August 12, 2009 Issue

               HEARING LOSS HELP E-zine
"The premier e-zine for people with hearing loss"

Volume 4, Number 4              August 12, 2009
Publisher: Neil Bauman      neil@hearinglosshelp.com
            http://www.hearinglosshelp.com
    Copyright Center for Hearing Loss Help 2009

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
 

You are receiving Hearing Loss Help e-zine because you valued your ears enough to specifically ask for this subscription, or you are a customer of the Center for Hearing Loss Help. If you no longer wish to receive Hearing Loss Help e-zine, just scroll to the bottom where you can delete yourself from this e-zine mailing list quickly, easily and automatically.

If you are missing any previous issues, you can read them in our archives.

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

                      "Hearing loss may change your life,
                        but your life need not be any less
                                rewarding and fulfilling
                        because you have a hearing loss."

                                                              — Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

Please recommend and/or forward this issue of Hearing Loss Help e-zine to at least one of your hard of hearing friends, or to anyone you know that is interested in successfully living with their hearing loss. We just ask that you keep this e-zine intact and only forward it in its entirety.
 

================================================== In this issue ==================================================
 

1. News Items

— Diabetes and Hearing Loss—Much More Common Than Previously Thought
— Does Loud 'N Clear Live Up to Ads' Claims?

2. Beware of (Ototoxic) Drugs That Can Damage Your Ears

— Can a Single Dose of Paroxetine (Paxil) Cause Sudden Hearing Loss?
— Which Is the Least Ototoxic Antidepressant?
— Prozac (Fluoxetine) and Hearing Loss
— Can Restasis (Cyclosporine) Eye Drops Cause Tinnitus and Hearing Loss?

3. Answers to Your Questions

— Which Musical Instruments Are Safe for Children with LVAS to Play?
— Voice Amplified Phones for People with Weak Voices

4. Tinnitus & Other Phantom Sounds

— Phantom Music with Normal Hearing—What's Going On?
— Drugging People Who Have Musical Ear Syndrome Is Not the Real Answer

5. Effective Coping Strategies

— An Effective Coping Strategy at the Doctor's Office—Being Proactive Paid Off
    for Mary
— Improving Your Speechreading Skills
— Hearing People When Riding in a Car

6. Information on Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants and/or Assistive
    Devices

— Trust Your Audiologist on Open Fit Recommendations
— Which Is Better—Hearing Aids or Cochlear Implants?
— Automatic T-coils and Cell Phones—A Workaround
— Buying Hearing Aids—To Shop Around or Not Shop Around
— I Can't Hear My Cell Phone Ringing—What Can I Do?

===============================================
1. News Items
===============================================

Diabetes and Hearing Loss—Much More Common Than Previously Thought

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

Most people know that if you have diabetes, you run the risk of microvascular complications that can affect the retina of your eyes and your peripheral nerves, especially in your feet. Diabetes can also damage your hearing. That is not new.

What is new is just how many people with diabetes also have resulting high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss. Here is what a couple of studies have revealed.

The first study (1) revealed almost six times the odds of high frequency hearing loss associated with peripheral neuropathy and coronary heart disease. In addition, this study of 472 people showed that sub-optimal glycemic control (defined as a hemoglobin A1c level (HbA1c) greater than or equal to 7%) was associated with almost 3 times the odds of high-frequency hearing loss.

The second study (2) compared the hearing of 50 people with diabetes to 50 controls matched for age and sex.

The results of pure tone audiometry found that 94% of the people with diabetes had hearing loss compared to just 18% in the control group. That's a pretty significant difference!

When comparing people with a glycemic control of 7% or greater to people with a glycemic control of less than 7%, those with a glycemic control of 7% or greater all had hearing loss. Their hearing losses broke down this way: mild to moderate loss, 56%; moderate to severe, 35%; and severe to profound, 9%.

Of those people with a glycemic control of less than 7%, only 40% had hearing losses and all their hearing losses were only mild to moderate. Thus, it appears that it is vitally important to your hearing health to keep your glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c levels) to less than 7% if at all possible.

When comparing severity of hearing loss to the length of time a person had diabetes, the results generally revealed that the longer you have diabetes, the more severe your resulting hearing loss. For example, for those people with diabetes for more than 8 years, 8% had mild to moderate losses, 75% had moderate to severe losses and 17% had severe to profound losses. The corresponding hearing losses for those with diabetes for fewer than 8 years were 69%, 18% and 5%.

