June 23, 2008 Issue
HEARING
LOSS HELP E-zine
"The premier e-zine for people with hearing loss"
Volume 3, Number 5 June
23, 2008
Publisher: Neil Bauman
neil@hearinglosshelp.com
http://www.hearinglosshelp.com
Copyright Center for Hearing Loss Help 2008
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"Hearing loss may change your life,
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================================================== In this issue ==================================================
1. News Items
2. Beware of (Ototoxic) Drugs That Can Damage Your Ears
3. Tinnitus
4. Answers to Your Questions
5. Coping Strategies
6. Information on Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants and/or Assistive Devices
===============================================
1. News Items
===============================================
Driving With a Hearing Loss
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
When my wife (before I ever met her) noticed she was losing
her hearing, one of the first questions that worried her was,
"Will I still be able to drive?"
Apparently, many people seem to think you need to be able to
hear in order to drive. (I think a better criterion is being able to
see!)
The surprising truth is that we (people with long-standing
hearing losses) are some of the safest drivers around. Thus, it
"bugs" us when people keep asking us if we can drive. Some
have come up with some pretty pithy answers to the question,
"Can you drive since you can't hear?"
For example, "Judy", when asked by her boss, "How do you
drive not being able to hear?" retorted, "I use my hands. My
ears aren't able to reach the steering wheel!"
"Beth", a deaf dentist, when asked, "Do you drive a car?"
quipped, "Of course I do! It isn't my ears that turn the steering
wheel"
"Patsy" responds to "Can you drive since you can't hear?"
with, "Yes, and I can have sex, too!" (You gotta love their
sense of humor.)
When people wonder if I can drive since I can't hear much, I
respond, "I use my eyes when driving. What do you use?"
You see, one of the reasons we are safer drivers than our
hearing counterparts is because we have to rely more on our
eyes. After all, driving is obviously a visual activity, more than it
is an aural experience. Sure we don't hear horns honking, but
when you are visually alert, you have already seen the
"problem" looming before some driver sounds their horn.
Horn honking today is typically just some impatient driver
sounding off.
Some of us choose not to wear our hearing aids while driving.
As "Anna" explained, "I would rather drive without my hearing
aids because there is no noise distraction, and I can go down
the interstate with the windows down. Never had an accident."
I feel the same way. I have a severe hearing loss, yet I
seldom choose to wear my hearing aids while driving. As a
result, I hear almost nothing—but I DO keep visually alert. Like
"Anna," I'm not distracted by extraneous noises, and also like
"Anna," I have a wonderful driving record.
One of the "problems" people often cite is that we won't be
able to hear emergency vehicle sirens, and generally, that is
true—we don't. But then, many hearing people don't hear them
either. You see, modern cars are so soundproofed, and many
people have their car radios blasting—so they can't hear sirens
either until the emergency vehicle is right on top of them.
Furthermore, studies have shown that it is very difficult to hear
sirens coming up behind you if you are barreling down the
interstate. That's just how the laws of physics apply in this
situation.
I've had experience with emergency vehicles from both sides.
First, I've had a lifetime of watching out for emergency
vehicles as a hard of hearing driver, and second, for 10 years,
I used to drive both fire trucks and ambulances myself. Thus,
I know first hand just how many hearing people fail to hear
sirens!
Because I am visually alert, it is the rare emergency vehicle
that can ever get close to me without my seeing their flashing
lights—even when they are still quite a distance away. Often, I
am the first vehicle to pull over—before the hearing drivers are
aware an emergency vehicle is approaching.
The most difficult situation with emergency vehicles is at
intersections in the city with tall buildings built right out to the
sidewalks blocking our lateral view, and with an emergency
vehicle approaching from the left or right.
How do I avoid being hit in such situations? Glad you asked. I
have several tricks I use. First, I am always watching for
flashing reflections in the windows of the buildings on the
opposite side of the intersection. Especially at night you will
see the red flashes on glass surfaces as an emergency
vehicle approaches the intersection and can safely stop in
time.
Second, I watch the traffic around me—especially when the
vehicle in front hits the brakes, or pulls to the side for no
apparent reason. I do the same. I resist the temptation to
swerve around him until I know the reason for this strange
behavior. This has saved me a number of times.
