Loud Commercials Worse for Hearing Aid Users

We have all experienced it: the sudden increase in loudness that some TV commercials have over the program being watched. For people with normal hearing, the change in volume is primarily annoying. For hearing aids users, that same change in loudness may be uncomfortable or even painful.

The CALM Act

Now, with new regulations recently enacted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), such irksome volume swells may be a thing of the past. On December 13, 2012 the FCC put into effect its Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act. This legislation is intended to require commercials aired on television to have the same average volume as the programs they accompany.

Most Hearing Aids have Noise Reduction Circuits

While most hearing aids manufactured in the last ten years have noise reduction circuits that prevent the hearing aid from over amplifying sudden loud sounds, the increase in the volume for commercials can still be unpleasant.  As an audiologist since 1979, this has been a common complaint of many of my hearing aid patients.

Report Violators to FCC

Hopefully, this new policy will provide relief for hearing aid wearers (and everybody else!) who have long sought relief from those blaring TV ads. If it doesn’t, the following link explains how you can report violators of the new commercial calming rules directly to the FCC: www.fcc.gov/print/node/30264.

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Speech Guard E  is in the new Alta Hearing Devices.  What is it?  Speech Guard E is a refined amplification strategy that makes sounds clearer and more natural sounding without “hearing” the device change volume as the volume of the world around changes.

In stable sound environments, the system responds slowly and simply makes sound clear and undistorted, allowing your hearing to work as it should. This results in a clear, stable and intact signal that the brain can decode with as little listening effort as possible.

Automatic adjustments

When the sound environment changes abruptly – due to a change in the discussion you are taking part in or a door slamming nearby – the volume adjusts swiftly and automatically, to keep the sound from becoming too loud and uncomfortable or disappearing unnaturally.

Helping to make the world and all its sounds as clear and distinct as possible allows your hearing system to work the way it was meant to work: smoothly, efficiently and automatically.

Speech Guard E

With Speech Guard E, a premium technology only featured in Alta and Alta Pro, performance is taken to the next level. The “E” refers to the elevated performance as a result of the expanded window for speech dynamics and the reduced effort required to understand speech.

This makes it easier for Alta users to select and switch between speakers, and follow and engage in conversations – even in challenging, noisy environments – intuitively and with less effort.

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Every once in awhile a new device system comes along that really catches my attention.  The new Oticon Alta is one such a device.  The Alta introduces a new  approach, for me as an audiologist, to factor in more personal dimensions into each of my hearing aid fittings.  I can now offer solutions that are as unique and as individual as each of my patients.

Most people assume that when it comes to sound quality, people with hearing difficulties prefer “louder.” In fact, people with hearing loss, like most people, have a wide range of preferences for what sounds best to them.

The way people experience sound is as individual as a fingerprint.  We all have our own hearing preferences. It has to do with how the individual brain ‘hears’. This uniqueness is especially important to people coping with hearing loss. This is one of the reasons why mail order hearing aids with their “one-sound-fits-all” design are so unsatisfying.

My office is one of the, if not the, first hearing care practices in Atlanta to offer the new Oticon Alta, a discreet and modern hearing device that delivers a highly personalized sound experience. Unlike ordinary hearing aids that assume the same setting will work for everyone, Alta works in harmony with the user’s brain so users can differentiate sounds and hear more clearly, even as they move from one difficult listening situation to another.

With Alta, people can join more easily in conversation in noisy situations, such as restaurants, when a number of people are speaking. Alta’s Speech Guard E works like a shield to protect the clarity of speech, even in noisy background environments. Alta’s Spatial Sound Premium technology allows users to hear in 3-D so they can follow conversations that come from different directions and adjusts automatically as they turn from one conversation to another.

During the hearing aid programming I use sound samples and questions about personal preferences to help my patients express their preferences in sound quality and other important considerations such as what sounds are clear and pleasant to them. The powerful sound processing chip at the heart of Alta allows me to deliver a richer, more satisfying sound experience that is custom fit to each individual’s life.

