Although Jim McGinn of Wheaton, Ill, is completely deaf in his right ear, he still can hear from that side.

A sound processor McGinn wears just behind his right ear converts sound waves into tiny vibrations that move through his skull. The vibrations are detected by his good left ear, so it sounds to McGinn like he can hear from both sides.

A Loyola University Health System study has found that this system of conducting sound through skull bone is a big boost to people who are deaf in one ear and can’t be helped by hearing aids or cochlear implants.

Sixty Loyola patients were asked to compare their hearing before and after getting the Baha system.Their ability to hear in a quiet environment improved by 28%, the trouble they had with background noise decreased by 33%, and the difficulties they experienced with reverberating sounds in such settings as churches and lecture halls was reduced by 29%. The only downside: there was a 7% increase in the annoyance caused by loud sounds such as fire truck sirens.

“People are hearing much better,” said V Suzanne Jeter, an audiologist at Loyola Oakbrook Terrace Medical Center. Jeter presented the study at the 10th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and Other Implantable Auditory Technologies in San Diego.

Each year, more than 60,000 people in the United States become deaf in one ear due to such causes as chronic ear infections, congenital conditions, inner ear disease, injuries or tumors.

McGinn, a retired accountant, lost hearing on his right side due to an acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor in the inner ear. At the dinner table, he struggled to hear what people to his right were saying. And when driving his car, he couldn’t hear the passenger.

A Loyola surgeon implanted a small titanium post in McGinn’s skull, behind his right ear. The sound processor clips on to this post. The battery-operated processor is roughly the size of an adult thumb, from the tip to the first knuckle. A microphone picks up sound waves, and a computer chip converts the sound waves into electrical signals that vibrate the skull. These tiny vibrations, which McGinn can’t feel, travel to the inner portion of his left ear, where they are detected as sound. McGinn removes the sound processor when showering or sleeping.

Since 2004, Loyola doctors have put the device in 130 patients. The total cost per patient ranges from $10,000 to $15,000. Medicare and most insurance plans cover it, Jeter said.

Jeter’s study is the largest of its kind on the device. Jeter said she receives no funding from Cochlear Americas, which makes the device.

SOURCE: Loyola University Health System.

Original article on The Hearing Review.

The owner of two Connecticut hearing aid centers has pleaded guilty to a federal health care fraud charge.

Walter Rochefort, 51, of Avon, owns one hearing center in Bristol and another in Plainville.

According to court records, between September 2001 and August 2006, Rochefort submitted false claims for hearing aids and hearing-aid services.

Rochefort also has more than 50 state criminal charges pending in New Britain Superior Court. Last December he and an office manager were arrested by state officials for alleged fraud.

Rochefort is accused of billing the state’s Medicaid program for hearing aids for dead people, creating fictitious invoices for services never rendered, and attempting to avoid a government audit by staging and reporting a fake burglary.

Rochefort is to be sentenced on the federal fraud charge on Dec. 5 in U.S. District Court.

From Newsday.

Specsavers are selling boxes of 60 hearing aid batteries ( 10 x 6 packs ) for 18 pounds.

The batteries are branded as Specsaver’s own but they are actually Rayovac – so you can rely on them being of good quality.

Americans are coming together in a campaign to encourage Congress to pass a federal tax credit to help people buy hearing aids.

To help organize the effort to have Congress pass the legislation, the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) has launched a new Web site (www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org). An excellent resource and tool for those concerned about the needs of people with hearing loss, it reaches out to adults 55+ and to parents of children with hearing loss and helps to ensure that their voices are heard in Washington.

The Web site underscores BHI’s vital role as the “Advocates for America’s Ears.” “Nearly two out of three adults with hearing loss cite financial constraints as a core reason that they do not wear hearing aids,” said BHI Executive Director Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D. “With the hearing aid assistance tax credit, boomers, seniors, and parents of children would have the financial boost they need to get their hearing loss treated. These people are the reason that Congress needs to step up and take action. The legislation will play a critical role in attaining one of the goals of the federal government’s ‘Healthy People 2010,’ which is to increase the number of people with hearing loss who use hearing aids. The tax credit is the most cost-effective means to achieve this critical goal.” To learn more, visit www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org.

Up to $500 per hearing aid, the tax credit will help boomers, seniors, and parents of children with hearing loss buy the hearing aids they need. About 40 percent of the people who need hearing aids but do not own them, according to a recent Better Hearing Institute national study, are more likely to purchase them in the near future if the tax credit were available.

With hearing loss affecting more than 30 million Americans, or one in every 10 people, you most likely know someone with a hearing loss. And in today’s difficult economy, many of these people are finding the costs of hearing aids beyond their reach. While hearing aids could benefit 95 percent of people with a hearing loss, not everyone can afford the average $1,800 cost for each hearing aid fitting, treatment and follow-up. And most medical insurance plans do not reimburse their members for purchases of hearing aids.