Third, be aware that emergency vehicles often travel in
"packs," so if a fire truck goes whizzing past, watch out for other fire trucks, police cars and ambulances. Be careful.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking they all will be coming from
the same direction as the first fire truck. Some may, but others
may be converging and coming from several directions—so
remain especially vigilant until you are well away from that
area.
In summary, when driving, keep visually alert—use your
mirrors—you have three. Make sure you use all of them.
Always be aware of what is going on around you—ahead,
behind and beside. This is just good defensive driving, and
especially critical when you can't hear. Watch for flashing
lights and reflections of flashing lights. Watch what the cars in
front and beside you are doing when it is "out of the ordinary"
and take appropriate evasive action.
Following these few tips will go a long way towards making
you a safe hard of hearing driver too.
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Setting Up Your Digital-to-Analog Converter Box
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
On February 17, 2009 all analog TV transmissions in the USA
will cease. If you have an analog TV (not digital) and use an
antenna (not cable), then your TV will go blank on February
17.
What you need is a digital-to-analog converter box. You can
get two government coupons
(worth $40.00 each) to help you pay
for this box (or boxes).
Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) has created some fact sheets to help you set up your
new converter boxes.
You can download an illustrated basic fact sheet entitled "Setting
Up Your Digital-to-Analog Converter Box (Basic)".
A 3- page illustrated, more advanced fact sheet, "Setting
Up Your Digital-to- Analog Converter Box With a VCR" shows you how to hook up your
converter box, VCR and TV so you can watch and record one
channel, or watch one channel and record a second channel
at the same time. (This second method requires two converter
boxes, so even if you only have one analog TV, you still might
want to get two converter boxes.)
You can find a wealth of information on the digital change-over, how it might affect you, and what you need to do about it
at http://www.dtv.gov and at
https://www.dtv2009.gov.
Throughout this whole transition process, make sure that you
can get your closed captions. It's easy to overlook this critical
element until the last. You don't want to purchase everything
and set it all up, and then discover you can't get your captions
to work! Check that your captions are working properly every
step of the way. (See our two previous articles on this subject,
"Captioning Problems—Avoiding the HDMI Cable Fiasco" and "Getting
Captions On Your New TV—The Good, the Bad and the
Downright Frustrating".)
**************************************************
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.
**************************************************
Fully Implantable Hearing Aid Trial Begins
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
People have been wanting totally invisible hearing aids for a
long time. Now, the ultimate in invisible hearing aids, totally
implanted hearing aids, are approaching reality.
Otologics, Inc. is beginning trials on their
fully
implantable hearing aid. This hearing aid is totally invisible as it is all
under your skin—including the microphone.
Note, I'm am not advocating that you immediately jump on
the bandwagon for this device as there are still a number of
unresolved "issues" in my opinion. One concern that has
come out of their preliminary studies is that with the microphone under your scalp, the sound is not as clear as it is
when a microphone is open to the air. Another problem is
replacing the rechargeable battery when it finally won't take a
charge anymore. (It will require minor surgery each time.)
Furthermore, this new hearing aid is not for everyone. For
example, it is not for you if you have middle ear infections or
other middle ear conditions such as otosclerosis.
On the plus side, you will be able to wear this hearing aid while
swimming under water, or in the shower, and you can leave it
on at night if you need to listen for your baby crying, for
example. It comes with a remote control so you can turn it off
if you want to, or adjust the volume. Another nice feature if I
understand it correctly, is it does not affect your residual
hearing. Thus, even if the device fails, or the battery runs
down, you will still be able to use all your residual hearing. You
will not be left totally deaf.
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Accessible Hazard Alert System (AHAS)
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
The organization,
DeafLink, is offering its new "Accessible
Hazard Alert System—Individual Notification (AHAS)", which is
a new service for deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, deaf-blind and blind individuals in the USA. It can send emergency
information for your city, county or state to email addresses,
pagers, and cell phones with text capability, and to PDAs with
email capability. The real beauty of this system is that you can
request the information alerts in many forms—i.e. ASL, English
text, voice, and Braille—as long as you have the appropriate
receiving device for your desired mode of communication.
For more information and the registration form, click on the above link.
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Reversing Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (AIED) the Natural Way
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D., with Susan Stoner
Susan Stoner, a lawyer wrote: "I am writing to you because I
have discovered a way to reverse the symptoms of
progressive Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (AIED). After
many tests I was diagnosed with bilateral AIED. The tests
showed I had the classic heat shock protein in my blood. No
treatments worked. Eventually, with the assistance of my oto-neurologist, I underwent plasmapheresis at a local hospital.
