I was recently returning from an appointment in the Uk and I had an interesting conversation with an Irish lad in the airport about cement. Strange what us Irish blokes get talking about right? Did you know there are 27 different types of cement? No, I didn’t either, it surprised the hell out of me. What has that got to do with the joy of hearing I hear you ask. Well, let me explain.
No Damned Hearing Aids
I had been in a rush that morning and I left the house without my hearing aids. I wasn’t too phased because I wasn’t expecting to be in any major noisy situations. My loss is such that I can generally get along well in quiet, like most of the people who have acquired hearing loss. My problems really only start when I am either tired or in noisy situations.
That day I knew I wouldn’t be in too many noisy situations, I also knew that by the time I got to the airport on the way home, I would be to tired to care what anyone was saying to me. So, no problem right? Anyway, I got through the day, no major whaaa????? moments. Got back to the airport early and then had to sit waiting for a plane for a couple of hours.
The Smoking Area
I was standing outside in the smoking area, very civilised airport East Midlands, they have a smoking area. It looks like the set from a cage fighters movie, but hey. What is the story with the caged smoking areas? Are they afraid that we will get hyped up on nicotine and gambol across the rooftops giggling maniacally? I digress, back to the smoking area, I was standing there, getting fresh air, when a guy came out and I asked him for a light.
Turns out he was Irish, so we start yarning, that’s talking, but Irish style. Anyway, he is over for a course on cement at a local University. Cement I said? Yes he says, you know there is 27 types of cement! I have to say, no I didn’t. So we had a fascinating conversation about cement, engineering and European construction regulations.
What’s The Point Fat Lad?
Yes, I am coming to it, the point is, I had a great conversation with a complete stranger with something that was a little fascinating. I got to learn something new, something I love to do. It was only possible because we were standing together in quiet. You know, if it had been noisy, I wouldn’t have engaged with the guy beyond asking him for a light. Because I wouldn’t have been able to understand much of what he said worth a damn.
Life is Enriched by Conversations
Life is enriched by conversations, hell, the Irish are famous for talking to anyone who makes eye contact. You see Londoners, there like, he’s Irish, don’t make eye contact, don’t make eye contact! Anyway, as I was saying, our lives are enriched by the human contact we make daily, conversations are the lifeblood of human interaction. For me, there is joy in simple conversations with friends, family and complete strangers, all the better if I learn something new.
Conversations happen when we are secure in the knowledge that we can hear and communicate. It is as simple as that. I forgot my hearing aids that day, but I was lucky to have my life enriched by a conversation about cement. Don’t miss out on the conversations, if you need hearing aids to engage in your life, get them. Hopefully, you too will begin to understand the joy of simple conversations.
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Ode To Joy and The Roar of The Battlefield, A Pretty Good Audio Experience
I have had the Moxi All for a while now and I have been pretty impressed with them. On a daily use basis, they work well even in demanding sound environments giving crisp and clear speech understanding and a pretty exceptional spatial awareness experience. I will talk about that in another article to come, in this article I want to focus on the phone call experience and the streaming audio experience with the TV Connector.
Moxi All Phone Experience
You can not overstate the simple joy of answering the phone hands-free. It is fantastically wonderful. This feature alone would make these my everyday go-to hearing aids if it wasn’t for the other audio streaming limitations. But, and this is a big but (shaking my but in your face, whoop whoop!) I am a voracious consumer of audiobooks and podcasts from my phone. If you aren’t, and I know many people are not, if you simply want to be able to answer the damn mobile phone and speak with ease and without fuss, well then this hearing aid may well be a gift from God.
I can not overstate the simple joy of pressing a button on my hearing aid to answer a call and then to talk hands-free
One Ear Only? No Problem!
The system works exceptionally well, a jingle announces that you have a phone call. Takes a little getting used to, for the first few days it kept catching me off guard. You simply take the call by pressing the button on the right hearing aid or dismiss the call by pressing the left one. When you answer the call, the caller’s voice appears in one ear only, which many people within the profession are a little non plussed by. However, my experience is that in most situations, that has been fine. I have rarely had issues hearing the caller, except in a sound situation where I would expect to have to step outside to take a phone call in any way.
