduction, so you may be asked to where a headband around your forehead that measures this activity.) During the test, sounds are played at their lowest possible decibel levels, and then the volume is slowly raised, and you indicate to the audiologist when you can first hear them.
Then the process repeats with a sound at a different frequency. The resulting audiogram shows a line of dots across the graph, each representing a different frequency, and the volume at which you were first able to hear it. In theory, this line of dots should be fairly straight, showing that you heard all frequencies at about the same volumes, but even in people with perfect hearing there are always small variations. Large differences, however – an inability to hear faint sounds in the low frequencies, for example – might be an indicator of a particular type of hearing loss, in this case one commonly caused by M√©ni√®re’s disease.Alternatively, if you can only hear high-frequency sounds at a high volume, that might be an indicator of a condition called NIHL, or noise-induced hearing loss. A significant inability to hear low volumes at all frequencies might indicate otosclerosis, a common form of sensorineural hearing loss.
Whatever the output, the audiogram is an essential tool to determine whether you have experienced hearing loss, and if so, what type of loss it may be, and thus how to treat it most effectively.
The Basics of Hearing Aid Care and Maintenance
Your hearing aid represents a sizeable investment. So far, it has performed well, allowing you to reconnect with loved ones and participate in conversations you once shied away from. However, because it is so reliable and easy, its easy to take your hearing aid for granted and not give it the care and maintenance it requires.
Hearing aids are sensitive. The electronic components of modern hearing aids can be affected by moisture or by rough handling, and their most delicate parts are sensitive to dirt, dust, and ear wax, all of which can clog them up. But by performing a few simple care and maintenance steps, you can ensure that your hearing aid lasts and performs well for as long as its designers intended it to. In this article, I point out a few of these simple care and maintenance Dos and Don’ts, to help you to properly maintain your hearing aid.
Always treat your hearing aid with care
- When removing your hearing aid from its packaging or temporary container, stand over soft ground so that if it falls, it falls onto a soft surface not a hard floor.
- Keep your hearing aid away from temperature extremes – cold or hot.
- Never use any kind of chemical solvents or alcohol when cleaning the unit.
- Don’t use hairsprays or hair gels while wearing your hearing aid, because they can clog its sensitive microphone and receiver, and in some cases damage its plastic shell.
Keep your hearing aid away from water
- The digital circuitry in your hearing aid is particularly sensitive to moisture.
- Always remove it before showering, swimming, or bathing, and never try to clean it with a dripping wet cloth.
- Remove the hearing aid before going to sleep, and store it in a clean, dry place.
- After bathing, always make sure that your ears are completely dry before reinserting your hearing aid.
- Consider investing in a hearing aid dehumidifier; one of the most common reasons that hearing aids have to be returned for servicing is the buildup of moisture, so an inexpensive dehumidifier can greatly extend the life of your precision instrument.
- Follow the manufacturer instructions for using your dehumidifier. Most of them require that you remove the batteries.
Try to keep your ears free from excess ear wax
- The second most common reason that hearing aids are returned for servicing is that they become clogged with ear wax.
- Ear wax is good and natural for our ears, but can be problematic for hearing aids.
- Upon removing your hearing aid, wipe away ear wax using a soft cloth.
- Clean any ear wax from the receiver and microphone areas of the device, using the brush or tools provided with the unit.
Change the batteries regularly
- As batteries lose their charge you may notice a degradation in hearing aid performance.
- If you allow them to run out completely, the hearing aid may have to be reprogrammed.
- Switch your hearing aid off when you’re not using it, or at night, to help the batteries last longer.
- When you change the batteries its a good time to clean the battery contacts using a cotton swab. Dirty contacts can also impact your hearing aid’s performance.
CICs From ReSound
Everybody’s talking about CICs these days and for good reason. These innovative, well-designed Completely In Canal hearing aids can improve the hearing and lives of those with mild to moderate hearing loss better than ever before. Small, discrete and almost invisible, these little hearing devices can work wonders. They even come with a “face plate” that can be matched to your skin for greater camouflage.
CICs fit comfortably inside your ear canal because they are custom fit by your audiologist just for you. A CIC aid could be just what you need to stay involved in the lives of your loved ones and communicate more clearly with everyone that you need to during your busy daily life. Take a look at just a few of the CIC options available to you from ReSound:
- ReSound, a well-respected hearing instrument manufacturer, offers several types of CICs. ReSound CICs offer a unique surround-sound experience, with better, richer sound quality. The devices enhance spatial awareness with more-detailed sound quality. Locating where sounds come from is much easier than in the past with a ReSound CIC. ReSound devices also assist you in enjoying conversation, even while noise rages on in the background.
- The ReSound Alera improves hearing even in challenging listening environments, using core technologies such as Natural Directionality, Environmental Optimization and Surround-Sound. ReSound’s Alera model makes sounds crisp and clear— more like natural hearing. Be sure to talk over your options with your audiologist.
- The Alera TS™ helps to manage tinnitus (or ringing in the ears), whether it has come along with hearing loss or not. The device detracts your attention from the tinnitus, masking it and providing relief.
- Resound’s Unite aid accessories improve hearing in certain listening situations. These devices enable you to “plug in” to the sounds you enjoy hearing- directly yet wirelessly. With these accessories to your CIC, you can establish a completely wireless connection to common audio-intensive electronics such as televisions and telephones. The specialized tools include the Mini-Microphone, the TV streamer, the Phone Clip and Remote Control. No more frustration over limited transmission areas or worn-on-the-body streamers that you may have used before. Besides being extremely helpful, these add-ons are also very easy to use.
Questions about CIC hearing devices? Talk to your audiologist to find out if you have hearing loss and what type(s). Your audiologist will help you select the specific device that will most improve your unique hearing loss, and adjust it to fit you comfortably. Hearing aid advice from friends may not be helpful since everyone has his or her own pattern of hearing loss.
http://www.gnresound.com/hearing-aids/unite/home.aspx; http://www.gnresound.com/hearing-aids/hearing-aid-products/AleraTS.aspx
2601 Delaney Ave Orlando, Florida 32806 (407) 329-4885
BTEs of Unitron
Unitron is a lesser known manufacturer of hearing aids. In the United States, their primary office is located in Minnesota; however they have offices stationed all around the world in eighteen different countries. They have been working with Sonova Hearing Health for almost fifty years.
In that time they have developed three types of BTE hearing aids. The classic BTE is everything you would expect in size, fit, and technology. Its large size makes it easier to carry around bigger batteries for a longer life and less frequent battery changes. Mild to profound hearing loss can be helped with the classic BTE.
“Open” BTE’s by Unitron have an open style receiver that makes it easier to have more natural sound and a less blocked ear feeling than any other BTE. As comfortable as it is, it is only suitable for mild to moderate high frequency hearing losses. They are barely noticeable when worn.
The last type of BTE produced by Unitron for mild to moderate hearing losses is the canal receiver technology, or BTE CRT. This is a standard receiver in the ear, i.e., it’s not “open”. The microphone, amplifier and microcomputer housing are all significantly smaller than that of the other two BTE’s making it completely invisible to the naked eye unless you have very short hair and someone is looking at the back of your head.
Additional BTE options are more about what you can program the BTE hearing aids to do, rather than the style of hearing aid. Unitron also makes sure that their BTE’s are completely compatible with most hearing devices and accessories such that you don’t have to remove your hearing aids or switch them out for ones that will accommodate other hearing devices and hearing accessories.