What My Hearing Aid Taught Me...

 Cool techy article out from the Atlantic on hearing aids as "wearables." ...

What My Hearing Aid Taught Me About the Future of Wearables

By Ryan Budish

I was into wearables before there was Google Glass, Apple Watch, or the Moto 360. I was into them before cheap devices told you how much you had walked, run, slept, or eaten. In fact, I’ve been into them for so long now that I’m not quite sure when it started. I think it was around when I was 5, in 1986.The wearables I started wearing as a kid and still wear today are hearing aids—or, as my audiologist euphemistically calls them, "amplification devices." Although many will never need hearing aids, today’s tech firms are making it likely that, someday soon, tiny computers will become extensions of your body, just as they have been part of mine for nearly 30 years. Thanks to that experience, I feel as though I’ve had a sneak peek into our wearable future—and I can make some predictions about what it will look like.To be fair, hearing aids are quite different from the current array of consumer wearables. Hearing aids are medical devices designed to make up for a physical impairment. By contrast, consumer wearables like the Apple Watch are luxury items that let us read text messages and measure our fitness. This distinction has legal significance: The FDA tightly regulates any device that tries to either diagnose or treat a medical condition. That means certain features are unlikely to ever exist in a consumer wearable, unless Tim Cook wants to sell watches that require a doctor’s prescription.But despite initial appearances, both medical and consumer wearables share a few important goals.Broadly speaking, both types of wearables aim to fill gaps in human capacity. As Sara Hendren aptly put it, "all technology is assistive technology." While medical devices fill gaps created by disability or illness, consumer wearables fill gaps created by being human. For example, evolution hasn’t given us brain wi-fi, yet.Both kinds of wearables also need to justify being attached to our bodies. This seems pretty obvious for hearing aids, but it is just as true for consumer devices. A wearable that serves as only a slightly more convenient screen for your phone is hardly reason for the average person to spend hundreds of dollars. Instead, wearables need to offer a feature that works best when in close contact with your body, like measuring heart rate or offering haptic feedback.Also, both types of wearables need to embed themselves seamlessly into our experiences. If a wearable obstructs your experience of the real world, or is a distraction, it’s likely to end up on a shelf instead of your wrist. That’s not to say that they don’t take getting used to—even after a lifetime of wearing hearing aids, it still takes me several weeks to adjust to a new pair. But after that period, a well-made wearable should seem like a seamless extension of our bodies.In my current role at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, I’m lucky to be able to study something I care deeply about: technology’s impact on our lives. I’m sure my interest partly arises from how I’ve depended on technology for as long as I can remember. I don’t know with certainty how consumer wearables will develop, but what I do know is how much hearing aids have changed over the last 30 years. And I have some insight into what sensory-enhancing wearables—like hearing aids, and unlike data-recording wearables like pedometers—could someday become. Over the next few years, I expect that we will see four trends, rich in both opportunity and peril, shape the evolution of these wearables from toys into tools.* * *

1. Wearables will create substitute realities.

A man adjusts his hearing aid using his iPhone. (Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters)

In order to justify being part of our bodies, wearables need to offer something beyond an additional screen or input device. This means that sensory-enhancing wearables will need to mediate between reality and our experiences, altering our perception of the world around us.For hearing aids, that role is enhancing sound, replacing the too-soft sounds of the real world with louder, more comprehensible ones. But modern hearing aids don’t simply make everything louder; instead, they provide a substitute soundscape tailored to my needs and my environment. When I go into a loud restaurant, the devices can identify the clatter of glasses and the din of conversation, and tune out those sounds, while tuning into the sound of a nearby voice. The result is an audio experience that is substantially different from the objective reality; the device replaces a reality that would be challenging with a substitute that is easier to understand and utilize.Just as hearing aids replace one soundscape with another, future wearables will be able to alter the way we experience the world. Microsoft’s recently announced HoloLens, for example, will be able to help a homeowner perform their own electrical repairs by projecting instructions, visuals aids, and even expert advice right onto an exposed electrical outlet. In that way, future wearables will replace traditional sensory or communications experiences with ones that are richer and deeper.

2. Wearables will be ruled by algorithms.

The process of substituting realities means that our perceptions of the world around us will become increasingly mediated by algorithms that we do not control or even understand. The world I hear through my hearing aids is a world interpreted and translated through millions of calculations a second. Algorithms determine whether a sound in the distance is the whir of a refrigerator compressor or the whisper of your friend. If it works correctly, I may not hear the compressor at all. But if it works incorrectly, I may not hear my friend at all.Medical devices are already increasingly ruled by complex algorithms. Just as hearing aid algorithms determine what sounds are amplified and what sounds are muted, pacemaker algorithms determine when to deliver an electronic pulse to the heart. And bionic pancreas algorithms determine when to deliver additional insulin. In these examples, the algorithms don’t just shape the perception of reality—they make life-saving decisions.

