The ears have it...

Nature has equipped all mammals with two equally functioning ears as a primary means of survival, both for locating food and for hearing approaching danger. For humans, two-eared hearing is just as necessary to survive in our modern noisy societies; to hear in traffic, in crowds and to understand speech. Hearing properly with two ears means the difference between simply listening to noise and hearing clearly with understanding.

The hearing centre of the brain relies on two independent ‘microphones’- the ears. If only one ear is functioning properly, there will be difficulty in understanding speech in noisy environments and in locating the direction from which the sound is coming. Scientific research as well as individual experience, confirms that most people with a hearing loss in both ears, can benefit greatly from wearing binaural (stereophonic) hearing instruments i.e. a hearing instrument for each ear that responds to sound correction. The major benefits are:-

Better understanding in noisy places – By wearing two hearing aids rather than just one, selective listening is more easily achieved. This means your brain can focus on the conversation you want to hear and reduce the amount of unwanted background noise more easily.

Better identification of sound direction - Sound direction identification is called 'localisation' and is dependent upon two equally functioning ears. The effect can be dramatic if the sound is a warning signal such as an approaching car.

Clearer reception of softly-spoken words - When only one hearing instrument is worn, volume has to be at a higher level to compensate and this exaggerates interfering background noise and can distort these sounds.

Better sound quality - By wearing an instrument in each ear you increase your hearing distance range and this greater range provides a better sense of sound balance and quality.

Smoother tone quality - Amplification from two hearing instruments requires less volume than with one alone. This results in less distortion and better reproduction of amplified sound.

Better feeling of balance - Hearing with both ears results in a feeling of balanced sound reception also known as the "stereo effect". Hearing with one ear often creates an unusual feeling of having a blocked or ‘dead’ ear.

Less tiring - Many binaural hearing instrument wearers report that listening to conversations is both less tiring and stressful because a lower volume is required to hear clearly, compared to hearing with one ear.

Two hearing instruments are not always suitable, but when they are, you can be sure that your hearing aid audiologist has your best hearing interest in mind.

Why I'm looking forward to IEMs with ambient mics...

In a welcome development for current and prospective in-ear-monitor users, ACS have recently launched their Live! versions of their T-series custom IEMs.

IEMs from ACS are made from medical grade soft silicone, which gives unbeatable comfort and a perfect fit in the ear, ensuring that external sound is reduced by the maximum amount possible. This is an unmentionable bonus when listening to, for example, an mp3 player on public transport. Earlier this year, on a flight to the States, there were not one but two babies making themselves heard most of the way across the Atlantic. Plugged into the aircraft's entertainment system with my ACS T2s, I was only even remotely aware of the screaming when the movie I was watching went silent.

However, for musicians playing in a live environment, this almost total exclusion of external sound can be a problem. While the mix in your ears is carefully controlled and balanced, there is a deadness to being shut off like that which is difficult to describe, and fairly disconcerting. Shutting out the onstage noise from drums and guitar amps is nice... but it also removes the sensation of being connected to what else is going on on stage, and in particular, with the audience. Up to now, being a keyboard player in a band from time to time, I have got round this either by taking one monitor out, or if it was available, setting up a condenser microphone somewhere near me and feeding that in to my in-ear mix. The microphone solution is the better of the two, although it adds hassle and cost to the experience. Removing a monitor from one ear re-connects you to reality and returns you to the 'live' experience, but, perhaps particularly as a keyboard player playing stereophonic samples, ruins your in-ear mix, subjects your ear once again to potentially dangerous levels from drums and amps, and leaves you wondering why you spend a sizeable chunk of cash on a pair of in-ear-monitors.

This is why the built-in mics in the new ACS Live! series are so promising. A beltpack control unit will be available soon (estimated March 2012) allowing you control over how much external sound you get in the mix, which will inevitably be a different amount for different musicians, and differ from gig to gig and from venue to venue. Until then, the ambient mics will be disabled.

The second important feature in the new range is a removable cable. With IEMs being inserted and removed regularly by gigging musicians, the cable can be put under a fair amount of strain, most especially at the point it joins the monitor shell. With a recessed socket preventing damage to the contact pins, this should translate into more reliable and robust performance from the IEMs.

Hats off to ACS.

AIHHP member wins top audiology award

Hertfordshire hearing specialist and founder Association of Independent Hearing Healthcare Professionals (AIHHP) member Robert Beiny is celebrating after being named the Rayovac Audio Infos Audiologist of the Year for 2011.

Robert, who runs the Hearing Healthcare Practice in Harpenden, was chosen as the winner by a panel of the hearing industry’s leading figures. He was nominated for the award by the mother of a 20-year-old girl who, with his support, has overcome years of problems to fulfil her dream of becoming a flight attendant. Despite completing a travel and tourism course, she gave up her ambition to become a flight attendant at college after being told airlines would not hire someone with hearing aids.

This changed over a period of months starting in December 2010 when she first went to see Robert who spent time testing several hearing devices that she was happy with and which suited her cosmetically. After eventually selecting a model that suited her hearing requirements, and with her self-confidence transformed, she went for several interviews as a flight attendant, before landing her dream job.

This is the second time Robert has won the award, and marks a tremendous achievement for AIHHP and its membership, which has now provided a total of seventeen different award winners since the awards were launched just four years ago, including three of the four overall winners. Other AIHHP members who received commendations in 2011, included; Jo Rae (The Hearing Healthcare Practice), Nick Chitty (Oxford Hearing Centre), Paul Scigala (Sound Advice Hearing Centre) and Vicki Skeels (The Hearing Care Centre). Our own Stephen Fairfield and Shona Jackson have received commendations in recent years.

AIHHP was established by eleven founder members in 1994 and is a professional association dedicated to promoting excellence within the UK Hearing Care profession. AIHHP members provide a range of high quality services including hearing assessments, hearing aid provision, hearing protection and other specialised services relating to hearing.

Current Chair, Rob Davies commented “Whilst being a fantastic testament to Rob’s skills as a hearing aid audiologist and his professionalism, it is also great news for AIHHP. It shows that if someone visits an ‘AIHHP’ accredited hearing care centre, they can be sure that they will be provided with the best possible standards in hearing care available today.”

For more information on the competition visit www.audiologistoftheyear.eu

Battery offer now on!

With the Christmas season now upon us, we at the House of Hearing are delighted to extend our goodwill to all customers. Our incredibly popular battery offer returns once again this year, with a twelve pack of batteries on offer during December for £4.00 (normally £6.00).