Better Hearing Blog

Surveys indicate that seniors are more afraid of developing dementia, which includes Alzheimer’s disease, than they are fearful of getting cancer, heart disease, or a stroke. This fear of dementia is predicated on worries about losing independence and becoming a burden on loved ones. While there is currently no cure for dementia, experts recommend certain lifestyle changes that minimize seniors’ risk of developing the condition. These changes include lowering blood pressure to normal levels, giving up smoking, losing excess weight, remaining socially engaged, and treating diabetes. In addition, hearing loss has recently been discovered to be a risk factor for dementia. Treating hearing loss with a hearing instrument helps reduce feelings of depression and social isolation, which promote dementia.

If you have a hearing impairment, you are missing more than just the understanding of words. Hearing keeps you in touch with the world, lets you respond to sound, and reassures you of changing surroundings. After the age of 50, a regular hearing test should be considered as important as a yearly physical checkup. BETTER HEARING CENTER offers comprehensive hearing services by a certified clinical audiologist including evaluations, custom fittings, a full range of hearing instruments, accessories, follow-up support, and repairs. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. While it is not known if treating hearing loss can prevent memory loss, it is worth getting your hearing checked.

When it comes to the selection of a hearing instrument, it is generally true that bigger is more powerful. While individuals with mild-to-moderate hearing loss will most likely find that in-the-canal instruments can adequately meet their needs, those with moderate-to-severe hearing loss are usually best served by larger, behind-the-ear instruments with greater power and capabilities. However, larger does not necessarily mean more intrusive. Unlike traditional behind-the-ear instruments, an “open fit” instrument is also worn behind the ear, but is smaller. Instead of housing the microphone, digital processor, battery, and speaker in one unit, open fit instruments use a thin tube to connect a tiny speaker to a smaller behind-the-ear housing. This design is less visible and affords greater comfort.

P.S. Because open fit hearing instruments do not require an ear mold, they provide a more natural hearing experience.

While two out of three people have some degree of hearing loss by the time they reach age 65, many feel it isn’t severe enough to interfere with their daily lives. They therefore simply endure their hearing deficit, figuring that the worst that can happen is that they miss a few words of conversation, and they must ask people to repeat themselves. However, there may be more to it than that. Research shows that poor hearing can also increase the risk of injuries. According to one study, people who reported having poor hearing were nearly twice as likely to suffer some sort of accidental injury related to driving, work, or leisure/sport compared with people who reported having good/excellent hearing.

Millions of people of all ages face the daily challenge of living with a hearing loss. And while the number of hearing impaired individuals is on the rise, so too are the ways of dealing with hearing impairment. If you fall victim to hearing loss, don’t suffer in silence. Instead, take the first step toward changing your life. Visit BETTER HEARING CENTER to discuss with a Certified Clinical Audiologist the revolutionary options available today to help maximize your hearing potential. We are 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. At the very least, it’s a good idea to have your hearing tested in order to establish a baseline against which any future hearing loss can be compared.

While not every hearing-impaired person can derive benefit from wearing a hearing instrument, the hearing industry is dedicated to fighting all forms of hearing loss regardless of cause or treatment. In this case, mention must be made of the hearing loss pediatric patients might endure as a result of being treated with the medication cisplatin for liver cancer. Cisplatin (alone and in combination with other drugs) is standard treatment for several types of pediatric cancer, and 60% or more of children treated with cisplatin have significant treatment-associated hearing loss. However, new research shows that patients with cisplatin-treated liver cancer had a 50% reduction in the risk of significant hearing loss after receiving the antioxidant sodium thiosulfate in addition to chemotherapy.

One of the most important services BETTER HEARING CENTER provides is helping our patients comprehend their hearing impairments and become aware of the ways and means available to help improve their quality of life. It’s important to us that our family, friends, and neighbors here in Concord enjoy the world in which they live. We are committed to serving the needs of the hearing impaired no matter what their age. Can we help you? Let’s start with a hearing consultation and test. Then we’ll show you the amazing, revolutionary hearing instruments available today. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. According to the research mentioned above, the effectiveness of cisplatin was not found to be compromised by the addition of sodium thiosulfate.

When people delay treatment for hearing loss or elect not to wear a hearing instrument that might help them hear better, their decisions have consequences that extend beyond themselves. For instance, those who come in regular contact with individuals who have untreated hearing loss can become quite frustrated with being asked to repeat themselves. Others find themselves arguing about TV and radio volume. According to a recent review of 78 studies, researchers found that family members report arguments that leave them feeling stressed, worn out, and guilty (if they let their frustration show) over disagreements they have had with other family members with untreated hearing loss. This is one more reason to have hearing loss diagnosed and treated properly.

At BETTER HEARING CENTER, we know that any type of hearing impairment can have serious consequences that deserves professional care from a certified clinical audiologist. A hearing loss makes it more difficult to meet people and enjoy social gatherings. It can also affect a person’s job. A hearing loss can act as a barrier between the impaired and other people. That’s why Helen Keller said her hearing loss was a greater problem than her blindness. Is a hearing impairment diminishing the enjoyment of your life? Perhaps it’s time for a hearing evaluation. Most insurances are accepted for hearing evaluations. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. When untreated hearing loss disrupts relationships at work, performance and efficiency may be compromised

For those with mild to moderate hearing loss, “completely-in-the-canal” (CIC) hearing instruments are a cosmetically appealing choice due to their diminutive size, but they may be too small to accommodate certain features. However, the traditional “behind-the-ear” (BTE) hearing instruments, which fit behind the ear and use a tube and earmold to direct the sound into the ear canal, can address all degrees of hearing loss and are easy to use. Hearingimpaired individuals who want to combine the best elements of both a CIC instrument and a BTE one may want to consider “open-fit” BTEs, which are smaller versions of BTEs that use a slim tube to connect to a dome that funnels sound into the ear canal.

At BETTER HEARING CENTER, our primary responsibility is matching each patient with the hearing instrument best suited to his or her individual 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 New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider to arrange a hearing evaluation and to see the astonishing hearing instruments available today. Hearing tests are painless—have one soon at the only hearing center that has served the Concord, New Hampshire, area for more than 55 years.

P.S. “Receiver-in-the-canal” (RIC) and “receiver-in-the-ear” (RITE) are essentially two versions of open-fit hearing instruments, which now comprise a majority share of the consumer market