Charles Limb is a surgeon who performs cochlear implantation, he is also a musician. In this 15-minuted TED talk he discusses how we hear and experience speech and music in very different ways, demonstrates how music sounds to a cochlear implant wearer and talks about other problems with CIs. Charles’ goal in his work is to bring the beauty back into sound for CI wearers, not just to give them functional speech recognition but to have CIs that are so perfect that people can enjoy the warmth, beauty and magic of music.

There have been two bits of hearing-related news regarding the mighty Apple recently: they’ve patented a hearing aid social network and they’re working with big-name hearing aid manufacturers to create “Made For iPhone” hearing aids.

I’m really hoping that Apple is planning to make a big splash in the hearing industry, it’ll be a huge sea-change for us hearing aid wearers if they do. I doubt it’ll result in cheaper hearing aids, Apple always sell premium products at premium prices and it won’t result in a massive leap in hearing aid performance (manufacturers/scientists are already doing an awesome job).

If Apple do get serious about the hearing industry then I think two things will change:

Hearing aids will instantly become cool

People don’t just like Apple’s products, they love them. Any time Apple make an announcement about a new product or upgrade the Internet lights up with the news, it is huge, everyone wants to know what they are making next. If Apple were to produce their own aid or at least heavily promote their collaboration with big-name aid manufacturers then hearing aids will go mainstream overnight, they will become cool and the stigma around wearing them will disappear in a flash.

There will be massive innovation in technology

Apple are renowned for innovating, i they turn the hearing aid industry on its head in the same way as they did to the music industry with the iPod and the download Store, and personal computing with the iPad then we are going to see massive changes in the way we use our aids.

I am ridiculously excited about the Apple/hearing news, if Apple are serious about the industry then we are in for a real treat.

This video shows how the BBC go about adding subtitles to their pre-recorded and live shows.

I found this video on I look so I can hear.

This is a great video. It features 7 year-old Samantha showing a book that she made, the book is about her hearing aid and FM system and shows how she uses it in her class at school. I think this would make a great little guide for other kids (and adults too) who aren’t sure what a FM system can do for them. Also, love Samantha’s confidence and attitude towards her hearing aids, wish I was that comfortable with my aids when I was at school.

Reward your Audiologist!

Europe’s top award for hearing professionals is back. Audiologist of the Year 2011 is a chance for hearing patients to celebrate the skills of professionals across the continent.

Now in its fourth year, the respected award encourages nominations for professionals who excel in their duties and is a chance for patients to shout about their own audiologist.

Reward and recognise your audiologist by telling us just what makes them so special. We don’t just want to know they are good. We want to know why they are the best.

Last year we received many heart warming and inspirational tales so make sure you tell us how your audiologist excels. Whatever your personal story, we want to hear how your hearing care professional goes above and beyond the call of duty to help.

You both win!

By voting, you don’t just give your audiologist the chance to win, you will also be in the running to pick up a prize. The winning nominee receives a £250 cash prize and electrical goods to the value of £200. You also get to share in the success, kudos and recognition of the winner.

Ask your audiologist for further details or look out for information in their practice.

The official site for the competition is http://www.audiologistoftheyear.eu/

This is a press release from ReSound:

ReSound, the technology leader in hearing aid solutions, has released extensions to its wireless hearing aid, Alera™. Originally released in August 2010 and the winner of a 2011 CES Innovations Design & Engineering Award, Alera is now available with configurable BTE and Remote Microphone Technology custom enhancements.

“Every few years, technology takes a significant leap forward,” said Laurel A. Christensen, Chief Audiology Officer, ReSound. “Alera gives you new surround sound technology that provides crisper, cleaner, more natural sound and improves hearing in even the most difficult listening environments.”

The latest updates to Alera, in the Remote Microphone model, take advantage of natural directivity afforded by the pinna and external ear. By allowing the natural ear to collect, direct and amplify sound waves, Alera provides better capabilities for speech recognition than any other hearing aid product.