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The influence of algorithms is nothing new. They shape a lot of what we perceive online. When used in wearable devices that shape our perceptions of the world around us, algorithms can have a profound impact. For example, a device that reads facial expressions to assess moods could affect how you approach your boss, or whether you think your significant other is mad at you. Or a device that hides stressful visual stimuli could remove an annoying ad on your subway commute, but it could just as easily remove a helpful PSA. As wearables do more to reshape our realities, the way we perceive the world will become increasingly shaped by the algorithms that govern those devices.Not only does that make our perceptions increasingly dependent on algorithms, but it makes our perceptions increasingly dependent on the people who make those algorithms. My hearing aids use increasingly complex algorithms. Although a trained audiologist can adjust the devices to my unique needs, as the algorithms become more complex, the opportunities for customization become paradoxically more limited. My hearing aids, for example, have 20 independently adjustable audio channels, and while my audiologist can adjust each one, he usually adjusts them in groups of 6 or 7 channels at a time. If consumer wearables don’t offer significant opportunities for customization (or provide access to an expert who can help customize the experience), it will leave users even more dependent on the default algorithms.

3. Wearables will fail invisibly.

Stephen Lam/Reuters

The more we rely on wearables to interpret the outside world for us, it will become critical for devices to communicate failures. And the more seamless the experience of wearables becomes, the harder it is to know when it isn’t working as intended.In some cases failures are obvious: If my hearing aid doesn’t turn on, then I can take steps to address the issue. However, in other cases failure is less obvious. At a meeting a few months ago, I was sitting near a loud air conditioner that made it difficult to hear the people across the table. I knew my hearing aids should reduce the background noise, but because the aids produce sounds using complex, personalized algorithms, I had no way of knowing whether the hearing aids were malfunctioning or whether the air conditioner was just too loud. The more personalized the device and the subjective experience it creates, the harder it is to know when things are going wrong.Future wearables will likely do incredibly complex things, and when the results are unexpected we may trust that the device knows best, privy to secret knowledge or power. But sometimes it will just be wrong. Identifying whether what we see or hear is the proper functioning, the outcome of an inscrutable algorithm, or simply a failure, may be quite challenging.

4. Wearables will record everything.

If failures are hard to detect, the solution is just as challenging: pervasive recording. The more the behavior of wearables is dependent on context and inputs, the more that troubleshooting requires data collection. After a plane crash, one of the first things that investigators look for is the "black box" flight data recorder, because it is often impossible to reconstruct what went wrong without also knowing things like the airspeed, the throttle, and the position of the flaps and gears. Troubleshooting wearables presents many of the same challenges.When I go to my audiologist, I can tell him that I didn’t think my hearing aids worked correctly at a noisy restaurant a few weeks ago. But without a record of the the noisy environment and the sound I heard from the aids, he can only guess about what happened. For the user, this trial-and-error form of troubleshooting can be frustrating, especially when it involves multiple trips to the audiologist for readjustments.Up until recently, the idea of storing gigabytes of data on a hearing aid would have been absurd. The devices didn’t have sufficient storage and persistent recording would sap the already-limited battery life. But the newest hearing aids now record certain types of data for diagnostic purposes. If I raise or lower the volume on the aids, the device records information about the new setting and lets my audiologist download the data at a later date. As data storage becomes cheaper and power efficiency improves, the collection of additional data could help the device be better fitted to my needs and enable better troubleshooting.The same drive toward additional data collection will happen in consumer wearables as well. How do you know if your mood-identifying glasses are working correctly? That requires knowing both the input (the image of someone’s face or their voice) and the output (the identified mood). It would be easy to store still images of faces for diagnostic purposes and troubleshooting, and just as easy to upload them to the device manufacturer to help improve their algorithms.In some cases, storage may not even be necessary as consumer wearables might transmit everything in real time to centralized servers for processing. With limited processing power and battery life, wearables might offload computationally intensive processing to centralized computers. This is what Apple does (or used to do) with Siri, where at least some analysis of your voice request is processed on remote Nuance servers. Although this enables more complex analysis than small wearables might be able to do otherwise, it also creates greater privacy concerns as more data is transmitted to, stored by, and kept by others.* * *When I got my first pair of hearing aids, they were large and analog, and my audiologist made adjustments to the sound outputs using a small screwdriver. My hearing aids today are so small they can fit invisibly in the ear canal, and my audiologist adjusts them wirelessly on computer. The pace of progress has been astounding, and I have no doubt that progress has changed my life for the better in significant and concrete ways.The price of progress, however, is complexity. Older hearing aids had limited customization, altered sounds in very basic and predictable ways, failed in obvious ways, and didn’t collect data. Now things are different. The endless customization available in new aids creates more opportunities for mistakes. The complex algorithms make it harder to diagnose problems. The total substitution of experience stifles attempts to identify errors. And increasing data collection means hearing aids may soon have to grapple with thorny issues of privacy.The same holds true for consumer wearables. If they follow the path of hearing aids, future generations of wearables will be more immersive, more complex, more difficult to troubleshoot, and more pervasive in their data collection. As long as we see wearables as toys or luxury goods, it is easy to write off these challenges. But there is a real opportunity for wearables to improve the lives of many in substantial ways just as they’ve improved my life since 1986. To realize those improvements, we cannot ignore these trends, and we must take wearables seriously as the indispensable tools they will soon become.This article available online at:http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/02/what-my-hearing-aid-taught-me-about-the-future-of-wearables/385145/