Notice the enormous shift from those with mild to moderate losses in the fewer than 8 year group (69%) to moderate to severe losses in the more than 8 year group (75%).

Although these are preliminary findings, it appears that getting your diabetes under control as soon as possible, and maintaining a glycemic control of less than 7%, will give you the best chance of retaining your hearing and preventing increasing hearing loss the longer you have diabetes.

(1) Bainbridge, Kathleen, and Catherine Cowie. "Correlates of Hearing Impairment in the U.S. Population with Diabetes, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004." Bethesda, MD. Abstract No. 957-P. American Diabetes Association.

(2) Ismail, Mohammed, and Prcasanna Venkatesan. "Diabetes and Auditoryneuropathy" Mangalore, India. Abstract No. 28-LB. American Diabetes Association.

**************************************************

Having trouble hearing your iPod (or MP3 player) in true stereo?

If you wear hearing aids that have t-coils in them, the dual Music-Links will let you hear beautiful, clear, true-stereo sounds in both ears! Click here to learn more about the Music Links.

**************************************************

Does Loud 'N Clear Live Up to Ads' Claims?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

You don't want to be taken in my ads that claim you will hear well with the latest hearing device. NewsChannel 5 ( WTVF) recently wrote a story that begins:

"If you're having trouble hearing, you might be tempted to buy a new product called the Loud 'N Clear.

It promises to help you hear better and even hear things you might not ordinarily be able to.

But, can the Loud 'N Clear really do all that its ads claim?

NewsChannel 5 Investigates put it to the test, and consumer investigator Jennifer Kraus found the answer is..." Click here to read the rest of this story.

This expose' is itself a bit misleading. It asks whether you can hear across a street, or what people are saying in a crowded room with lots of other noise, etc. The answer to that is no, the Loud 'N Clear can't do that, but surprise, neither can my fancy hearing aids. You have to have realistic expectations of what hearing aids and assistive devices can and cannot do for you. One thing they won't do is restore your hearing to normal. In quiet situations you can expect to hear much better, but in noise, or in groups, you will still find that you typically miss a lot.

You see, there are two factors in hearing loss. First, obviously, since you have lost some hearing, you need a device to make sounds louder—and hearing aids and other devices can do that without any problem. However, they cannot fix the second factor that also accompanies hearing loss, namely, poor discrimination.

In other words, speech may be loud enough for you to hear people talking, but you may still miss a lot of what they are saying because your ears can't hear many of the high-frequency speech sounds that give speech much of its "intelligence".

In noisy situations you can't rely solely on devices or hearing aids unless you can get the microphone right up to the speaker's lips. (This is why FM systems work so well in these situations—you have the remote microphone right at the speaker's lips.)

Trying to hear a person talking through noise and at a distance just isn't going to work, whether you are using your "big buck" hearing aids, or the Loud 'N Clear, or any other assistive device unless you have a remote microphone at the speaker's mouth. That's just the way it is.

===============================================
2. Beware of (Ototoxic) Drugs That Can Damage Your Ears
===============================================

Can a Single Dose of Paroxetine (Paxil) Cause Sudden Hearing Loss?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man explained: "A year ago, I took a single dose of Paxil, obtained from a friend; I (foolishly) wanted to see what effect it would have on me. Two days later, while sitting at my desk at work, I suddenly went deaf in one ear, and my hearing never recovered. The otologists at the University of Washington say it is permanent idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss, suggesting perhaps a vascular, viral, or autoimmune event. In your anecdotal experience, how likely is it that this was related to my single dose of Paxil?"

I don't have any anecdotal reports of Paroxetine (Paxil) causing sudden hearing loss like that. To be sure I wasn't missing something, I looked at all the other drugs in the same SSRI class. For two of the SSRIs I have anecdotal reports of people losing some (not total) hearing after taking them for long periods—ranging from a number of weeks and up to several years. However, I couldn't find any sudden hearing loss episodes like you experienced.

Paroxetine is listed as causing hearing loss, so some degree of hearing loss can and does happen, but there is no mention of the speed or degree of the resulting hearing loss.

In your case, based on what I know, and what you have said, I don't think it very likely that your sudden hearing loss was caused by the Paroxetine (but I suppose anything is possible). It does seem coincidental, though, doesn't it?

