Better Hearing Blog
Communicating with the Hearing Impaired
Regardless of how old you are or what you do, you are likely to meet someone who suffers from hearing loss. To facilitate conversation, it is important not to begin speaking until you have the attention of the person with whom you wish to converse. Once you have engaged the other person’s eyes, make sure not to turn away or cover your mouth, because hearing- impaired individuals rely on facial expressions and lip reading to communicate.
Speaking of facial expressions, try to use them more than you might normally to convey your thoughts and emotions. Because someone who is deaf cannot discern changes in voice intonation, it helps to use facial expressions to gauge the emotional content of a conversation. Hearing loss can affect anyone and has a profound effect on our ability to communicate with the people around us. Many modern hearing aids are extremely effective and if fitted well by an experienced audiologist, can make a real difference. To schedule an appointment, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. Hearing aids help put people back in touch with their family and friends by letting them enjoy participating in social activities again. New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. When speaking to a hearing-impaired person, it is important to speak at your normal rate. Talking too slowly can make it more difficult for lip readers to understand what is being said.
The Smallest of The Small.
For those who are intent on wearing a hearing instrument that is so tiny that they will be the only ones to know that they are wearing one, there is the “Invisible-in-the-Canal” (IIC) hearing instrument. These instruments, which are custom-fitted from impressions of the wearer’s ear canal, are positioned so deeply inside the ear that they typically come in shades that are intended to mimic the shadows inside the ear. Virtually invisible, IIC hearing instruments are most suitable for those suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss.
Because they are placed so close to the eardrum, IIC instruments ensure immediate response to sound with less ambient noise. Invisible-in-the-canal instruments are the choice of those who value discretion. BETTER HEARING CENTER offers a full range of diagnostic and hearing-loss prevention services, hearing instruments and assistive devices. We continue the tradition of better hearing through education, technology, and customer service. To schedule an appointment, please call our hearing center. We are the only hearing center that has served the Concord, New Hampshire, area for more than 55 years. New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. “Invisible-in-the-Canal” hearing instruments require that those who place and remove them from their ears have good manual dexterity (because of their small size).
Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome
The alliterative term “selective sound sensitivity syndrome” (or “misophonia”) is used to describe a condition whereby a person experiences an intense emotional reaction to a specific sound. It may be a constant tapping of a foot on the floor or a pencil against a desk surface that causes a misophonic individual to fly into a rage. The word “misophonic” literally means “hatred of sound.” This disorder is not caused by hearing impairment and is not the same as “hypercusis” (oversensitivity to the volume of sounds), but it is certainly worth noting. The sensitivity to certain sounds elicits extremely negative and immediate emotional and physiological responses that can significantly alter sufferers’ lives and their interactions with others.
Think the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard is unpleasant? This is a mild example of what people with misophonia experience when exposed to a trigger sound. In some cases, a person with misophonia can become socially isolated and pull back from family and friends in an attempt to reduce the associated physical symptoms that they experience when triggered. For more information, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. We’re excited to assist you in making decisions about your hearing health at New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. One possible treatment for misophonia is tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), which teaches misophonic individuals to improve their ability to tolerate certain noises.
Anemia Tied to Hearing Loss
Because hearing loss is so prevalent among older individuals, researchers have sought to find factors that will help identify those at increased risk. This research has recently yielded the finding that “sudden sensorineural hearing loss” (SSHL), during which hearing is severely reduced over a three-
day period, is linked with “iron deficiency anemia” (IDA). This common condition is caused by a lack of iron in the body, which leads to fewer red
blood cells that carry oxygen around the body. As a result, IDA reduces the amount of oxygen available to tissues. While the exact mechanism by which anemia leads to hearing loss is unknown, IDA is easy to treat. This correlation may prompt new ways to diagnose and treat SSHL.
Hearing loss has many causes such as disease or infection, ototoxic drugs, exposure to noise, tumors, trauma, and the aging process. This loss may or may not be accompanied by tinnitus, ringing in the ears. While most causes of hearing loss are well-understood, researchers are still studying all the possible causes, methods for prevention and treatment options. To schedule a hearing assessment, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. Considered a medical emergency, “sudden sensorineural hearing loss” (SSHL), also known as “sudden deafness,” usually occurs in one ear, either immediately or over several days.
Detecting Teen Hearing Loss
With so many youngsters exposing themselves to loud noise that can rob them of their hearing ability, it is important to develop new tests to detect adolescent hearing loss. If hearing loss is uncovered when it is mild, youngsters can be alerted to ways of modifying their behaviors that help to preserve their remaining hearing. With this in mind, researchers are currently suggesting that youngsters have their hearing checked in higher frequencies than are likely to be tested for at school or other non-professional settings. Normally, teens are able to hear in very high-frequency ranges that escape their elders’ notice. It is important that teens’ hearing be tested in accordance with their extended hearing capability.
Loss of hearing is gradual, and usually begins with the high frequencies. If your hearing loss becomes serious enough, you may risk impairing your ability to speak clearly. While listening to something too loudly and for extended periods of time is bad for your health, headphones better isolate the background noise, thus enabling you to listen at a lower volume. To schedule a hearing assessment, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. Some teens have used their higher-frequency hearing ability to their advantage by downloading ring tones on their cell phones that their teachers cannot hear.
Swimmer’s Ear
While the outer ear infection commonly known as “swimmer’s ear” is usually associated with young children and the summer months, it can occur at any age, at any time of the year. Moreover, swimming is only one possible cause. This outer ear infection occurs in the ear canal between the outer surface of the ear and the eardrum. Symptoms include itching, redness, swelling, pain, a feeling of fullness in the ear, and muffled hearing. The infection is most often caused by bacteria that invade the skin in the ear canal. Ordinarily, the ear canal is protected by earwax (cerumen) that forms a protective barrier, which inhibits bacterial growth. However, improper cleaning with a cotton swab can damage the skin.
To diagnose swimmer’s ear, your otolaryngologist will look for redness and swelling in your ear canal. Your doctor also may take a sample of any abnormal fluid or discharge in your ear. Your otolaryngologist has specialized equipment and the expertise to effectively clean the ear canal and treat swimmer’s ear. With proper treatment, most infections should clear up in 7-10 days. For more information, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. To avoid an outer ear infection, it is necessary for those wearing in-the-canal hearing instruments to clean their devices regularly and to carefully insert and remove them from their ears.