Find Tinnitus Relief in 2015

Every year more than 50 million Americans experience persistent ringing in the ears both day and night. This condition, called tinnitus, is one of the most common hearing loss-related impairments that historically had very few solutions. However, over the past two years, Audibel has been helping numerous patients finally find the relief that they have been looking for with the A3 tinnitus device.Up until the introduction of the Audibel A3 tinnitus device, the best clinical treatment suggestions had been a mixture of preventative actions and therapeutic solutions. Traditional methods for dealing with tinnitus have been more focused on coping with the condition instead of managing the condition, similar to what is described in this Harvard Health Publications article. However, the A3 tinnitus device helps to cover up the tinnitus by creating a sound stimulus to soothe the irritating ringing.While the ability to diminish the tinnitus side effects with the A3device varies by individual, the large majority of wearers have reported success! To learn more about tinnitus options and to try an in-office trial of the Audible A3 tinnitus device, simply visit our Contact Us page or call our office during regular business hours. We want to help you find your tinnitus relief! 

Talking About Hearing Loss is A Matter of Timing

Talking to a loved one about their hearing loss is a difficult thing to do. Each holiday season, millions of American struggle with hearing loss at social gatherings around Thanksgiving, religious holidays and New Year's Eve. For some there is embarrassment and frustration. For others their family and friends are more burdened by the challenge of communicating to their loved one with hearing loss. Since awareness for hearing difficulties tends to reach its height this time of year, we want to offer suggestions for knowing when it is best to speak to a loved one about addressing hearing loss.Accepting change is often said to be one of the hardest things to do. In fact, it has been found that there are many stages in the process such as anger, denial and, ultimately, acceptance. Far too often those with hearing loss are pushed too hard into making a hearing aid technology purchase at the early stages of this process. Many individuals will return the product and subsequently wait several more years until taking the needed actions. Just like changing any habit or situation for the better, it takes the proper mental commitment from the impacted party for successful outcomes. For a concerned loved one it is important to employ caring and patience in your sentiment when speaking to a loved one about their hearing loss. Patience is extremely important as this individual should be shown the respect to make the decision, when they are ready.By taking this suggested approach, the best possible outcomes will be achieved for all parties involved in that the loved one will be committed to improving their hearing and getting the most out of their investment. If you would like additional assistance in crafting your approach for speaking to a loved one about their hearing loss, simply reach out to our office by phone or submitting your information on our Contact Us page. Also, when that person is ready to take the first step, we offer complimentary hearing consultation appointments to help determine the best course of action for gaining better hearing.

Better Hearing Can Help Overall Health

Every New Year brings many new resolutions. Most often we aim to have better dietary habits, exercise more often or get adequate rest every night. Rarely does anyone consider taking better care of his or her hearing health! However, senses, especially hearing, play a vital role in overall health and wellness. Here are several reasons why having your hearing checked annually is an opportunity to be healthier now and in the future.Most people make a goal to regularly visit their dentist, eye specialist and physician for annual check-ups.  So why is having an annual hearing screening so commonly neglected? The biggest reason might be that symptoms from a toothache, high blood pressure or poor vision are much more noticeable than symptoms of hearing loss. Those symptoms are often more subdued over time, even though hearing is a crucial part of our quality of life.Numerous studies have shown a direct correlation between the likelihood of getting dementia and people who have untreated hearing loss.  However, a Johns Hopkins University study showed that a majority of people who treated their hearing loss with hearing aid technology were able to ward off dementia symptoms for several years. Additionally, hearing loss has been linked to heart health as the inner ear is a sensitive to blood flow and can indicate abnormalities in heart function.A simple, yearly hearing screening, which we offer at no cost, can go a long way to prevent possible health complications down the road. To get your annual hearing screening scheduled for yourself or a loved one, simply click here <contact us> and call our office during regular business hours. 

