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One in Seven Middle-Aged Adults Has Hearing Loss
03-21-2011Researchers in Madison, Wisconsin have discovered that 14% of middle-aged Americans have some sort of hearing loss. For those aged 48 to 59, that percentage jumps to around 20%, and for those 80 years old and older, the percentage skyrockets to 90%. The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health research study included 3,285 subjects from 21 to 84 years of age.
Siemens Motion 501
04-13-2010I've had three different hearing aids in my life, and the Motion 501 ITE is the best and most comfortable out of all of them. It isn't very hidden on my ear, but it is quite stylish. My hearing loss isn't severe, so I wasn't in need of something too strong. If you have severe hearing loss this many not be the one for you. I have it on the second to highest setting and it is perfect for me. If you are looking for an everyday hearing aid I would recommend this one.
A New Method of Hearing Testing: Clarujust Technology Simulates the Real World
02-23-2011When a person displays first signs of hearing loss and is tested for it, the most common form of testing currently used is the ‘tone’ method. An audiologist uses an audiometer which causes tones at different frequencies and power levels to be played to the patient who simply responds by pressing a button when hearing a given tone. A measurement of the patient’s sensitivity to these noises is recorded and the hearing threshold of the patient is established. These results are all combined to create an audiogram that shows the variances in hearing threshold for that individual as compared to that of a person with “normal hearing”.
The resulting audiogram prompts the audio specialist to begin the arduous process of matching a particular hearing aid to the individual, and proceeds to make adjustments until the device reaches an optimal performance level. The experience for the patient is a long and tedious one, and the results are subject to interpretation and to the skill level of the dispenser.
The problem with this manner of testing, of course, is that people do not normally listen to ‘tones’ in their daily lives. People hear speech, music, birds chirping, waves crashing, dogs barking, horns honking, and children laughing. Perhaps most significantly, people hear words: other people speaking. It is the inability to communicate that is most troubling to people as they discover that they can no longer converse easily with family and friends. It is this experience that motivates people to seek to diagnose and to correct hearing loss.
It is logical that there must be a method that would more closely simulate real-life experiences, hence I began a search began for alternatives to tone-based testing. In my quest I stumbled across a fascinating development: patent application #PCT/US98/25950.
In December of 1998, a patent titled “Automatic System for Optimizing Hearing Aid Adjustments” was submitted by Reginald Garratt. Mr. Garratt had devised a computerized testing system that uses speech material instead of tones to measure a patient’s hearing acuity.
This new testing process begins by having the hearing-impaired subject ‘train’ a voice/speech recognition computer to recognize his or her words as read from a visual presentation generated by the speech recognition computer. The audio specialist then fits a programmable hearing aid on the patient. This hearing aid is connected to an adjustment module that is also located on the same computer that houses the speech recognition software. NOAH is one example of a widely used software adjustment module – a computerized visual display system that is used to measure hearing performance.
Next, the computer ‘speaks’ a series of nonsense sentences of unrelated words directly into a speaker in the patient’s adjustable hearing aid. As described in the patent application, the computer selects from a word list “rich in frequency content and replete with time and amplitude variations stored in the memory of the computer.” As the patient repeats the words into a microphone connected to the computer, the computer notes errors and automatically makes corrective adjustments to the hearing aid. This effectively transforms the diagnostic process from a discretionary human interpretation to a scientific computer calculation.
Digital technology has led to an explosion of advancements in the field of hearing correction. This new testing system makes brilliant use of these developments. The precisely repeatable nature of the new testing method reduces diagnostic errors. The automated correction function ensures that the diagnostics, based on mathematical algorithms performed by a computer, are not subject to the vagaries of the dispenser’s level of training and expertise.
A Melbourne, Florida-based company called Audigence advanced this concept and completed clinical testing at the University of Florida, resulting in their own patent. Audigence brought this technology to life with Clarujust™ in 2010. Hearing impaired Audigence founder and inventor Lee Krause enthusiastically embraced this exciting new technology, as he had been frustrated with his own experiences with poor performance of hearing aids.
The field of hearing health testing has traditionally been characterized as a blending of art and science, with emphasis mostly on the former. “We’re putting science back into the fitting profile,” said Dr. Alice Holmes, who headed the University of Florida clinical trials for the new speech-based testing technology.
Clarujust™ is available on various hearing aid types as well as cochlear implants. It is a breakthrough technology with the potential to revolutionize the hearing health industry. As Krause states, ''Clarujust™ will improve the quality of life for millions of people who suffer from severe hearing loss.''
Hearing Loss and Dementia
03-30-2011Researchers are calling for “critically needed” “rehabilitative strategies” for confronting a newly discovered association between hearing loss and the progression of dementia.
How to be a smart hearing aid buyer
03-18-2011
Many people have a misconceptions about hearing aids and believe there is no solution to their hearing problem. Consumerrespots.org conducted a national survey of 1,100 people who bought hearing aids in the past three years, and lab-tested the features of 44 hearing aids to learn more about the following challenges.
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