Ask the Audiologist

During holidays and leave days we experience more activity — but also more noise. Here are some common seasonal sources of damaging noise:

Motorcycles

Though hearing loss starts at 85 decibels (dB), engine noise can hit 100 dB while riding, and at that level, the acceptable exposure limit is only 15 minutes.

Home Improvement

According to the CDC, power tools can reach 100 dB. With hand drills hitting 98 dB, power mowers 107 dB, and power saws 110 dB, it’s easy to incur hearing damage in your shed or shop.

Public Transportation

The squeal and grind of light rails, trains, and even buses have the potential to damage the hearing of daily riders because of constant noise exposure. Plus, ordinary street traffic can reach levels of 100 dB or more.

Sport and Convertible cars 

Convertibles and sports cars leave ears exposed to the dangerous noise levels of the road and engine. One study found that driving some convertibles and sports cars at speeds between 50 and 70 miles per hour exposed drivers to noise levels of 88 to 90 dB.

Concerts

Concert noise levels can register upward of 100 dB and last for hours, potentially causing sudden or gradual hearing loss that’s temporary or permanent.

Watching Sports

It’s easy to forget how loud your surroundings are when you’re at a stadium or sports bar, but many generate crowd noise dangerous enough to damage hearing.

Hearing aids are tiny computers, and just like your personal electronics at home, they need to be maintained.

Daily cleaning is essential: Wiping them down every night, using the cleaning tools they came with, replacing parts such as filters or tubes, and storing them overnight in a dehumidifier help protect your investment in better hearing.

Despite your diligence, debris will eventually sneak into ports, clog up tubes, and obstruct vents, leaving you with lackluster performance. Even worse, certain chemicals in earwax can degrade the delicate internal components of your hearing devices.

That’s where we come in. We have special vacuums that remove wax from hard-to-reach areas, and can safely clean vents, screens, and receivers.

We also repair broken parts and clean your devices inside and out to ensure they perform optimally.

How often should you have your hearing aids professionally cleaned? That depends on several factors: How you wear your devices, how much you perspire, and how much earwax your ears produce.

We recommend having your devices cleaned and checked for malfunctions once every six months. At that rate, you can be confident that your devices are working their best and giving you the most return for your investment.

Just  the way we take time to do thorough cleaning of our homes, we need to give our hearing aids some priority too.  The steps below are ways in which you can keep your hearing aids extra clean (if you are able to!)

General cleaning tips:

• Always wash your hands before cleaning the hearing aids
• Examine the hearing aid for debris and clean the hearing aid with a dry cloth or brush 
  • Avoid liquid and harsh chemicals
  • The most important parts to clean are the small, dark holes on the hearing aid (microphones) and the piece that goes into the ear (dome or earmold)
• Avoid extreme weather and water
  • You might want to take your hearing aids out when taking a dip in the pool on a hot day

Let’s get a little more specific with cleaning

Receiver in the ear (RIC):

• This hearing aid sits behind the ear and has a skinny wire that goes down into the ear
• Clean the hearing aid with a dry cloth or brush to remove any debris
• Change the dome
  • The dome is the soft, flexible, squishy piece on the end of the wire that goes into the ear
  • Ear wax can easily build up on this part and alter sound quality or decrease volume
  • Before you put the dome back on, follow the next step to change the filter!
  • If your RIC hearing aid has a custom earmold at the end of it, there is no dome to remove

• Change the wax filter
  • The filter is a small, white dot that collects earwax to prevent it from getting further into the hearing aid and causing damage

• Just like the dome, it can alter sound quality if too much wax builds up

• Watch this video to review how to change the dome and wax filter
  • https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=279607286681564

Behind the ear (BTE):

• This hearing aid sits behind the ear and has a thick tube that goes down into the ear with a custom mold at end of it
• Clean the hearing aid and earmold with a dry cloth or brush to remove any debris
• See your Audiologist at least every 6 months for a tubing change!