Modern Hearing Aids are like a Computer for Your Ears

Often we jokingly say, “These aren’t your grandpa’s hearing aids,” but nothing could be truer. Today’s hearing aid technology is truly a marvel in sophistication and design. Digital hearing aids encompass much more than a simple microphone and receiver. In fact, a microchip circuit board allows a wide range of features, programs and settings to function simultaneously and tailor to the individual’s unique hearing needs. In this blog we will explore what makes up a hearing aid and its many capabilities.Don’t let size fool you! Whether a larger on-the-ear device or a miniature in-the-canal device, all of today’s hearing aids are packaged with several complex components to produce the most comfortable sound amplification possible. There are five main parts to hearing aid technology. The microphone is the primary component that picks up sounds and determines the environmental settings. From there, the sound is transmitted to the circuit board for processing. This component is essentially the ‘brains’ of the hearing aid, just like the processor in a computer or mobile device.  Once the sound is processed, it is emitted to the wearer via the receiver; amplifying the sound based on the listener’s unique hearing loss needs.The antenna is an increasingly important component. As hearing aid technology continues to sync with media devices and smartphones for audio streaming capabilities, the hearing aid antenna is the primary component that picks up those streaming signals. Lastly, the battery supplies the energy needed to continuously power all of these parts for optimal performance.As you can see, today’s hearing aids are truly ‘computers for your ears.’ We encourage anyone to participate in our hearing aid trial programs, whether you’re considering using hearing aid technology for the first time or upgrading an older pair of devices. Simply submit your information on our Contact Us page or call our office during business hours. We look forward to showing you more about this sophisticated technology! 

Chicagoland Audible's 5 Steps to Better Hearing

Having a hearing loss is not something that most people get excited about. However, with the right attitude and approach, it can actually be a very manageable condition to care for. In my years of caring for those with hearing loss, I have seen time and time again peoplemake remarkable improvements by simply dedicating themselves to getting the most out of wearing a hearing aid. With hopes of similar outcomes in the future I am sharing 5 simple steps to better hearing for you or a loved one to use.1. Admit that your hearing is not what it may used to be. Understanding your hearing has changed is difficult at first, but the sooner one begins to seek a solution the more likely they are to maintain critical speech comprehension abilities and avoid unnecessary struggles.2. Keep an open mind and positive attitude while seeking help. Like we have all been told from a young age, attitude is everything. The same applies to having success in treating your hearing loss. Since everyone's hearing loss is unique, there are a lot of options available to consider. We strive to present those solutions that are best for you.3. Learn about your hearing problem. Get educated on what may have caused your hearing loss and what the best solutions are for treatment and extended care. We will make sure every patient is aware of the factors and given the resources needed to be successful.4. Set realistic expectations for hearing aids. As was mentioned in step 1, expectations for restoring perfect hearing are not realistic. Today’s hearing aid technology has produced tremendous hearing benefits for wearers. Your focus should be on improving your hearing abilities with hearing aids at a slow, gradual pace as you adapt to wearing a hearing aid.5. Patience, practice and time are critical to success. As with anything good, it comes from hard work and practice. Improved hearing in various situations is no different. At first, regaining comprehension abilities for sounds that have not been heard in years may be difficult. However, the reward will be yours to eventually hear simple sounds that mayhave been lost, even perhaps the songs of birds on a nice day.We are aware that an investment of money and time into hearing aids is not alwayspreferred. Yet, we are confident that with the right attitude the benefits of better hearing will justify those investments on a daily basis for you. We aim to make the process of gaining satisfaction with improved hearing as simple as possible. To start your hearing journey or help a loved one get the care they need, contact us today - visit our Contact Us page now.

We Have an App for That!

It appears as if every business has an app to support the customer shopping experience, but not many offer apps to help you after a product is purchased. We presently offer several apps aimed at helping you understand hearing loss and ensuring you get the most out of your hearing aids. Read on to learn about these apps provided by our manufacturing partner, Audibel, and the features they offer.Several of our hearing apps are used at specific milestones in your journey to better hearing. One such app is called SoundCheck. It offers a free hearing screener to test you or a loved for any symptoms of hearing loss. For new hearing aid wearers, Hear Coach offers auditory rehab games to help you re-learn how to perceive sound and understand speech. For current hearing aid wearers, we offer many user-friendly apps such as the T2 Remote app. It enables your smartphone to function as a wireless remote for adjusting your hearing aids. Another smartphone app, the TruLink™ Hearing Control app, connects to our Made for iPhone® hearing devices to offer numerous personalized options, including remembering your favorite locations and automatically changing settings to accommodate each.As you can begin to see, there are many apps to choose from and more are on the way! With these apps, more individuals can test for symptoms of hearing loss and enjoy the added benefits as current hearing aid wearers. To start your hearing journey or learn more about which iPad® and smartphone apps we offer, simply contact us! 

