Why do I have more trouble hearing in restaurants then I do at home?

Hearing in noisy places can be difficult and frustrating.  The first and best thing you can do hear in noisy places is to keep both ears hearing.  It is necessary for the ears to work together to hear well inn noisy places.  Be sure to wear two hearing aids when you have difficulty hearing in both ears. Second, studies show that those who use hearing aids with directional microphones hear better in noise.  Directional microphone help you focus on the person you’re talking with and reduces the impact of the background sound.  Third, the restaurant you choose and where you sit in the restaurant affect how well you hear in noise. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

1.       Choose a quiet restaurant.

2.       Go to restaurants at less busy times.  For example, have lunch at 1:00 instead of noon.

3.       When you are being seated, ask to be seated along the wall or in a corner away and from the kitchen.

4. Avoid dark restaurants.  You will be better able to pick up lip clues and facial expressions in a lighted restaurant.
5. Go to restaurants with carpeting, drapes and tablecloths. These all absorb sound and create a quieter atmosphere.
6. If the music is too loud, ask to have it turned down.
7. Pick restaurants that don’t have a bar, or those where the bar is in a separate room.  This too will reduce the background noise.
8. Last but not least, simply ask for a quiet table! There’s bound to be at least one.

Planning ahead and carefully choosing where to go will help ensure a pleasant evening.  

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!

Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD

8897 Mentor Ave

Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818

http://aacHEAR.org

What causes tinnitus?

Tinnitus is not a disease in and of itself.  It’s a symptom of something else.  The American Tinnitus Association reports that there are over 200 different health disorders that can generate tinnitus as a symptom. 

For most people tinnitus is related to the collapse of the hearing nerves and hearing loss.  It is commonly seen with age related hearing loss called presbycusis and with noise induced hearing loss.  Obstructions of the outer and middle ears can cause pressure to build up in the inner ear. This affects the function of the eardrum and at time the hearing nerves causing noises in the ears. This can include ear wax build up, head congestion and dirt or foreign objects in the ear canal.  An injury to the head or neck can reduce the blood flow to ears or put stress in the cervical disks causing the perception of tinnitus.  Tinnitus can be caused by dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which is where the lower jaw connects to the skull in front of the ears.  The TMJ shares some of its muscles and ligaments with the ears, stress on these muscle and ligaments can impact the ears. Sinus pressure or barometric pressure changes such as seen with scuba diving, flying and concussive explosive blast can cause ringing.  Other causes include traumatic brain injury, ototoxtic drugs often used in chemotherapy, diseases of the ears, even a brain tumor.  Tinnitus has also been related to hypothyroidism, anemia, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and stress.

The best first step in the diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus is to have a hearing and tinnitus evaluation.  At advanced Audiology Concepts we use a Progressive Tinnitus Management strategy to see that you receive the appropriate care and intervention. 

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!

Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD

8897 Mentor Ave

Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818

http://aacHEAR.org

Hearing loss runs in my family, is there anything I can do to prevent it?

Yes, there are a few things you can do to help prevent hearing loss.  Interestingly, the healthier your diet, the less likely you will have hearing loss, especially high frequency hearing loss. A University of Florida study looked at eating habits and the hearing ability of 2366 people.  They found that the healthier a person ate, the better his or her hearing.  While eating well helped offset the potential for hearing loss, it could not restore or reverse pre-existing hearing problems.  

Hearing is also linked to general health.  Other studies have found that our auditory system is linked to cardiovascular, neural and metabolic health.  So the things that help keep you healthy such as exercise, also help keep your hearing in good shape. 

Of course, protect your ears from loud sound.  Use hearing protection when in noisy environments and pay attention to the volume when using head phones.  With a family predisposition to hearing loss you don’t want to also cause damage by over using volume.

Have a baseline Audiologic assessment.  This will allow us to monitor your hearing over time. 

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!

Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD

8897 Mentor Ave

Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818

http://aacHEAR.org

I have a very active lifestyle. I remember reading about a hassle free hearing aid that could help me?

Hearing instruments do come in all different sizes and styles.  There are also different categories of hearing aids. There are 3 main categories of hearing aids: daily wear with disposable batteries, daily wear with rechargeable batteries and extended wear hearing devices.  Daily wear refers to a hearing aid that you insert every morning and remove ever evening before bed.  The daily wear instruments with disposable batteries also require that you change the zinc-air batteries about once a week.  Daily wear devices with a rechargeable devices simply require that you place them in the rechargeable case ever night after removing them.  An extended wear device, also known as Lyric, is the most hassle free device in terms of daily maintenance and care.  The Lyric device is place by an audiologist and can remain in the ear canal for 2 plus months.  Lyric can help with a very active lifestyle, because they are inserted deep into the ear canal and essentially help you live as you did without hearing instruments.  There is no need to worry about taking them in and out, or losing them. You can go about your normal daily routine and not have to think about your hearing at all.  Lyric is worn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  If you are interested in knowing more about Lyric, call us for an appointment at  440-205-8848. 

