Tag Archives: hearing test
Ear wax removal Bucks
Ear wax removal, Bucks
Ear wax removal Bucks
Do you live in Bucks? In need of a hearing test or your hearing aid repaired? Or maybe you need your ear wax removed by a leading ear wax removal centre? Here at the Hearing clinic Henley, Leon Cox can help with all your hearing needs.
Ear wax removal Buckinghamshire
We are experts in ear wax removal and use various techniques. Micro-suction is just one way we can get out your hard impacted ear wax and the traditional water irrigation is another. You can watch our video on Micro-suction here.
Tinnitus therapy in Bucks
DID YOU KNOW?
1 in 10 adults in the UK suffer with tinnitus.
Many of those suffering are not offered any help, and are simply told to live with it.
Tinnitus can almost always be improved for the client.
How can we help with Tinnitus?
We firstly meet with you and sit and discuss your full hearing history, work out what triggered the problem, we then talk to you about evaluating the degree of tinnitus and how it is impacting on your life, where your issues are. We normally examine the ears with our video otoscope and show you the results on our flat screen. We then carry out a puretone audiogram to assess how good your hearing is, or if there are any areas of damage (such as those caused by noise for example).
We then sit down and consult with you, armed with all the information, and work out a care plan for you, using the tools available to us as explained above.
Please call our clinic for an appointment and we will fit you in as soon as possible. We are based in Henley on Thames.
Hering loss app available
Samsung Announces Hearing Loss Detection App and New Initiative
The Problem
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 5% of the world’s population—or 466 million people—have disabling hearing loss. In Argentina, hearing impairment constitutes 18% of the existing disabilities according to Info LEG—86.6% of which experience hearing difficulties; 13.4% are deaf.
While those diagnosed with hearing loss can take necessary actions for their individual cases—taking preventive measures to avoid total deafness, getting hearing aids, learning sign language, etc—those who do not know what’s happening to them are subject to a more frustrating experience. This is especially true for children who may lose the chance to develop their cognitive skills and pursue higher education.
Using Technology to Bridge the Gap
uSound for Samsung is an initiative designed to bring technology to people with hearing loss—to help detect the risk of hearing loss and thus improve their quality of life in such essential aspects as communication and education, the South Korea-based company announced.
uSound Test is a free application that is designed to allow users to detect their hearing loss risk. According to the company’s press release, the app reproduces pre-calibrated sounds that users give feedback to. It then compares these results with its database, with the app reportedly detecting specific frequencies the user may have difficulty hearing. uSound Test is designed to analyze the auditory curve that results from the whole test to help determine the degree of hearing loss risk.
uSound for Samsung reportedly issues a report with the results, designed as “a risk indicator,” according to Samsung. Since the test is not designed to be a medical diagnosis, the app recommends users contact hearing health specialists when necessary.
Left to right: Eduardo Ezequiel Escobar, CEO, uSound; Sang Jik Lee, President, Samsung Electronics Argentina; Governor Gerardo Rubén Morales, Jujuy Province, and Dr Gustavo Alfredo Bouhid, Minister of Health, Jujuy Province, sign an agreement to distribute uSound for Samsung in the Jujuy province to help residents detect risk of hearing loss.
Cynthia Giolito, senior manager, corporate citizenship, Samsung Electronics Argentina, said: “uSound for Samsung reinforces our mission to offer technology with a purpose that improves quality of life. We are very proud to embark on this path and we hope to have solid results that will promote hearing accessibility in more places.”
Through uSound for Samsung, the company hopes to use its technology and resources to:
- Raise awareness about hearing loss and improve public policies;
- Avoid irreversible damage to hearing organs;
- Encourage learning and cognitive development for children;
- Develop speech and facilitate social inclusion;
- Contribute to a more egalitarian society.
Working with the Community
The Government of Jujuy will provide resources and workspaces for the hearing loss-detection campaign, according to Samsung. uSound will continue to help improve hearing experiences with its products, including the aforementioned test and an app that turns the cell phone into an auditory assistant**, according to the company’s announcement. Samsung Electronics will provide the necessary technology to carry out a first pilot test of uSound Test in health centers across Jujuy and will financially support the project.