I'm with your doctors on it possibly being vascular or viral in origin. Typically, autoimmune hearing loss doesn't happen quite so suddenly—but the other two certainly can.

To learn which drugs are (or can be) ototoxic, see "Ototoxic Drugs Exposed". This book contains information on the ototoxicity of 763 drugs, 30 herbs and 148 chemicals.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Which Is the Least Ototoxic Antidepressant?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady asked: "Do you have an opinion on which antidepressants are the safest for our ears—e.g. Pamelor, Desipramine, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, etc. Is there one that is significantly less ototoxic than the others?"

For my money, I wouldn't use any of the above. Why? Because there is a much safer alternative—St. John's Wort. You see, this herbal is not ototoxic at all. Furthermore, according to numerous studies, it works as well as the above drugs for mild to moderate depression. In addition, it doesn't have all the other bad side effects the above drugs have either.

If you decide to take St. John's Wort, do two things. First, run it by your doctor or pharmacist. You want to make sure it won't interfere with any of the other drugs you are currently taking. Second, be sure it says on the bottle that it is standardized to 0.3% to 0.5% hypericin. (Hypericin is the active ingredient.) When you use a standardized formulation, you know exactly how much of the active ingredient you are getting. Otherwise, the active ingredient may vary all over the place, and you don't want that.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Prozac (Fluoxetine) and Hearing Loss

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A concerned daughter wrote: "My dad is 74 years old, in great physical condition, slim and active. Within the past 5 months he has developed a loss of hearing, ringing in his ears and balance impairment. He has been taking Prozac for the past 20 years. He adjusts the dose to his own liking. He also has been taking blood thinners because of a heart bypass operation. Might the Prozac be guilty?"

Fluoxetine (Prozac) might be guilty, but I really wouldn't expect it since he has been taking it for 20 years without previous side effects (unless now he has suddenly upped the dose significantly). To be sure, Fluoxetine (an SSRI) can, and does, cause hearing loss, tinnitus and/or balance problems in some people.

On the other hand, I'm sure he was given lots of drugs at the time of his heart bypass operation, and they could have caused his hearing loss, tinnitus, etc. Also, maybe the blood thinners are the problem.

Look at any other drugs he is taking, or has been taking, for the past 6 months or so. I'm always suspicious when side effects show up in the weeks/months after beginning a new medication or upping the dose on an existing one. If you can correlate his ototoxic side effects with a drug he began taking shortly before they occurred, that is the likely culprit.

**************************************************

Having trouble hearing on your cell phone because of lack of volume or interference?

If you wear hearing aids that have t-coils in them, try the dual T-Links and hear beautiful, clear, interference-free sounds in both ears! Click here to learn more about the T-Links.

**************************************************

Can Restasis (Cyclosporine) Eye Drops Cause Tinnitus and Hearing Loss?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady wrote: "I have a question regarding Restasis (for dry eyes). I have dry eyes and used to use Restasis, which was very successful. When my tinnitus increased a year and a half ago, I stopped everything that I was using including Restasis because I was not sure what was causing it, although at that time, I became very congested and felt that I had some type of sinus condition going on that lasted for months. I had been using Restasis for a few years at that point.

I am having a lot of eye problems, and very little of the over-the-counter drops really work as well as Restasis. Would you suggest that I try using it again (even with my history of tinnitus and some mild high frequency hearing loss, although that may be age related—I am 56—and not medication related, but who knows)? What I need to know is does the description in your book about Cyclosporine causing hearing loss and tinnitus also apply to drops in the eye, or does it refer to internal ingestion. I really would like to start using it again."

Cyclosporine (Restasis) is known to cause tinnitus, hearing loss and other ear problems in a number of people. That's the bad news.

However, what you really want to know is whether the Cyclosporine is causing your tinnitus and hearing loss or not. I can't answer that, but I can give you some pointers to help you make up your own mind whether you want to start taking it again or not.

You had been taking Restasis for a number of years in the past. Did your tinnitus get worse after you started taking it? If not, then your tinnitus likely was related to other things, not the Cyclosporine.

What happened when you quit all the drugs you were taking? Did your tinnitus go away, reduce to a lower level, or stay the same? If it reduced in volume or went away, then you can assume your tinnitus was related to one of the drugs you were taking, including the Cyclosporine. If there was no change, then its unlikely your tinnitus was caused by any of your medications, including Cyclosporine.

