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Question: Do you have to be a hearing Doctor (Audiologist) to give hearing test or to sell Hearing aids?
Answer: No, The fact is that many Hearing aid sales people have very little training or none at all to answer questions about causation or the severity of hearing loss. Only a Doctor is trained to diagnose, manage and/or treat hearing or balance problems.
Hearing
Being able to hear sounds is very important to human beings. It enables us to communicate with each other and makes us feel as part of a group. Being able to hear well allows us to receive information, both from other people and from our surroundings.
Sounds can be pleasurable - the sound of nature or music, or noisy - sounds that are too loud or too uncomfortable.
The challenge of handling a hearing loss
Getting used to life with a hearing loss is challenging to most hearing aid users, both mentally and physically.
It can be difficult to accept the fact that you are more or less dependent upon one or two hearing aids and that your hearing loss is permanent. Hearing aid users also often feel that just telling other people about their needs and what others can do to help can be challenging. However, there are many ways of facing the challenges of having a hearing loss positively.
On these pages you can find examples of what you can do and what you can ask others to do in order to maintain an active life with a hearing loss.
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PROFESSIONAL AUDIOLOGY &
HEARING CENTER, INC
4509 Leavenworth
Omaha, NE 68106
402-558-0440
800-861-0440
HOURS: MONDAY through FRIDAY 9:00am TO 5:00pm
Professional Audiology and Hearing Center, Inc.,
was established in February of 1977
by Roger McGargill, Ph.D. and Ann Rinker.
Over the past 33 years our practice has grown to over 8,000 active patients mainly by patients telling friends about us and our service. We earn our patient's trust to the point they tell their friends and family members.
Our philosophy continues to be, 'No one will buy a hearing aid unless they are satisfied.'
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 Challenging listening situations
For hearing aid users, some listening situations are more problematic than others. Listening in noisy surroundings, for example, is often more problematic than listening in quiet situations. Often the ability to focus on specific sounds is reduced when you have a hearing loss. Everyday sounds such as noise from a dishwasher or many people talking at the same time can easily become disturbing background sounds.
Everyday sounds can be disturbing
Normally, we associate being at home with relaxation and quiet surroundings.
For people with normal hearing, most household sounds are insignificant. But for those with a hearing loss, everyday sounds such as those from a dishwasher, water dripping or noise from a vacuum cleaner can be very disturbing.
TV and radio sounds become background noise
Otherwise pleasant sounds can be disturbing if heard at the same time. Sounds from the radio or television are appreciated on their own, but if mixed together with people talking they can become disturbing too.
Experiencing music
Hearing aid users experience the quality of music, whether live or recorded, in very different ways. Some find that music heard through a hearing aid sounds natural, while others find that it differs too much from the way they expect it to sound.
If you have a hearing aid with multiple programs, your hearing care professional can provide you with a program designed for amplifying music.
Hearing aids can help
Hearing aids can help people with a hearing loss use their remaining hearing effectively. However, in difficult listening situations, this does not change the fact that the ability to communicate effortlessly will not be the same as for people with normal hearing.
Related Links
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Founded in 1890 by Alexander Graham Bell, the association offers members a wide range of programs and services and provides to all inquirers information on a vast array of issues pertaining to hearing loss. The Association's strength is in its diverse, collaborative membership of parents of children with hearing loss, educators, adults with hearing loss, and hearing health professionals.
American Tinnitus Association
Web page for the American Tinnitus Association, our mission: to silence
tinnitus through education, advocacy, research and support.
Cochlear Implant Association, Inc. (CIAI), formerly Cochlear Implant Club International, Inc., is a non-profit organization for cochlear implant recipients, their families, professionals, and other individuals interested in cochlear implants. The Association provides support and information and access to local support groups for adults and children who have cochlear implants, or who are interested in learning about cochlear implants. We also advocate for the rights of and services for people with hearing loss.
H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers) is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to raising awareness of the real dangers of repeated exposure to excessive noise levels from music which can lead to permanent, and sometimes debilitating, hearing loss and tinnitus. Damage from loud sound can occur from playing music, attending concerts, dance clubs, raves, using stereo earphones, playing amplified systems too loudly, or other noisy activities. We're here for musicians, DJs, sound engineers, music fans (especially teens) and anyone needing help with their hearing.
Hearing Loss Demo
On-Line Hearing Loss Simulation
To listen you must have Quicktime 4.0 or higher installed on your computer.
Oticon Inc.'s long term mission is to become the U.S. market leader in providing high-performance hearing solutions that reflect the most advanced technical designs, an understanding of human needs for people with hearing loss, and a dedication to the best customer service and dispensing systems. Our aim is to improve hearing care and quality of life, not simply to sell hearing instruments.
Phonak is a world leader in the research, development and manufacture of high-performance, high-quality hearing instruments. At Phonak, we are working on a bold vision: To not simply improve hearing, but to improve communication as well. Our aim is to correct impairments in hearing, the most complex of all human senses, to a degree that we are able to simulate the performance of a healthy ear.