Eduardo Ezequiel Escobar, CEO, uSound (fifth from left); Sang Jik Lee, President, Samsung Electronics Argentina (seventh from left); Governor Gerardo Rubén Morales, Jujuy Province (eighth from left), and Dr Gustavo Alfredo Bouhid, Minister of Health, Jujuy Province (ninth from left) pose with other related parties for a group picture commemorating the signing event.
Governor Gerardo Rubén Morales, Jujuy Province, said: “It is a pleasure to accompany uSound, a company from Jujuy, take on its challenges. With the support of Samsung, this project will impact thousands of people with hearing problems. It is great that this project started in Jujuy. We hope it can be replicated throughout Argentina and in other countries—technological innovation knows no boundaries.”
As a team, the Government of Jujuy, uSound, and Samsung Electronics Argentina will help give a larger part of the Argentine community access to tools to potentially change lives through the use of technology.
Ezequiel Escobar, CEO and co-founder of uSound, said: “We witnessed a truly historic opportunity for our company and for Jujuy. This plan, using our technologies, will benefit many people from Jujuy and has the potential to expand to help many more people around the world. We are talking about a huge impact that grows even more with the support from Samsung and the Ministry of Health of Jujuy.”
Samsung has been preparing for entry into the hearing care market for several years; Hearing Review reported that the company filed an April 2013 patent for a “small hearing aid.” In 2015, Samsung placed a $13.9 million order for hearing aid amplifiers driven, according to a BusinessKorea article, by Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s interest in what it called “mobile health care.” More recently, SamMobile reported in 2016 that Samsung applied for trademark registration of the term Earcle in South Korea, and that its application referenced hearing aids. Additionally, a Samsung device described as a “Samsung Bluetooth Hearing Aid” with the model number SM-R790, reportedly surfaced at the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s (SIG) database.
* Not a medical diagnosis
** Not a hearing aid
*** Translated from Spanish and edited for clarity
Source: Samsung
Images: Samsung
Depression and hearing loss
Depression and Hearing Loss
Henley Hearing Clinic News:
Depression and its connection to hearing loss seems pretty logical and self-evident, especially if you’re a dispensing professional who experiences daily the difference that amplification can make in a person’s life. In fact, many clinicians find themselves explaining the connection as follows: a person’s hearing loss and related communication problems can lead to gaffes and social faux pas; leading to embarrassment, anxiety, and loss of self-esteem; leading to gradual withdrawal from social situations and physical activity; leading to social isolation and loneliness; and eventually bringing them down the path to depression.
While this is probably an adequate description for some cases, a recent webinar1 by Victor Bray, PhD, associate professor and former dean of Salus University’s Osborne College of Audiology, points to more recent scientific literature that paints a far more complex picture of hearing loss and its association with depression—one we all should be aware of. The utility of hearing aids, cochlear implants, and assistive devices is made no less important by this complexity; however, it’s vital to understand who might be most at risk for depression in your patient population, how best to administer simple screening tools (ie, the PHQ-2 or PHQ-9), and why it’s important to refer patients to a medical doctor or psychologist, when indicated.
Depression, also known as major depressive disorder (MDD), is present in 5-10% of the general population (up to 40% in some groups), and is a serious medical illness that negatively affects feelings, thoughts, and actions. The primary risk factors for depression are co-morbid chronic medical conditions (hearing loss is a pervasive chronic condition, especially among seniors) and recent stressful events. And, as with cognitive decline and dementia—the subject of my editorial last month—the stakes in treating depression are high for society and healthcare professionals. As Hsu and colleagues (2016) pointed out:
Depression is a common mental disorder, which affects 350 million people in the world. Unipolar depressive disorders and adult-onset hearing loss, the most common neuropsychiatric conditions, and sense organ disorder, respectively, are the first and second leading nonfatal causes of year loss due to disability among adults in high-income countries.2
Several of the studies reviewed by Dr Bray tend to suggest that the odds ratio for acquiring depression increases by a factor of about two if you have untreated hearing loss. However, a lot of the studies also show that a variety of chronic illnesses—ranging from cirrhosis to diabetes mellitus—can be associated with depression, so there could be some underlying neurophysiological common cause in hearing loss and other health problems that hasn’t been discovered yet. Dr Bray also looks at some very intriguing research about how dual-sensory loss (ie, hearing and vision loss) and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (particularly among young people) can greatly increase the risk for depression, as well as studies that are shedding light on how treated hearing loss might positively affect those suffering from anxiety, loneliness, and depression.