You can try taking the Cyclosporine again and see if your tinnitus increases. If it does, then you have to decide whether you'd rather have more problems with your eyes, or put up with increased tinnitus.

Regarding using eye drops vs. taking a drug internally, I don't make any distinction. Who is to say that eye drops don't cause the same side effects as ingesting the drug does? Some people are more sensitive to any given drug. Thus, what may affect one person may not affect another. That is why I just list
the drug and its ototoxic side effects and let each person make up their own mind what they choose to do.

Since Restasis eye drops only contain 0.05% Cyclosporine, I'd think that such a small amount wouldn't damage your ears—but anything is possible. Therefore, if you decide to take the Cyclosporine again, just watch for your tinnitus. If it gets worse, you know Cyclosporine affects your ears (and could also affect your hearing). If there is no change in your tinnitus, then there is a good chance it isn't affecting your ears.

To learn which drugs are (or can be) ototoxic, see "Ototoxic Drugs Exposed". This book contains information on the ototoxicity of 763 drugs, 30 herbs and 148 chemicals.

===============================================
3. Answers to Your Questions
===============================================
 

If you have a question, or if something has been puzzling you concerning your ears, email it to mailto:neil@hearinglosshelp.com and put "e-zine question" as the subject. Suitable questions will be answered here.

Which Musical Instruments Are Safe for Children with LVAS to Play?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A mother asked: "My daughter has bilateral LVAS and is begging to play an instrument. Do you have any advice or experience with what instruments are safe for children with LVAS to play?"

Some people with LVAS (Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome, sometimes called EVAS—Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome) are very sensitive to changes in air pressure. For them, even blowing on a brass instrument (trumpet, trombone, tuba, etc.) can result in further hearing loss. For these people, any musical instrument that does not require them to blow is safe in that regard.

As far as I know, hearing loss from people with LVAS playing musical instruments is quite rare. Therefore, playing a woodwind or brass instrument probably won't affect her hearing.

Fortunately, there is a way you can figure this out. It is simply this. If your daughter's hearing is affected by changes in air pressure (low or high pressure systems moving in rapidly, by going up or down hills in vehicles, by flying, or exerting or straining herself—running very hard, pressing weights, etc.) then the exertion needed to blow a brass instrument will also likely cause a hearing loss.

However, if the above things do not affect her hearing, then it is highly unlikely that playing a woodwind or brass instrument would affect her hearing either.

In short, if you've watched what activities have caused hearing loss in your daughter in the past, then those and similar activities will likely cause more hearing loss in the future if she takes part in them. Other than that, you shouldn't unduly restrict her activities. You should be able to make a good judgment call on this issue by applying the above to her situation.

Finally, one caution, and this is for everyone, not just people with LVAS, the volume of sounds in bands and orchestras can be dangerous to your hearing. Therefore, it is wise to use ear protectors to keep the sounds down to an acceptable level and thus preserve your hearing. There are special musicians' ear protectors that reduce the volume without affecting how you hear pitch. Many professional musicians wear them. You would do well to do the same.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Voice Amplified Phones for People with Weak Voices

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A concerned daughter wrote: "My mother is going deaf and also has a weak voice due to a laryngectomy. Is there a phone available that would amplify her voice so the person at the other end can hear her?"

Also, a devoted husband wrote: "My wife has had breast cancer for a long time and it has spread causing a problem with her vocal cords. I would like information about a phone that allows someone with a soft whisper to communicate by phone."

Fortunately, there are phones that do exactly what you want—amplify the speaker's voice so people at the other end can hear them.

The most powerful of these phones is the combination of the Clarity XL30 phone and a special Clarity amplified transmit handset that works with this particular phone. This phone will give your mom/wife more than 26 dB of outgoing speech gain so people can hear her better.

There is no guarantee that this phone will be strong enough for you mom/wife, but it is the loudest voice-amplified phone combination of which I'm aware. Therefore, feel free to try it for 2 weeks. If it does not do the job, simply return it within 2 weeks and get your money back. This phone/handset combination is $141.95 + shipping. You can see/order the Clarity XL30 phone and special handset here.

===============================================
4. Tinnitus & Other Phantom Sounds
===============================================

Phantom Music with Normal Hearing—What's Going On?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady explained: "I read your article on Musical Ear Syndrome with interest because although my hearing is normal, I suffer from insomnia because I hear music and singing through the night.