[Ed. note: plasmapheresis is a procedure, similar to dialysis,
that removes antibodies from the bloodstream, thereby
preventing them from attacking their targets—in this lady's
case, the inner ear.] I experienced significant temporary
improvement but limited long term improvement.
By June of 2006, both ears were involved. Tests showed that,
in order for my right ear to hear, the sound needed to be at 66
decibels. My ability to distinguish words was at 8%. My left ear
was following suit. We'd began discussing the probability of
my needing cochlear implants.
Because I had noticed a marked reduction of the "fullness"
aspect of the disease after plasmapheresis, I decided to try
lymphatic drainage. [Ed. note: lymphatic drainage is a special
type of massage therapy used to stimulate lymph flow in the
body and to clear/reduce blockages in the lymphatic system.]
I underwent the drainage procedure on a weekly basis. Initially
I was very sick after each treatment as my liver tried to
process toxins. Each week, however, I experienced
improvement in my symptoms.
(Incidentally, prior to the plasmapheresis, I had plantar fasciitis
in both feet that wouldn't get better. One reason I decided to
explore the lymphatic drainage approach is that the plantar
fasciitis was immediately cured by the plasmapheresis. My
problems seemed to stem from undiagnosed/treated Lyme
disease in 1992. So, I have systemic autoimmune problems
affecting my joints, thyroid, digestive tract and I've been
diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome which is autoimmune and affects
eyes, mouth etc. The lymphatic drainage therapy positively
affected all of these to a lesser degree.)
After one year, I returned for a hearing test. My left ear was
completely normal. I could hear in my right ear at 25 decibels
and could distinguish words at 98%. I continue to have mild
tinnitus in the right ear.
At two years, I have maintained the improvement. The
downside is that I find I must continue the lymphatic drainage
therapy to maintain the improvement—although on a greatly
reduced schedule. And, insurance won't pay for it.
My understanding of why lymphatic drainage works is that
autoimmune diseases causes swelling which, in turn, causes
the lymph system to malfunction. Then the toxins sit in the
lymph system instead of getting flushed away through the
blood and liver at a normal rate. When the lymphatic massage
releases that blockage, those old toxins flood the blood and
liver.
I am an attorney. I was facing the end of my career and the
likelihood of cochlear implants. This was a terrifying
experience and I had to fight very hard to find a solution. It
took me seven ear doctors just to get a definitive diagnosis of
AIED.
The reason I am writing this is that there are other people who
are in the same situation. I believe they should have the
choice of exploring the option of lymphatic drainage to
reverse their AIED symptoms. Perhaps they will have the
same good results I have had."
If you have AIED or other immune system conditions, you
might want to investigate for yourself whether lymphatic
drainage might help you. Read an excellent article on
the lymphatic system
here. In fact, you
should snoop around the entire lymphnotes website. It
contains a wealth of information on lymphatic drainage, and
where you can find the professionals that provide lymphatic
drainage therapy. For example,
this page that
lists lymphatic drainage treatment facilities by state.
===============================================
2. Beware of (Ototoxic) Drugs That Can Damage Your Ears
===============================================
Drug Side Effects Affect Millions of People Each Year
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
The lead paragraph in the article "Don't be a silent victim of a
drug's side effects" (1) begins: "I just read a new poll in
Consumer Reports Magazine that reveals that one in six
Americans who have ever taken a prescription drug
experienced a side effect that was serious enough to send
them to the hospital! One in six! Considering the percentage
of people in this country who are on some form of daily
prescription medication (remember, it's over 50 percent now),
this is a stunning statistic. That's 16 percent of the people
who've ever taken a prescription medicine!"
Since there are around 300 million people in the USA, and
since probably 90% or more of the population have taken a
prescription drug at some time in their lives, that works out to
around 45 million people in the USA that have been
hospitalized by serious side effects of prescription drugs!
Remember, this is only the "serious" side effects. Added to
this are all the side effects that were not considered serious
enough to go to the hospital. These side effects include many
of the ototoxic side effects people also experience.