The hearing aids use the microphones to allow the caller to hear your voice. In all of the calls I have been on, very few callers have had any issue hearing me. One of the people I have been using to test the system has said that he reckons the sound of my voice is pretty typical to any Bluetooth headset. He said it sounded a bit like I was speaking on a car Bluetooth system but he could hear me fine.
Overall, A Thumbs Up From Me Bob!
I have to say my overall phone experience was excellent. Generally, I could always hear the caller when I expected that I should, and they always heard me when I expected that they should. So, that has to be a winner.
Listening to The TV
Streaming audio using the TV Connector is an amazing experience. The sound quality is outstanding, it offers nuanced sound detail and a pretty seamless sound experience. I hooked up an audio player to it as well and played Pachelbel’s Cannon and Ode An De Freude by Beethoven. I swear it nearly moved me to tears. Smack My Bitch Up by the prodigy was pretty cool as well. The sound production was excellent, warm, nuanced, bassy to the right extent and delivered high-quality treble.
Listening to both the TV and any other audio source is pretty seamless. You simply hook up your audio source, turn the TV Connector on and voila streaming audio. No fuss, no hassle, relative ease and a pretty great sound experience. Listening to TV programmes and the odd film delivered a great experience, again full warm and nuanced sound which allowed easy understanding.
These are really good hearing aids and the general Bluetooth experience is pretty good. As I said, my only problem with them is that they don’t stream audiobooks from my phone. This is important for me, but it shouldn’t put you off if you aren’t interested in that. If you want a hearing aid that offers complete freedom with your mobile phone (don’t forget, any mobile phone!) well then this hearing aid is an outstanding solution.
What About General Use?
Just a teaser here, because my experience with general use deserves a full article. These are really solid hearing aids that work well in all of the sound environments that I find myself in. The fact they are rechargeable adds to the attraction.
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We received a fantastic review of one of our associated Independent hearing care providers in Newcastle. Brenda Quinn Hays is the owner of Vibrant hearing services and she provides hearing care and hearing aids in Newcastle. I have known Brenda for many years and she is an experienced, thoughtful, empathetic and caring character. She is also a lot of fun. So it didn’t surprise me to read the wonderful things said about her. Enough from me, here is the review in question.
“I just wanted to let you know how absolutely delighted I am with the results (first time of asking, by the way!) I obtained from having made a visit to the Independent hearing healthcare professional in my area- Vibrant Hearing in North Shields. In August this year I went for a hearing test with a well known national chain of chemists, and was pretty impressed then. Because I live abroad, I ran out of time to follow up with them (luckily as it turns out) and having taken your advice, I walked out, some 2 hours after having arrived, with hearing aids that have transformed my life. The story doesn’t stop there, though, because the next week I had a follow up and have a further appointment this week. This is the sort of service that leaves me in total awe: caring, unbelievable helpful, very open, very honest (as far as I can tell!) and really interested in me the patient. So thank you and thanks to Brenda for getting me sorted!”
Like I said, I have known Brenda for many years and have like her for just as long. She is obviously caring and committed to her customers, not just that she is committed to her profession and continued lifelong learning and updating of her skills. If you are looking for hearing aids in Newcastle, well then Brenda and Vibrant Hearing is definitely the place you should start your journey.
In the last couple of articles, I have covered my experience with the Signia Pure 312 7 Nx. I wanted to tie it all together here and give a full rundown of the models available, their features and also give you an idea about the different technology levels that will be available.
These hearing devices are based on a brand new chipset from these guys, they have also introduced a processor that will deal solely with the processing of the user’s voice. On top of that, the Nx platform also has a direct connection to iPhones, which means the range is Made For iPhone with all of its connotations. Let’s talk about the Nx platform.
OVP, Own Voice Processing
Signia made a big deal of the OVP or Own Voice Processing at the launch, and these devices are the first hearing aids to process the user’s own voice differently from everything else. In fact, they have dedicated a completely separate processor on the platform to facilitate that. They said that the strategy will increase the acceptance of a user’s own voice dramatically.