What particularly caught my attention is that a couple of the people you quote have heard exactly the same songs that I have. So my suggestion is the following. Would there be a way to test the homes of a people who claim to have the same symptoms. To me it is as if there were radio waves coming from the vents at different frequencies. If I listen from one angle, I'll hear a choir singing the back-up. In fact, I remember that this morning I heard the words "addicted to love" and "1 2 3 4" and "Daddy Come Home" in conjunction with the main song(s) that were playing.

I've been jotting them down, but I have heard distinctly Amazing Grace, Battle Hymn of the Republic, some John Phillip Sousa march, Bolero, etc. How could so many people experience the same exact songs? I wondered for a while if it wasn't some kind of terrorist communication or music for our armed forces.

Like one of your interviewees, I had the manager contact the people above and below me to see if he could find out who was doing it. The music or waves or vibrations that I interpret as music seem to be stronger where the vents are located in our apartment."

Most people that hear these phantom sounds have a hearing loss, but a number of people with normal hearing such as yourself contact me because they also hear these phantom sounds.

The reason so many people "hear" the same phantom songs is that these songs were popular when they were younger—so these songs are in all of your collective memories already. When the conditions are right, you, like them, hear these same songs. It is nothing esoteric.

People desperately want to find a rational reason for the phantom music they are "hearing", because to them, the only other explanation is that they are crazy. Thus they come up with some "interesting" explanations for these phantom sounds. Your explanation, "to me it is as if there were radio waves coming from the vents at different frequencies", is actually quite near the truth, surprisingly enough.

You have likely hit the nail on the head in that you feel the sounds are coming from the furnace vents. I agree, however, your theory of why this is so is a bit off. Let me explain.

What happens to a number of people is that their brains' for some reason modulate any continuous background sound (such as the sound produced by a furnace, air conditioner or fan) to sound like music. Then your brain takes a song out of memory and somehow melds the two together into the phantom music you now "hear". (Other people, including myself, hear the same kind of thing when flying—our brains modulate the continuous drone of the jet engines into what sounds like various pieces of music, although sometimes it just sounds like an orchestra warming up.)

When the furnace, air conditioner or fan stops, the music stops too. Check this out and notice whether it happens in your case too.

It may seem strange that a number of people, including yourself, have contacted the manager in your building about people causing this loud music at ungodly hours.

However, it is not really as strange as it seems. You see, the sounds seem to have directionality. Thus, you "know" they are coming from above you or below you (even though, in actual fact, they are all in your head).

As you have noticed, the phantom music is loudest near the vents in your apartment because that is where the underlying sound from the furnace/air conditioner/fan is coming from.

Your brain then modulates this sound so you "hear" music or singing. I don't know why sometimes you hear music and other times singing. I suspect it is related to the frequencies of sound and their variability that your ears are picking up at any given time. Then your brain modulates these sounds and adds its own version of "intelligence" to them—thus the music and singing.

Other people have reported "hearing" similar things to what you are experiencing. For them, when the furnace/air conditioner/fan turns itself off, the phantom music also stops. Fascinating, isn't it?

(Note: this is just one of the many kinds and causes of the phantom sounds that comprise Musical Ear Syndrome. To learn more about this fascinating subject read "Phantom Voices, Ethereal Music & Other Spooky Sounds".

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Drugging People Who Have Musical Ear Syndrome Is Not the Real Answer

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A nurse explained: "Recently an elderly friend of my neighbor suddenly began hearing "singing" auditory hallucinations at night. She has had hearing aids for some time and has had a lot of difficulty with them. She has even changed doctors because she was not happy. Could the sudden onset of the hallucinations be related to further hearing problems? I am hoping it is a hearing and not a psychiatric problem. I read too much about polypharmacy and drug interactions to be okay with the medications the elderly are prescribed. She went to her MD today and right away he presumed it was a psychiatric problem and prescribed Risperdal, which, in my opinion, is a nasty drug with a black box warning when prescribed to the elderly. I got a drug monograph for my neighbor (her request) and decided to see what I could find on auditory hallucinations; that’s when I came across your web site. Any alternative to those medications would be so much better."

