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Frequently Asked Questions
We believe
our sister is losing her hearing. What should we do?
Can routine pediatric
check-ups detect hearing loss?
How should I
prepare my child for a hearing assessment?
Do you accept insurance
plans?
What is
a hearing aid?
Do I have to
use a hearing aid?
Why can I hear sometimes
and not other times?
What are the
alternatives to hearing aids?
Can all hearing
loss be helped?
Do I need one hearing
aid or two?
Are the new fully
digital hearing aids really better?
What do I have to do
to take care of my hearing aid?
Are hearing aids
difficult to use?
What causes
hearing loss?
We
believe our sister/brother/parent is losing his/her hearing.
What should we do?
An audiologist is the hearing care professional who specializes
in identifying and assessing hearing loss, and in recommending
appropriate management. You should therefore make sure that
your relative's hearing is evaluated by a licensed and certified
audiologist, who can then guide you toward the appropriate
next step.
Can
routine pediatric check-ups detect hearing loss?
It is often difficult to detect the signs of hearing loss
in young children. Be sure to mention to your child's pediatrician
if you have been noticing that your child responds inconsistently
to sound, is delayed in developing speech and language skills
or has speech that is difficult for you or others to understand.
These are all symptoms that would warrant referral to an audiologist
for an evaluation. The sooner you act on your suspicions,
the better.
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How
should I prepare my child for a hearing assessment?
Different test techniques are used with children of different
ages and developmental levels. All are done in a relaxed,
non-threatening manner. Speak to your audiologist prior to
the test for information that will be appropriate for preparing
your child, e.g. the nature of the games that might be used,
whether or not your child will be asked to wear earphones.
Do
you accept insurance plans?
We are providers for Tufts Health Plans, Harvard Vanguard,
State Employee Group Insurance Company (GIC) Health Plan,
Aetna US Health Care, Medicare, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
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What
is a hearing aid?
All hearing aids contain a microphone to pick up
sound and change it into an electrical signal, an amplifier
to enlarge the signal, and a receiver that changes the electrical
signal back into an acoustic signal that is delivered into
your ear. All hearing aids are battery powered. Beyond that,
hearing aids differ significantly in the sophistication of
their circuitry, and not all circuits are appropriate to every
hearing loss. It is therefore important to work with a knowledgeable
audiologist who can explain these differences to you and guide
you toward a choice that would work best for your individual
needs.
Do
I have to use a hearing aid?
The recommendation for hearing aid use is based not only on
the degree and configuration of the hearing loss, but also
the listening needs of an individual. By becoming an active
partner in the decision-making process, you can be sure that
your preferences and your lifestyle are all factored into
any management plan. If your particular difficulties are limited
to certain listening situations, you may be assisted through
counseling about compensatory strategies or specialized assistive
listening devices.
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Why
can I hear sometimes and not other times?
Some hearing losses do fluctuate but this is not a typical
scenario. More likely, you are finding that you are better
able to compensate for your hearing loss in some environments
but not all. For example, it's not uncommon for people to
report that they do fine understanding speech in a quiet room
when they're facing the person who's talking. Yet, they are
aware of difficulty when the speaker's back is turned, or
in a noisier room with many people talking simultaneously.
What
are the alternatives to hearing aids?
Some people benefit from learning compensatory strategies;
others may find that they are helped by special devices for
television or telephone listening. Based upon the specific
information derived from your hearing test, and the experiences
that you report, the audiologist is able to counsel you concerning
appropriate options.
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Can
all hearing loss be helped?
Some hearing losses that are conductive involve sound
transmission problems within the middle or outer ear. These
types of hearing loss can often be improved through medical
intervention. For those hearing losses that cannot be improved
through medication or surgery, appropriately selected and
fitted hearing aids can provide very satisfactory outcomes
in easing communicative difficulties. In the case of profound
hearing loss where amplification does not provide adequate
benefit, cochlear implants are an option that should be considered.
Your audiologist is a professional who is highly trained in
the non-medical management of hearing loss, and can guide
you in getting the help that's appropriate for your needs.
Do
I need one hearing aid or two?
There are several advantages to wearing two hearing aids.
Binaural, or two-ear listening, improves an individual's ability
to understand soft speech, to follow conversations in group
settings, and to hear speech in background noise. Two-ear
fittings also let you localize sound better, and provide a
more balanced listening experience. Binaural fittings are
therefore recommended whenever an individual presents with
hearing loss in both ears to help maximize use of residual
hearing. The first thirty days of hearing aid use are considered
your "trial period". During this time, you may wish
to experiment with wearing one vs. two hearing aids to see
for yourself what best meets your needs.
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Are
the new fully digital hearing aids really better?
Digital hearing aids have no circuit noise and sample
the incoming signal far more rapidly than any other kind of
instrument. They also have more adjustable bands to allow
us to "shape" the response to best match your hearing
loss contour and to allow for more exact adjustments in response
to your subjective comments. Not all digital hearing aids
have the same features, however. Noise reduction circuitry,
which is only present in higher end products, enables the
hearing aid to reduce amplification in narrow regions where
the signal appears to be noise rather than speech. Directional
microphones, an option available on some models, have been
shown to best enhance a hearing aid user's understanding of
speech in difficult listening environments, such as restaurants
or cocktail parties. User surveys have documented that patients
definitely prefer digital hearing instruments to the old-fashioned
analog circuits. The success of the fitting depends primarily
on working with an experienced audiologist who can help select
the model that's most appropriate for your needs, skillfully
program them, and guide you towards maximizing their benefit.
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What
do I have to do to take care of my hearing aid?
Hearing aid manufacturers tell us that wax and moisture are
responsible for 90% of all hearing aid repairs. Therefore,
don't wear the hearing aids when you're taking a bath or shower,
don't leave them in the bathroom while you're showering or
bathing, take them off if you're caught in a rainstorm without
a hat or umbrella, and store them in a cool, dry place. Ask
your audiologist about a "Dri-and Store", the best
product we've found so far for protecting your aids against
moisture damage. The best time to clean a hearing aid is in
the morning. For in-the-ear and canal styles, use a wax loop
gently in the sound channel to "scoop" up any debris.
Be very careful not to rip the receiver tubing that lines
the channel. For behind-the-ear models, the sound delivery
channel in the ear mold needs to be cleaned. Also, the tubing
in the ear mold will need to be changed at least once a year
when it hardens and discolors. Your audiologist can usually
do this in a few minutes at the office.
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Are
hearing aids difficult to use?
Hearing aids should not be difficult to use if you select
a circuit that's appropriate for your hearing needs and select
a style that's easy for you to manipulate. When you're considering
a hearing aid fitting, be sure to mention to the audiologist
any difficulties you have that might be important to the decision-making
process, e.g. arthritic fingers, or loss of sensation in your
fingertips.
What
causes hearing loss?
There are a number of factors that contribute to hearing loss,
and in many cases it is difficult to isolate a single causative
factor. In young children, hearing loss may be present at
birth, possibly due to genetic factors, or "insults"
to the hearing mechanism in utero. Ear infections causing
fluid build-up in the middle ear are also common in children
under ten, and this kind of hearing loss can be managed medically
or surgically. In adults, common causes of hearing loss include
exposure to loud noise, certain viral infections, ingestion
of drugs or exposure to environmental chemicals that are harmful
to the hearing and/or balance mechanisms, and the aging process.
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