Thus, it appears that taking drugs ultimately may do more
harm to your body than good. Therefore, before you take any
drugs, make your doctor justify to you how the supposed
benefits will far outweigh the negative side effects. Otherwise,
you'll just be exchanging one problem for another.
If you want to protect your ears (and the rest of your body)
from the side effects of drugs, you might want to do what I do.
First seek out alternative treatments BEFORE you hit the
drugs.
So far, alternative treatments have worked for me. (I don't take
so much as even an aspirin.) Maybe alternative medicine will
work for you too. In any case, your ears will love you for it.
(1) The W. C. Douglass newsletter "Healthier News", Mon.
June 2, 2008
—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Questions about Ototoxic Side Effects
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady wrote: "Regarding the person who wrote that she took
Paxil and then noticed hearing loss, tinnitus and balance
problems 3 months after stopping this drug—wouldn't it be
logical to go back on this medication since she didn't have
these problems while taking it?
I don't understand why some people who have taken Paxil for
extended periods don't end up with any ototoxic symptoms
and others do? And if it is the ototoxic drug causing the
symptom—such as possible tinnitus—then why doesn't tinnitus
clear up after ending the use of the ototoxic drug?
If the various noted drugs are ototoxic, why isn't everyone
affected by them? There are millions of people on
antidepressant and anti-hypertension medications etc., and
not all of them end up with 'ear' problems? Only a percentage
of them. Why?"
You have asked a number of excellent questions regarding
ototoxicity. Let's take a look at each of them in turn.
First, you ask, "Wouldn't it be logical to go back on this
medication; since she didn't have these problems while taking
this medication?"
It might seem that way, but what we don't know in this
particular case is whether the drug was slowly affecting her
ears, but she wasn't aware of it until 3 months after she had
stopped the drug. Since Paxil affects your perceptions, you
might not worry about those symptoms while on this drug, and
only really become aware of them after you stop taking it.
Also, remember that all drugs have side effects, and these
are not doing your body any good in the long term, so it is
better to get off any drugs you can for your overall body
health.
Second question: "I don't understand why some people who
have taken Paxil for extended use don't end up with any
ototoxic symptoms and others do?
The short answer is that everyone is different. so it should not
be any surprise that we can have different reactions to any
given drug. That is why one person might have balance
problems, another person have hearing loss and a third
person no obvious side effects from taking the same drug.
(Doesn't seem fair, does it?)
Furthermore, some drugs have ototoxic side effects that
seem to only affect a small percentage of the people taking
them, and other drugs have ototoxic side effects that seem to
affect a much higher percentage of those taking them. That's
just the way it is. Perhaps some day researchers will discover
the various factors that determine whether a given person will
be susceptible to ototoxic side effects or not. Until then, I
warn everyone because no one can say exactly who is going
to get any given ototoxic side effect, or none at all, and if they
do experience an ototoxic side effect, whether it will affect
them severely or just mildly, or whether it will be temporary or
permanent.
Third question: "If it is the ototoxic drug causing the
symptom—such as tinnitus—then why doesn't the tinnitus clear
up after ending the use of the ototoxic drug?"
For some drugs, when you cease taking it, in maybe 2 weeks
or so the tinnitus goes away. For other drugs, it turns on the
tinnitus, but it apparently forgets to turn off the tinnitus switch
when it leaves. There are a number of factors that may be
involved.
For example, your brain is "plastic" and grows new
connections between various parts. If taking a certain drug
causes new tinnitus connections to be made, stopping taking
that drug doesn't automatically destroy those connections,
thus the tinnitus may remain.
Think of it more like a flood causing a river channel to
permanently change and carve out a new channel. You ask,
"Why doesn't the river go back to the old channel when the
flood is over?" The answer is that it now has a new channel
that "works" so there is no reason to change back. In some
people, this is how tinnitus seems to operate. It makes new
connections in the brain. In order to get rid of the tinnitus, you
have to make your brain quit using the new channels it has
carved out and revert back to the old non tinnitus channels.
Furthermore, if a given drug causes tinnitus, and if you tend to
suffer from depression, you may focus on that new tinnitus
sound. Your limbic (emotional) system then flags it as being
"important", and thus it becomes even louder and more
intrusive. The result is that now your tinnitus is much harder to
get rid of, ever after you stop taking the drug that caused it in
the first place.
Tinnitus is not a simple condition and there are likely many
factors that determine whether it will be with you temporarily
while you are on the drug (aspirin is one such drug), or
whether it will be with you permanently.