Alta is available in a variety of small and sleek styles to suit individual preferences. With the addition of the integrated Oticon ConnectLine system, Alta users can also connect easily and wirelessly to landline and cell phones, office phones, TVs, music, video chatting and streaming, teleloop systems, FM and more.

For more information about personalized hearing care and the new Oticon Alta, contact me, the Atlanta Hearing Doctor, Dr. Maria Wynens, at 404-252-7528 or visit atlantahearingdoctor.com.

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Tinnitus is the term for the perception of sound when no external sound is present. It is often referred to as “ringing in the ears,” although people describe it as hissing, roaring, whistling, chirping, or clicking.  Tinnitu can be intermittent or constant, and can range from very soft to extremely loud. If you suffer with this condition, you’re not alone. According to the American Tinnitus Association (ATA) it is estimated that over 50 million Americans experience tinnitus to some degree. Of these, about 12 million have severe enough tinnitus to seek medical attention.

Are you at risk? Knowing the causes of tinnitus puts you in a better position to avoid the problem, and since there’s no known cure for this condition, avoiding the problem altogether if you can is certainly the best option.  Interestingly, no one knows what causes tinnitus, but there are several likely factors which may create or worsen this problem: noise exposure, wax build-up in the ear canal, certain medications, ear or sinus infections, age-related hearing loss, ear diseases and disorders, jaw misalignment, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, certain types of tumors, thyroid disorders, head and neck trauma and many others. And now new research reveals more of us may experience tinnitus due to cell phone use. Sure you love your cell. How did we ever get along without them? But a report that appeared in the British Medical Journal indicates that cell phone use – especially extended cell phone use – may now be added to the list of culprits for causing or increasing tinnitus. Since the incidence of tinnitus is increasing, researchers are suspicious that this is due, at least in part, to our increased cell phone use.

Of the factors noted above, according to the ATA, exposure to loud noises and hearing loss are the most common causes of tinnitus. Noise exposure and hearing loss may cause the brain to rewire itself. In other words, that ringing in the ears may be a brain thing, not an ear thing, though research is far from conclusive. However, research suggests that protecting your hearing from loud noise may be increasingly important. Even if your hearing is not permanently affected by noise exposure, the way your brain processes sound may be changed which could result in tinnitus. You might want to consider that the next time you plug in your MP3 ear buds. The problem stemming from cell phone use may be due to a potential link between mobile phones and the auditory pathway, which directly absorbs a considerable amount of energy emitted by  the device. In other words, the wireless connectivity required for cell phone use might actually damage the hearing mechanism, making a bad situation worse.

Some who experience tinnitus only hear the ringing when they’re in a quiet environment, and are less aware of it as their surroundings get noisier and “mask” the tinnitus. But when things get quiet, tinnitus returns – often at night, making sleep difficult. Unfortunately there are millions that hear their tinnitus at all times, no matter what the level of background noise in their environment.

No one should ever ignore persistent tinnitus. Not only is every individual entitled to a chance to regain his or her quality of life, but in rare cases tinnitus also can be a symptom of a more serious health issue that could demand medical intervention. What’s more, nearly everyone with tinnitus has hearing loss as well. While nothing will cure that incessant ringing or roaring in the ears, there are options to treat the symptoms, lessening the negative impact tinnitus has on quality of life. Treating hearing loss, either by medical management, if indicated, or with hearing aids, or sound therapy with special maskers, may offer relief of tinnitus.

If you have tinnitus, a comprehensive hearing evaluation by an audiologist is recommended. While not a cure for tinnitus, hearing aids are the most commonly used treatment for problematic tinnitus. They may be able to help by:

• Improving communication and reducing stress, which makes it easier to cope with the condition.

• Amplifying background sounds, which can make tinnitus seem less loud and prominent.

A new type of hearing aid called an “open fit” may be particularly useful in alleviating tinnitus. The open fit aid can reduce the effects of the tinnitus ringing sensation while still allowing sounds from the outside to pass into the ear.

