WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 12, 2011 — The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is warning consumers of the inherent risks associated with purchasing over-the-counter, one-size-fits-all hearing aids instead of consulting a hearing healthcare professional. Hearing loss is sometimes the symptom of a serious underlying medical problem. All 50 states require that consumers use a credentialed hearing care professional to purchase hearing aids.

BHI also points out that hearing devices that are purchased over-the-counter or Internet without the consultation of a hearing healthcare professional may result in the devices not being accurately customized to the specific hearing needs of the individual.

“Today’s state-of-the-art hearing aids should be programmed to the individual’s specific hearing loss requirements in order to provide good levels of benefit and customer satisfaction,” says Sergei Kochkin, BHI’s Executive Director. “The process requires a complete in-person hearing assessment in a sound booth; the training and skills of a credentialed hearing healthcare professional in order to prescriptively fit the hearing aids using sophisticated computer programs; and appropriate in-person follow-up and counseling. This is not possible when consumers purchase one-size-fits-all hearing aids over the Internet or elsewhere.”

Extensive research shows that individualized hearing health assessments and fittings programmed specific to the needs of the hearing aid user provide the best chance for optimal hearing enhancement and customer satisfaction.

“The best advice BHI can give anyone purchasing a hearing aid is to find a state credentialed hearing healthcare professional and to communicate openly during the evaluation, fitting and trial period to increase the likelihood that you are receiving the best possible benefit from your hearing aids,” says Kochkin. “It will make a tremendous difference in your ability to hear and in your quality of life.”

BHI has published a comprehensive consumer guide entitled, “Your Guide to Buying Hearing Aids.” (See www.betterhearing.org under hearing loss treatment). The guidelines give confidence to first-time hearing aid buyers by providing a detailed, step-by-step explanation of what to expect, ask, and look for when selecting and visiting a hearing healthcare professional and purchasing a hearing aid.

BHI also has published, “Your Guide to Financial Assistance for Hearing Aids,” the first comprehensive guide on how people can obtain financial assistance to purchase hearing aids.

More About Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids

The number of Americans with hearing loss has grown to more than 34 million—roughly 11 percent of the U.S. population. Over the past generation, hearing loss among Americans has increased at a rate of 160 percent of U.S. population growth and is one of the most commonly unaddressed health conditions in America today.

Numerous studies have linked untreated hearing loss to a wide range of physical and emotional conditions, including impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks, reduced alertness, increased risk of personal safety, irritability, negativism, anger, fatigue, tension, stress, depression, and diminished psychological and overall health.

But the vast majority of people with hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids. In fact, eight out of ten hearing aid users report improvements in their quality of life, according to a survey by BHI of more than 2,000 consumers.

Advances in digital technology have dramatically improved hearing aids in recent years, making them smaller with better sound quality. Designs are modern, sleek, and discreet. Clarity, greater directionality, better speech audibility in a variety of environments, better cell phone compatibility, less whistling and feedback than hearing aids of the past, and greater ruggedness for active lifestyles are common features.

Step One – Admit that I have a permanent hearing problem.

If you have had your hearing professionally tested and have been told that you have permanent hearing problem, you now have two choices: acceptance or denial.

It is normal for most people to go through a period of denial, using some typical thought processes:

1. “I hear fine, it’s just that people mumble; they don’t speak clearly any more.”
2. “It’s the noisy places where I have trouble hearing…I’ll just avoid those places.”
3. “I hear what I need to hear.  I’ll just ask them to repeat.”
4. “I can cope with it. I’ll just concentrate a little harder.”
5. “It’s really not bad enough that I need hearing aids yet.”
6. “Wearing hearing aids does not fit into my self image.”
7. “If my hearing gets any worse, then I’ll get help.”

The fact is you cannot hide your hearing loss. It’s more obvious than any pair of hearing aids.  Your associates, clients, friends and loved ones already know that you have it.  You can push the fact out of your mind, but you are only fooling yourself — the symptoms have already given your secret away.

