Millions of Americans suffering from hearing loss are hesitant to correct it. One of the primary reasons is the prohibitive cost — even inexpensive custom hearing aids can run in the thousands of dollars, and are rarely if ever covered by insurance. While people of all ages suffer from hearing loss, older people — who are often on fixed incomes — are affected in much higher percentages. Because of this, mass-produced sound amplifiers from retailers like Radio Shack are gaining in popularity.

These inexpensive hearing aid-like devices retail for less than $50. However, while pricier hearing aids come equipped with nifty features and can be programmed to fit your level and type of hearing loss, these inexpensive sound amplifiers do that and just that: make sounds louder. They won’t mask tinnitus or help you hear high frequency sounds. Despite this, they still have some usefulness: if you are watching television at home, and don’t wish to wake anyone else up, this devices can help augment the sound.

In the end, however, using the most inexpensive hearing aids as an everyday device can be dangerous. While sound amplification is better than nothing at all for those suffering from hearing loss, there are still safety and lifestyle issues they are unequipped to properly combat. Reviews suggest that they fare poorly in crowded or noisy environments, where being able to focus on certain sounds is of more importance than just the level of the volume. If you live in a big city, relying strictly on one of these devices while walking around could be dangerous.
Custom hearing aids are pricey, but the technology can help improve or even save your life. But, if you need a quick stopgap for personal home use, inexpensive mass-produced hearing aids could be of help.

No poems about how clogged and greasy thine lover’s ear is. No movies about how fascinating and dynamic it is. There is not a single-hour long television drama where the primary plot is driven by anything having remotely to do with earwax.

So what’s good about it?

Plenty good, it turns out. Earwax, the common name for the yellowish liquid secreted by the cerumen glands, assists in cleaning and lubrication, protects the ear canal, and can also serve as a flypaper like buffer system to keep out insects, dirt and debris. Like most secretions it serves a useful, if not sexy function in maintaining proper body function.

But what if you have too much?

Hearing loss problems can be the result. Not only can an excess of hearing loss block the aural cavity and cause conductive hearing loss, it is the culprit in an estimated 70% of hearing aid malfunctions.  Luckily for sufferers of conductive hearing loss for whom this is the primary issue, there are treatments available. Jaw movement can loosen wax, so chewing gum or talking can help. Wax can be softened with olive oil or syringed with warm water. One common practice which is actually counterproductive is use of a cotton  swab: while they remove a small portion of wax that happens to adhere to the swab, they actually push 95% of wax further into the ear canal.

Because of this, and earwax’s function in ear health, in 2008 the American Academy of Otolaryngology issued new guidelines advising against removing earwax unless it is causing health issues. If you are suffering hearing loss from too much earwax, you may want to consult a doctor to determine the best course of action.

Hearing loss has a variety of negative impacts for it’s sufferer.

One common one is impairment that results in inability to distinguish high-frequency sounds. Traditionally, the greater the hearing loss, the more gain needs to be applied at that frequency. However, for some people, hearing sensitivity is so poor in the high frequencies that it is not possible to provide sufficient gain and achieve audibility. In many cases, the gain is limited by acoustic feedback or by discomfort, resulting from excessive loudness. Cochlear damage renders these sorts of frequency problems with hearing:

>>An inability to recognize certain speech sounds

>>Difficulty distinguishing high-pitched background sounds–like bird chirps and songs

>>Difficulty in maintaining speech quality

>>Difficulty, especially in children, in developing proper speech

These hearing loss challenges are by no means easy; however, Phonak has developed a revolutionary new technology to help combat it.

It’s known as SoundRecover, and it compresses high-frequency noise into lower frequencies–where a person suffering from hearing loss can better distinguish them.

Because only a selected range of frequencies is targeted (those above a given range), SoundRecover is able to more accurately combat high-frequency hearing loss. Not only is SoundRecover active all the time, the settings are based on the user’s hearing loss, which means better compression, and an overall better hearing aid for the patient.

To learn more about SoundRecover, visit the Phonak’s website.

What is it like to have deafness in only one ear?

When one ear has deafness, it can be very difficult to balance hearing – resulting in difficulty measuring localized sound. The unaffected ear sometimes needs to work harder, which can be extremely dangerous in urban environments–background noises like when crossing the street could be disastrous.

To understand how one feels with unilateral deafness, you can perform a simple test. Take a cup and cover one ear with the open end, and as the ear is covered to try to have a conversation with someone or try to listen to a conversation. It will be much harder to understand just about everything that people are saying and it will only help slightly to turn your head towards the person.

Unilateral hearing loss can occur as a result of either conductive or sensorineural hearing loss. If the former, then it may be medically curable and most of the hearing loss may be restored. If it is sensorineural hearing loss, then it will not be so simple to solve the hearing problem. The best option would be to see the audiologist to diagnose the hearing loss and determine the best options to help combat it.