Tags: Atlanta Hearing Aid, Atlanta Hearing Aid Doctor, Atlanta Hearing Doctor, Audiologist, Audiology, Dr. Maria Wynens, Hearing Aid, Hearing Loss, Hearing Test, Noise, Ringing, Ringing in Ears, Tinnitus

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What causes my ears to ring?

About 50 million people in the United States and 1 of every 5 people in the world suffer from tinnitus (tin-night-us or tin-i-tus), a bothersome and sometimes debilitating condition that affects the auditory system.

Many things can cause tinnitus including wax buildup, certain medications, head or neck trauma, tumors on the auditory nerve, jaw problems, and other medical conditions. However, the most common cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud noise. For this reason, hearing loss and tinnitus often go hand-in-hand, and together they can result in a significant decrease in enjoyment of everyday life.

Protection against tinnitus.

If you don’t currently suffer from tinnitus, you can protect yourself by wearing hearing protection around loud noise, and by asking your doctor if any of your medications have a negative effect on your hearing. If you do suffer from tinnitus, there are a number of things that can be done to help you cope with, and in many cases reduce the tinnitus that you are experiencing.

Treating tinnitus

Your first step in dealing with tinnitus is to schedule a hearing evaluation at our office.  During your appointment we will go through a 4-step process that will help us identify the cause of your tinnitus, and we will educate you about the therapeutic process necessary to help you gain relief from your tinnitus symptoms.

Tags: Atlanta Hearing Aid, Atlanta Hearing Aid Doctor, Atlanta Hearing Doctor, Audiologist, Audiology, Dr. Maria Wynens, Hearing Loss, Hearing Test, Ringing, Ringing in Ears, Severe Hearing Loss, Tinnitus

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Hearing loss has been a problem for as long as humans have been around and because hearing loss affects people’s ability to connect and form relationships with others, hearing devices were quickly developed to help those who could not hear.   Here’s a short history of hearing aids – a brief guide to how we got to where we are today.

Pre-electric (Acoustic) Hearing Aids
These ear trumpets captured sound waves, sending them down a tube to the listener’s ear. They were big, bulky, unattractive and, frankly, they didn’t work very well. Of course, these were state-of-the art “hearing aids” for centuries until electricity became available.

Carbon Hearing Aids (1900-1939)
These were the first electric hearing aids. Carbon was used to amplify electric current to boost the volume of sound. However, they were bulky, buzzy and downright ugly, though for those with hearing loss, they were the only choice.

Vacuum Tube Hearing Aids (1921-1952)
Vacuum tubes were used to control the flow of electricity and, as such, they did make hearing aids a little better. However, these boxy devices were usually table-top models about the size of a clock radio, so the user had to carry around a heavy box and plug in to hear what was going on.  There weren’t many controls or features, so these devices amplified all sound. That must have caused more than a few headaches back then. But hearing instruments continued to improve.

Transistors to the Rescue (1952-1970s)
Transistors enabled hearing aids to fit into a smaller shell. The first transistor hearing aids appeared in 1952 – actually, two years prior to the first transistor radios which came along in 1954. Transistor hearing aids were still big and bulky with the electronics in a box carried on the body, with ear phones connected to a tangle of wires. Not very convenient, to say the least.

Researchers shrunk transistor hearing aids over the years, making them small enough to fit behind the ear and even in the ear. However, they were anything but low-profile. They also didn’t come packed with features the way today’s hearing aids do.

Digital Hearing Devices
Today, quality hearing aids use digital technology – circuitry that’s used in computers and cell phones -  and what a difference a few decades and countless hours of research and development have made!
Today’s digital hearing devices are sleek, discreet, fashionable, high-tech and low-maintenance. They can be programmed by an audiologist, to suit your specific hearing needs. Most adjust automatically for changes in volume levels and adapt to background noise. And now, with FM, Infrared, or Bluetooth technology, they can connect to multiple devices such televisions and telephones. Did you know that the new Bluetooth capability will allow you to answer you cell hands free, and route the call through both of your hearing devices?