I Second That
I have to agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, the OVP feature is amazing. My experience with it has been pretty jaw-dropping. In the article Signia Pure 312 7 Nx Hearing Aids, Here is What You Need to Know, I talked in more depth about the own voice processing feature and why it might be of interest to you. The pertinent statement here though is:
When I was fitted with the Nx I was fitted with closed domes, I thought this isn’t going to work as I heard my voice explode in my head. Then, we went through the own voice training protocol (count from twenty-one until it is happy it knows your voice). The feature was turned on, and no more occlusion, just like that. I was a bit speechless (that doesn’t happen very often). By no more occlusion I mean no more auditory occlusion, I wasn’t caused any difficulty by my own voice.
For new users of hearing aids the sound quality of their own voice can be off-putting, but it is usually something that they get used to. However, as Signia point out, used to does not mean happy with. This system promises to deal with the issue and it does it very well.
Direct Connection
As I said, Signia has expanded their Bluetooth system across the Nx platform, offering direct connection with the models they have introduced. Their original offering, the Pure 13 BT was well received, the system was innovative in that it used the sensors on the iPhone to assess the forward movement of a user. This allowed the hearing aids to change how they were processing sound. This system and feature set has now been expanded across the new range.
Signia feels that knowing the user is moving and adjusting the feature set to reflect it should be an integral part of what hearing aids do, I think it makes sense, I also think it is part of a larger movement within hearing aids, whereby they take data from surrounding data sources to make them better. They say that this feature and others are an integral part of the system they call the 3D Classifier.
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The 3D Classifier
The 3D Classifier analyses many factors of the user’s environment and communication behaviour. It uses information on the user’s voice activity, their motion and sound data to tailor the hearing aids response to better suit the user’s needs.
Two Radios
Like the Oticon Opn and the Widex Beyond, the Signia Nx platform has two wireless radios, the Bluetooth radio and the proprietary Signia wireless system. This approach brings real benefits, it ensures that the outstanding ear to ear features can still run even if you are streaming audio or taking a phone call.
Telecare 3.0
This is a really interesting development, Signia has made the Telecare service a live service. They were initially the first to offer Telecare with a limited fine-tuning option although Resound quickly followed with the launch of the LiNX 3D and their Remote Assist which had more functionality. Signia though quickly expanded that fine-tuning option and added video calling to the system. Now they have enabled full live remote tuning with video support which is a pretty huge breakthrough.
The new service means that you can set-up a video call with your hearing professional and explain the issue you are having in the situation you are having it in. While you are connected, your hearing professional can tweak your hearing aid’s settings live and you can quickly assess if they are better.
Three Models, Three Levels of Tech
There are three models initially available and they will be across three levels of technology. The aids I tested are the premium 7, the mid-range 5 and the entry level 3. The models themselves are two Receiver In Canal devices with different battery sizes and a BTE. The model I used is a Pure 312 device. Let’s talk about the devices.
Pure 13 NX
This device is an updated version of their Pure 13 BT, it offers the new system which separately processes the wearer’s own voice. It comes with superior connectivity with direct streaming and the myControl App. The hearing aid has a rocker switch which allows programme changes and volume changes. It is IP68 rated which means it is for all intent and purposes waterproof and can be fitted with the four levels of receiver power making it suitable for most hearing losses. Signia say that users will enjoy the longest wearing time in its class while streaming. It also has access to the full live remote support via TeleCare 3.0. It is compatible with the myControl app and it will connect to the StreamLine TV transmitter and the new StreamLine Mic when it is released. This model will be available at the 7, 5 and 3 levels of technology.
Pure 312 Nx
This device is a very svelte Pure (RIC) device using a 312 battery, again it offers the new system which separately processes the wearer’s own voice. This is the device I have been wearing, I really like it, it is neat, easy to wear, sits on the ear well and looks good. The hearing aid has a rocker switch which allows programme changes and volume changes. It is IP68 rated which means for all intent and purposes it is waterproof. It can also be fitted with the four levels of receiver power making it suitable for most hearing losses. It comes with superior connectivity with direct streaming and the myControl App. It also has access to the full live remote support via TeleCare 3.0. It too connects to the StreamLine TV transmitter and the new StreamLine Mic. This model will be available at the 7, 5 and 3 levels of technology.