The reasoning is simple- with condunctive hearing loss, it is medically possible to repair the lost hearing, but with sensorineural the hearing loss is  directly affects the nerves and is usually permanent – only assisted with technology. Only a small percentage of patients have a conductive hearing loss. There are many reasons for having conductive hearing loss that are considered:

- Fluid Trapped within the Eustachian tube: If there is an excess of fluid, it can cause some hearing loss. This is eminently treatable; the tube can be drained and hearing loss alleviated.

- Foreign Object: Conductive hearing loss frequently happens  to children. Foreign object entered into an ear and gets stuck and leads to hearing loss. If the object is particularly hard or strong one (e.g. an insect, for which there have been several documented cases) which can’t be flushed out, aural surgery must be performed to remove it.

- Infected or Excess Earwax: Sometimes infected  earwax due to illness or dramatic buildup can causes conductive hearing loss. An examination microscope can be used to remove it, but sometimes surgical removal is needed.

- Ear Infection: The best way to handle these are with antibiotics prescribed based on what type of infection it is.

Since they do not affect the nerves, these are all considered causes for conductive hearing loss. As these causes often have solutions, many hearing professionals agree they are preferrable to long-lasting nerve damage. When dealing with any type of hearing loss, make sure you tell your audiologist and ENT how your ear feels and how your hearing is as SOON AS YOU NOTICE ANY HEARING LOSS.

» Does your child not respond to your voice if you speak at a normal level?

» Does your child react less to noise and more to movements?

» Around 18 months old, was your child unable to say basic words such as, “mama,” and “dada?”

Again, if you answer yes take them to see an audiologist as soon as possible. Most people do not realize how critical hearing is to the process of learning and proper development in children. It is critical for the parents to take them to see an audiologist at the earliest sign and to describe the situation as clearly as possible to an audiologist. If not diagnosed, the child may suffer from hearing loss affecting them physically, but also hindering their abilities in future. So if anyone ever tells you audiologists are only for the elderly you let them know the truth.

The way in which we hear is a rather complex system involving the smallest bones in the human body known as the  Stapes, but it also includes several small snail shaped object known as the cochlea. The cochlea are critical to the hearing process and if damaged can cause hearing loss–either mild or severe.

However, nowadays there is a cochlear implant surgery which can help improve your hearing significantly if you have a severe hearing loss. Let’s take a look  and see why cochlear implants can help those with profound hearing loss:

The cochlea has three parts which are filled with a watery fluid, and whenever there are vibrations received from the stapes in the middle ear, the water will shift according to the frequency. From that point, thousands of tiny hair cells will begin to vibrate– converting the movement of the fluid into electric signals. These electric signals are then moved to the auditory nerves which then pass on to the brainstem for further processing. So we can see that the cochlea is very important to the hearing process and if there is a problem why it would cause profound hearing loss.

Fortunately hearing technology is constantly improving–cochlear implants are a new piece of technology that can help regain much of the hearing which was lost. The cochlear implant is used to stimulate the auditory nerves electrically–this is different from a hearing aid which primarily amplify. The cochlear implant is very powerful and is usually implanted into children and adults with a severe hearing loss.

The technology for helping combat hearing loss recently has become very innovative. Recently, a  new software has been produced for cochlear implants and hearing aids which can help differentiate sounds and improve speech recognition significantly. It is great to see technology being used to combat hearing loss!

The Stapedectomy is a process where the stapes are removed from the inner-ear. Once removed, it is replaced by a prosthetic. After this process, the ear drum (which is gently opened to insert the stape) is resealed gently and held in place with a packing ointment or gelatin. The benefits to this surgery are rather remarkable.

1. This surgery does not require cutting open the whole ear or head. They make small incision using lasers to open up the inner ear–which are very precise.

2. According to research, approximately 90% of the people who have had this procedure resulted in improvement in the ear.

3. Eight percent experience minor improvement of hearing.

4. There is a very low rate of complications occurring from the surgery.

5. In some situation if the patient has tinnitus, it has also helped alleviate tinnitus.

6. The whole procedure takes about one and a half hours to complete.

After the surgery is complete, it is common to experience dizziness for a couple of days–two days is typical. Eardrops are given to the patient for the next 5 days and a week after the operation any type of gelatin used to hold the eardrum in place is removed. Hearing will improve gradually over the next three months. Most often, this operation is performed in one ear and then if needed the second operation in the other ear, as to allow recovery from the first ear. Make sure to consult the audiologist and surgeon to make sure when it is safe to return to work and travel–especially by air.

Like other surgeries, some complications may occur–two percent of patients may have an increase in hearing loss as a result of this surgery. Other complications may include vertigo, a weakening in taste, ringing in the ears and a perforated (punctured) eardrum. Fortunately this is very rare.