Your hearing is very important and contributes greatly to a better quality of life, and you should do everything you can to make sure you find the right hearing center for your needs.

Finding the right audiologist can be as easy to answering a few simple questions. First, is there a licensed, Doctor of Audiology, and experienced audiologist on staff?  Then consider…

1. Is this professional willing to make a referral for a medical evaluation to rule out the need for medical or surgical treatment, if necessary?

2. Will the audiologist communicate effectively with you about hearing aid choices and fitting options, if hearing aids are appropriate for your hearing loss?

3. In determining whether a hearing device is appropriate, will the audiologist speak  to you clearly about your hearing loss, lifestyle, manual dexterity, and budget?

4. Does the hearing center offer a wide range of hearing aid makes and models from various manufacturers?

5. Will you receive assistance and training regarding how to wear and care for your hearing devices , as well as how to adjust to wearing them?

6. Does the office offer lengthy trial periods, warranties, and loss and damage protection?

7. Will they provide follow-up care following your hearing aid fitting, at least every six months?

8. Is the hearing center open at least five days a week, with an audiologist on staff to provide emergency care, or loaner hearing aids if needed?

9. Will you always see the same audiologist when you visit?

If you have answered “Yes” to all of these questions, you can rest assured that you have taken the right steps in finding a reputable dispensing practice. Of course, answering some of these questions may require more research than just exploring online.   

So remember, if you’re looking for the latest and the greatest in hearing loss solutions, visit the Atlanta Hearing Doctor for more information and counseling. Forget everything Grandpa told you about his hearing aids. Those days and those hearing aids are long gone, thankfully. Today, you can enjoy the sounds of life without a lot of hassles.  Modern digital hearing aids deliver sound quality and ease-of-use in small, attractive devices. Seek a Board certified audiologist to explore the world of high tech hearing devices that are now available – and see for yourself that this is NOT your grandmother’s hearing aid.

Tags: Atlanta Hearing Aid, Atlanta Hearing Aid Doctor, Atlanta Hearing Doctor, Audiologist, Audiology, Dr. Maria Wynens, Hearing, Hearing Aid, Hearing Aid Review, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Hearing Test, Tinnitus

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According to Better Hearing Institute Executive Director Sergei Kochkin, PhD, “outdated notions about hearing aids are inhibiting people from addressing their hearing loss, and public perception of hearing aids hasn’t kept pace with the new technologies and discreet designs of today’s devices.” 

Does this sound familiar to you? Do you know anyone with a hearing difficulty that is hesitant to seek help? Perhaps this was the way you felt before discovering the technology and services the Atlanta Hearing Doctor offers. 

Well, we’d like you to spread the word about how better hearing has changed your life. Sharing your better hearing story with friends and family, at community events, and on Facebook and twitter can help more people realize that wearing hearing instruments should be no different than wearing eyeglasses. 

Tell them that today’s hearing devices are sleek, subtle, and comfortable to wear. Tell them that you can hear the TV better, that conversations in noisy environments are easier to understand, and that asking people to repeat themselves is a thing of the past. Tell them that hearing instruments are designed to make you feel young! 

“People want to hold onto their vitality as they enter and move through middle-age,” says Kochkin. “What research shows is that those who do face their hearing loss and use hearing aids are experiencing significant and satisfying improvements in their quality of life.” 

Become a better hearing advocate. Encourage your loved ones with concerns about their hearing to visit the Atlanta Hearing Doctor. I will give the same great services you’ve experienced.

Tags: Atlanta Hearing Aid, Atlanta Hearing Aid Doctor, Audiologist, Audiology, Hearing Aid, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Hearing Test

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If you have a hearing difficulty, the next big family gathering can seem daunting—but it doesn’t have to be. If you properly prepare yourself and your loved ones for the next holiday event, you just might find yourself creating the best memories you’ve heard all year.

Tips for Better Holiday Hearing

Don’t Be Shy

Remind your friends and family that you have a hearing difficulty. They’ll be reminded to slow down, speak up, and be more attentive to your needs.