Motion 13 Nx
This device is a BTE device using a size 13 hearing aid battery, again it offers the new system which separately processes the wearer’s own voice. It also comes with superior connectivity with direct streaming and the myControl App. It also has access to the full live remote support via TeleCare 3.0. The device also offers the rocker switch for programme and volume control changes. This is a pretty versatile device which offers a telecoil option with the simple switching of the battery door. I think that is pretty cool, I like telecoils, I think they are outstanding for people with hearing loss who need help in large areas like auditoriums, churches and theatres. This device is IP67 rated for dust and moisture. This model will be available at the 7, 5 and 3 levels of technology.
Everyday Performance
My experience with the Pure 312 7 Nx has been pretty good, I have been happy with their performance on an everyday basis and I have been impressed with the Own Voice Processing feature and the streaming. I think these are pretty exciting new hearing aids. Obviously, I would expect the premium range devices to deliver outstanding performance, however, it is clear that Signia has retained a great deal of benefit as you move down the technology levels.
For instance, the own voice processing feature is the same on every level of technology. The streaming ability will be the same on every level of technology. Every level of technology also has access to Telecare 3.0. Yes, the feature sets, channels and bands are different, yes, there is a reason why each level of technology is more expensive. However, the real point here is that core features, features that will make a difference to users are retained.
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I was terribly saddened recently to read of the death of Andrew Broadhurst. Andrew was a 39-year-old man from Birmingham in the United Kingdom that died from complications from Otitis Media (a mid-ear infection). The infection went undiagnosed and untreated, which led to meningitis and encephalitis which finally claimed his life. It leads me to wonder why such a thing would happen in the UK, a leader in healthcare. It is hard to believe that an ear infection could claim a life.
A Missed Diagnosis
Put simply, despite attending his GP (General Practitioner) on four separate occasions, the mid-ear infection went undiagnosed for three months. Eventually, Andrew collapsed and was rushed to a hospital. He was diagnosed with Meningitis and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). Despite treatment, he quickly passed away.
How Did it Happen?
It is not for me to consider the misdiagnosis nor the failure of the GPs and I won’t. However, I want to explain the mechanism of infection that led to Mister Broadhurst’s death. Several people have spoken to me with shock, “how could an ear infection kill you?” is usually the question. Unfortunately, Otitis Media (mid-ear infection) can cause death if left untreated, as can other mid ear problems such as cholesteatoma.
The Mid Ear
The middle ear cavity sits behind your eardrum and contains the ossicles (the three tiny bones). It is a small cavity that is lined with skin similar in nature to your nose and throat. It also has a small drainage tube called the Eustachian tube which connects it to the back of your nose and throat. The attic of the cavity is separated from the brain by a thin bone.
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Ear Infections & Modern Medicine
When I first began to work in this field I covered a lot of rural areas and I saw a lot of people who had been left with devastating mid ear problems. This was a factor of access to medical care when they were children and the lack of antibiotic treatment. Don’t forget, antibiotics were really only introduced as a treatment in the forties.
In essence, many of these people suffered recurrent mid-ear infections which were left without proper treatment. It led to massive damage of their mid ear cavity and the mid-ear bones. Many had no eardrums left to speak of, some had no ossicles left and several had undergone Mastoidectomy (the removal of bone from around the middle ear cavity).
Mastoidectomy
A mastoidectomy was undertaken to remove damaged and infected bone from around the middle ear cavity. It was not a procedure undertaken lightly, and it led to quite a large hearing loss and recurring problems, but it saved lives.
Thankfully, as the generations that I see every day have changed, I don’t see many mid ear issues. Again, access to better medical care and antibiotics changed things. However, as we have seen in the case of Mister Broadhurst, that doesn’t mean that mid-ear infections are any less dangerous, just better managed.
Middle Ear Infection & Meningitis
Unfortunately, in the case of Mister Broadhurst, his mid-ear infection became so serious that it infected the mastoid bone. It either eroded the attic of the mid-ear and entered the brain or the infection crossed the attic bone. Either way, the outcome was the same. Mister Broadhurst developed meningitis and because of it, he developed encephalitis which killed him.
Dr Declan Costello, a consultant at the hospital where Mister Broadhurst died, said: “Andrew had a middle ear infection that had moved backwards towards the bone behind the ear, the mastoid bone. Because of closeness to the brain, it is very easy to spread upwards and cause meningitis.”