As Dr Bray explains, the linkage of hearing loss to depression could come from both a social (downstream) effect, as described at the beginning of this article, and a biological/neurological (upstream) effect, as proposed in a model by Rutherford et al.3 If that were the case, an effective treatment plan could involve therapy and/or medication from a psychologist, in coordination with a hearing device and/or auditory and cognitive retraining from a hearing care professional.
Dr Bray’s webinar was sponsored by Hamilton CapTel, and the company also sponsored an exceptionally interesting and well-viewed webinar last year about hearing loss and associated co-morbidities (including depression) by Harvey Abrams, PhD.4,5 When viewed together, they put an exclamation point on the fact that hearing loss isn’t just about the ears, it’s about health, the brain, quality of life, healthy aging, and so much more—while underscoring the crucial role of the hearing care professional in general healthcare.
To see Dr Bray’s webinar, visit https://bit.ly/2Lpt4AW.
Citation for this article: Strom KE. Depression and hearing loss. Hearing Review. 2018;25(8):6.
References
1. Bray V. Depression, hearing loss, and treatment with hearing aids [Webinar]. July 13, 2018. Available at: http://www.hearingreview.com/2018/07/new-webinar-depression-hearing-loss-treatment-hearing-aids
2. Hsu W-T, Hsu C-C, Wen M-H, et al. Increased risk of depression in patients with acquired sensory hearing loss: A 12-year follow-up study. Medicine. 2016;95(44):e5312.
3. Rutherford BR, Brewster K, Golub JS, Kim AH, Roose SP. Sensation and psychiatry: Linking age-related hearing loss to late-life depression and cognitive decline. Am J Psychiatry. 2017;175(3):215-224.
4. Abrams H. Hearing loss and associated comorbidities: What do we know [Webinar]? May 31, 2017. Available at: http://www.hearingreview.com/2017/05/new-webinar-hearing-loss-associated-comorbidities-know/
5. Abrams H. Hearing loss and associated comorbidities: What do we know? Hearing Review. 2017;24(12):32-35. Available at: http://www.hearingreview.com/2017/11/hearing-loss-associated-comorbidities-know/
BBC news reporter now wears a hearing aid.
Newsreader Lewis Vaughan Jones makes debut wearing hearing aid.
“It was crowded and loud on air”
A newsreader who suddenly lost the hearing in his left ear, has received messages of support after his first appearance on air with a hearing aid.
Lewis Vaughan Jones, 37, feared his career presenting the news on the BBC and ITN was over after doctors told him the hearing loss was permanent.
“That was the darkest moment,” he told BBC Radio 5 live.
He also spoke of his embarrassment in social situations and the difficulties of coming to terms with a hearing aid.
Vaughan Jones had good hearing all his life until he got a cold several months ago and couldn’t hear in one ear.
Doctors found his left eardrum was no longer working and the nerve which takes sound to the brain had given up, he told BBC Breakfast.
When they told him the sudden hearing loss and the tinnitus were permanent, he walked out of hospital “completely bamboozled”, he added.
The charity Action on Hearing Loss says about 11m people in the UK have some form of hearing loss, and 2m use hearing aids. It estimates that there are about 6.7m people who could benefit from hearing aids.
Before being fitted with a hearing aid, Vaughan Jones said his situation had left him frustrated and embarrassed.
“There’s only so many times you can interrupt. You feel embarrassed so you withdraw,” he said.
