Joyce is in Africa!

Joyce and her husband Jerry are in Africa right now - along with their son, niece and a few friends.  She's been sending a few pictures here and there to let us know what she's up to.

FUN.  She's having fun.

They spent a couple days visiting different villages and passing out articles of clothing and school supplies to hundreds of orphaned children.  She described it as "sobering."

She has let a giraffe eat food right out of her mouth.

And she's been playing with baby elephants - also orphans, who's mothers' have been poached.

Enjoy some pictures:

Be sure to ask Joyce about her trip next time you're in, I'm sure she'll have a plethora of stories to share!

The Quest for the Coolest Set of Hearing Aids

by Ross Cushing, Au.D., director of A&A Hearing Group in Maryland.
Published in Hearing Health Magazine, winter 2011


Does anyone remember the days of "traditional hearing aids," when hearing devices were fit to simply and appropriately amplify a hearing loss? Well, those simpler times are over. The days of Bluetooth connectivity, wireless interfacing, talking hearing aids, and hi-fi invisible devices are here.

No longer are hearing professional merely experts in prescribing and fitting hearing aids and performing hearing rehabilitation. Today, they also have to feel comfortable as lifestyle consultants for the hearing impaired. our patients expect us to be able to advise them not just on appropriate amplification, but also on the coolest new technology available and how they can integrate that technology into their lives - be it cell phone, TV, or music player.

This brings us hearing aid providers to a new level of nerdiness, while also demanding an entirely new technological skill set. Plus, the hearing aids themselves must be as invisible, versatile, and maintenance-free as possible.

New technology is making hearing aids smarter.  Deep canal hearing aids are a good example.  DCHAs cover a wide range of hearing loss, from mild to sever, using unusually small-and often invisible-devices. Placement deep in the ear canal, in the bony portion, minimizes the occlusion effect (the blocked feeling in the ear canal); uses the natural resonance of the pinna (part of the outer ear) and ear canal to create a more natural sound; reduces feedback; and increases the ability to hear high frequencies.

Bluetooth connectivity and wireless capability lets our patients hear anything streamed from a Bluetooth device including music, radio, and podcasts. They can also listen to cell phone conversations in stereo with the target amplification of the instruments exactly matched to their audiograms. A hearing aid in the right ear can communicate with the hearing aid in the left ear to achieve better focus on speech in noise. And when it's time to schedule a visit with the hearing aid provide, a pleasant voice generated by the hearing aid can remind the patient to make an appointment.

Many hearing aids can be paired with a small handheld remote or wristwatch control This lets the patient adjust the hearing instruments' microphone strategy, speech enhancement, noise reduction, and overall volume comfortably and discreetly. The changes made with the remote can "teach" the hearing aid the patient's preferences so the hearing aid amplifies according to prior settings for certain sound environments.

No matter what your priorities are for hearing aid - technology, abundant convenience, or simply a small size - these days you can have it all. And with superior sound quality to boot.

What kind of headphones (or ear buds) should I be using?

Weigh the pros and cons when choosing headphones that go over the ear versus ear buds that fit inside the ear (also know as ear phones). The standard open-type ear buds may results in a need to increase the volume to hear music over background noise at a gym, for instance.  Headphones with some type of noise canceling or sound isolation work well to allow enjoyment of music at safe, lower levels, without interference from background noise.

One compromise: ear buds with soft tips that are sound isolating, so you can enjoy full ousnd at lower, safer levels. They can also be inexpensive. But keep in mind that using any kind of headphone or ear bud can be risky during situations where hearing is necessary for safety, such as when running or biking.

HEADPHONES
Brands: Shure, Sony, Extreme Isolation. These are great for stage, studio recording, or listening to music.

HEADPHONES THAT BLOCK OUT SOUND
Brands: Peltor, especially Peltor Kid Ear Muffs for teens at concerts. Also Aearo/EAR offers at good, sound-dampening headphone.

NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES
Brands: Bose, Sony, Logitech, JVC, Able Planet. Volume levels can be kept lower since ambient noise, such as from an airplane engine, is reduced. The cost is a bit more than standard headphones. They aren't recommended for professional musicians because they alter sound signals.

EAR BUDS
Brands: Future Sonics, Shure, Westone, Ultimate Ears, Monster, Etymotic Research, JH Audio, Sensaphonics, Senniheiser. The universal fit models offered by these companies offer good quality at less expense than models fro the pros, which are used by U2, Eric Clapton, Beyonce, Alicia Keyes, and others
-Be cautious of cheaper generic earphones. The sound quality is not very good and they must be turned up loudly to hear any bass, which can cause more hearing damage.

Musical Training Improves Memory?

New data indicates that musical training pays off later in life.  In comparison to their non-musical coevals, musicians aged 45-65 exhibit excellent auditory memory and greater ability to discern speech in noise, according to a Northwestern University study.  Eighteen musicians and 19 non-musicians were tested for speech in noise, auditory working memory, visual working memory, and auditory temporal processing.  The musicians, each of who had received musical training since age 9, outperformed the non-musicians on all tests except visual working memory (in which the groups' performances were equal).