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!

Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD

8897 Mentor Ave

Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818

http://aacHEAR.org

My iPhone has a hearing aid setting. Can I use that with my hearing aids?

Whether or not you can pair your hearing aids to your iPhone depends on what model hearing instruments you wear.  There are several hearing aids that have direct connectivity to the iPhone 6 or 7 models.  If you have one of those you can adjust your aids from your cell phone with manufacturer’s app.

The great thing about direct connectivity is your hearing instruments become hands free devices that send phone calls directly to both ears.  Direct connectivity also makes your cell phone a remote control for your hearing instruments.  You can adjust volume, change programs, and even adjust base and treble right from your cell phone.   Other uses include steaming music and video sound tracks directly to the aids.  While this may seem like a lot to take in, we do the programming and pairing, making it easy for you to operate.

The newest hearing instrument with direct connectivity is made by Widex.  This new device has great sound quality and signal processing in noise.  

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!

Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD

8897 Mentor Ave

Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818

http://aacHEAR.org

Can hearing aids affect relationships?

This is a great question! How can hearing instruments affect your relationships? Typically people will experience a positive change in their relationships once they begin to wear hearing aids.  When a hearing loss goes for years without any intervention or without addressing the issue, it can take its toll on a relationship.  Loved ones can often become frustrated with untreated hearing loss because they have to repeat themselves numerous time, and even then their communication partner still didn’t understand.  Hearing aids can help you maintain your speech understanding capabilities and they can help you communicate with your partner more effectively.  The person trying to hear is less tired from all the effort put towards understanding, less frustrated being they don’t have to ask people to repeat as often and less apt to avoid social situations out of fear of not understanding.  The person communicating with the person with hearing loss is less frustrated and less resentful of their partners because they have taken a positive step toward trying to help themselves hear better.  If you are considering hearing instruments and would like to make an appointment, call 440-205-8848. 

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!

Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD

8897 Mentor Ave

Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818

http://aacHEAR.org

How long do hearing aid batteries last?

Today’s hearing technology is great and it needs power to run.  Most hearing aid batteries have a 5-10 day life.  The estimated battery life depends on your hearing aids, size of the battery and the length of time you wear them.  Further, using a hearing aid streamer or other accessory places an even bigger demand for power on the battery shortening the battery life.  Your hearing instruments require a certain size battery, but not all batteries will work the same.  Hearing aid manufacturers typically recommend a specific brand of battery to use with their devices.  Find out what brand battery works best with your hearing aids.  Using the recommended brand will give you the best possible battery life. 

One of the newest things in hearing aids is rechargeable hearing aids.  These have an encased battery that recharges in 3 hours giving you a 24 hour wear time with 4 hours of streaming.  You never have to change a battery.  But don’t confuse the new rechargeable hearing aids with hearing aids that use rechargeable batteries. There is a big difference.  Prior to the rechargeable hearing aids, some hearing instruments used rechargeable batteries.  These batteries needed to be replaced about every 6-9 months.  Plus there were some “bugs” in how the rechargeable batteries worked.  Often those who tried rechargeable batteries switched to disposable batteries. 

Either way, make sure you turn your hearing aids off when not using them.  This too will increase batter life.  

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!

Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD

8897 Mentor Ave

Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818

http://aacHEAR.org

How can I optimize hearing over the holidays?

This is a great question.  The holidays are a great time to reconnect family members and friends we haven’t seen in a while.  It is usually a very exciting and busy time of year.  But for those who have hearing loss it can become a very stressful time. Some may even contemplate missing out on gatherings because they can’t hear. So how can you optimize your hearing for the holidays so that you don’t miss out on holiday gatherings? First and foremost, if you have not had an audiologic evaluation in over a year and feel like you are struggling with hearing more than before, you can start with making an appointment for a hearing evaluation.  If you wear hearing instruments, contact your audiologist to discuss situations in which you notice you are struggling more than others to see if anything can be done from a fine tuning aspect.  Lastly, talk to your audiologist about assistive listening technologies that can be added to your hearing aids to help you hear best in the most complex listening environments.  Roger, an assistive technology, that can be added to your hearing aids can help you hear in the most complex listening environments.  In some cases it can help you hear a single person up to 65 feet away as if they were sitting right next to you, even if you’re in a crowded environment.  Let us help you hear the best you can for the holidays, by calling 440-205-8848 to make an appointment today.  

Life sounds great!  Enjoy every moment!

Jane Kukula, AuD & Ashley Spisak, AuD

8897 Mentor Ave

Mentor, Ohio 44060

440-205-8848

Fax: 440-205-9818

http://aacHEAR.org