Fourth question: "If the various noted drugs are ototoxic, why
isn't everyone affected by them? There are millions of people
on antidepressant and anti-hypertension medications etc., and
not all of them end up with 'ear' problems? Only a percentage
of them. Why?
There are many factors—it could be genetics, body chemistry,
environmental factors, etc.
For example, people with a particular genetic mutation are very susceptible to the ototoxic side effects of
Aminoglycoside antibiotics. People that do not have this
specific genetic defect are typically not so susceptible.
Furthermore, some drugs act synergistically with other agents.
Thus, taking a given drug with no other factors involved may
not produce any ototoxic side effects, but in the presence of
one of these factors, all of a sudden there is the hearing loss
(or whatever).
For example, some drugs cause noticeable ototoxic side
effects if you also smoke or are around smokers. Other drugs
cause noticeable ototoxic side effects if you are in the
presence of various chemicals (typically industrial solvents)
such as you might find in manufacturing plants. Still other
drugs wreak much of their ototoxic havoc in the presence of
noise.
You have asked a number of questions for which no definitive
answers are known at the present. Thus, we are working with
very incomplete information regarding ototoxicity. I sure wish
we knew much more about the ototoxicity of the various drugs.
Much of what I know about drug ototoxicity is contained in my
book "Ototoxic Drugs Exposed". This book contains
information on the ototoxicity of 763 drugs known to damage ears (and
information on 148 ototoxic chemicals too).
**************************************************
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.
**************************************************
===============================================
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.
Tinny Sounds, iPods and Hearing Loss
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man wrote: "I'm curious about some increased ringing in my
ears and a peculiar off again, on again, sensation that is quite
distressing, namely when I am at work, if I open a map for
instance (I work with maps all day), just the process of
opening the maps, can give me a harsh metallic tinny noise in
my ears, particularly my right ear. A similar feeling occurs
when I lay a pen down on a glass surface or even sometimes
when I am typing on the keyboard. This might go on for a day
with my ears feeling stopped up somewhat, and then it will
disappear and the next day I will be fine."
What you are describing sounds like recruitment kicking in.
Recruitment is a by-product of sensorineural hearing loss, and
makes you perceive normal sounds are louder (harsher) than
normal. Since you have a high frequency hearing loss (to
whatever degree), because of recruitment, you now perceive the high-frequency component of the sounds the
maps make, the high-frequency component of the sound of
the pen clinking on glass and also the high-frequency
component of the keyboard clicks, or your fingernails on the
keyboard—not at their normal level—but as much louder than
normal. Thus, they sound harsh. If you have severe
recruitment, they can sound so loud that they will hurt.
When your ears are feeling stopped up, you are experiencing
additional hearing loss—and with the extra hearing loss, your
recruitment would be kicking in worse, hence the annoying
component to everyday sounds.
You need to try and figure out what is causing the stopped-up
feeling by reviewing the sounds you exposed your ears to the
previous day. No doubt, you are listening to something
louder/longer than your ears like.
The man then asked, "Do you think it is safe to continue to
wear earbuds while listening to audio books on my iPod for an
hour or so a day? Are the deep in the ear ones a better choice
because the volume doesn't have to be turned up as loud?"
It doesn't really matter what kind of earphones or earbuds you
use with your iPod—the key is to keep the volume at a
comfortable level. Those deep in the ear ones require less
volume—that is true—but only because they are closer to the
eardrum. In actual fact they vibrate your eardrums just as
much as any other earbuds IF you set the volume so that what
you hear sounds to you to be at the same level.
Note: you will not hurt your ears if you listen to your iPod (no
matter what kind of earbuds you use) at approximately the
same level as you hear people around you talking—so that is a
good rule of thumb to follow.
===============================================
4. Tinnitus
===============================================
Causes of Pulsatile Tinnitus
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady asked: "Can unilateral pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear
only be the cause of hypertension/high blood pressure? What
are the causes unilateral pulsatile tinnitus? "
Its the other way around, but yes, high blood pressure can
result in pulsatile tinnitus.
There are a good number of causes of pulsatile tinnitus. All of
them are vascular—meaning having to do with blood flowing in
the various blood vessels near your ears. This is because
pulsatile tinnitus sounds are rhythmic, pulsing sounds that are
synchronous with your heart beat.
