Common tips include focusing on one person at a time, choosing areas where background noise is minimized, and focusing on face of the person to whom you’re talking. The last tip is especially important for those skilled in reading lips.

The number of skilled lip-readers might soon be growing, thanks to research out of the eighth International Conference on Auditory-Visual Speech Processing. A study presented at the conference found that for the first time ever, computers are able to read lips better than their human counterparts. The computers were able to do so well by exploiting small but simple differences in images lip shapes, rather than the more complex full-video required by human lip-readers.

This technology has been used in a new series of videos to that were able to teach humans to read lips for one-syllable words: no easy task.

The study’s lead author, Sarah Hilder said, “With just four hours of training it helped them improve their lip-reading skills markedly. We hope this research will represent a real technological advance for the deaf community.”

Hopefully, this new lip-reading technology can seamlessly combine with the ever-changing hearing-aid technology to foster better, easier communication for the 36 million Americans suffering from hearing loss.

From November 16-18, 2009, Phonak hearing aids hosted the Hearing Care for Adults 2009 conference. One of the primary focuses of the conference was how to reconcile the constantly shifting technology of hearing aids, with an older consumer base that might not be used to using highly intricate devices. Phonak stressed ease of use and functionality in its presentations, stressing intuitive, fluid design.

To this end, Andi Vonlanthen, Vice President, Group Product Development and Dr. Stefan Launer, Vice President Advanced Concepts and Technologies at Phonak AG stressed the importance of ergonomics, wireless options, and signal processing: functions that make the technology less, not more complicated.

Another focus of the conference was a more holistic view of communication: it’s more than just hearing. Hearing aids are important, but they are just one tool in a wide array that can be used to enhance communication. Listening skills, communication skills, and cognitive-based interpretive strategies all play a role in interpersonal understanding. By combining strategy and technology, Phonak hopes to engender comprehension.

The participants at the conference noted that they highly appreciated the excellent speakers and comprehensive content. Hearing loss isn’t only an elderly problem, but senior citizens are at a higher risk for hearing loss, and helping them overcome it in an organic way is crucial.

The name is a little cheesy, but this small RIC (Receiver-In-Canal) hearing aid accommodates the latest in hearing technology, while providing a very comfortable hearing aid for its user. They are super light that you will forget that you’re even wearing it.

The Widex Passion have a program called Zen that plays random, non-repeated and infinite tones and chimes with no sudden changes in tonality or tempo. Great if you go birdwatching or hiking.

At the heart of Passion440 is the Dual Integrated Signal Processing (ISP) technology. Dual ISP doesn’t just analyse and process isolated sounds; it brings the details to life by creating a dynamic listening experience while giving you control of the preferences that suit you best.

I think the coolest feature is the SmartSpeak feature which actually uses recorded speech to inform you of various hearing aid functions, such as low battery power and program modes–SmartSpeak is available in over 20 languages.

If you want to check out Widex’s Passion 440, give us a call to help with your hearing aid questions & needs.

Hearing loss is usually stereotyped as an older person’s issue or disease.

The senior citizen cupping his hand to his ear and yelling “what did you say?” to the toaster is practically a cliché. It’s understandable, in a way – hearing does degenerate as you age.

But over half of the 36 million American hearing-loss sufferers are under the age of 65.

What options does a young hearing-loss sufferer have?

The Nios Micro, the world’s most technologically advanced pediatric hearing aid. This hearing aid comes with SoundRecover (especially helpful because fellow children’s voices tend to be higher pitched),  RealEar Sound, and WhistleBlock technology.

Depending on the model, it can also come with a wide variety of other features, including Voice Zoom, for speech intelligibility, and NoiseBlock processing, which filters out background noise in a way that even healthy ears can’t.

As a bonus, it comes in 13 (!) different styles. Even a picky child can find the right one for themselves.

Hearing loss isn’t just for the old. If you think your child might be suffering from it, do not hesitate to visit an audiologist, or give us a call–we’ll be happy to answer any questions.

Can individuals with hearing aids use mobile phones normally?

For those without hearing loss, using mobile phones poses little problem. You simply hold your phone into your ear and let the sound flow naturally. For those with impaired hearing, however, mobile phones can add simply another layer to the hearing difficulty.

Enter Click’nTalk. An easy, convenient accessory from Phonak that clicks directly onto the end of your mobile phone, instant transmitting it into a wireless transmitter. Using the Phonak HiBAN (Hearing instrument Body Area Network) link, the device digitizes the sound and send it to both receivers simultaneously, ensuring rich, full sound. Furthermore, because the sound is now digital, you can reap all the benefits your digital hearing aid provides over an analog one.

No charging. No programming. Click’nTalk is a sleek and innovative solution to cell-phone difficulties.

Attractive. Easy-to use. Functional.

Those are the hallmark qualities of Unitron hearing aids. Unitron employs purpose-driven technology to promote clearer, easier hearing. What sets Unitron apart is the range of dynamic features it offers:

• DuoLink, which assures that sound stimuli are heard in both ears
• UDirect, which assures functionality with Bluetooth devices
• Cable-Free Programming
• Noise-Reduction
• Anti-Shock

Perhaps what’s most exciting about the Unitron Passport hearing aids is the endless number of ways you can make them yours.  Smart Control allows you to adjust the parameters  to what you need. Not only that, but the addition of Self-Learning means that the aid gradually and intelligently begins to adapt to what you need without your even needing to program it.

The way it blends with a high level of functionality makes the Unitron Passport an excellent choice in hearing aids.

But can hearing aids help save the economy?

That’s what a UF professor whose work helped develop the project is saying.  Alice Holmes, a professor in UF’s Department of Communicative Disorders at the College of Public Health and Health Professions, has worked with other UF researchers to pioneer a new type of hearing aid.

This hearing aid is programmed not to the tonal beeps of past hearing aids, but rather to be responsive to speech sounds such as “ata” and “aba.”

It is Holmes’ contention that many people, especially in an older state like Florida, are prematurely forced out of the workforce by poor hearing. A scant 20 percent of the 31 million Americans with hearing loss that could be benefited by the use of an aid actually take advantage of hearing aid technology, some no doubt frustrated by ill-fitting or unhelpful hearing aids.

Furthermore, by allowing hearing aids to be programmed more quickly and efficiently, the new technology hopes not only provide a lifestyle benefit to the patients, but an economic boon to the audiology clinics. Hearing loss ranks second to only arthritis as a permanent disability in the older community, Holmes says.

As hearing aid technology gets better, and better, we continue to reap benefits. This additional potential boost to the economy is a welcome one.

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!