Better Hearing Blog

When people lean in to intently listen to what another person is saying, they usually instinctively turn their heads to the right side. There is a reason for this. Recent research has found that both children and adults rely more on their right ears for processing and retaining what they hear. This bias can largely be explained by the fact that sounds that enter the right ear are processed by the left side of the brain, which controls speech, language development, and portions of memory. Because young children’s auditory systems cannot sort and separate the simultaneous information from both ears, they depend more heavily on their right ears to capture sounds and information. For many, this preference persists into adulthood.

If you have questions about hearing deficits, hearing instruments, or hearing evaluations, or if you just need to talk to a clinical audiologist about the state of your hearing, we want you to know you are always welcome at BETTER HEARING CENTER. Perhaps you have a hearing aid that you don’t wear because it did not live up to your expectations. If so, bring it to us and let us take a look. It may be that a simple adjustment or a switch in styles is all it will take to bring your hearing abilities up to maximum capacity. As New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider, we are the only hearing center that has served the Concord, New Hampshire, area for more than 55 years.

P.S. According to the research mentioned above, study participants who listened to audio information through their right ears retained the information up to 40 percent more effectively.

Individuals who have normal to moderate hearing loss in one ear and no usable hearing in the other ear might be helped by a “CROS” (contralateral routing of signal) or “BiCROS” (bilateral routing of signal) hearing instrument. By using a transmitter unit with a microphone that is worn on the ear with no usable hearing, sounds are gathered and channeled to the better ear, which is outfitted with a hearing instrument with a receiver. This way, the CROS hearing system feeds the sound from the non-hearing side to the better ear. With a BiCROS system, sound is sent from the non-hearing ear to the other ear, which hears but also needs amplification to overcome a degree of hearing loss.

The many marvels that exist in the hearing industry today make it easier than ever to enhance your hearing. And you’ll be glad to know you can always expect to find the best way to get the sounds of life back when you put your hearing healthcare needs in the expert, compassionate hands of a clinical audiologist at BETTER HEARING CENTER. Together, we will investigate ways to improve your hearing, and we’ll set realistic goals for better communication. Our objective is to meet all your hearing healthcare needs, now and in the future. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. Both CROS and BiCROS systems enable users to hear sounds from the non-hearing sides of their heads that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

“Tinnitus” (ringing or buzzing in the ears) typically occurs as a result of overexposure to loud noises that damage the hair cells of the inner ear. Consequently, musicians, landscapers, factory workers, police/fire/ambulance workers, military personnel, and power tool users are afflicted with chronic buzzing in their ears. Although tinnitus’ exact cause remains elusive, the problem probably rests with noise-related damage in the inner ear that disrupts how sound is processed by the brain. With this in mind, it is interesting to point out that clinical trials involving “transcranial magnetic stimulation” (TMS) significantly improved symptoms in more than half of study participants. TMS, which generates a magnetic field that affects the activity of brain neurons, needs more study.

Our noisy world offers no guarantees that we’ll have perfect hearing throughout our lives. We must accept the responsibility of protecting our hearing, in our recreational pursuits and our home and work environments, and do all we can to correct impairments. If you don’t hear as well as you feel you should, don’t wait until you feel left out. Have your hearing checked by a clinical audiologist. Here at BETTER HEARING CENTER, helping you achieve your optimum hearing potential is our only business. Call us to arrange a hearing test. Most insurances accepted for hearing evaluations. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. If hearing loss accompanies tinnitus, a hearing instrument may prove beneficial. Masking devices, which emit sounds that mask tinnitus, may also be effective.

Recent interest in over-the-counter hearing instruments called “personal sound amplification products” (PSAPs) has been piqued by studies showing they may prove to be beneficial for certain cases of hearing loss. The primary benefit of these devices is that they are relatively inexpensive. Unlike traditional hearing instruments that are prescribed on the basis of a medical evaluation and a hearing test, PSAPs are unregulated, non-prescription devices that merely amplify environmental sounds. They are, in effect, reading glasses for the ears in that they magnify all sounds and do not target specific frequencies in ways that prescribed hearing instruments do. While PSAPs may have a place in the widening spectrum of hearing instruments, most are quite rudimentary and of limited value.

We take the responsibility very seriously of matching every patient with the hearing instruments best suited to his or her special circumstances. We then use sophisticated technology to achieve the most accurate, comfortable, custom fit. The extensive training required of certified clinical audiologists and our experience in the field make us well-suited to both tasks. Is your hearing in need of a boost? Call us at BETTER HEARING CENTER to arrange a hearing evaluation and to see the astonishing hearing instruments available today. Most insurances accepted for hearing evaluations. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. A personal sound amplification product without volume/power-limiting capabilities might over-amplify loud noises and further damage the wearer’s hearing.

In order to effectively treat hearing loss, it is important to pinpoint its cause. Reasons for diminished hearing ability can range from excessive noise to earwax (cerumen) blockage to the ingestion of certain medications. Another potential cause of hearing loss that recently came to researchers’ attention is “iron deficiency anemia” (IDA). After examining the medical records of 305,339 adults between the ages of 21 and 90, it was found that IDA increased the odds of several different kinds of hearing loss, including those involving problems with the bones of the middle ear, sensorineural hearing loss (in which there is damage to the cochlea or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain), deafness, and unspecified hearing loss.

Although hearing loss often goes undetected, it is actually one of the most common health problems in North America (only high blood pressure and arthritis are more common). And when we realize how many causes there are for hearing impairment, including disease, today’s high-tech phones and music players, aging, noise pollution, heredity, trauma, and smoking, it’s no wonder the numbers are so high. If your hearing is not what it once was or what it should be, find out how good it could be at BETTER HEARING CENTER. Call us to arrange a painless hearing test. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. A better understanding of the association between hearing loss and iron deficiency anemia may yield new treatments and/or prevention measures for hearing loss.

One of the things about aging that seniors fear most is cognitive decline that robs them of their memory and reasoning power. Fortunately, it is possible to help stave off dementia by keeping physically and intellectually active. In addition, while previous research has linked hearing loss with cognitive problems, a more recent study shows that hearing instruments protect against cognitive decline. According to a study involving 100 individuals between the ages of 80 and 99, despite having varying degrees of hearing loss, those wearing hearing instruments scored better on cognitive-function tests than those not wearing hearing instruments. Because hearing loss is nearly universal among the over-80 set, their use of hearing instruments is highly recommended.

Even though we hear with our ears, the ability to understand what people are saying occurs in the hearing center of the brain. So when an uncorrected hearing loss causes diminished communication, it’s time to rediscover the benefits of healthy hearing and the wondrous hearing instruments available today. Begin with a hearing test at BETTER HEARING CENTER and a consultation with a certified clinical audiologist. We are the only hearing center that has served the Concord, New Hampshire, area for more than 55 years. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. The use of hearing instruments by hearing-impaired seniors helps them overcome their sense of isolation and promotes socializing that keeps them connected to others.