The most common cause of pulsatile tinnitus is benign
intracranial hypertension, followed by carotid artery disease,
glomus tumors, turbulent blood flow, increased blood flow in
different blood vessels, emissary veins, high blood pressure,
twisted arteries, aneurysm in an artery, and a number of other
things.
If you are interested, you can read more about pulsatile
tinnitus (and all the other kinds of tinnitus) in my book, "When
Your Ears Ring! Cope With Your Tinnitus—Here's How".
—-o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Stress and Tinnitus
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady asked: "Millions of people experience stress. Some
people end up with tinnitus because of stress, others don't.
Why? I believe I developed tinnitus from stress. It is the only
logical answer I can come up with because I wasn't taking any
medication, and my hearing is perfect. I haven't been
exposed to loud noise. It just happened out of blue one
afternoon. The tinnitus began in my right ear and has never
stopped. The only thing that I can figure out is that I was under
a lot of work-related stress at that time. I have since eliminated
the work stress. Since I am self-employed, I stopped
accepting work that was causing the stress and reduced my
work to part time so I no longer feel work stress at all.
Why then doesn't the tinnitus clear? I have habituated to my
tinnitus. I read your book several times and I also did Tinnitus
Retraining Therapy (TRT), counseling and used table-top
sound generators. I am fine now in that I can live with my
tinnitus, and it is no longer intrusive for me. However, I am just
really curious about it. So much about it doesn't make sense
to me."
A certain amount of stress is good for us. It gets us out of bed
in the morning for example. But too much stress is just too
much. Some people know how to handle stress. Others don't.
Probably those that can effectively handle stress aren't very
susceptible to tinnitus. But those that can't handle stress more
often notice their tinnitus, and as they focus on it, it becomes
more and more intrusive.
Depression can also bring on tinnitus. Studies have shown
that depressed people typically have a higher incidence of
tinnitus than people who are not depressed. Also, the tinnitus
is louder and more intrusive in depressed people than in
people who are not depressed.
Another thing about tinnitus that confuses people is that
tinnitus is not one single "thing"—but is really a number of
different things that all produce phantom tinnitus-like sounds.
Thus, one treatment doesn't fix everything. For example,
tinnitus caused by a constriction in an artery in your neck
(pulsatile tinnitus) is not going to respond to the same
treatment you need for tinnitus caused by noise, or tinnitus
caused from taking drugs, or tinnitus caused by stress or
depression. Each of these needs specific treatment related to
the cause. Since it is a complex subject, there is no one easy
answer that makes sense in all cases.
**************************************************
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!
**************************************************
===============================================
5. Coping Strategies
===============================================
Speechreading Difficulties
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady wrote: "My hearing has decreased considerably these
past few years. I ordered your "Seeing and Hearing Speech"
CD recently to help me understand conversations better. I
have been trying to read peoples' lips for some time now and
the lessons are helping, although I am still on the vowels."
Personally, I'd start with the easier consonants, then go to the
harder consonants and finally to the vowels—or do some of
each. That way you will seem to progress faster. The
consonants are typically easier to speechread as you watch
for the movement of the lips and jaw. Vowels have no
movement in themselves. They are formed by the shape of
the mouth.
This lady continues: "I feel I make who ever I am listening to
uncomfortable because I avoid eye contact in trying to read
their lips."
You should be looking at both the speaker's eyes and
mouth when you are speechreading. Don't just focus on the
mouth. You get a lot of information from the eyes too. In fact, I
have a lot of difficulty speechreading people when they are
wearing sunglasses. So do other speechreaders I've talked
to. My solution? As funny as it sounds, I ask them to take off
their sunglasses so I can hear them better!
You can learn more about speechreading in my article on
"Speechreading" and
more about the "Seeing and Hearing Speech" CD program
by clicking on the above links.
—-o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Assertiveness and Other Coping Strategies
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady wrote: "I am not assertive when it comes to being with
people. This is partly my nature and partly because my older
sister was hard of hearing long before I lost my hearing. She
is never concerned how often we have to repeat for her. It is
very annoying with her, and I certainly do not want to be like
that. I think I’m backing off to much though and staying away
from people to much. I’m afraid to greet people in the Mall
because more than likely they'll say something and I’ll not
understand, ask to repeat and eventually when I finally get it,
all they said was, “Well, it’s starting to warm up outside today”.