I agree with you. In cases like this, drugs are seldom the answer because there are some better alternatives. The phantom sounds your neighbor's friend is hearing could be related to further hearing loss, or to a combination of things
including aging, hearing loss, tinnitus, quiet environment, mental attitude, stress, medications, etc.

Unfortunately, far too many elderly people are taking numerous drugs. Did you know that there are more than 250 drugs that can cause hallucinations such as she is experiencing? Since the phantom music came on suddenly, one way to try to track down the cause is to find out whether she recently changed her medications (either began a new drug or changed the dose on an existing one). If there is a close correlation, then that drug is likely the culprit. Stopping that drug could stop any future phantom sound episodes.

It bothers me that her doctor "right away presumed it was a psychiatric problem and prescribed Risperdal" without even determining whether she had a psychiatric condition or something benign such as Musical Ear Syndrome.

Things are not always what they seem at first glance. No doubt what this lady is experiencing is almost certainly related to a "ear" problem and not to a psychiatric problem. Of the hundreds and hundreds of people that have contacted me regarding hearing phantom music (and other phantom sounds), perhaps 3 had what I would consider a psychiatric problem. The rest were as sane as you and me. They just had some problems with their auditory systems that produced phantom sounds.

The best information available on the causes of Musical Ear Syndrome and ways to bring it under control (at least in my opinion, and I'm a wee bit biased because I wrote it) is the article "Musical Ear Syndrome—The Phantom Voices,
Ethereal Music & Other Spooky Sounds Many Hard of Hearing People Secretly Experience", and my easy-to-read book on the subject "Phantom Voices, Ethereal Music & Other Spooky Sounds".

===============================================
5.  Effective Coping Strategies
===============================================

An Effective Coping Strategy at the Doctor's Office—Being Proactive Paid Off for Mary

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

If you have a severe hearing loss, hearing your name being called in a busy doctor's office is stressful to say the least, and can be an exercise in futility when you keep being "missed" because you never heard your name called.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way. Even when the doctor's office isn't set up to be "hearing friendly", you can do things to make yourself stand out and thus get your needs met. Here's what Mary did.

Mary was having cataract surgery in a large, busy outpatient clinic. She was having the pre-op, surgery and post-op all the same day so was going to be "called" a number of times throughout the day. She had tried some strategies before, but this time she hit the jackpot in discovering something that really worked.

Before she went to the clinic she got a bright yellow sheet of paper and printed on it in big bold letters:

PATIENT IS HARD OF HEARING

MAY NOT HEAR NAME CALLED

WEARING YELLOW TOP TODAY

Then she color-coordinated her "top" with the paper color.

When she checked in, she gave the paper to the receptionist and had her clip it to the outside front of her chart. Here's what happened. Mary wrote:

"It was a huge success! I was able to see the sheet on the outside of the chart several times so I got up before they even called my name. (Note: You need to do your part too and be proactive—watch for someone coming with your "yellow" chart.)

I had 2 people come directly to me, and one lady just had the yellow sheet in her hand when she was coming my way. (Wearing the yellow top really helped them find me.) One time I saw my yellow chart in the box outside one of the offices so I knew that was my chart when they pulled it."

When Mary went back for follow-up a week or so later she did the same thing—took her yellow card and wore a yellow top. She explains:

"I saw the yellow sheet as the first technician called my name, so stood up. She laughed. The same thing happened when the second person called my name. However, when the third girl called out into the large waiting area, she was behind me. It didn't seem that she was looking for a yellow shirt. She seemed to be looking over the heads of people, but I turned around and said, "Did you just call Mary?" and then I saw the yellow sheet so I knew she really was calling me. She commented on what a great idea that was. Everyone remembered to clip the yellow sheet back on top of my chart, ready for the next person. This has been a successful and positive experience in advocating for my hearing needs."

Thanks for the tip Mary!

Next time you are in a similar situation, adapt Mary's strategy to fit your needs. It worked for her. It should work for you too!

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Improving Your Speechreading Skills

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man asked: "Is there anywhere on the web, or a resource that you could direct me to, where I can learn to improve my lip reading skills?"

The real secret to becoming better at speechreading (lip reading is the older term) is to always "stare" at the person to whom you are talking. In other words, practice, practice, practice. I've been doing this all my life. That's how I
learned.