With the Remote Microphone located in the concha, sound moves naturally through the folds and whorls of the ear, meaning that the listener can better locate sounds that come from behind and more easily identify the source of the sound. The Remote Microphone also provides significant wind noise reduction benefits.

The configurable Alera BTE provides both standard and power options for patients. This revolutionary behind-the-ear design combines a standard power and a high power hearing instrument in one product. It is the only Standard BTE that can easily be converted to a very small high power instrument, with one housing for both. The BTE provides patients with an adaptable hearing instrument solution should their hearing change over time.

“The configurable BTE has the highest directivity index of any other hearing aid,” said Christensen. “Optimal directional processing has been shown as the single most important way to provide better hearing ability in background noise.”

With this addition of Alera Remote Microphone and the Alera BTE to the ReSound Alera™ line, there is an Alera solution that will fit 90% of patients – addressing mild to profound hearing losses. Both new models also feature wireless connections to TV, stereo and telephones for convenience and optimal listening experience.

To learn more about ReSound Alera™, visit www.gnresound.com/alera.

The weekly round-up is a little collection of blog posts, articles, news, etc that I’ve enjoyed or found useful in the last week. If you’ve read something good or if you’ve got a website/article/press release/whatever that you’d like to see featured in coming weeks then please get in touch.

• Jamie at About.com on the Soundbite hearing aid getting FDA approval.
• Dr Jeanne Ward on the history of hearing aids.
• What would you do? Hidden cameras reveal bystanders’ reactions when discrimination is staged

A HEARING aid dispenser has been banned for ignoring a patient’s ear infection until it was so smelly the pensioner wouldn’t leave the house.

Specsavers worker Pauline Lutwyche’s advice to the elderly woman was to put Vaseline in her ear. The Health Professions Council (HPC) was told doctors later diagnosed a perforated ear drum.

Misconduct charges were found against the 62-year-old of Warren House Walk, Sutton Coldfield, who was banned from work for a year and has now retired.

Chris Whalley, representing the HPC, described how the patient’s ear infection worsened after forking out £1,395 on new hearing aids from Lutwyche.

Mr Whalley said the woman was in a lot of pain and suffered a stinging sensation – her skin cracked and bled.

Her ear began to smell so strange that she grew her hair longer and stopped going out of the house in case other people smelt it, said Mr Whalley.

The HPC panel ruled that Lutwyche, who worked in Nuneaton, had failed to complete a hearing test, prescribed an inappropriate hearing aid and failed to refer the patient to her GP despite the pensioner losing hearing in one ear in 2008.

Originally seen on birminghammail

I’m becoming more and more convinced that my ability to hear and understand what people are saying is strongly linked to how much sleep I got the night before.

I’ve written before that I don’t hear the same things every day. Yesterday I was very tired and it was a bad hearing day, I couldn’t really understand anyone in the office, I was constantly straining to hear and often asking people to repeat themselves. Last night I went to bed an hour earlier than I normally do and today I am far more awake and alert – I’m also asking people to repeat themselves a lot less.

This ties in with the theory that we hear with our ears but listen with our brain. It is not that anything is louder today than it was yesterday it’s just that voices are sounding clearer and easier to comprehend – my ears are still picking up the same sounds, hearing aids amplifying the same voices but my wide-awake brain is processing them better.

Anyone know if there has been any published research into sleep deprivation and hearing ability? I’m looking for some science to back up my theory!

Cochlear Ltd., the world’s largest maker of bionic ears, on Tuesday reported a 16% rise in first-half profit as it expanded in emerging markets and people in developed countries with only one implant opted for a second to improve efficacy.

Net profit for the six months to Dec. 31 of 87.2 million Australian dollars ($88.6 million) was up from A$75.2 million in the previous corresponding period and beat the A$84.2 million average of four analysts’ forecasts compiled by Dow Jones …

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