Tuesday 15 June 2010

Going loopy at the Festival

As many of you will know, House of Hearing have branches in the Borders and Fife, as well as our main office in Edinburgh. Recently our Galashiels branch was asked to become involved with the Borders Book Festival and I am delighted to say that we have been able to support the festival with the provision of loop systems for hearing aid wearers at several venues. The event takes place from 17-20 June and attracts excellent speakers from the UK and beyond. I would encourage you to attend. For more information look at the website, or contact 0844 357 1060.

Friday 11 June 2010

New processor technology improves clarity


It has long been known that amplification alone in a hearing aid is not enough to enable someone with hearing loss to not only hear everything clearly again, but also as naturally as possible.

The human hearing system has a distinct dynamic range within which sounds can be detected and remain comfortable. In people with impaired hearing, this dynamic range is reduced. This means that they perceive loudness differently.

The result of simple amplification is that some sounds are still too soft, stay below the hearing threshold level and therefore remain inaudible. Conversely, other signals may be amplified too much, causing loudness discomfort.

To date, with many hearing aids, while most sound signals will indeed be reproduced within the residual hearing range of someone with hearing loss, they may not be perceived correctly in relation to the person's changed dynamic range or sound natural.

A new type of audio-processor is now available and used by several manufacturers in different ways in their hearing systems to manage and control hundreds of parameters.

The ability for all of them to react quickly and accurately to different sound situations means that the very latest audio-processors allow carefully controlled, amplified sound to be more accurately reproduced than before, to keep pace with the ever-changing soundscape a person experiences.

For more information and to find out if these new developments are suitable for your specific needs - simply contact us to arrange an appointment.