Becoming Master Artists of Better Hearing

Many times when people ask why someone wants to become a hearing care specialist, they say a loved one was given the gift of being able to hear again and they want to share that with others. Yet rarely does anyone ask what it takes to become a practicing hearing specialist. Let’s take a look at the requisites needed to receive certification for dispensing and fitting hearing aids.While every state has slightly different requirements for its hearing instrument specialist certification, there are still many common fundamentals for all specialists-in-training.  Just like other specialized professions, there is a governing board called the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences. It requires examinations as well as experience working with a current, certified hearing instrument specialist.The exam requires extensive time studying and preparing for questions on varying topics such as assessing patient needs, analyzing test results, fitting hearing aids, counseling practices and much more. Additionally, a letter of recommendation from a current employer confirming at least 15 months of supervised hearing aid dispensing is a mandatory requirement to even take the exam.  Once certified, continuing education is required to maintain our license and stay at the cutting edge of hearing technology and patient care.We are very serious about the level of care given to our patients and hearing aid technology that assists your hearing difficulties. Our goal has always been, since we started down the path to a certified hearing specialist, to help you or a loved one with hearing needs. If you have hearing-related questions, reach out to us using our Contact Us page or call the office during business hours.

How to Buy the Right Hearing Aid

When a hearing aid is recommended, the hearing healthcare professional tries to offer the best option for that particular patient’s unique listening needs. As part of that decision, consider a few important factors such as lifestyle hearing needs, technology features and cost. In this blog we discuss each factor to help anyone who is considering purchasing a new hearing aid.The first consideration is how hearing needs interact with a lifestyle. For people who are active in the community or workforce, managing background noise is an important feature to consider. New hearing aid technology offers many levels of this sophisticated feature to help speech clarity in noisy settings. This allows for more comfortable listening experiences in social venues such as loud restaurants, meeting rooms or gatherings.Also consider the overall sophistication of the technology. Not only does hearing aid technology help manage background noise, but it also helps with compatibility with media devices and with telephone conversations. For example, the new Audibel A3i™ hearing aids are Made for iPhone® devices which allow the user to wirelessly sync hearing aids to an iPhone® to stream music, television and phone calls.Lastly consider cost. This is a significant concern for many people, but we advise not letting it be the primary decision-maker. There are many cheap, quality hearing aid solutions for anyone who needs hearing assistance. In particular, we offer no-interest financing plans to help manage the cost of new hearing aid technology.We recommend always taking advantage of hearing consultations to determine the degree of hearing loss and then discussing the most beneficial hearing aid technology options with a professional. To get started, simply call during business hours or submit your information on the Contact Us page.  We look forward to helping you find the right hearing aid technology.

Don’t Let Earwax Spook You!

This Halloween we are going to discuss a topic that is very scary for many patients; earwax! Earwax isn’t just spooky because of its unsightly appearance, but it can also terrify in-the-ear hearing aid wearers for fear of repairs due to buildup. However there is reason to rejoice for Audibel hearing aid patients! The new wax guard protectors have alleviated most occurrences of earwax buildup that may cause damage to hearing aids.Everyone's ears produce earwax to different degrees. For some individuals, their earwax production is much higher than others, causing greater chances of damage to in-the-ear styles of hearing aids. Wax guards use plastic tubing that is placed within the hearing aid receiver. This catches any wax that would normally find its way into the hearing aid components when the devices are inserted and removed from the ear canal. These wax guards are simple to insert into the hearing aids and even easier to remove with a simple tool. While the cost for wax guard protection packs is minimal, the savings can be huge by avoiding potential costly out-of-warranty repairs.Though earwax is nothing to be afraid of, it is important to protect your hearing aids from unnecessary repairs due to earwax on the components. If you are presently wearing hearing aids or considering a purchase and have concerns or questions about earwax protection, simply submit your inquiry on our Contact Us page or call our office during business hours. We’re always happy to answer your questions!

Seeking old hearing aids to help children hear...

One of our favorite patients (who are we kidding, we love them all!) came across a newspaper article from the Wheaton Leader that was written up about us a few years back and brought it into our office. They wanted to know if they could still donate their old hearing aids to help children around the world hear better. We said of course! We are quickly approaching our 6th year in partnership with the So the World May Hear charity of Starkey Hearing Foundation, and we feel like that is a reason to celebrate! In recognition of the upcoming anniversary, we thought it would be great to get the article and information out to our patients again - as a reminder that we would love to have you join in our fight to ensure quality hearing for ALL children in need! Thank you to all of the kind-hearted patients who have already joined us in helping children hear around the world. It is because of YOU we can make a difference. Read about the charity in the full newspaper article here:Audibel specialist Benjamin Wright in Wheaton seeks old hearing aids to help children through So the World May Hear charity of Starkey Hearing Foundation, Wheaton, Ill. Do it Through a charitable project, you can donate old hearing aids of any style and vintage to be recycled into new hearing instruments for children in need within the United States and around the world. Coordinating collections at his three suburban offices is Benjamin Wright, the hearing instrument specialist who owns Chicagoland Audibel. He says the So the World May Hear outreach mission is under the auspices of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. The Starkey company manufactures the Audibel brand of hearing instruments, a newer term for hearing aids that Wright says reflects technological advancements within the last few years. Starkey has dedicated an entire department to rebuilding hearing instruments for charity.