A Simple Test
If you think that you may have an ear infection, there is a simple test that will confirm it. We undertake it regularly in the clinic where we see any evidence of a conductive (mid-ear) hearing loss. Using a Tympanometer we assess the function of the middle ear, it is a simple process and takes less than a minute. Most Independent hearing healthcare practices would use tympanometry. If you are worried about your hearing or your ear health, see a hearing care professional. If they find a problem such as Otitis Media, they will refer you back to your GP with a report.
Finally, I would like to give my condolences to the family of Andrew Broadhurst, I know they mean little in the face of such a devastating loss. But I hope that there may be some comfort from the fact that I and many others within my profession have been shocked and touched by his loss.
When I wrote this article I was concerned about balancing up the need for the important message to be communicated and the needs of Andrew’s family. I did not want to exacerbate their pain in anyway. Andrew’s Mother contacted me recently to thank me for telling his story. She said that Andrew donated his organs and even in death he was continuing to do what he loved during his life, helping other people. I would ask you to share this article to honour Andrew’s memory and to ensure that other people understand the possible impact of mid ear infections.
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Ever just nodded, said “yes” or chuckled when you didn’t hear what someone said? Yeah, me too. Trying to understand what someone is saying is a big problem for those with hearing loss and the number one reason why people get a hearing aid.
Most people experience problems where there is background noise, e.g. in a pub, bar or restaurant – in these environments; the noise is masking the speaker’s voice. But quiet places can also be a real problem because people tend to talk at a volume that they feel comfortable with at that time. In other words, if someone is in a loud restaurant, they will be talking/shouting to be heard over the din, but if someone is in a library or quiet office, they will be taking quietly to match the environment.
A quiet environment can be as equally challenging to hear in as a loud place. A while back I worked with a fairly shy person who talked very softly and was extra quiet in the office as they did not want to be heard or bring attention to themselves – a nightmare for me as it was almost impossible to hear him most of the time. It was actually easier to hear him in the pub where there was a crowd talking around us.
People talk at a volume they feel comfortable with, and it is often very hard to get them to change that. I asked the quiet office guy to speak up many, many times but it did no good – I explained about my hearing loss but still no change. It got to the point where I would just have to say, “sorry mate, can’t hear a word you are saying” and they conversation stopped right there.
So what can you do to get people to make themselves heard?
Tell them you can’t hear
Tell them you can’t hear them right away – don’t leave it until five minutes into the conversation to mention it, tell them as soon as there is a problem. And I think the key thing it to tell them specifically about your hearing loss:
“Sorry, I’m really struggling to hear you as I have a fairly bad hearing loss.”
is much better than
“Say that again?”
If you just ask someone to speak up or to repeat they won’t realise you have a hearing loss but will probably just think you missed that sentence. Give them the full info, be open about it.
Offer an alternative or some kind of help, let them know what they can do to help you:
“Sorry, I can’t hear you, I have a severe hearing loss. Could you speak up?” “My hearing is really bad, and I can’t hear you, if you get my attention before speaking to me I will hear more.” “Can you write down the address? My hearing is awful, and I can’t understand what you are saying”
Some people will speak up and speak clearly, and the problem is solved, others will not as they have their comfort volume that they don’t want to change. This can be very frustrating, but I don’t think people are usually remaining quiet out of spite, maybe they are nervous to speak up, nervous of talking in the environment or have some other issue or reason to be quiet.
Remind people you have already told
Don’t assume that the person you told about your hearing loss last week will remember today, remind them if you need to, the chances are that dealing with hearing problems it not their day-to-day thing and they’ve been happily talking at their usual volume all week, you need to nudge them to speak up again.
Set your hearing aids up for the environment
Modern hearing aids usually come bundled with a smartphone App and quite a good set of customisation features, at the very least your hearing aid will have different programme settings for different environments. Use these different options to set up your hearing aid for where you are. You may find that you hear much better in the library by boosting higher pitch sounds a lot and reducing noise reduction, whereas in the pub/bar you would need a lot of noise reduction and probably a quieter volume setting. Experiment if you need to.
My hearing aids do a great job by themselves in noisy situations and are usually great for quiet places too but sometimes where I’m in a very quiet office, and people are trying to have private conversations I find that I need to boost the volume and the mid to higher pitched sounds to be able to hear comfortably.
