How do I know if I have hearing loss?
Hearing loss can happen at any age. According to RNID, there are around 9 million people who are deaf or hard of hearing in the UK. Most of them have lost their hearing gradually with increasing age. Over half of people aged over 60 are hard of hearing or deaf. Hearing loss can also occur at a younger age. There are about 123,000 people over sixteen who were born hearing but have developed severe or profound deafness.
You may have a hearing problem if you experience any of the following:
- Others complain that you have turned the TV or Radio up too loud
- People appear to mumble or you can't clearly hear every word that is being said particularly when there is background noise, in crowds or when voices are high pitched (e.g. children)
- You ask others to repeat themselves
- You have difficulty hearing the doorbell or the telephone ring
- You have difficulty hearing at a distance in public gatherings, concert halls, churches etc
- You are not sure where sounds are coming from - in front of or behind you, or even from left or right
You can try the free online screening test to analyse the severity of your hearing loss. However, if you suspect that you have any of these symptoms, it will be in your best interest to book an appointment as soon as possible to see a registered hearing aid dispenser to get a free screening or diagnostic hearing test.
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What causes hearing loss?
Hearing loss is classified either as congenital (if it occurs before birth) or acquired (if it occurs after birth).
Congenital hearing loss may be caused by hereditary factors as well as by disease or medical conditions suffered by a fetus. Genetic factors are thought to cause more than 50% of all incidents of congenital hearing loss in children. Genetic hearing loss may be autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked (related to the sex chromosome).
Hearing loss in adults, also known as acquired hearing loss can result from any of a variety of causes, including:
- Natural ageing process - is the most common cause of hearing loss
- Exposure to loud or constant noise - Prolonged exposure to noise and even brief exposure to loud noise can cause permanent hearing loss.
- Disease - Diseases, such as Meningitis, Meniere's disease, and benign growths and tumours on the hearing nerve, can cause hearing loss.
- Toxic medication - Some medications including antibiotics can damage hair cells in the inner ear and auditory nerve. Among them are quinine, aminoglycosides, diuretics, large doses of aspirin, and some chemotherapy agents.
- Ear infections - Otitis media, characterized by accumulation of fluid in the middle ear, can lead to hearing loss, allergies, common colds, sore throats, inflamed tonsils and adenoids, blocked eustachian tubes. Viruses can also cause Otitis media.
- Injury - Perforation of the eardrum can be caused by rapid changes in air pressure (like those which occur when flying or scuba diving), foreign objects (such as cotton swabs that are used to clean the ears), or pressure caused by a middle-ear infection.
- Earwax - A build-up of wax (cerumen) in the ear canal can prevent sound from passing through the ear.
Types of Deafness
There are basically two types of deafness. One is caused by problems with the sound reaching the inner ear. Since the sound travels there via conduction, this is called conductive hearing loss. It's the far less common mechanism of hearing loss.
Much more common is sensorineural hearing loss. This is often called nerve deafness, even though the auditory nerve is almost never the cause. The problem is usually in the hair cells of the cochlea.
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What are the different types of hearing loss?
Conductive Hearing Loss is interference with the transmission of sound from the outer to the inner ear. Causes can include middle ear infections (otitis media),
- collection of fluid in the middle ear ("glue ear" in children)
- blockage of the outer ear (by wax)
- damage to the eardrum by infection or an injury
In many cases this type of hearing loss will benefit from the use of a hearing aid system, sometimes in conjunction with medication and/or surgery. Furthermore in some cases of conductive hearing loss surgery and/or medication is the only option.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss is characterized by disorders of the inner ear. Such hearing loss is irreversible. Tremendous advances in hearing instrument technology enable most patients to be significantly rehabilitated.
Mixed hearing loss contains elements of both Conductive and Sensorineural Hearing Loss.
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What is a Hearing Aid?
Hearing Aid is an electronic amplifying device to make sounds audible to the individual with a hearing loss. Hearing loss is one of the oldest of the known disabilities. Attempts to amplify sound go back several centuries.
Hearing Aid definition:
A hearing aid is an ultra-miniature electro-acoustical device that is always too large. It must amplify sound a million times, but bring in no noise. It must operate, without failure, in a sea of perspiration, a cloud of talcum powder, or both. It is a product that one puts off buying for ten years after he needs it, but cannot do without it for thirty minutes when it has to be serviced.
Samuel F.Lybarger (mod. W.Staab)
Hearing aids past and present have the same basic function: to increase the volume of sound for the impaired user. Before electricity, the only way to achieve this goal was to filter out other noise by directing the desired sound straight into the ear with some kind of tube or trumpet.
The first transistor hearing aid was introduced in 1953. With the development of the transistor, the aids were able to become smaller and more powerful. The use of microchips for programming hearing aids was introduced in 1985.
Today's modern electronic hearing aids convert sound pressure waves into electricity by a microphone. The electric impulses are then amplified through controlled electronic circuitry. The amplified electric impulses are then reconverted by a receiver to pressure waves at a much more intense level to be presented to the impaired ear.
Different styles of modern hearing aids:
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What is an analogue hearing aid?
Analogue hearing aids are designed with a particular frequency response based on your hearing test.
Analogue hearing aids essentially amplify all sounds (speech and noise) in the same way. This technology is the least expensive and it can be appropriate for many different types of hearing loss, however the most informed technical bodies today recommend digital hearing aids.