“(I) partner with Audibel because of their technology and because of the philanthropic work that they do,” Wright says.

Whom it helps “We believe everyone deserves a chance to hear,” says Wright of the project. “By donating hearing aids and accepting other donations, we are able to help the whole world hear better. One child at a time, we can really make a difference and an impact in their lives. The goal is to fit 1 million children (with hearing aids) this decade.” He says in the last one, 335,000 kids were helped.

Wright says there are additional avenues for people to find assistance, and notes he offers free hearing tests to anyone in the community.

“We also have a Hear Now program, where we can help people who can’t afford new hearing aids (in) our area,” he says. “(There’s) a small fee for the application. As long as (they’re) approved, we can fit them with hearing aids at no charge. We’re a mom-and-pop family business trying to help the community.”

How to help Donate any hearing aids no longer being used. The project takes them apart for such components as microphone and receiver.

“No matter the age or the style, we can salvage it for parts (and) put it to use,” Wright says.

Also sought are monetary donations to help fund the work, as well as trips overseas to fit children with the devices that can open up the world to them. Gifts can be made through Wright’s offices or the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

--By Renee Tomell, rtomell@mysuburbanlife.com Wheaton Leader

Original article here: Audibel specialist Benjamin Wright in Wheaton seeks old hearing aids to help children through So the World May Hear charity of Starkey Hearing Foundation, Wheaton, Ill.

The Costs of Better Hearing

One of the most common questions we receive from new patients is, “How much do your hearing aids cost?” Many are surprised to learn that the price can range from several thousand dollars to several hundred dollars, depending on how sophisticated the hearing technology is. We respect that an investment in hearing aid technology, for yourself or a loved one, can be a major financial decision. Yet, it is equally important to consider the personal costs of not purchasing a hearing aid when needed and going through life with limited hearing.Too often the cost of hearing aids prevents an individual from taking the action they need to improve their hearing difficulties. Unfortunately, many patients realize the importance of better hearing after they have struggled to enjoy an important event, like a child’s wedding, a family gathering or a reunion. We want to make sure everyone is aware of the personal costs associated with missing out on these moments.As for the cost of hearing aid technology, every year the technology significantly improves to better meet the lifestyle demands of a wide variety of users. These advances include management of background noise in conversations, smaller styles for less visibility and even options to wirelessly stream audio of phone calls and TV. The millions of dollars that manufacturers invest every year into developing this technology contribute to the price of hearing aids today.We understand every patient has a different budget and we offer many affordable hearing aid options as well as patient financing programs with no-interest plans. To get started with a free consultation to evaluate affordable hearing aid technology options, simply submit your information on our Contact Us page or call our office during business hours. 

Small Buttons on Hearing Aids Causing Frustration?

We sometimes hear from patients with arthritis or other dexterity issues that they have a tough time operating the buttons on their digital hearing aids. We understand that it’s a real frustration and one that some people don’t consider until after purchasing a hearing device. Fortunately, we have a couple of options that will make it easier for you (or a loved one) to personally program and have success with your hearing devices.

While it’s exciting that hearing aids have become smaller and more trendy, the buttons have also become smaller, which can present problems for people with poor dexterity. There are two user-friendly smartphone apps available to help! If you download the free Audibel T2 Remote app, it will enable your smartphone to function as a wireless remote for adjusting your hearing aids. You’ll be able to adjust volume, switch memories and mute your devices if you would like. The other free downloadable app is TruLink™ Hearing Control, which is for our more technology savvy patients. This app pairs specifically with the Made for iPhone^® Audibel A3i™ Hearing Aids. In addition to allowing you to easily change volume and memories, this app also remembers your favorite places and automatically switches to your preferred settings when at those locations. It offers a variety of other features worth checking out as well.

If you don’t have a smartphone, the SurfLink^® Remote accessory is another option to consider. Keep it in your pocket or purse and change the settings on your wireless hearing aids just like a television remote.

We want you to have a satisfying experience with your hearing aids and these tools are one way to help you. If you need help deciding which option works best for you – give us a call or email us here. We can help you decide which hearing aids are right for you and your lifestyle.

Bluffing through Untreated Hearing Loss?