1. You answer wrong questions.
2. You confuse similar words, like bathroom and vacuum, dime and time, peach and teach.
3. You turn up the TV too loud for normal listeners.
4. You have started a pattern of asking others to repeat what they have said.
5. When listening, you get a confused look on you face.

There is no help for a hearing problem until it is admitted. This can be simply one or two sentences.  Example: “The many years of noise from my work and hobbies has gradually affected my ability to understand consonants in words.  I have a high-frequency nerve-type loss.  I have decided to wear hearing aids.” 

Practice saying it until it becomes natural for you.

Read  Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Step Two – Make a personal choice to seek help with a good attitude.

It is not the simple purchase of a product that will give you better hearing.  About 20 percent of your success to achieve better hearing will depend on the performance of the hearing aid product you purchased.

The fundamental requirement to overcome your hearing problem is a deep, driving desire to learn, and a vigorous determination to increase you ability to hear.  The six characteristics which are present in all persons who complete the transition to hearing aids are:

1. Positive attitude
2. Willingness to learn
3. Relentless commitment not to quit
4. Time spent practicing the use of hearing aids
5. Patience while your brain acclimates to ambient sounds and noises

Hearing aids will not bring you instant gratification.  They are not like eyeglasses — which by simply putting them on will result in clear vision.  Hearing aids are more like skates; buying a good pair of them is only the starting place. A good coach who knows how to teach skating is the second step.  Time spent in practice, with a patient and a willing attitude by the student, is the third, and most important step.

To achieve better hearing, you must work at it daily.  The ability to hear again can be relearned—not purchased.  The most successful hearing aid users will gladly tell you that their effort to learn, with their time spent practicing was the price they paid for better hearing.

Abe Lincoln once remarked that “most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be”.  And as you embark on the process of better hearing, a cheerful attitude will not only affect your success, but will be an encouragement to everyone you know.

Read Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Step Three – Learn all I can about my hearing problem.

The most effective remedy for hearing loss is personal education.  You need to learn all you can about your particular loss.  To begin, you will need to know:

What is the type of hearing loss I have?

What is the degree of loss in my left and right ears?

How has my brain been affected?

How do hearing aids bridge the gap?

What can I do to improve my hearing?

What type of hearing loss do I have? (Your hearing professional will provide this information as indicated by your hearing test.)

1. Conductive hearing loss:  Sounds isn’t conducted properly from the outer or middle ear into the inner ear.
2. Sensorineural hearing loss:  The inner ear is unable to properly transmit sound to the brain.
3. Mixed loss:  This is a combination of a conductive loss and a sensorineural loss.

When you first begin using hearing aids, your brain will be startled to receive signals it has been missing.  Until it becomes acclimated to these sounds, you will think to yourself…

• Everyone’s voice sounds odd to me.
• My own voice bothers me.  It sounds like I am speaking into a barrel.
• The hearing aids are noisy.  Unless I go into a quiet room, they pick up all sorts of distracting sounds.
• Will this condition improve with time?

Here is a simple example of how your brain will categorize sound and acclimate itself over time:

A beautiful house in a wonderful old neighborhood was for sale.  But what about the railroad track just beyond the alley?  The prospective couple was promised by the realtor that the train came by twice each day, but that they would never hear it.  “Just ask any of the other neighbors who had lived in the neighborhood for years!”  So, the couple bought the house and moved in.  For the first few nights they were awakened at 2:15 in the morning as the train lumbered by.  Then, after several weeks in their home, a friend came for an overnight visit.

At breakfast the guest asked, “how can you sleep through the noise of that train?’  “Funny you should mention it.” The couple said, “We never hear it anymore.”  Did their hearing change?  No, the noise became a familiar part of their environment and their brains categorized it and became acclimated to it.

Because you haven’t heard normal sounds and noises for a long time, wearing hearing aids will be like moving into a new house.  At first, the sounds amplified by your hearing aids will sound tinny, metallic, artificial and unnatural.  But, this is because you are hearing the high frequency speech sounds (like /s/, /f/, /k/, etc.), you have been missing, or have heard different for years.  This unnatural sound quality will actually improve your speech comprehension — but only if you stick with your new hearing aids until your brain has a chance to adjust.