You may find it helpful to read my article on speechreading. However, if you want to really speed things up, there is an excellent speechreading CD available to help you improve your speechreading skills.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Hearing People When Riding in a Car

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady explained: "When my husband and I are in the car and my daughter is in the back seat, I cannot make out what she is saying. I have lost most of my hearing in the conversational range and also in the high frequencies. Do you have any suggestions how I can hear her better with my hearing aid when she is in the back seat. When it is just my husband and me, I can look right at him (if he is driving) and do pretty well hearing him."

What I do—and it works great for me with my severe hearing loss—is use a PockeTalker and a lapel microphone.

I just clip the lapel microphone on my wife and hear her wonderfully well. (I typically put the PockeTalker in the cup holder between us.)

If a person is sitting in the back seat, such as your daughter, just clip the lapel microphone to her and listen via the PockeTalker. If you want to hear 2 people at once (e.g. your husband and your daughter), all you need is a "Y" adapter (available at any Radio Shack store) and two lapel microphones.

To listen to the PockeTalker, you have two options—either use "bare ears" and wear ear buds plugged into the PockeTalker—which is what I normally do—or switch your hearing aids to t-coil mode and use a neckloop instead of ear buds.

If you need a longer cord for the microphone, not a problem. The PockeTalker comes with a 12 foot extension cord that you can use for that purpose.

***************************************************

If you are receiving this issue of Hearing Loss Help e-zine as a forward, you can sign up for your own subscription at http://www.hearinglosshelp.com, or send a blank email to hearingloss-158260@autocontactor.com. Hearing Loss Help e- zine doesn't cost you a cent!

**************************************************

===============================================
6. Information on Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants and/or
     Assistive Devices
===============================================

Trust Your Audiologist on Open Fit Recommendations

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man wrote: "I would like to know if my audiologist has given me the right information. She has told me that I cannot use an open fit or slim tube hearing aids because my hearing loss is too bad. I am using Phonak BTE aids now. They are not open fit or slim tube aids.

I looked at your February 7, 2009 newsletter with links to many different hearing aids and I saw a half dozen or so that appear to be able to be used for severe to profound hearing loss.

I would like to go to newer technology hearing aids that aren't as visible. Thanks for any help you can give me."

You audiologist is probably right. The open fit and slim tube models are designed for people with the milder to moderate hearing losses. For severe and greater hearing losses, these hearing aids have two problems. One is they do not have enough power, and two, if they did have enough power, they would cause feedback.

The big problem is getting the power you need without getting feedback at the same time. The manufacturer has fitting curves that show whether your hearing loss will work with their aids. Your audiologist has access to these, so you need to trust his/her judgment.

I'd love to have open fit hearing aids myself—but every audiologist I've talked to about it has said the same thing—my hearing loss is too severe. It's not fair, is it? But that's the way it is. Trust your audiologist in this.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Which Is Better—Hearing Aids or Cochlear Implants?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man asked: "Which is better, hearing aids or cochlear implants?"

The true answer is "It depends." You see, it's not hearing aids or cochlear implants, rather its typically hearing aids first and then, when your hearing aids no longer significantly help you hear, its time to see about getting cochlear implants.

If hearing aids can significantly help you, you are typically not eligible for cochlear implants. However, when your hearing aids no longer significantly help you, its time for you to investigate getting cochlear implants.

To be eligible for cochlear implants, as a rule of thumb (and the rules keep changing), the hearing in your better ear has to be severe or profound, your word recognition has to be under 40% and hearing aids cannot significantly help you.

Incidentally, some new research has revealed that getting a cochlear implant in your worse ear and wearing a hearing aid in your better ear can produce better directionality of sound, better understanding of music and speech and more natural sounds than getting two cochlear implants—at least in some people. Therefore, the answer to your question may be—get one of each if you are eligible.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Automatic T-coils and Cell Phones—A Workaround

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady explained: "If someone has an automatic t-coil on their hearing aid, they will have problems hearing on their cell phones if they want to do so in t-coil mode. They will need a magnet glued to the phone's earpiece in order to activate the automatic t-coil.

I don't have a t-coil switch on my digital hearing aid. As a result, for a year, trying to hear on my cell phone was horrible. I couldn't put a magnet next to the earpiece to kick in the t-coil because it was a flip-phone and it wouldn't close otherwise.

I just brought a new cell phone—not a flip phone this time. I glued a magnet next to the earpiece and the t-coil kicked in properly. I can hear great now!"