The results suggest that practice in distinguishing complex structures of sound helps the brain fend off age-related changes in auditory function.


Published in ASHA Leader Magazine, July 2011

Open the Door to Better Hearing

Have a Great Holiday Weekend!

Happy Easter!

A Deeper Source of Tinnitus?

Although traditional theories of tinnitus suggest the condition is caused by cochlear damage, a recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience points to another source - the brain cranking up the volume to account for subtle hearing loss.  Researchers focused on 15 participants who reported tinnitus symptoms, as well as 18 participants free of tinnitus.

After recording the brain activity of participants as they listened to a series or rapid-fire clicks, researchers found that some sounds showed a reduced amplitude, while sounds generated closer to the brain had normal amplitude - even in those with tinnitus.  The authors suggest these results are evidence of "hidden hearing loss," and tinnitus is merely the brain's attempt to compensate by turning up the volume.  Search "ringing deeper" at www.sciencenews.org.

from The Asha Leader 

The Perils of Too Much Headphone Use.

from the Better Hearing Institute

There's no denying headphones contribute to the convenience of our listening pleasure: We can block out the distractions of the world with a slew of downloaded tunes. But there's also no denying these devices put our aural health, and our very lives, at risk, according to two recent studies. And teens and young adults are those most affected.

Hearing loss
Blaring sound into our ears at close range has long been proven to lead to hearing loss and permanent damage. Now new research by Tel Aviv University finds that the music listening habits of teenagers puts one in four teens at risk of early hearing loss as a direct result of listening to iPods, MP3 players and other music devices at high volume--their preferred acoustical hearing level.

The researchers asked study participants about their preferred volumes, and took those decibel measurements and average time spent plugged into their personal listening devices (PLD) daily, to reach their conclusion. The study was published in the International Journal of Audiology.

"In 10 or 20 years it will be too late to realize that an entire generation of young people is suffering from hearing problems much earlier than expected from natural aging," wrote Professor Chava Muchnik of TAU's Department of Communication Disorders in the Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, in a released statement.

Those teens who misuse PLDs today might find that their hearing begins to deteriorate as early as in their 30s and 40s, much earlier than past generations, warned the researchers. Muchnik recommends that manufacturers adopt European standards that limit the output of PLDs to 100 decibels. Currently some models can reach 129 decibels.

Decibel levels above 90 are considered "extremely loud" by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, which offers resources on noise and what decibel levels are dangerous and safe and what you can do to protect your hearing.

Pedestrian injury
Since 2004, serious injuries to pedestrians listening to headphones have more than tripled, according to research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

Initiated after reviewing the death of a local Maryland teen, wearing headphones, who died crossing railroad tracks despite the oncoming train's auditory alarms, the study reviewed 116 cases in other states of accidents and injuries involving pedestrians wearing headphones that tune out warning sounds and other aural clues. Seventy percent of those cases ended in fatalities when the pedestrian failed to hear the sound of car or train horns. Young adult males under age 30 accounted for more than two-thirds of the victims.

"Everybody is aware of the risk of cell phones and texting in automobiles, but I see more and more teens distracted with the latest devices and headphones in their ears," wrote lead author Richard Lichenstein, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center in a released statement.

Two phenomena are likely occurring simultaneously during these accidents, noted the researchers: "Inattentional blindness," caused by electronic devices such as headphones, in which multiple stimuli divide the brain's mental resource allocation; and intensified sensory deprivation, where the ability to hear the warning signals are masked by the sounds produced by the headphones and portable electronic devices.
All the more reason to give your ears a rest.

People with Chronic Kidney Disease Should Have Their Hearing Checked During National Kidney Month, World Kidney Day, Better Hearing Institute Urges

Washington, DC, February 6, 2012 People with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other diseases of the kidney should make hearing checks a routine part of their medical care, according to the Better Hearing Institute (BHI), which is offering a free, quick, and confidential online hearing check at http://www.hearingcheck.org/. BHI is offering the online convenience as part of its effort to raise awareness of the link between kidney disease and hearing loss during National Kidney Month in March, and in recognition of World Kidney Day on March 8. The online hearing check will help people determine if they need a comprehensive hearing test by a hearing healthcare professional.
Unaddressed hearing loss can have very significant consequences on a person’s day-to-day living and greatly undermine quality of life,” said Sergei Kochkin, PhD, BHI's executive director. “We need to include hearing screenings as a routine part of the medical care for people with kidney disease to help optimize their quality of life.”
As published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases and highlighted on the National Kidney Foundation web site, a team of Australian researchers found that older adults with moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a higher prevalence of hearing loss than those of the same age without CKD.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, an Australian research team assessed more than 2,900 individuals aged 50 and older, including 513 with moderate chronic kidney disease. Of those with CKD, more than 54 percent reported some level of hearing loss compared to only 28 percent of the rest of the group. Nearly 30 percent of the CKD participants showed severe hearing loss compared with only 10 percent of the non-CKD participants.
Referencing the Australian study, Dr. Kerry Willis, Senior Vice President of Scientific Activities at the National Kidney Foundation stated:  “These findings could lead to a modification of the usual care of people with CKD. Earlier clinical hearing assessments and fitting of hearing aids in CKD patients can improve quality of life and lead to better management of underlying conditions which could, in turn, potentially preserve hearing function.”
About Chronic Kidney Disease
(Source: National Kidney Foundation)
According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 26 million Americans over age 20 have CKD—roughly 13 percent of the adult population. And people with high blood pressure, diabetes, and/or a family history of kidney disease are at risk for developing CKD. The good news is that there are things that people can do to help prevent or delay the progression of CKD.
The National Kidney Foundation offers these top five tips for keeping both the kidneys and heart healthy.