Many previous users of analogue hearing aids have converted to a digital aid and found great improvement in understanding speech in difficult situations where there is a lot of noise.
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What are digital hearing aids?
Digital hearing aids transform analogue information into a digital signal and process the sound to maximize the speech information you want to hear, while minimizing the amplification of sounds you do not want to hear digital technology.
Thanks to the increasingly smaller microprocessors, digital technology is at the forefront of hearing loss solutions. Digital hearing aids give enhanced speech recognition over background noise and, with the use of computers can be programmed to precisely for your individual type of hearing loss.
The ability of your hearing aid dispenser to fine tune and customise a digital hearing aid to your precise needs far exceeds such capability with an analogue hearing aid and you can be given sounds quality similar to a CD.
The latest digital technology represents a major advance for most people as the function is completely automatic and there is no need for fiddly controls.
In summary, if you want the best technology get a digital hearing aid.
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What types of hearing aid are available?
Within the range of analogue and digital hearing aids available privately there are a number of different types to suit individual needs and pockets:
Completely In the Canal (CIC)
Customised to fit completely in the ear canal. These are the smallest and least visible hearing aids available.
In The Canal (ITC)
Customized to fit inconspicuously into the ear canal.
In The Ear (ITE)
Customised to fit neatly into the ear and can offer more power than the smaller equivalents.
Behind The Ear (BTE)
Aid is attached to an ear mould and fits comfortably behind the ear.
Receiver in the Canal (RIC)
The Receiver-in-the-canal, RICs look very similar to open-fit hearing aids with the exception the receiver (speaker) actually is incorporate into the ear tip, instead of on the main body of the BTE case that sits behind the ear. The advantage of this innovative design is more gain is allowed without the risk of whistling, thus RICs are able to fit more significant hearing losses than traditional open-fit BTE hearing aids.
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Where can I get a Hearing Aid?
In the UK hearing aids are available from registered and licensed hearing aid dispensers. Only a hearing aid dispenser registered with the Hearing Aid Council is legally entitled to undertake a hearing consultation with you. A Hearing Aid Council registration card is issued to each dispenser annually and should be produced upon request.
Most independent hearing aid dispensers (as opposed to a manufacturer seeking only to sell only their own brand name) now provide an extensive range at a competitive price as the cost of mass production and advances in technology improve.
Most hearing aid companies will provide a free hearing test. This can take place in the comfort of your home or at a hearing aid centre with a friend or family member present and at a time and a date of your choosing. The hearing aid audiologist will firstly discuss any hearing problems you may have and then conduct an examination of your ears followed by various audiological tests to assess whether a hearing aid is appropriate at that time. If an aid is required, the hearing aid audiologist will offer free impartial advice on the options and ranges most suitable to you.
A free home trial demonstration could also be provided to show you just how well various aids perform and the dramatic difference they can make not just to your hearing - but your whole enjoyment of life.
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Do I need to buy two hearing aids?
Yes, If you have two ears with hearing loss, and if hearing in both ears could be improved from hearing aids, you will need two hearing aids.
A hearing aid worn in only one ear will often sound "flat" & "dull". Binaural amplification -- aids on both sides -- minimizes impact of "head shadow" drop off, improves sound localization and widens dynamic range.
Binaural hearing allows a quality of "spaciousness" or "high fidelity" to sounds, which cannot occur with monaural (one ear) listening. Understanding speech clearly, particularly in challenging and noisy situations is much easier while using both ears. Additionally, using two hearing aids allows people to speak to you from either side of your head.
Lastly, most people simply cannot hear well using only one ear. There are studies in the research literature that show that children with one normal ear and one ''deaf'' ear are ten times more likely to repeat a grade as compared to children with two normally hearing ears. Additionally, we know that if you have two ears with hearing impairment, and you wear only one hearing aid, the unaided ear is likely to lose word recognition ability more quickly than the ear wearing the hearing aid.
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Can I buy an Assistive Listening Device instead of a hearing aid?
Depending on the severity of your hearing loss and your communication needs there are alternatives to traditional analogue and digital hearing aids, known as assistive listening devices.
Your hearing loss may not be significant enough to warrant a hearing aid in some cases. These situations may involve telephone, radio, television, or the inability to hear the door chime, telephone bell, and alarm clock. Special devices have been developed to solve these problems.
Like hearing aids, assistive listening devices and alerting devices make sounds louder. Typically, a hearing aid makes all sounds in the environment louder.
Assistive listening devices and alerting devices can increase the loudness of a desired sound, like a radio or television, a public speaker, or an alarm system, or may make an auditory alarm (such as a smoke signal) into a visual alarm (such as a strobe light).
The main advantage of assistive listening devices to traditional hearing aids are that they can be bought over the counter on online in the UK without prescription, and are usually available at the fraction of the price of a hearing aid and often come with a with a risk free trial period. Many Assistive listening devices can be fitted into either ear and adjustment of volume and programming can be done by yourself .
Revolutionary new assistive listening device called the "Eavesdropper ITE" will amazingly fit in either ear thanks to an ingeniously designed universal fitting joint. This means, no measuring, no testing and no waiting. Clearer hearing at the fraction of a price of a hearing aid.
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