Have you ever noticed someone turning his or her ear when listening to a conversation?? Or have you seen someone request to sit in a specific seat in a restaurant so his or her ‘good ear’ is away from background noise? Or perhaps you’ve noticed someone listening to your conversation but they don’t really seem to understand or follow the dialogue? They are finding ways to bluff or ‘cope’ through situations that are difficult for people with untreated hearing loss, and often it is a subconscious behavior.The coping stage, one of four stages in untreated hearing loss, is usually a common last effort at engaging in social situations while still avoiding proper treatment. No matter what the trick to try hearing better, coping mechanisms never provide a lasting solution as well as hearing aid technology. This type of behavior can also extend into workplace environments where individuals with untreated hearing loss may avoid large meetings and phone calls. This could potentially have a significant impact on careers and income. In fact, a study by the Better Hearing Institute found that the financial impact of untreated hearing loss in the workplace could result in nearly $10,000 in lost annual income; that’s up to $100,00 over the average seven to 10 years it takes most individuals to seek treatment!If you or a loved one exhibit any coping behaviors to accommodate hearing loss, seek proper hearing health care. Often patients wait several years too long to treat their hearing loss and have negatively altered their lifestyle as a result. We want to make sure no one misses a priceless moment of his or her lives moving forward. To get started, simply submit your information on our Contact Us page or call our office to request a complimentary hearing consultation appointment. 

Operation Change!

Chicagoland Audibel Hearing is excited to announce that the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) will air Operation Change, a television documentary series that features the extraordinary work of philanthropic organizations, including Starkey Hearing Foundation. The 10-part series will begin airing on June 23 at 9 p.m. (CT).Operation Change showcases stories of positive impact around the world. It takes viewers around the globe as it examines some of the world’s most challenging issues and some of the organizations that are attempting to help bring positive change. The series follows Bill & Tani Austin and their son Steven Sawalich from the Starkey Hearing Foundation, a global non-profit organization that gives free hearing aids to those in need, as they are joined by celebrities and philanthropists to tackle some of the most challenging issues plaguing our world today.The series features philanthropists joining forces including former President Bill Clinton, Sir Richard Branson, Sir Elton John and many others as they travel to some of the most dangerous and poverty-stricken places in the world. From the West Bank of Palestine to the wilds of Papua New Guinea, this raw documentary series reveals the untold stories of some of the world’s greatest heroes. Chicagoland Audibel Hearing  is a strong supporter of Starkey Hearing Foundation and its mission to realize its goal: So the World May Hear. For more information on Operation Change please click here to visit their website. Check out more abou the program on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/OperationChng

Skipping the Stages of Hearing Loss

When it comes to hearing loss, good things come to those who don’t wait. All too often, individuals will wait 7-10 years before seeking treatment for their hearing loss. In this period the worsening of the condition can be significant and the benefits of hearing aid technology may not be as capable to achieve regular hearing levels. So what happens in these 7-10 years that causes so many people to put off getting a hearing consultation? In this blog we will look at the various stages of hearing loss and help you or a loved one identify where you may be at with hopes it prompts more immediate action.Upon noticing early signs of hearing loss such as mishearing syllables and soft sounds, most individuals will enter the denial stage. In this stage, the effect of hearing loss is readily dismissed as not a serious issue or threat to their quality of life. While, these assumptions are correct in the short-term, the long-term ramifications are worth consideration early on. Most hearing professionals recommend that individuals, with or without hearing loss, should get a hearing test every year to stay on top of changes in their abilities, just as with vision and other regular checks.As those in the denial stage continue to deal with their hearing loss difficulties they typically worsen over time. After a year or two, the hearing loss is now having more of an everyday impact on the individual. Due to this, most people will enter the coping stage, in which they pick up various coping mechanisms to accommodate the hearing loss rather than seeking treatment. Examples of the coping mechanisms include turning their head to use a good ear, sitting on certain sides of people and asking people to repeat themselves in conversations. Oftentimes, there is an overlap between denial and coping stages where one may state “Speak up, you’re mumbling!”After using various coping mechanisms to keep up with listening in various environments the combination of continued worsening of their hearing loss and exhaustion from trying to cope becomes too much to handle. Thus, we all too often witness people slip into the withdrawal stage. At this point the effects of hearing loss have mightily impacted their quality of life as individuals in this stage will stop going to public gatherings and outings where the environment is too stressful for listing. Embarrassment also plays a major role in the withdrawal stage as not understanding conversations or requesting people to repeat themselves can be perceived negatively.The last stage of hearing loss is acceptance, which usually occurs after many years struggle with the prior stages, as mentioned in the introduction. It is truly unfortunate that anyone should needlessly struggle with hearing loss when treatment options are readily available. If you, or a loved one, find yourself in any of these stages don’t wait a moment longer and simply contact our office for a consultation today. Simple call us during business hours or submit your information through our Contact Us form. 