The Better Hearing Institute is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit corporation which was created over 30 years ago to promote hearing health care across the United States. The organization is jointly funded by the manufacturers and suppliers who comprise the hearing industry in the U.S.
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), established in 1880, is the oldest and largest constituency organization safeguarding the accessibility and civil rights of 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans in education, employment, health care, and telecommunications.
VEDA is a nonprofit organization that provides information to the public about inner-ear balance disorders such as Meniere's disease, BPPV, and labyrinthitis. Symptoms of vestibular disorders may include dizziness, imbalance, vertigo, nausea, and fuzzy vision and may be accompanied by hearing problems.
Widex is one of the world's leading producers of digital hearing aids. Since 1956, our efforts have been focused on giving people with a hearing loss a better quality of life through research, development and production of hearing aids as well as through comprehensive information
 We do hearing tests for children 5 years and older. |
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HEARING AID MANUFACTURES:
We work with four major hearing aid manufacturers. This allows us to offer every possible circuit available on the market. There are other major manufactures; however with the technology explosion. I have limited the number of manufacturers we work with so we are able to offer the latest in factory modifications or additions to their hearing aids
as well as new products.
HEARING AID CIRCUITS:
Hearing aid circuits have improved tremendously the past 10 years, especially the last three years. All hearing aids have digital circuits. We only use digital processing circuits. These circuits constantly sample all sounds around. Hopefully this results in hearing more soft speech sounds and less loud background sounds in a noisy environment. Despite some misleading adverting, no hearing aid made can ELMINATE background. It is not possible. Our prices for genuine digital processors are from $1,300.00 for the basic circuit up to $3,000.00 for the most advanced processor on the market. No hidden costs such as office calls or in-office repairs.
Patients tell me they understand speech better. In order to prove this you need to try the processors before buy them. We have a 60-day FREE trial on every hearing aid processor we sell. Including in the trial is a complete hearing test and consultation to discuss your problem.
Background sound is a problem and, to be perfectly honest, there is no hearing aid that will eliminate it. Some digital processors, especially those with directional microphones, can reduce background sound to a certain extent.
The digital processor is a small computer inside the hearing aid that constantly samples and analyzes sounds. The main function of a digital processor is to make the soft sounds louder while, at the same time, making the loud sounds softer. This is a remarkable technological advancement. With this in mind, the theory is to make the soft speech sounds more audible and reduce the intensity of the loud sounds. The only way to see if a digital aid provides better hearing, and is financially justifiable, is to compare both the analog and digital aids.
HEARING AID STYLES:
There are four main styles of hearing aids. The best style does depend on the severity of the hearing loss and your listening needs.
Completely-In-Canal hearing aids (CIC)
This is the smallest aid on the market. It benefits mild to moderate losses. It does very well with using the phone. The secret with this hearing aid is that it fits closer to the eardrum than any other aid, which allows us to use less power. The shell is placed deeply in the ear canal, making the hearing aid almost invisible. A CIC therefore has a big aesthetic advantage:
No one can actually see that you are wearing a hearing aid. For easy everyday removal, the CIC has a small extension cord attached to the outside. A CIC model works fully automatically
In-The-Canal hearing aids (ITC)
This is the one step bigger than the CIC. It benefits mild, moderate and some severe hearing losses.
The ITC has all its electronic components contained within a plastic shell moulded to fit your ear.
The ITE model is placed in the ear canal, but with the faceplate still visible in the concha of your ear.
The size - as well as the visibility - of the ITE depends on your degree of hearing loss and the shape of your ear canals.
Behind-The-Ear hearing aids (BTE)
Behind-The-Ear (BTE)
This aid fits behind the ear with an earmold in the ear. It is more flexible than the above aids, for example where feedback (squealing) occurs with the above aids, it is much diminished with this aid.
All the electronic components of a classic BTE model are located in a housing placed behind your ear.
A slim plastic tube with an earmould in the end directs the amplified sound from the hearing aid into your ear.
Manual controls for volume and program change are placed on the top side of the hearing aid for easy user access.
Depending on the model, BTE hearing aids can moreover often be fitted with an open fit solution. This means that the ear-tip is made with compensatory measures so as to optimize the sound processing.
Very new "The Mini" behind the ear hearing aids
Very new is "The Mini" behind the ear hearing aids with a very thin tube. This hearing aid almost eliminates the “plugged up” feeling as well as your voice sounding much different.
Some patients tell me the “barrel sound” of their own voice disappears.
Patients surprise me at how much these aids give them
a much more natural sound.
I must caution you. These aids are for only mild to moderate hearing losses.
We have access to all of the above styles
and technologies.
We will discuss your hearing problem with you and help you determine which style and technology to try. We will then let you try these aids in your different listening environments to see if they indeed help you.
Our prices, in most cases, have been lower than our competition.
We are below the national average with our costs.
From $1,300.00 for the basic circuit.
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