The problem isn't that you have to repeat and repeat ad
nauseam—the problem is that people aren't doing the right
thing in the first place. If people practice the proper coping
skills the first time—then hard of hearing people should get it
the first time or at the very least, the second time. Doing the
wrong thing over and over again doesn't help!
The lady continues: "I’m not sure how to handle my situation. I
don't think people know how I struggle with hearing. I have
shared my hearing loss with one or two people and it makes
them very uncomfortable. Why, I’m not sure, but probably
because they don't know what to say. Then I decide not to do
that again."
You are not going about this the right way. If you explain your
hearing loss and how hard it is for you to hear—people tend to
shy away from you. You've already warned them it is going to
be a problem talking with you, so they "take off" as soon as
they can.
You need to put people at ease first. A good way to do this is
to mention you have a hearing loss, and in the same breath
assure them that you can still have a nice chat—"all I need you
to do is ......" (and name the one or two things that will make
the most difference in that particular situation). These could
be as simple as face me when you talk, or speak up a tad, or
let's move to that quiet corner, etc. Now people know what will
make it a success. Thus, they are much more willing to talk
with you.
If you want to learn to cope better, I'd suggest reading two
easy-to-read and understand books. The first one is "Talking
with Hard of Hearing People—Here's How to Do It Right!" It
explains a number of freebie coping strategies that you can
use any time or any place to help you hear better. I have used these strategies
all my life because they work.
The second book, "Help, I'm Losing My Hearing—What Do I
Do Now?" gives you a good overview of the whole hearing
loss thing, and then gives you lots of good information on coping strategies.
===============================================
6. Information on Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants
and/or Assistive Devices
===============================================
Setting Hearing Aids to Control Tinnitus and Recruitment
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady wrote: "I have tried several different brands of hearing
aids over a period of years. These are high-cost name
brands, but none are helpful because they make my tinnitus
worse to the point of giving me an ear ache. My hearing is
declining so much that I'm hoping that some type of hearing
aid is recommended that would help. I have had tinnitus and
recruitment for over 25 years. Can you advise on any hearing
aid with enough compression built in that might help?"
Some people need to limit the volume of sounds they hear via
their hearing aids to a given level in order to keep their tinnitus
and recruitment under control. Sounds above that threshold
level make their tinnitus louder, and their recruitment kicks in
and hurts. This seems to be the case with you.
The way to get around this is to instruct your audiologist to set
the maximum power to a level just below where your tinnitus
begins to get louder. Actually, your audiologist needs to set
the maximum output and compression for each frequency
(channel). You may find that your tinnitus and/or recruitment
only reacts to louder sounds at certain frequencies—so you
need to identify those particular frequencies and have the
power and compression set appropriately.
Your audiologist may balk at this because she will tell you that
you need more amplification. She will be right (as far as it
goes)—but in your case amplification isn't the only
consideration. You also need to avoid aggravating your
tinnitus (and recruitment), so you may choose to give up
hearing optimally in order to keep your tinnitus under control.
Thus, you have a choice—hear well and have loud tinnitus (and
recruitment), or hear "less well" to some degree but not
aggravate your tinnitus (or recruitment). (I've had to do this
myself.) Since it is your ears, that is YOUR choice to make.
You are the boss—so tell you audiologist to adjust your aids
the way you want, or find someone who will.
-o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Hearing In Noise—What's the Solution?
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A mother wrote: "My beautiful daughter was born with impaired
hearing, and the doctors said she would lose her hearing as
she got older. She is now in her forties. With her hearing aid,
she hears noises, but cannot understand speech because of
the background noise she picks up. Is there a way to soften
the background noise so she can hear conversations?"
Your daughter is not alone. Did you know that this is the most
common complaint people have about hearing aids—that they
pick up so much noise you can't understand speech?
Compounding this problem for your daughter is the fact she
only has one ear—and you need two ears in order for your
brain to help filter out noise.
Fancy new hearing aids claim (don't believe everything you
read) that they can filter out noise from speech (and some do
a reasonable job in certain situations), but no hearing aids do
the kind of job normally-hearing ears do.