Strategic Seating

If gathering for a meal, ask to be seated at an end of the table so you won’t have multiple conversations on either side of you.

Pack your Accessories

Be sure to pack a better hearing travel kit: extra batteries, a hearing aid cleaning kit, and, if possible, and extra set of hearing aids.

Smaller Groups

Is your party dining at multiple tables? If possible, request to sit with a smaller group for easier to focus on conversations.

Turn Down the Volume

Is there music playing or a television on during your meal? Ask your host to turn down the volume so you can enjoy everyone’s company better.

Schedule a Tune-Up

Make an appointment to get your instruments cleaned and checked so you can feel confident you’ll hear your best.

Family Activities

Make a Traditional Family Dish

Share traditions, pass along valuable skills, and have closer conversations preparing nourishing family recipes.

Play Charades

Charades is a fun, inclusive game that revolves around physical, non-verbal cues that allow you to focus on the action and amusement of the game.

Board Games

Games like Scrabble, checkers, and chess are the perfect vehicle for getting close with one or more people, testing one another’s wits, and having some stress-free holiday fun.

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I realize you and your love ones have many options to choose from when it comes to selecting a provider for your hearing healthcare care needs. Your selection of my office, the Atlanta Hearing Doctor, is sincerely appreciated, and a partnership I work hard to honor.

Recently, my audiology practice has become Audigy Certified. This certification is one I am especially proud of and have worked hard to obtain. My certification into the Audigy Group places my office as one of the top 250 private hearing care practices in the nation, all of whom adhere to the same strict set of patient care standards that my office stands for.

My goal has always been to offer you the best hearing care possible. As a hearing care specialist, everyday I see how important my patient’s communication with family, friends, and colleagues truly is. Through comprehensive evaluations, and diagnoses, I provide – when appropriate – recommendations for the best solutions to improve my patient’s hearing. These recommendations are designed to best suit each person’s lifestyle and budget.

Currently, I am offering a free “clean and check” of my patient’s current hearing devices, along with a fresh set of batteries, and if needed a complimentary hearing screening.

As always, thank you for choosing my office, the AtlantaHearing Doctor, for your hearing healthcare needs. Together we can create solutions for all your hearing needs.

Kindest regards,

Dr. Maria Wynens

Audiologist

Tags: Atlanta Hearing Aid, Atlanta Hearing Aid Doctor, Atlanta Hearing Doctor, Audigy, Audigy Certified, Audiologist, Audiology, Dr. Maria Wynens, Hearing Aid, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss

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How does cancer treatment cause hearing loss?

Regardless of age, cancer patients may experience a variety of common side effects caused by chemo and radiation therapies, such as nausea and hair loss. But many people may be unaware that hearing loss is also a common side effect, and can impact patients years after treatment. Toxicities from chemotherapy and radiation can cause damage in the inner ear structures that leads to hearing loss. This is called ototoxicity.

Signs of ototoxicity from chemotherapy

• Dizziness
• Tinnitus: Ringing, buzzing, or pulsing in the ears
• Hearing loss: hearing may continue to decrease even after chemotherapy treatments end

The most common chemotherapy drugs that cause ototoxicity

• Cisplatin
• Carboplatin

Both drugs are used to treat a variety of different cancers. If you or someone you know is taking these drugs, we recommend you have a conversation regarding their effects on your hearing.

Is research being done to reduce hearing loss?

Ototoxicity represents an active area of research right now. Cancer researchers are looking at agents that might prevent hearing loss, but won’t inhibit the anti-tumor effects of the cancer treatment.

Antibiotics that might help reverse ototoxicity are also being studied, and there’s research being done to develop chemotherapy drugs that won’t cause hearing loss.

Remember to ask your physician for a referral for a hearing evaluation and consultation if you notice dizziness, tinnitus, or hearing loss while undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Tags: Atlanta Hearing Aid, Atlanta Hearing Aid Doctor, Atlanta Hearing Doctor, Audiologist, Audiology, Breast Cancer Research, Ringing, Ringing in Ears, Tinnitus

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