Hear Me Out!

New Hearing App Available

There's an interesting new app for the iPhone called EarTrumpet. It has two functions: it can run a basic hearing test using your earbuds, and it can be used as an amplifier. While I have yet to download it, I would caution against relying on the hearing test function as an objective measure; it's likely to be affected by how quiet the room is and how well your earbuds fit. The amplifier function, called a "hearing enhancer," could certainly prove useful for getting some basic amplification of conversation and television. The app costs $1.99. If you've given it a try, leave a comment with your experiences.

Turn Down Those Commercials!

We've probably all had the jarring experience of watching television and hearing the volume suddenly jump up when the commercials come on. This can be annoying for those with and without hearing aids. Well, good news was recently announced: Congress has passed the CALM Act (that's Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation -- gotta love those acronyms). This new law creates a standard for the voulme level of commercials, and will eliminate the practice of broadcasting advertisements at excessively high levels. Broadcasters will have one year from the adoption of the law to comply, so hang in there.

Hear for the Holidays

We're approaching that time of year again. Food, family, get-togethers, gifts ...  and this often means stress as well as fun. If you're having difficulty with your hearing, the stress level can be significantly higher at holiday time. If you've been putting off a decision about pursuing help for your hearing, what better time to do it! Treat yourself to a better quality of life by making sure that you're hearing as well as you can.

Captioned Telephone Service

Even with well-fit hearing aids, some people with hearing loss continue to struggle to communicate effectively on the telephone. One reason for this is that we lose the visual component to communication when speaking on the phone, and visual cues can be vitally important for those with hearing impairment. One solution is captioned telephone service, available in a number of states, including New York. Using a special CapTel phone, the caller's words are translated into captions; at the same time, the caller's voice is audible as on any other phone call. Captions can be read on a visual display built into the phone, or on a computer screen. The combination of audio and visual information can make the use of the telephone significantly easier (similar to the way watching TV with captions can enhance the ability to understand the television program). For more information on the New York state service, visit www.nyrelay.com or call 1-800-421-1220.

Myth Busters

Check out this excellent piece from the Better Hearing Institute on common myths associated with hearing loss and hearing aids:   http://www.betterhearing.org/press/articles/myths.cfm

 

JH Audio Demos

Demo versions of all of the JH Audio earphones are now available in the office. For those of you considering purchasing custom-fit monitors from JH, come in for a listen (but please call first!).

The Sounds of Summer

I see many people in my office who want to enhance their music listening experience through the use of custom-fit earphones. There are two basic options for custom earpieces for personal listening: either a universal-fit earphone with a custom mold attached, or an entirely custom-fit earphone, such as those used by musicians as in-ear monitors. In the first category are higher-end earphones such as the Shure SE series, the Westone universal fit series (e.g. the Westone 3), and the Future Sonics Atrios, as well as more basic earphones such as those that come standard with your iPod. Custom earmolds can be attached to any of these earphones for an improved listening experience. At the other end of the spectrum are custom-fit units in which the entire earphone is built into a custom shell. These are often used for performing musicians' monitoring needs, but can be used for a high-end personal music experience as well. Custom earphones are available from JH Audio, Future Sonics, Westone, and a handful of other manufacturers. For those of you audiophiles who want to get into the nitty gritty of what this is all about, check out the discussion forums here: www.head-fi.org. Whichever way you go, you'll find that custom molds, even when used with more basic earphones, can provide enhanced bass response, better isolation from outside noise (leading to the ability to hear the music at a lower, safer volume), and superior comfort.

Hearing through the Heat

Here in the New York area we've had an incredibly hot, humid summer. For those of you wearing hearing aids, humidity is one of the main culprits in causing hearing aids to malfunction. Putting your aids in a dehumidifying jar or case can be a great help -- you can get one of these from your audiologist. Simple dehumidifiers have dessicant beads that will help to draw moisture out of the hearing instruments. For those of you who want to invest in an even more effective solution, the Dry and Store unit (www.dryandstore.com) is a terrific drying system. It circulates heat around the hearing aids, and also uses an ultraviolet light source to kill germs on your hearing aids. It really does a great job of keeping your hearing aids in good working order, especially in the dog days of summer.

At the Movies

Many people with hearing loss benefit tremendously from using closed captions while watching TV. Did you know that there are also first-run movies that are shown with captioning? Here's a great resource for listings of captioned movies: www.captionfish.com . Various theaters will show closed-captioned movies at different times, and the captionfish website gives you a a complete listing for a given city. Now you just have to find a movie worth seeing!

Walking a mile...

Today I put on a set of hearing aids, programmed for a mild hearing loss, and just wore them around for awhile -- in the office, on the street, in a relatively noisy restaurant. Although I have normal hearing, it gives me some idea of what it's like to walk around with these things on your ears, wondering if they're in properly, hearing your own voice differently, and just experiencing the world of sound a little differently. I was glad to find that these premium-technology devices did not overamplify the noise on the street (busy midtown Manhattan) or in a restaurant, and after a short time I kind of forgot they were there. Hopefully when my own time comes for hearing aids I'll be ready to accept them!