Don’t be afraid to whip out your phone or reach behind your ear and make some adjustments whilst the person is speaking! “hang on, I’m just turning you up!” can be an ice-breaker to telling them about your hearing problem, many people are often surprised and impressed at how cool hearing aids and their Apps are these days and how many features they have.
Move closer
Maybe moving closer will help, but, as before, people will have a distance to stand at that they are comfortable with, if you move within an inch of their face they may not be too happy! Even without invading someone’s personal space you could still move if it’ll help: make sure you are facing the speaker directly, move away from any noise that is distracting and try and position yourself with your back to a wall or similar so that there is no noise behind you.
Don’t settle for What?
Try and not take the easy option and just nod when you don’t hear, keep reminding people about your hearing, keep asking them to speak up and repeat and keep tweaking your hearing aids until you get a sound you are comfortable with – it’s worth it in the long run.
Edinburgh Hearing Practice, an Independent hearing aid provider in Edinburgh that we have a longstanding association with, will be opening a new hearing aid centre in Auchterarder, Perthshire very soon. That’s not their only news though, both Katie and Martin, the owners of the business were recently awarded Highly Commended Awards in the Audiologist of The Year 2017 competition.
Audiologist of The Year 2017
The competition is an annual event held and organised by Rayovac. Patients with inspirational stories are encouraged to enter, describing how their hearing care professional has impacted their lives. Entries should detail how the audiologist has gone out of their way to offer excellent service. The Adjudicators are careful to pick the most inspiring accounts about outstanding professionals.
Highly Commended
Both Martin and Katie were entered by separate customers to the competition. On the UK final night they were informed that while it was very close, neither had won. However, the Adjudicators singled them both out with several other entries and awarded them the Highly Commended award.
Martin told us:
It is an honour to be recognised for that service and care by receiving the Highly Commended Award. Thanks to all who have made this possible. It is particularly satisfying to both of us to have been entered. That alone is a real validation that the service and care we offer is first class.
Changing The Hearing Aid Wearing Experience Forever
In case you are unsure of what a paradigm shift is, it is a moment in time where something changes forever. I believe that the launch of Telecare 3.0 is such a moment for the ongoing delivery of hearing healthcare. Let’s talk about the system and why I think it could change the experience of wearing hearing aids forever.
The Launch of Nx and Signia Telecare 3.0
In a recent article, I detailed the launch of the new Nx hearing aid platform from Signia. While there was much to talk about around the hearing aids and the new features, the one thing that caught my eye was the upgrade to the Telecare system from Signia.
Signia, who was initially the first to offer a remote fine-tuning service, has made the Telecare service a live service. They have enabled full live remote tuning with video support which is a pretty huge breakthrough.
The new service means that you can set-up a video call with your hearing professional and explain the issue you are having while you are in the situation you are having it in. The system is set up in order that your hearing professional can tweak your hearing aid’s settings live while you are talking to them. It means that both you and they can quickly assess if the setting changes are better. So for the first time ever, it’s possible to have your hearing care professional fine-tune your hearing aids while you are in the listening environments that matter to you.
The hearing care professional in the pocket.
Signia is billing the system as the hearing care professional in the pocket. This type of virtual home visit will be available for all patients with an iOS or Android device via the myHearing App. However, it will only be available with the new Nx hearing aid platform. Signia say that the new system will enable:
Instant advice and troubleshooting
Fewer follow-up appointments
Increased customer satisfaction
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What Does That Mean To The Experience?
As I said, I think it will change the hearing care experience forever. It will mean that hearing care professionals can be present in the moment when you are having problems. It will ensure that follow up visits can be undertaken virtually, at your own convenience.
It will also mean that much more support can be delivered during the early phase of wearing hearing aids, exactly when you need it. As I said elsewhere, it will be interesting to see how many providers offer and use the service. It will also be interesting to see how it is offered. Would you pay extra for the convenience?
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Dr. Scot Frink is the son of the founders and he pretty much grew up soaked in audiology. His Dad started Salem Audiology Clinic in 1982 and it was one of the first private practice audiology clinics in the United States. Scot obtained his Master’s Degree in audiology in 2004 but had been involved in hearing aid repair since 1990 and fitting hearing aids since 1995. He recently completed his Doctorate of Audiology in 2016.