And with practice and time, your brain will adjust.  Hearing and understanding involve more than the hearing organ.  Your hearing is a complex function which requires the cooperation of the brain and your other senses.

Understanding occurs in your brain, not in your ears.  Re acclimating your brain to true sound is a little like priming a pump; you’ve got to stay with it long enough for the water to flow.  Once it is flowing – and it will flow – the hardest part is over.

Read Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Step Four: Set Realistic Expectations

If your hearing was lost suddenly, or has been lost over time, you will not hear again like you once did with normal hearing.  This is true regardless of the type of hearing loss you have or the type of hearing aids you own.  Similar to dentures, hearing aids are only a substitute for the original — with them you may live a near-normal life; without them you will certainly be handicapped.

Focus on your improvement, not on those negative times when your hearing aids don’t let you hear what you want to hear.  If you become discouraged, refer to your AIDED and UNAIDED scores on your audiogram.  You may be achieving a significant percent of improvement over how well you would be hearing without hearing aids.  Your hearing aids’ job is to help you hear better — not perfectly.

Twenty percent of the times hearing aid shells must be sent back to be remade for a better fit.  This is normal.  Let us know should your ear become sore.  This can be remedied.

The “tinny” or mechanical sounds you hear are normal.  These are the soft, high-frequency sounds you have been missing.  Your hearing aids are giving these sounds back to you.  This may be bothersome at first, but better understanding comes from letting you hear them.  Be patient while your brain gets reacquainted with these sounds.

Many internal electronic adjustments will be made step-by-step over several weeks by one of our staff to help your brain gradually become acclimated to normal listening levels again.  This will require several visits.  These adjustments will be made to your hearing aids while you wait, with your input.

At first your voice may sound strange to you.  Some wearers say that in the beginning they sound like they are in a barrel.  In time, it will sound natural.

Background noise is normal.  Normal-hearing people hear it too.  Don’t give up on hearing aids because noise bothers you.  Better hearing will require you to put up with a few inconveniences.

Buying hearing aids won’t give instant gratification. There is a learning curve which usually takes from six weeks to six months.  Success comes from practice and commitment to wear them all the waking hours.  Stick with it — you will succeed.  Part-time users will fail to receive the full benefit of hearing aids…

Read Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Step Five: Practice, Time and Patience, Your Keys to Success

There is a common discipline followed by all men and women who successfully make the transition to hearing aids.  It is called practice.  It is an investment that will cost you time and patience.  It is an investment that will usually begins to pay dividends within 45 days.  Once you have logged the sufficient number of hours for your brain to reacclimate to ambient sounds, you will be able to go on with your life without thinking so much about your hearing.
While we encourage new users to start at a slow pace at home, your ultimate goal should be to use your hearing aids all day, every day.  This includes times when it is quiet, times when it is noisy and times when you may think you don’t need to be wearing them.

After you have completed your initial week- to two-weeks of gradual hearing aid use, you should put your hearing aids on first thing when you wake up and take them out at bedtime.  It is a mistake to only wear them when you go out to social functions because your brain will be flooded and startled by unfamiliar ambient sounds.

Unless your hearing aids become part of your habit through daily use, your brain will not be stimulated long enough to learn to interpret the true sounds of your world; in this case hearing aids will always make your environment sound funny and you will probably begin to keep them in your sock drawer.  Frequent and consistent use is necessary for your brain to adjust and for you to achieve successful communications again.

Be patient and don’t give up.  Retreat temporarily if you become tired, but don’t quit.  Keep working—it will become easy.  Call us whenever you need help or encouragement.

It is your responsibility to stay in contact with us on any concern you have about excessive loudness or lack of perceived benefit.  On average, new hearing aid users should come back three or four times during the first 30 days for us to make adjustments, check your progress, and help you overcome hard listening situations.

Read Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Starkey has introduced a new hearing aid that is going to have the capability of hearing your television through your new Wi S Series Iq through a wireless device that is connected to your TV.  The sound quality from testimonies of hearing aid wearers is greatly appreciated.  Please give us a call for a demonstration.