He also described how he would smile and nod along when spending time with friends and family, feeling unable to engage and as though he was missing out.
His hearing aid, he said, has been a massive help, allowing him to return to work.
His return to screen, however, was a noisy one as he can hear the director and correspondents through an earpiece in his right ear and an amplified, distorted version of his own voice through the hearing aid in his left.
The brain should learn to quieten down that distortion, he said.
Getting used to wearing a hearing aid has not come easy.
“I was self-conscious about it. My hair is slightly longer so that’s a reflection that I might have been trying to hide it,” he adds.
Now back on air, he wants to show everyone he is wearing one.
“There’s no logical reason why I shouldn’t wear my hearing aid on air and feel good about it,” he said.
Some took to Twitter to agree.
Robbie M said he started wearing two hearing aids five years ago after finding he was unable to hear in meetings. He advised Vaughan Jones to “wear them with pride,” adding: “Quality of life over people’s thoughts every time.”
Nikki Magrath said: “Great to hear you talk about SSHL [Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss] today. I know just how it feels. Has happened twice – once with full recovery.”
Heading a Football Could Create Balance issues.
Heading a Football May Be Linked to Increase in Balance Problems
Soccer players who head the ball more often may be more likely to have balance problems than players who do not head the ball as often, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) Sports’ Concussion Conference in Indianapolis July 20 to 22, 2018, the AAN announced on its website.
“Soccer headers are repetitive subconcussive head impacts that may be associated with problems with thinking and memory skills and structural changes in the white matter of the brain,” said study author John Jeka, PhD, of the University of Delaware in Newark, Del. “But the effect of headers on balance control has not been studied.”
For the study, 20 soccer players recruited from the community in Newark took a balance test where they walked along a foam walkway with their eyes closed under two conditions: with galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) and without GVS. For GVS, electrodes placed behind each ear stimulate the nerves that send messages from the balance system in the inner ear to the brain. So the stimulator can make you feel like you are moving when you are not. In this case, it made participants feel like they were falling sideways.
The soccer players, who had an average age of 22, also completed questionnaires about how many times they had headed the ball during the past year. The number of headers over a year for each participant ranged from 16 to 2,100, with an average of 451 headers. Those numbers were calculated by asking participants for the average number of headers during a practice and game, the average number of practices and games per week, and the average number of months per year that the player participated.
The study found that the players with the largest number of headers had the largest balance responses to GVS in both foot placement and hip adduction during the walking test, which indicated that they had vestibular processing and balance recovery problems. Researchers found for every 500 headers, foot placement response increased about 9 millimeters and hip adduction response increased about 0.2 degrees.
“Soccer players must have good balance to play the game well, yet our research suggests that headers may be undermining balance, which is key to all movement, and yet another problem now linked to headers,” said study author Fernando V. Santos, PT, of the University of Delaware. “It is important that additional research be done to look more closely at this possible link with balance and to confirm our findings in larger groups of people.”
A limitation of the study was that participants relied on memory when reporting how many times they headed the ball. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Learn more about concussion at www.BrainandLife.org, the American Academy of Neurology’s free patient and caregiver magazine and website focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
To learn more about the AAN’s Sports Concussion Guideline and access resources, visit https://www.aan.com/concussion.
Original Paper: Santos FV, Caccese JB, Gongora M, et al. Greater exposure to repetitive subconcussive head impacts is associated with vestibular dysfunction and balance impairments during walking. Paper presented at: 2018 AAN Sports Concussion Conference; Indianapolis, IN. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/GetDigitalAsset/12757
Source: AAN
Image: | Dreamstime.com
Latest digital hearing aids in Bucks
Signia Launches Silk Nx Hearing Aids
Latest digital hearing aids in Bucks
Audiology technology company Signia announced its latest innovation, the new Silk Nx hearing aids. Re-engineered to be 20% smaller than its predecessor, these ready-to-wear, completely-in-canal (CIC) devices now include key features of Signia’s Nx hearing aid technology that are designed to deliver the most natural hearing experience.