A Host of Experience
Scot previously worked as a regional trainer for Phonak Hearing systems from 1999 – 2001 in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, before returning to private practice in 2002 where he became co-owner of Salem Audiology Clinic. Dr. Frink is particularly interested in single-sided hearing loss and the benefits of different hearing aid solutions for that problem.
He has presented numerous seminars on technology and practice development for state associations in his region, as well as consumer education seminars in his own community. He is passionate about assisting the hearing impaired, serving on numerous boards for consumer education and protection since 2002. He has become a well respected and well-known authority within the field of audiology.
Both he and his team are dedicated to helping people with hearing loss to get the very best out of their life. They say that their satisfaction comes from the joy their patients feel when they are hearing clearer, able to once again connect with friends, family, and the world around them.
I have known Scot Frink for some time and I have been continually impressed with his commitment to further study in an effort to better treat people with single-sided hearing loss. His commitment to testing hearing aids and their benefit with all of his customers has also impressed me. He, and his team, really do go the extra mile to ensure that their customers have the best experience possible.
We will be live from the latest Oticon launch event in Bristol tomorrow morning, so if you are interested to see what they have up their sleeves, keep watching this page. We will update it as the day goes on.
The event is being held in the beautiful Clevedon hall outside Bristol and is pretty well attended with Dispensers from the UK and Ireland.
New Oticon Connect Clip
They have just introduced the Oticon Connect Clip, it will allow a Bluetooth connection to almost any device, not just any phone. The device can be connected to any laptop or computer to allow easy audio streaming to the Opn. There is also a small Bluetooth dongle that can be used for outstanding audio streaming. Although, the Connect Clip can be used with just the standard Bluetooth connection on the computer. It will also act as a remote microphone.
Rechargeable MiniRITE to be introduced to the UK
The rechargeable version of the Opn MiniRITE will now be available in the UK, the system uses the ZPower concept which means plenty of power for streaming and easy change of batteries if you forget to charge them. The rechargeable option is a real crowd pleaser, many users love the idea. The Z Power system is pretty solid and a lot of the hearing aid brands have adopted it because of it’s versatility. The new battery door for the rechargeable option doesn’t add much bulk to the device and when closed it basically looks like a 2 or 3 mm flate plate at the bottom of the door.
News from ongoing studies
Alison from Oticon is introducing new data from ongoing studies with the Opn platform.
In essence, the studies showed that the ability of someone to cognitively focus on one speech signal over another becomes especially difficult with hearing loss. To do so means that a lot of cognitive effort and energy is used. The study used pupillometry which can measure cognitive effort to look at the difference with and without Opn.
The first study was to investigate the ability to hear speech in noise and to ascertain the effort needed. So they were measured on speech understanding and cognitive effort. Speech understanding figures with the Opn navigator jumped dramatically for noisy situations. One particularly interesting point was that in a -4 dB SNR (signal to Noise Ratio) situation, average restaurant maybe, was hugely improved. The words understood jumped from about 20% to 75%.
The cognitive function tests showed that cognitive effort was dramatically reduced across all sound situations. The one situation that is surprising is that there was even a reduction in cognitive effort in quiet situations. In essence, this study shows pretty good speech understanding and a lot less effort to get it. Which means that more cognitive effort can be used for something else like remembering stuff.
The second study concentrated on multiple speaker situations. The study assessed traditional directionality, narrow directionality and the Opn Sound Navigator. The test involved the subject speaking with three people facing them. Behind the subject was a noise source and arrayed around the group was speech babble sources. Opn Sound Navigator delivered the best in the study overall, but it depended on the position of the speaker.
If the person was to the front, both Opn and narrow directionality were similar in effect, the real difference was when the speakers were to either side. Opn delivered outstanding results for the understanding of those above the two other systems. A lot of the study data basically backed up both the experiences of Steve and myself. We both feel that we have a kind of different access to speech when we wear the Opn devices.
Apart from the Connect clip and the new study evidence, the rechargeables aren’t exactly brand new. They were released in the US a couple of months ago but this will be the first time that they are available in the UK.
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