Terms Associated With Audiology
HEARING LOSS:
Hearing loss affects approximately 30 million Americans. Hearing loss can be caused by many things including different kinds of illness, trauma, noise exposure, aging and heredity. Having a hearing evaluation will help you and your health care providers identify the degree and configuration of hearing loss to determine what type of treatment may be available for you.
Untreated hearing loss can negatively impact the quality of a patient’s life. The communication difficulties caused by hearing loss affect the patient and the patient’s family, friends and co-workers. With today’s technology, the majority of patients with hearing loss can be helped. Although hearing aids cannot restore normal hearing, significant improvement in communication and environmental awareness can be obtained by most hearing aid users. Hearing aid technology and cosmetics have improved over the years and there are acceptable options for almost everyone.
TINNITUS:
Tinnitus is sound heard inside the ears/head and is not generated by environmental noises. Most of the time, other people cannot hear your tinnitus. There are many causes of tinnitus and frequently, people who have hearing loss notice tinnitus. Tinnitus affects people differently. Some people are very bothered by tinnitus while others can ignore it. People describe tinnitus differently, using words such as ringing, buzzing, roaring, crickets, rushing etc. Some people notice tinnitus constantly, while some notice it primarily in quiet environments. The first step in the evaluation of tinnitus is to have a complete audiologic evaluation.
DIZZINESS:
Dizziness is a generic word used to describe feelings of lightheadedness, vertigo (movement/spinning), unsteadiness, and imbalance. There can be many causes of dizziness and some can include medical concerns such as heart attack or stroke, labryinthitis, Meniere’s, or BPPV (benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo). Because the vestibular system in the inner ear plays a large part in keeping us balanced, a hearing evaluation may be recommended when patients complain of dizziness.
PROCESS OF OBTAINING HEARING AIDS:
The first step is acknowledging your hearing and communication problems and seeking help. Once a hearing loss has been confirmed through comprehensive diagnostic testing and a treatable medical condition has been ruled out, the hearing aid selection process can proceed.
A hearing aid consultation appointment is scheduled for one hour. During this appointment, you will discuss your hearing loss and the communication difficulties that you are having because of it. A questionnaire may be used to identify areas of importance to you. The different sizes and technologies of hearing aids will be discussed. Realistic expectations and the process of adaptation will be explored. An individualized recommendation will be made based upon your hearing loss, communication needs, lifestyle and budget. If a decision to purchase hearing aids is made, earmold impressions will be taken so the custom part of the hearing aid can be made for you.
Approximately two weeks later, you will return for the hearing aid fitting. At that time, the care and maintenance of the hearing aid will be explained. You will have practice inserting and removing the aid and manipulating any controls that are activated on the device. The sound of the hearing aid will be adjusted based on your hearing loss and your experience level with hearing aids. Typically, a verification of the hearing aid fitting will be completed at this appointment by taking measurements of the sound output from the hearing aid in your ear canal.
A follow up appointment is scheduled for 2-3 weeks after the fitting appointment. At this point, any questions or concerns will be addressed. In addition, changes to the settings or sound quality of the hearing aids will be made as needed. Additional follow up appointments are scheduled as necessary. Following the adaptation period, routine hearing aid checks are recommended every 6 months to one year.
FINANCIAL POLICIES:
In general, hearing aid expenses are not covered by health insurance. Therefore, most of the costs involved in obtaining hearing aids are out-of-pocket for the consumer.
The cost for the hearing aid selection/consultation appointment is included in the cost of the hearing aids if purchased.
Hearing aids have a 30 day trial period during which they can be returned for credit. There is a dispensing/fitting fee which covers the audiologist’s services in fitting and setting the hearing aid and covers the follow up appointments in the first 30 days (trial period). This dispensing fee is non-refundable if the hearing aids are returned during the trial period.
A deposit is required upon ordering the hearing aids. The balance is due at the time of the fitting and dispensing. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center offers a 20% discount when the hearing aids are paid-in-full at the time of ordering. The cost of the hearing aids includes the devices, any custom earmolds, an initial supply of batteries, a cleaning tool and professional services for the first year.
Costs involved in out of warranty repairs, supplies and other services are variable and payment is expected at the time of service.
HEARING AIDS:
Hearing aids come in a variety of sizes. Which size is recommended for you is dependent on the hearing loss, dexterity and personal preference. Cosmetic options are available in several mode sizes. The sizes of hearing aid available include:
- Micro BTE- small behind the ear device
- Coupled by regular or thin tubing, or canal receiver technology
- BTE- full size behind the ear
- Typically coupled by regular tubin
- ITE- full shell in the ear
- ITC- in the canal
- CIC- completely in the canal
Hearing aid technologies range from very basic to very sophisticated. Hearing aids can be analog or digital processing. Most are programmed by using a computer and can be fine tuned for each individual hearing loss. Some are fairly automatic so that the patient does not have to adjust for different environments. Available features include:
- Directional microphone- reduce sound from behind allowing the listener to focus on speech from the front
- Steady state noise reduction- reduces steady state noise (fans, refrigerator motors, road noise etc) which allows for less annoyance and more comfortable listening
- Wind noise management- reduces the noise caused by air blowing over the microphone
- Feedback cancellation- reduces the annoying high frequency squeal that is sometimes heard from hearing aids without reducing gain/volume
LINKS:
http://www.howsyourhearing.com/
www.betterhearing.org
www.hearingloss.org
www.asha.org
www.ata.org
http://www.turnittotheleft.com/
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