Better Hearing Blog

Central to the type of hearing loss known as “sensorineural” is damage to the tiny “hair cells” that reside within the cochlea, where these sensory receptors convert sound waves into electrical signals that they transmit through the acoustic nerve to the brain. Unfortunately, once hair cells become damaged by loud noise, they do not have the ability to regenerate. As a result, hearing loss associated with hair-cell death is permanent. While sensorineural hearing loss lends itself to effective treatment with a hearing instrument, researchers continue to search for a way to regrow hair cells. Currently, two studies are underway, both of which involve injecting experimental medicines into the ear with the intention of repairing the damage that causes hearing loss.

One key element in addressing any hearing impairment you might have includes complete hearing testing by a certified clinical audiologist to determine the type and degree of your particular loss. This is the only way BETTER HEARING CENTER can help you choose the most appropriate hearing instrument for your impairment. And while your impairment is unique to you, the impact of hearing loss is similar among most people—diminished communication and loss of quality of life. Don’t put up with it. Call us instead to arrange a comprehensive hearing test. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. One of the experimental drugs that researchers are hoping will regenerate hair cells is a treatment codenamed FX-322, which stimulates progenitor cells to grow into healthy hair cells.

Eric Clapton recently expressed concerns that he had tinnitus and was “going deaf.” No less a musical talent than Ludwig van Beethoven shared these same concerns as he progressed from hearing buzzing in his ears (tinnitus) at age 26 to progressive hearing loss and total deafness by the age of 44. Yet, he still continued to compose music. He was able to do so by holding a pencil in his mouth and touching the other end to the soundboard of the piano as he played. Using the same principle that makes a bone-conduction hearing instrument work, Beethoven was able to conduct sound vibrations through the pencil to his teeth to his skull bones and into his inner ear.

The human ear is an amazing instrument. When its parts break down or fail to function properly, however, today’s remarkable technology is doing its best to keep pace to help the hearing impaired once again enjoy the sounds of the world around them. If you have concerns about your hearing, or a parent or other family member’s hearing abilities, we hope you’ll feel comfortable discussing today’s options for better hearing with a certified clinical audiologist at BETTER HEARING CENTER. Most insurances accepted for hearing evaluations_. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider._

P.S. By placing a vibrating tuning fork between their back teeth, musicians are able to hear a note via bone conduction, leaving both hands free to tune.

“Presbycusis” refers to the slow and progressive loss of hearing that affects both ears to the same degree and usually starts around the age of 50. This age-related loss of hearing usually starts in the high-frequency range, where conversation is conducted. As a result, those suffering from presbycusis are likely to find that speech intelligibility is hindered more than their ability to hear sounds. This is particularly true in cases where those suffering from presbycusis are trying to hear conversation in noisy environments. The term “cocktail party effect” refers to the ability to focus on a single conversation partner in a noisy environment. The experience of this and other presbycusis-related symptoms should prompt a hearing test.

Hearing loss is often a result of aging, although it can also be caused (or made worse) by prolonged exposure to loud noise, illness, heredity, injury, and medications. Are you hearing less than you used to? Come visit with a certified clinical audiologist at BETTER HEARING CENTER, and find out why and what you can do about it. We’re ready to help with comprehensive evaluations, custom fittings, follow-up support, expert repairs, and compassionate, personalized service. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider, and the only hearing center that has served the Concord, New Hampshire, area for more than 55 years.

P.S. Presbycusis can be hereditary, which means that if your closely related family members have experienced age- related hearing loss, you could have it as well.

Despite the fact that smoking during pregnancy has been linked to premature birth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that ten percent of women still smoke during the first three months of pregnancy. Now, women have one more reason to give up their smoking habit. Recent research indicates that exposure to nicotine before and after birth can lead to hearing problems among children. These problems stem from the fact that nicotine exposure compromises the ability of neurons, which normally receive sensory input from the cochlea (the sensory hearing organ), to send signals to the other neurons in the auditory brain stem as accurately and effectively as they normally would.

Hearing loss varies by cause, type, and degree. Its effects can be due to heredity, disease, a noisy environment, or the aging process. To find the most appropriate solution to your particular hearing impairment, rely on the services of a clinical audiologist. We present this column to educate the public on hearing loss and its effects and to help inform the millions of men, women, and children with hearing problems that help is available. Don’t suffer in a world of silence. Have a hearing test at BETTER HEARING CENTER instead. We are New Hampshire’s premier hearing care provider.

P.S. Research shows that smokers are 70 percent more likely to suffer hearing loss than non-smokers.

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.