Signia Silk Nx
With the new Silk Nx solutions, hearing aid wearers do not have to sacrifice size for performance in their hearing aids. Despite having designed the already small Silk hearing aids to be even tinier with this new release, they are also more powerful than ever. The result is what Signia calls a “discreet, instant-fit hearing solution with the highest level of sound quality.”
A practically invisible solution
Many hearing aid wearers, and especially those being fit for the first time, are insecure about others seeing their hearing aids. The Silk Nx were redesigned to be 20% smaller than previous models, according to Signia. As a result, they are designed for an improved fit rate and wearing comfort. They also feature darker faceplate colors that are designed to better blend into the ear canal and further decrease visibility.
Improved sound quality
Built upon Signia’s Nx technology platform, the new Silk is designed to provides wearers with the “most natural” hearing experience, according to the company. And Signia’s binaural beamforming technology is designed to allow clear speech understanding, even in noisy situations. Silk Nx hearing aids are also said to enable natural directionality and wireless streaming between both ears to make sure wearers hear what’s most important.
Signia Silk Nx
Instant-fit design
Silk hearing aids come ready-to-wear, with a secure fit for almost every ear. This is due to their super-soft and flexible silicone Click Sleeves, which are designed for a higher fit rate and are more durable than previous solutions.
More innovative features
The latest release also includes new features like TwinPhone, enabling wearers to put a phone up to one ear and hear the call through both hearing aids. They also represent what is said to be the “world’s first CIC solution” for single-sided deafness. With contralateral routing of signal (CROS) technology, Silk Nx hearing aids include wireless transmitters that transfer sound from the unaidable ear to the better ear, enabling the wearer to hear from both sides. Wearers also benefit from Signia’s apps, including the touchControl™ App and TeleCare™ 3.0, to provide greater control and convenience.
Source: Signia
Images: Signia
Tinnitus control and therapy in Bucks
Oticon ConnectClip Wins 2018 Red Dot Award for Product Design
Commenting on the award win, Gary Rosenblum, president, Oticon, Inc said, “Oticon is honored to receive another prestigious Red Dot Award, this year for our new ConnectClip. This internationally recognized symbol of excellence is a testament not only to ConnectClip’s convenient, lifestyle-enhancing features, but also to the work that goes into the design and continued evolution of our Oticon Opn hearing aid, a 2017 Red Dot Award winner.”
The multi-functional ConnectClip is designed to turn Oticon Opn hearing aids into a high-quality wireless headset for clear, hands-free calls from mobile phones, including iPhone® and Android™ smartphones. Sound from the mobile phones is streamed directly to the hearing aids and ConnectClip’s directional microphones pick up the wearer’s voice. ConnectClip serves double duty as a remote/partner microphone, helping to provide improved intelligibility of the speaker wearing it, either at a distance (up to 65 feet), in very noisy environments or in a combination of the two. Opn wearers can also use ConnectClip as a remote control for their hearing aids.
Wearable Technology Award Win
Oticon also celebrates a win at the UK’s Wearable Technology and Digital Health Show Awards. Oticon Opn received the Innovation Award for wearable originality and advancement. The win reflects votes by a combined method of professional jury and public website vote.
Organizers at the Wearable Technology and Digital Health Show Awards commented on the win: ”The judges felt that the Oticon solution presented a revolutionary approach to hearing loss, and that its technology presented a real opportunity for users to interact with the growing number of smart devices in the home. A worthy winner.”
Learn more about the expanded Oticon Opn family, ConnectClip and entire range of wireless connectivity accessories at www.Oticon.com/Connectivity.
* Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple Watch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Android, Google Play, and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.
Source: Oticon
Images: Oticon, Red Dot
City, University of London to Pilot Language and Reading Intervention for Children
City, University of London to Pilot Language and Reading Intervention for Children
Researchers from City, University of London have been awarded £97k ($USD approximately $136,479) from the Nuffield Foundation to pilot a language and reading intervention with 120 children in their first year of formal education, the school announced on its website.