In the ear (ITE):

• This hearing aid has no part that goes behind the ear, but is custom made to sit in the ear canal.
• Clean the hearing aid with a dry cloth or brush to remove any debris.
• Change the wax filter.
• The filter is a small, white dot that collects earwax to prevent it from getting further into the hearing aid and causing damage.

The steps listed above can sometimes be difficult to visualize and manipulate because of how small the parts are. At the Center for Audiology Services, our Doctors of Audiology and Audiology Assistant are happy to take a look at your hearing aids to make sure they are free of ear wax and debris, and functioning at their highest ability!

What is live speech mapping and how can it help me?

Live speech mapping is a mechanism for fine-tuning hearing aids to the specific pitch and volume of your loved one’s voice. The procedure isn’t new, but many people have never heard of it. Let’s take a closer look at who might need live speech mapping, how it works, and why it matters:

WHO MIGHT BENEFIT

Hearing technology is helping people of all ages communicate their best, but some patients still experience difficulty understanding the one voice that matters most to them. In our experience, live speech mapping improves the situation.

HOW IT WORKS

During the mapping process, a skinny tube with a tiny probe microphone is placed in your ear canal along with the hearing device — don’t worry, it’s painless! Your spouse or other loved one then reads a paragraph aloud. We then measure:

• The sounds your hearing aids produce
• The way your device’s current settings
  process speech

A computer shows us exactly where the speech occurs within your audible range, allowing us to adjust your devices accordingly.

WHY IT MATTERS

Your hearing devices should be tailored to your specific listening needs. Live speech mapping can play an important role in that. As a practice committed to empowered communication, helping you hear on your terms is important to us.

How can I help a loved one with hearing loss?

If you’ve been treated for hearing loss, you know the difference it can make in your quality of life. Ready to pay it forward to someone you care about? We’re sharing four tips you can use right away:

RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS

10% of the global population is expected to have hearing loss by 2050, but not everyone with hearing difficulties is ready to admit it. Understanding the signs of hearing loss — loud TV volumes, problems with phone conversations, frequent requests to repeat words — can be the start of a life-changing conversation.

SHARE YOUR STORY

Research indicates there’s a decade-long gap between hearing loss diagnosis and treatment for the average patient. Sharing your better-hearing journey may inspire your loved one to start their own sooner rather than later.

BE THE COMPANION

Getting hearing help is easier with the support of family and friends. If your loved one is willing to take the first step toward seeking a professional hearing evaluation, consider going with them to lend a hand.

FLEX YOUR SKILLS

Whether streaming from audio devices, connecting to hearing loops, interfacing with smart-home technology, or tracking brain health, today’s hearing devices are full of beneficial functions. We love helping patients get the most out of their hearing aids, but sharing your own tips and tricks can also go a long way.

How should I wear hearing aids with a facemask?

Face masks may be the new normal, but many people are still getting the hang of wearing them with hearing aids. From falling out during mask removal to being obstructed by the mask itself, hearing aids — specifically behind-the-ear styles — can become lost or damaged.

As your hearing care team, we want to make sure nothing stands in the way of communicating your best. With these quick and easy tips, we’ll have you handling your face mask and hearing technology together like a pro:

• Pull long hair into a bun and wrap the elastic of the mask — if it’s long and strong enough — around the bun, instead of your ears.
• Sew a button on either end of a 4-inch piece of fabric. Wrap the mask elastic around the buttons. The fabric sits at the back of your head and eases the strain on your ears.
• Sew a button on either end of a soft headband. Position the headband above your ears and wrap the mask elastic around the buttons, removing the strain from your ears.
• Choose masks that tie in the back. You can find videos online showing how to create your own.
• Take your mask off slowly and mindfully, making sure your hearing technology remains in position.

Are my hearing aids really kaput if they get wet?

Unfortunately, yes. Moisture from a swimming pool, shower, or even workout sweat can permanently damage your hearing aids. Of course, there are exceptions — who hasn’t heard the occasional story of someone accidentally putting an electronic device through the washing machine only to have it continue working? That’s rare, so it’s important to stick to prevention.