The Joy of Outdoor Summer Activities by the Water

Summer has arrived! During the hot summer days nothing feels better than heading to your closest lake, pool or ocean. Whether you are catching some sun, fishing, boating, or merely splashing around it gives us all the opportunity to act like kids again. The water, for some, gives a sense of freedom. The endless view of the ocean or the feeling of weightlessness when you float in a pool can give you the ultimate sense of liberation.In addition to activities by the water, we also enjoy all the wonderful and diverse sounds that water brings. It could be the giggles of your grandchildren playing in the pool, the gentle and rhythmic sound of the ocean rolling into shore or the gentle breeze of the wind coming off the water. Time spent by the water is visually beautiful but the accompanying sounds bring it to life and bring us back to a simpler time. A time when your biggest problem was to make sure your sandcastle didn’t get destroyed by crashing waves and a big ice cream cone could put a smile on your face for a week.To make sure you’re enjoying all the sounds that summer provides, schedule a hearing evaluation today. Our hearing healthcare professionals will check your hearing, make sure you don’t have sand in your ears (we dislike that as much as you do) and determine a solution for your unique hearing challenges. To get started, give us a call or submit your information on our contact us page. After you do that, turn off the computer and enjoy the summer. 

Why Real Men Wear Hearing Aids

“Wearing hearing aids is not something men want to do,” is a statement all too often overheard from middle-aged men that don’t feel hearing aids fit with their image and lifestyle. Whether this concern is the result of denial or pride, ironically it is said by men who may benefit the most from hearing aids.My grandfather was one of those men resistant to wearing hearing aids in his 70’s. “Real men don’t wear hearing aids,” is something he told me after I offered to help him find a local hearing care professional. While I knew that statement was more directed to the thoughts of his VFW buddies, I know he overstated himself to put an end to the nagging from many people. What he and all of our caring family members didn’t know is that stage of hearing loss was the most important time for him to seek a hearing aid solution.Twenty years later, my grandfather eagerly wears his hearing aids to stay a part of the conversations with my grandmother, our family and his friends. It’s sad to say his attempt to hear is rather futile because his hearing seems to be too far-gone. His years of untreated hearing loss have limited his ability to regain hearing. I often see his frustration and disappointment when he misses out on cherished moments and makes others work hard to communicate with him, including his wife. I know, without him needing to say it, that he wishes he could undo his past statement and choose to get hearing aids earlier on.If you are experiencing hearing loss, don’t put off seeking treatment. The pride you have today can result in regret later on, just like with my grandfather. And if you are getting push back from a loved one with hearing loss, don’t relent. As you can see from my grandfather’s experience, you will be doing them an injustice by enabling them to live with untreated hearing loss that only worsens with time. Call your local Audibel office or submit your information on their Contact Us page to schedule a complimentary hearing consultation.Guest blog by Todd H. 

The Made for iPhone Hearing Aid by Audibel - A3i

Want to stream calls, media and music DIRECTLY into your hearing aids? Now you can! Audibel has partnered with iPhone to create the A3i Made for iPhone Hearing Aid. A3i hearing aids connect directly to the iPhone®, iPad®and iPod® touch via our TruLink™ Hearing Control app. Together A3i and TruLink deliver the most personalized hearing experience ever and are designed to:

• Stream calls from your iPhone directly to your hearing aids using Bluetooth® 4.0 wireless technology
• Deliver pristine sound and exceptional listening clarity
• Help you hear comfortably in noise
• Eliminate buzzing and whistling
• Stream FaceTime®, music and more directly to your hearing aids

 Schedule An Appointment Today For A Free Demonstration Of A3i.Download the Made for iPhone A3i Brochure.Download the TRULINK App here.Visit our A3i webpage to view a video about the A3i and learn more.

Revealing the Causes of Hearing Loss

It is estimated that a person with hearing loss waits anywhere from seven to ten years before taking action. Yet unlike loss of vision, which most people readily accept, part of the delay for treating hearing loss is due to a lack of understanding or denial for the underlying causes.There are several possible causes of hearing loss with the most common being sensorineural hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when inner ear nerves are damaged and do not properly transmit sound signals to the brain. Your inner ear contains tiny hair cells. Prolonged exposure to loud noises such as a shotgun or rifle close to your ear can cause them to wither. Without these hair cells, the ear cannot detect sounds properly. Sensorineural hearing loss can also be caused by an injury, illness, medications or the aging process, but exposure to loud noise is one of the most common causes.Some individuals also experience hearing loss due to disorders with the inner and outer ear. This type of hearing loss is called conductive hearing loss and can result from ear infections, impacted earwax, malformation of the ear structures or other related issues. These factors can occur at birth or as a temporary dysfunction.Both hearing loss causes can also be combined for a mixed hearing loss. Individuals with mixed hearing loss not only have inner or outer ear problems but also reduced hearing due to aging and noise exposure. It is recommended to treat each factor separately to get the best treatment options.Regardless of what caused your or a loved one’s hearing loss, it is important to seek hearing care to avoid communication and listening difficulties. We recommend having your hearing checked by one of our qualified specialists . If hearing aids are recommended for your type of hearing loss, don’t delay in getting fit. Simply visit our Contact Us page to request a complimentary hearing consultation.