Involving Dr Ros Herman, Professor Penny Roy, and Dr Fiona Kyle from the School of Health Science’s Division of Language and Communication Science, in collaboration with Professor Charles Hulme from Oxford University, the study—which is reportedly the first reading intervention study to include both deaf and hearing children—will trial the new intervention in primary schools for a year and compare outcomes with other schools that offer the standard literacy teaching.
The research team have shown in previous research that many severely and profoundly deaf children have significant reading delays, yet are typically excluded from reading intervention research.
In this new study, teachers will be trained to deliver the intervention program, comprising systematic phonics teaching alongside a structured vocabulary program, during the school literacy hour. The study will investigate whether all children, or only specific groups of children, benefit from the integrated program and whether a full-scale evaluation is merited.
Dr Herman said, “Our previous research has revealed the scale of reading difficulties among deaf children. Our findings suggest that deaf children will benefit from specialist literacy interventions such as those currently offered to hearing children with dyslexia. In addition, deaf children and many hearing children require ongoing support to develop the language skills that underlie literacy.
“As a result we hope our new study, which will pilot a combined language and reading intervention, will address these issues so that teachers can provide the vital support needed to prevent both hearing and deaf children from unnecessarily falling behind their peers.”
Source: City, University of London
Researchers Find Increased Risk of Hearing Loss Among Smokers
Researchers Find Increased Risk of Hearing Loss Among Smokers
New research published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, has shown evidence that smoking is associated with hearing loss, according to a news release from the journal’s publisher, Oxford Press.
The study—which included 50,000 participants over an 8-year period—looked at data from annual health checkups, which included factors such as smoking status, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and the duration of smoking cessation on hearing loss, according to the release. Researchers calculated a 1.2 to 1.6 increased risk of hearing loss among smokers as compared to those who had never smoked before.
The risk of hearing loss decreased five years after smoking cessation.
For additional information, please click here to view the release on Science Daily’s website.
Original Paper: Hu H, Sasaki N, Ogasawara T, et al. Smoking, smoking cessation, and the risk of hearing loss: Japan epidemiology collaboration on occupational health study. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. March 14, 2018.
Source: Science Daily, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Oxford Press
Sonic Enchant Line Adds SoundClip-A to Stream Sounds in Stereo from Numerous Devices
Sonic Enchant Line Adds SoundClip-A to Stream Sounds in Stereo from Numerous Devices
Sonic SoundClip-A.
Now, the small, ergonomically designed clip-on device delivers added benefit as a wireless remote/partner microphone for easier listening when the speaker is at a distance or in noisy environments where listening is difficult. SoundClip-A also enables remote volume control, program changes and call pick-up with just the press of a button.
Joseph Lugera
“SoundClip-A’s wireless transmission of stereo sound from all Bluetooth 2.1 smartphones and devices adds the ‘wow’ of even more wireless convenience to the many ways Enchant makes everyday sounds better,” said Sonic President & COO Joseph A. Lugara in a press statement. “With Enchant, wireless connectivity is simple and stress-free thanks to Enchant’s Dual-Radio System that delivers fast ear-to-ear connection and employs 2.4 GHz technology.”
Simply Streaming. SoundClip-A allows patients to use Enchant hearing aids as a headset for mobile calls. Users stream stereo quality sound to both ears through their Enchant hearing aids from any Bluetooth 2.1 compatible device—including mobile phones, tablets, MP3 players, and more. The built-in microphones pick up the wearer’s voice and sound from the call which is streamed wirelessly to both ears for convenient, hands-free conversations.
When SoundClip-A is used as a wireless remote/partner microphone, the speaker simply clips on the lightweight device or keeps it nearby. The speaker’s voice can be heard more easily through the user’s Enchant hearing aids at a distance of up to 65 feet, according to the company. SoundClip-A also helps users enjoy video calls, webinars, and other audio sources for easy wireless listening in both ears.
For more information on SoundClip-A and the entire Enchant family, including Enchant100, Enchant80 and Enchant60 and popular styles including the miniRITE with ZPower, miniRITE T (with telecoil) and BTE 105, visit www.sonici.com.