Here are five ways to protect your hearing aids:

Avoid Moisture Altogether. Remember to remove devices from your ears before showering and hitting the pool or hot tub, and be sure to store them in their own secure case rather than lose in a pocket or purse.

Wipe Them Down. Wiping your devices daily with a clean, dry cloth helps clear moisture and debris and helps reduce the risk of damage.

Stay Vigilant. Water-resistant hearing aids aren’t waterproof, so keep these types of devices out of the shower, pool, and hot tub too. Otherwise, they can get damaged when immersed.

Use Hearing Aid Covers. These handy helpers can aid in protecting your devices from water splashes and keep out dust and dirt.

Consider a Hearing Aid Dryer or Dehumidifier. This small appliance not only dries and sanitizes your devices as you sleep but can also double as their regular storage container

Just as the road to better hearing can take time — hearing-aid users on average waited a decade-plus after diagnosis before getting hearing technology — it’s natural to need an adjustment period with your new devices.

Learning to embrace and enjoy your hearing aids could mean the difference between letting them help you confidently communicate or letting them simply collect dust, so check out these quick tips to make the most of your hearing tech.

BE PATIENT

At first, your hearing system may not sound normal, and your own voice may seem strange or hollow. You’ll begin hearing many sounds you’ve been missing, and you may also experience some unpleasant ones. Documenting your observations will help us adjust your technology as needed. With time and practice, your brain can adjust and interpret the sounds you’ve been missing.

START GRADUALLY

This will help your auditory system adapt to the new way you will hear sounds. Do not be dismayed if at first you can not understand low voices or hear a conversation clearly in a noisy environment. Some sounds may seem excessively loud — cars on a busy street, for example, or the screech of an electric can opener. Your technology can be programmed to filter out most of the unwanted noise.

EXPECT ADJUSTMENTS

Your devices are designed to emphasize speech sounds, which will initially cause nonspeech sounds to seem altered and unfamiliar. During follow-up appointments, we can readjust your technology to significantly reduce nonspeech sounds. As Doctors of Hearing, we offer complimentary reprogramming and recalibration of your devices to help ensure you’re receiving the maximum benefit for your lifestyle within one year of purchase.

EXPLORE THE CAPABILITIES

Today’s digital hearing aids pack a lot of features to help empower you in diverse listening situations. Whether streaming from media devices, connecting to hearing loops, interfacing with smart-home technology, or using geotagged sound settings for venue-specific hearing, explore all the capabilities your devices offer — and know that we’re always happy to share additional tips and tricks.

In a study commissioned by the National Council on Aging, not only did adults treated for hearing loss report significant improvements in relationships, mental health, and other important areas of life, but their families reported improvements, too! Hearing loss can take a toll on the person experiencing it and on those closest to them, making it more challenging to fully experience life together, so it’s no wonder that starting the journey to better hearing is even easier with a companion along to help:

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

It’s not always easy to acknowledge hearing difficulties or get help. Nearly all hearing loss can be effectively managed, but only a fraction of those who could benefit from hearing aids use them. A companion can offer emotional support, reminding you that you deserve better hearing and a better quality of life.

BALANCED PERSPECTIVE

Others perceive you differently than you perceive yourself, which can be valuable when describing your listening needs and challenges. For example, your companion can help you give a more complete picture of potential Sound Voids®, those gaps experienced in everyday life because of reduced sound clarity.

ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING

The better-hearing journey involves a lot of new information and exciting technology. During the appointment, your companion can ask questions you might not have considered, help with note-taking, and later remind you about relevant follow-up activities.

DEEPER AWARENESS

Just as you may not realize how much your potential hearing loss affects your loved ones, they may not fully realize its impact on you. Your companion’s presence can help their own awareness and ability to be your best advocate as you make important hearing care decisions.

TECHNOLOGY TESTING

When exploring new hearing technology, it helps to have a familiar voice in the room with you. Listening to your companion’s voice while trying out selected hearing aids helps you provide helpful feedback to the hearing care specialist who’s adjusting the devices.