Better Hearing Blog
Dizzying Ménière’s disease
Ménière’s disease, which is named after the 19th-century French physician who discovered the condition, is characterized by intermittent and abrupt attacks of vertigo (a spinning sensation) and sometimes tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Ménière’s sufferers may also experience hearing loss that can become permanent over time, as well as hypersensitivity to sounds and sound distortion. The condition typically develops in people in their 40s and 50s and usually occurs in one ear. However, some of those afflicted with Ménière’s disease experience involvement of the second ear, which can lead to bilateral hearing loss. While the cause of the disease largely remains a mystery, and diagnosis may be challenging, treatment with a hearing instrument often proves to be of benefit.
Before being fitted for a hearing aid, it’s important to tell your doctor that your hearing loss is due to Meniere’s disease and the extent to which your hearing fluctuates. Hearing aids help some, but not all, Meniere’s disease patients. To schedule an appointment, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. Don’t delay the enjoyment of the sounds in your life any longer. Come in and let us help you get back to the world of hearing. New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. While there may be a decrease over time in the number and severity of episodes of vertigo associated with Ménière’s disease, tinnitus and hearing loss usually increase.
Get With the Program
As we go through our days at home, at work, and at play, we subject our ears to a number of different listening environments. We might have a quiet conversation over coffee in the morning, while work may be conducted in offices with multiple distractions and steady background noise. Because one program on a hearing instrument cannot be expected to perform equally well in different listening environments, many hearing instruments are outfitted with multiple programs. Each program may be accessed with the push of a button on the instrument or with the use of a remote control. More sophisticated hearing instruments are capable of analyzing the listening environment and adjusting automatically, without touching the hearing instrument or a remote control.
For more information, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. Our staff of two audiologists and a licensed hearing aid dispenser offers comprehensive services, including diagnostic testing, hearing aid evaluation, and dispensing. 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. Some of the remote controls used to access programs on a hearing instrument can act as Bluetooth streaming devices.
Making a Qualitative Difference
Hearing loss can affect older individuals in ways that may not be readily apparent. Because hearing loss makes it more difficult to carry on a conversation, it can impair the ability to socialize with others, causing hearing-impaired individuals to become anxious, depressed, and paranoid. From a physical standpoint, uncorrected hearing loss has also been linked with a threefold increased risk of falling (compared to people without hearing loss). Hearing loss is also associated with slower walking speed. In fact, a person with hearing loss will walk at the pace of someone who is 12.5 years older. Both the increased risk of falling and slower gait speed may result from hearing loss’ association with inner-ear problems that affect equilibrium.
Gait and balance are things most of us take for granted, but they are cognitively demanding. If hearing loss imposes a cognitive load, there may be fewer cognitive resources to help with maintaining balance and gait. Many modern hearing aids are extremely effective. If fitted well by an experienced audiologist, they can make a real difference. For more information, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. According to one 2013 comprehensive review of 50 studies, only 39% of people with hearing loss rated the quality of their lives as “excellent,” while 69% of people with normal hearing did.
When Less is More
Current digital hearing instruments process the sound that wearers hear to make speech more understandable. By utilizing “wide dynamic range compression,” modern hearing instruments amplify softer sounds while leaving loud sounds untouched. Although this kind of processing allows hearing-impaired individuals to better understand conversation, it can distort music. Compounding the problem for hearing-impaired music lovers is the fact that recorded music commonly undergoes “compression limiting,” which squeezes louder and softer sounds together in a narrower range, thereby increasing perceived volume. To address this issue, music lovers generally prefer to listen to music that is processed less, not more. With this in mind, hearing-instrument users may create a program in their instruments that is exclusively configured for listening to music.
BETTER HEARING CENTER offers the latest in hearing technology with unsurpassed customer service and care to our patients. Our team is committed to providing you and your loved ones with clear and up-to-date solutions. To schedule a hearing assessment, please give us a call. Our goal is to provide you with everything you need to know to make the right decisions for your hearing health. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. Multi-memory hearing instruments give hearing healthcare professionals the flexibility to fit clients with various types and degrees of hearing loss effectively for different listening environments.
A Ringing Endorsement
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) often accompanies hearing loss. In fact, most tinnitus can be traced to noise-induced damage and age-related changes that occur among the sound-sensing “hair cells” of the inner ear. With this in mind, individuals who experience ringing or buzzing noises in their ears that does not come from an external source should have their hearing tested. The first in a series of annual audiograms can set a baseline for measuring future changes. In cases of mild tinnitus, a bedside environmental sound generator can help mask the ringing that tinnitus sufferers hear in their heads. In more severe cases, using a hearing instrument to provide clear sound at a sufficient volume may distract the brain from tinnitus.
Tinnitus is subjective affects people in different ways. For some, it’s a minor annoyance. For others, it can result in issues such as sleep disruption, stress, distraction, anxiety, depression, and employment challenges. To schedule an appointment, please BETTER HEARING CENTER. Don’t delay the enjoyment of the sounds in your life any longer. Come in and let us help you get back to the world of hearing. New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. Tinnitus is not a condition in and of itself, but a symptom of an underlying condition such as hearing loss, ear injury, or a circulatory system disorder.
Degree of Difficulty
With a “mild” hearing loss (26 to 41 dB range), people can typically hear one-on-one conversations as long as they can see the speaker’s face and are listening at close range. However, even a mild hearing loss can pose problems if the conversation partner is at a distance or has a soft voice. Understanding conversation in noisy backgrounds may also be difficult. With a “moderate” hearing loss (41 to 70 dB range), conversations are difficult to understand even with no competing background noise. When there is noise in the background, speech comprehension is extremely difficult. As far as a “severe” hearing loss (71 to 90 dB range) is concerned, hearing is difficult in all situations. Hearing instruments can help.
To schedule an exam, please call BETTER HEARING CENTER. We offer a variety of affordable hearing aid options to meet every budget and hearing loss need. Our certified hearing aid specialists use a personalized approach in recommending hearing aid options to best meet every patient’s preferences. We understand hearing loss is a complex problem that requires a multi-faceted treatment protocol. Let us help you get back to the world of hearing at New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.
P.S. Moderate hearing loss can be broken down into “moderate” (41 to 55 dB) and “moderately severe” (56 to 70 dB).