There is one main secret to hearing speech in noise, and that
is to get the microphone right up to the speaker's lips so
his/her voice is much louder than the surrounding noise. In
order to do this you either have to have the person talk right
into the hearing aid's microphone (not practical at all), or you
need to use an assistive device either in combination with the
hearing aid or by itself.
For noisy situations, my choice is a PockeTalker with a super-directional microphone when standing or moving around (such
as at a party or convention), or a lapel microphone if seated
near the person such as in a car or restaurant.
If your daughter's hearing aid has a t-coil in it (and all hearing
aids should have t-coils), then she can switch to the t-coil
setting. This turns the microphone off so it can't pick up any
noise, and at the same time turns on the t-coil. Then she
wears a neckloop or Music Link plugged into the PockeTalker.
She will hear via the t-coil in her hearing aid via the
PockeTalker and neckloop.
These assistive devices aren't expensive like hearing aids
are—but they do cost a bit of money. For example, the
PockeTalker is about $140.00, the neckloop or Music Link is
around $50.00, the lapel microphone is about $70.00 and the
super-directional microphone is about $120.00.
When it gets noisy, if I want to hear a person I have basically
three choices. I either:
a. Ask them to move with me to a quieter location (if
possible).
b. Speechread them and forget about trying to hear.
c. Whip out my PockeTalker and appropriate microphone and
hear them that way.
You can
learn more about the PockeTalker here.
The features,
accessories and prices for the PockeTalker and
the above two microphones are illustrated here.
-o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Good Source of Hearing Aid Batteries
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady wrote: "I highly recommend ordering hearing aid
batteries from http://www.hearingaidbattery.org. Free shipping
and great prices on batteries! I've been ordering mine from
there for years. So much less expensive than any drug store
or audiologist."
I can't say these are the best prices for hearing aid batteries
I've seen, but they are good prices. One thing for sure is that
these batteries are fresh! I can't complain about the free
shipping either.
Does anyone have a better source for quality hearing aid
batteries they'd like to share?
-o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Electric Guitar Picks Up Loop System Signals
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man explained: "I found an interesting effect with my
induction loop system. Seems if you turn up an electric guitar,
the sound from the induction loop gets picked up by the guitar
pickups and broadcast through the guitar amplifier. Ever heard
of this before?"
Yes, you are not the only one to discover this phenomenon. It
can be a problem when you loop the platform of a church or
auditorium and then want to use an electric guitar up there.
The electric guitar pickups are basically t-coils so they pick up
the varying magnetic field from the loop system if they are
close enough to it, just like the t-coils on your hearing aids do.
-o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
Sources of Information for Cochlear Implants
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady asked, "Can you direct me to some good sources to
read about cochlear implants?"
To learn first-hand about cochlear implants and to get many of
your questions answered, the nicest (friendly, no brand wars)
on-line group for cochlear implants is the one in the
SayWhatClub. Ask to join the CI list.
In addition, I'd go to the 3 main cochlear implant
manufacturers web sites. They are:
Advanced Bionics
Cochlear Americas
Med-El US
-o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—
MaxIT Bluetooth Neckloop for Bluetooth Cell Phones
by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man wrote: "I have an appointment this Thursday to get new
hearing aids with T-coils. I am truly excited about all the new
better hearing avenues this will add to my “not too good
hearing” life. I’m an accountant and, as you can imagine, I
have to dress up every day for work (shirt & tie). I really like
the features of the MaxIT Bluetooth Neckloop, but have one
quick question:
Does the bluetooth apparatus have to remain on the loop
necklace or is the necklace something I can remove and just
keep the bluetooth piece in my shirt’s breast pocket?"
The MaxIT Bluetooth Neckloop is one integrated piece. The
"dongle" part contains the bluetooth electronics and battery.
The "necklace" is really a neckloop. The bluetooth dongle
wirelessly "connects" to your cell phone, while the neckloop
"connects" to your hearing aids via their t-coils. Thus both
parts are necessary. The neckloop is not just a lanyard to hold
the dongle, but a vital part of the whole device.
Therefore, you need to wear the neckloop around your neck
the way it was designed to work. However, if you want it to be
reasonably invisible, wear the neckloop under your shirt and
let the bluetooth dongle stick out the front of your shirt (so you
can get at the buttons on it to make/answer calls), but it can be
hidden behind your tie.
You can learn more about the
MaxIT Bluetooth Neckloop, or
order one for yourself by clicking on the above link.
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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
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