You have just exposed one of my chief complaints concerning automatic t-coils—they need a manual override when using them with devices that do not provide a strong enough magnetic field to activate them. This includes devices such as cell phones, neckloops and room loops.

It's a shame that after paying the big bucks for your hearing aid, you still have to fool around to make the automatic t-coil work with your cell phone. Your work around is great—you just have to find a small magnet that's powerful enough to activate your automatic t-coils and then glue it to the right place on your phone so it will activate when you hold the phone up to your ear (hearing aid). That's a pain.

I don't like, or recommend, automatic t-coils unless they have a manual override. With a manual override, you don't have to fool around with a magnet. You just manually put your hearing aids into t-coil mode. Then they will work with your cell phones and neckloops and room loops too.

With your automatic t-coils, you can't hear via your t-coils when using loop systems unless you stick magnets to your hearing aids to activate their automatic t-coils. That's another pain. (Also, you need to have those magnets with you at all times so you have them when you need them.) Furthermore, you can't glue the magnets to your hearing aids because you have to remove the magnets when you are finished with the looped device so your hearing aids will return to microphone mode again. Otherwise, you won't hear a thing until you do. What a pain!

It's so much better to insist on a manual t-coil, or an automatic t-coil with a manual override. Then you never have to fool around with magnets on your phone or your hearing aids. As you can tell, I'm solidly for "pain-free" listening.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

Buying Hearing Aids—To Shop Around or Not Shop Around

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady asked: "If one likes one's hearing aids perfectly fine, does one really need to try different kinds? I've been reading the hearing aid forums, and I feel almost embarrassed that I went to the audiologist, bought very expensive hearing aids, and headed out into the world. I've worn contact lenses for thirty years and have never once cost compared different brands, or tried multiple brands to see if there's a difference, unless I was having a specific problem. Did I make a mistake?"

Think of it this way. Say you were buying your first car. You go to the Ford dealership (since it is nearby) and let a salesman talk you into a particular model. You take it for a test drive, decide you are perfectly happy with it, and buy it.

What you're asking is, "Did I make a mistake?" The only way you'll ever know is to shop around. You may find that another make or model of car has a feature you particularly like, and now you wish you hadn't been so hasty.

That is why it is better to shop around first—test drive various makes and models so you get a feel for what suits you the best.

Hearing aids are much like that. You may have lucked out and got an excellent fit for your hearing loss—and thus shopping around won't find you a better fit. That's ok. The thing is, you are happy and can hear under most conditions.

However, you'll never know if another make or model of hearing aid would have sounded more natural, or would have compressed loud sounds better, or was not as susceptible to wind noise, or had controls that were easier to use, etc. unless you have tried them. Thus it is wise to shop around before deciding on a specific hearing aid, even if you just try 2 or 3 other hearing aids.

Did you make a mistake? If you are happy with your hearing aids and they work well for you, I'd say not. However, you possibly could have made an even better choice if you had shopped around. Next time I recommend you shop and compare before you buy. Many audiologists carry several lines of hearing aids so you can try them right there in her office.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

I Can't Hear My Cell Phone Ringing—What Can I Do?

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A man wrote: "I am somewhat hard of hearing. I can never hear my cell phone when it rings , even when it is my pocket. Do you have a remote little light that would blink when my phone rings?

Sorry, I'm not aware of a portable blinking light device for cell phones. However, there are some things you can do. First, most hard of hearing people have a high-frequency loss—which means they don't hear the higher-frequency cell phone ring tones very well. Therefore, to make it easier to hear your cell phone ringing, download (or choose) the lowest frequency ring tone that is available for your phone. You might be surprised how much better you can hear a lower-frequency ring tone.

Second, why don't you leave your cell phone on vibrate so you can feel it ring, even if you can't hear it?

Third, if you regularly put your cell phone down—for example, on your desk, or on your bed table at night, I do have a nifty gizmo for you. This device flashes a light, produces a loud audible alert, and, if you are in bed, shakes your bed to get your attention whenever your cell phone rings. You can see this cool cell-phone ring alerter here.

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

                       HEARING LOSS HELP E-zine

Neil Bauman, Publisher               Center for Hearing Loss Help
49 Piston Court                       Stewartstown, PA 17363 USA
Phone: (717) 993-8555                       Fax (717) 993-6661
http://www.hearinglosshelp.com     neil@hearinglosshelp.com

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>