1. Don’t smoke. The strongest modifiable risk fact for both kidney and heart disease is smoking. There is nothing you can do that is more important in the prevention of both heart and kidney disease as stopping smoking.
2. Control your blood pressure.  High blood pressure causes both kidney and heart disease.
3. Eat a proper diet. This should be patterned after the DASH diet.
4. Maintain a healthy body weight, which requires balancing calorie intake with exercise and activity.
5. Have your physician test you for both heart and kidney disease. It turns out that heart disease is a risk factor for kidney disease and kidney disease is a known risk factor for heart disease. Hence, if you know you have one, you should have yourself tested for the other.

About Hearing Loss
Approximately one in 10 Americans, or 34 million people, have some degree of hearing loss. Yet, fewer than 15 percent of physicians today screen for hearing loss during annual physical exams.

Numerous studies have linked untreated hearing loss to a wide range of physical and emotional conditions, including impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks, reduced alertness, increased risk to personal safety, irritability, negativism, anger, fatigue, tension, stress, depression, and diminished psychological and overall health.
Fortunately, the vast majority of people with hearing loss can be helped with hearing aids. And three out of four hearing aid users report improvements in their quality of life due to wearing hearing aids.
About the Better Hearing Institute
Founded in 1973, BHI conducts research and engages in hearing health education with the goal of helping people with hearing loss benefit from proper treatment. For more information on hearing loss, visit http://www.betterhearing.org/. To take the BHI Quick Hearing Check, visit http://www.hearingcheck.org/. To participate in the discussion forum, visit http://www.betterhearing.org/, click on “Discussion Forum,” and go to “Welcome!” to register.

EXPECTATIONS: a key to success

written by Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D., - Better Hearing Institute, Washington, DC

Here are some issues you should keep in mind as you develop appropriate expectations about what your hearing aids can and cannot do for you:

Restore hearing: No matter how technically advance, in most cases hearing aids cannot restore your hearing to normal, except in some very mild hearing losses.

Types of hearing aids: No tall hearing aids perform the same with every type of hearing loss.

Hearing in noise: No hearing aid has been designed that will filer out ALL background noise.  Some hearing aids can reduce the amplification of some types of background noise or make you more comfortable in the presence of noise.  The most effective solution for im proving speech intelligibility in noisy situations is hearing aids with directional microphones. When directional hearing aids are coupled with digital signal processing, you can be assure that your hearing aids are optimized for improving your quality of life in noisy environments.

Fit and comfort: Since you are purchasing custom hearing aids, you should expect the fit to be comfortable; ideally you should not even know they are in your ears. There should not be any soreness, bleeding, or rashes associated with your wearing hearing aids.  If there is, go back to your hearing healthcare provider.

Sounds: Hearing aids should allow you to: (1) hearing soft sounds (e.g. child's voice, soft speech) that you could not hear without amplification; this is part of the enjoyment of hearing aids; (2) prevent loud sounds from becoming uncomfortably loud for you - but very loud sounds that are uncomfortable to normal hearing people may also be uncomfortable for you.

Whistling and feedback: It is normal for hearing aids to squeal or whistle when you are inserting them into your ear (if you do not have a volume control to shut it off). If it squeals after the initial insertion, then most likely you have an inadequate fit, and should tell your hearing healthcare provider.

Your friend's hearing aid: Do not expect your friend's hearing aid brand or style to work for you.

Your family doctor: Do not expect your family doctor to be knowledgeable about hearing loss, brands of hearing aids and whether or not your need them.  Data shows that only 13% of physicians screen for hearing loss.

Expect benefit: Expect your hearing aids to provide benefit to you during the trial period.  By benefit, I mean that your ability to understand speech has demonstrably improved in the listening situations important to you (within realistic expectations thought). This is what you hoped for, and you should expect benefit.  If you do not experience an improvement, then work with your hearing healthcare professional to see if the instrument can be adjusted to meet your specific needs.  Never purchase a hearing aid that does not give you sufficient benefit.

Satisfaction guarantee: Expect to be satisfied with your hearing aids; expect the quality of your life to improve due to your hearing aids.

Trial period: Expect a 30-day trial period with a money back guarantee if your hearing aids do not give you benefit (there might be a small nonrefundable portion for some services rendered).

Adjustment period: Give your hearing aids a chance, being sure to follow the instructions of the hearing healthcare provider. Most people need a period of adjustment (called acclimatization) before deriving the maximum benefit from their hearing aids (even up to four months).