To learn more, visit www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org.

A few people have responded to my article about second hand hearing aids – there’s been a few offering aids either cheaply or for free and a few people asking for them.

Would you consider using this site to buy or sell a hearing aid?

If enough people are interested and you feel that this site is a trusted place to buy and sell hearing aids then I’ll try and set something up. A deaf Craigslist or something like that. I’m not looking to make any money from this – I strongly believe many people would benefit from a second hand market and I would love to see it happen.

Please let me know what you think. Good or bad idea? Legal minefield? Would you, or do you know someone, who would use it?

Related posts:

1. A better way to trial hearing aids

The over-55s could soon be screened for hearing problems under new proposals.

An NHS trial across Britain of 35,000 people aged 55-74 found routine hearing tests offered “substantial benefits” and were good value for money.

A national programme could be in place within five years, said government adviser Professor Adrian Davis, who led the research.

More than one in 10 people in the trial were found to have a moderate to severe hearing problem.

A simple 30-second test using a device which produced tones at different sound levels was enough to identify those who need a hearing aid, the trial carried out in England, Scotland and Wales found.

The Department of Health said it would look at the evidence.

Emma Harrison, from the deaf and hard of hearing charity RNID, said the average age for a first hearing test is over 70 – but 60% of people already have a significant hearing loss by that age.

Widespread screening could improve the quality of life for millions of people over 55 whose hearing loss might otherwise go undetected for years, as it is easier to adjust to the benefits of a digital hearing aid if you have only recently started to lose your hearing.”

From the BBC.

A Bilateral hearing loss is where a person has a hearing impairment in both ears. When someone has a loss in only one ear, it is known as a Unilateral hearing loss. 

It is recommended that people with a Bilateral loss wear a hearing aid in both ears. Wearing only one aid will not give the quality of sound needed and can lead to further hearing problems in the future.

Otologics has announced the introduction of Carina, a fully implantable hearing system that picks up sounds using a microphone implanted under the skin that the company says  transmits amplified signals directly into the middle ear.

Sounds are amplified according to the wearer’s needs and converted into an electrical signal. The signal is sent down the lead and into the transducer. The tip of the Carina transducer is in contact with the middle ear anatomy. The transducer translates the electrical signals into a mechanical motion that directly stimulates the middle ear and enables the wearer to perceive sound.

The implant component consists of three primary parts: a capsule that houses the electronics, a microphone system, and the middle ear transducer. It consists of four primary components: the implant, the programming system, the charger, and the remote control.

The  implant is programmed according to the wearer’s specific amplification needs. The programming system consists of: fitting and diagnostic software, a radio-frequency coil that communicates to the implant, and a NOAH link wireless programming interface. Using OtoFit fitting software, the NOAHlink interface receives signals from the computer through the wireless connection and sends the signals to the implant via the radio frequency coil. Programming the implant is done in the same manner as programming traditional digital hearing aids. The system provides for extensive testing and diagnostics of the device.

The charger system consists of the base station, charging coil, and charger body. To charge the implant, the wearer removes the charger body from the base station and places the coil on the skin, over the implant site. The charger body contains a clip that allows the charger to be attached to the belt of the wearer during charging. Typically, charging time will be about 1 hour and must be performed daily. While recharging the implant, the wearer can perform normal daily activities, turn the implant on and off, and adjust the volume.

A remote is used for controlling the device when it is not being charged. The remote allows the wearer to turn the implant on and off, and to adjust the volume. To use the remote control, the wearer holds the remote against the skin over the implant. The device can be used in all normal environments and activities: while showering, swimming, and playing sports.

They have a video (without captions) showing how it works here. And a FAQ section here.

Hearing aids come in lots of cool colours and shapes these days but I’ve never seen a pure white one.

White hearing aids would look quite a bit like iPod earphones and would maybe help to give them that cool factor? Everywhere you look these days someone has a pair of white buds in so it’s not unusual to see people with things in their ears.

Possibly manufacturers are worried about a lawsuit from Apple?

If someone did make a white hearing aid then how about taking it a step further and doing some kind of joint branding with Apple? That would be cool, especially if you could stream music from your iPod wirelessly straight to your aids.

Hearing rarely returns once a human loses the ability to hear.

However, when lower vertebrates such as birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians lose the ability to hear, they are able to regenerate hearing cells, called hair cells, and regain their hearing.

The cells are called hair cells because they are tiny, hair-like projections found in the inner ear which enable humans and animals to hear. Scientists don’t know why certain animals can regenerate hearing cells while higher vertebrates such as humans cannot. For more than a year, U neurobiologist Tatjana Piotrowski has been researching why certain creatures have lost the ability to regenerate these cells.

“The main focus is to understand what genes you need for hair cell regeneration,” Piotrowski said. “Once we understand that, we can go back and see why mammals lost the ability to regenerate hair cells.”