Good Vibrations

Two thirds of the 250 million people worldwide who suffer from a disabling hearing impairment live in the developing world. Conventional hearing aids are much less effective in these areas because the majority of problems are due to infection damaging the ear drum and middle ear.

Hearware is a hearing aid designed for the developing world that uses bone conduction, bypassing the need for a good ear drum. The aid is even solar powered and sits on the bone behind the head sending sound vibrations through the skull to the inner ear bypassing the parts that are damaged by infection.

This device can have the colour of its casing changed to make it culturally more acceptable and dispenses with the need for hard-to-get micro batteries in places like sub-Saharan Africa.

Happy New Year from House of Hearing!

2012 is upon us, and all of us at House of Hearing wish you a very peaceful and prosperous year ahead. It's time, of course, for New Year resolutions, and perhaps time to get your hearing checked. Hearing voices clearly on TV is often a problem for people who have even a mild degree of hearing loss, and often people aren't aware of how much technology is available these days to assist with this.

From specialist infra-red TV listeners, to state of the art hearing aids which will receive a direct wireless transmission from a small device attached to the TV, there are many options which take the headache out of trying to hear what's going on.

If your festive TV-watching has left you with complaints about the volume ringing in your ears, fatigue from concentrating so hard to follow the dialogue, or even a sense of anti-climax from having read the punchline on subtitles a few seconds before it was actually delivered, come in for a free hearing check and a chat.

Beat the January blues by improving your hearing... and your quality of life.

House of Hearing comes to Glasgow!

House of Hearing are delighted to announce the opening of a new centre in Glasgow! This is a joint venture with Scotland's leading independent optical chain, Black & Lizars, and is the first of what we hope will be a series of new dispensing locations throughout Scotland.

The new store is situated in their highly impressive Fenwick Road branch, in the south side of Glasgow, and our dedicated audiology suite within the centre sits perfectly alongside the high level of clinical eye care and optical products already available in the store.


Colin I'Anson, one of our younger dispensing audiologists, originally hails from this part of the world, and he has taken responsibility for managing the store. Providing a centre in Glasgow is obviously a boon to many of our existing customers from the west, and part of our strategy to offer what we see as the highest level of digital hearing aid provision throughout Scotland.

If you wish to make an appointment to see Colin then please contact the store directly on 0141 621 1122.

Signature 2: The Next Generation

In a recent blog post, we told you of our desire to deliver exemplary hearing care with quality bespoke hearing instruments for truly individual assistance.

The Signature range of hearing instruments has been especially commissioned by AIHHP 'Centre of Excellence' clinics and we are pleased to announce that a new 2nd Generation instrument has been released called Signature 2.

Easier speech clarity in noise and unparalleled sound quality were two of the most important criteria we looked for and we are pleased to announce that Signature achieves both these goals.

Signature spotlights technology featured in all premium brands but at a lower cost. Using the latest research, we know that getting the best out of your hearing requires a combination of state of the art technology and professional expertise to precisely tailor the sound to match your own unique 'hearing signature'.

By commissioning Signature, we wanted to cut through the hearing aid marketing material with a simple message. Your signature is your seal of approval and is unique to you. This new instrument allows us to personalise the sound quality just for you, even more than before, to make it as individual as your signature.

To find out if Signature is suitable for you, call us on 0131 220 1220 or email us.

Signature: bespoke hearing assistance

Our desire to deliver exemplary hearing care and value for money without compromising on quality is now available with our own bespoke hearing instrument called 'Signature'.

Easier speech clarity in noise and unparalleled sound quality were two of the most important criteria we looked for and we are pleased to announce that Signature achieves both these goals. Signature spotlights technology featured in all premium brands but at a lower cost. Based on the latest research, Signature recognises the fact that we all experience sound differently. Our hearing is unique. What we hear day to day is unique. Even the way our brains interpret sound is unique. So getting the best out of your hearing requires a combination of state of the art technology and professional expertise to precisely tailor the sound to match your own unique 'hearing signature'.

By commissioning Signature, we hope to cut through the hearing aid marketing material with a simple message. Your signature is your seal of approval and is unique to you. Our Signature hearing instrument carries our seal and is also unique. It allows us to design a hearing aid to perform with all the knowledge we have from years of fittings.

The new instrument allows us to personalize the sound quality just for you, to make it as individual as your signature. Signature instruments also don't whistle when you use the phone or when someone hugs you. They use mainly open-fitting technology so you hardly know they are there and can even be used with an additional range of wireless accessories to connect to your mobile phone, TV, stereo or computer. To find out if Signature is suitable for you, call on 0131 220 1220 or email us.

Hearing is one thing...but listening is quite another!

How many times have we heard "Sorry…I know you're talking but I can’t hear what you're saying". We hear with our ears but we listen with our brain. The problem happens frequently in many situations and we have often featured articles relating to just how important the brain and cognitive processing is in our ability to hear clearly and understand speech.

However, we are pleased to announce that we now have a new and innovative practical training programme to improve listening skills whether or not you wear hearing correction. It will help the brain improve communication skills such as: understanding speech in noise; focusing on one voice in the presence of other voices and increasing auditory memory.

The solution is called ‘LACE’ and it stands for Listening & Communication Enhancement. Just as physical therapy can rebuild muscles to compensate for physical weakness, LACE will help develop skills and strategies to deal with situations when hearing alone is inadequate. Whether you wear hearing aids, are just acquiring hearing aids, or simply wish to improve your listening skill, LACE training will help you get the most out of the sounds of life.

LACE retrains the brain to improve comprehension by more than 40% in difficult situations. The self-paced interactive 20 half hour sessions can be run on a home computer or DVD player and we also have it available in a dedicated room at our centres. To learn more about LACE, contact us for further details.

24/7 hearing now available at House of Hearing!

Lyric, the new hearing device from Phonak, is promising to take the world by storm. Bringing the convenience of 24/7 hearing, along with complete invisibility, the new instrument has wowed those who have tried it. Its placement deep in the ear canal means a quite unprecedented natural quality of sound, and since it remains in the ear while showering and sleeping, brings a never-before-experienced convenience to the wearer.

House of Hearing were the first registered and qualified fitters of Lyric in Scotland. Contact us to find out more details.

House of Hearing in Chicago

Andrew and Shona had the privilege of making the trip over to Chicago last week, for the American Academy of Audiology convention AudiologyNOW!

The enormous exhibition space at the McCormick Place Convention Center was, as ever, chock-full with impressive stands and displays from all the major manufacturers, featuring the very latest in hearing aid technology and accessories. Giant screens were everywhere, promoting hearing aids or even in one case projecting a cycling game. All for charity, you understand.

Phonak took the opportunity to provide a live demonstration of the UltraZoom and StereoZoom features in their Spice product range, and this proved impressive.

Alongside the exhibition, there was a wide choice of education on offer, from world-renowned speakers, on everything from specialised fitting techniques to marketing tips.

Both were grateful for the opportunity to visit America for this conference, although may have had their fill of burgers for the time being.

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.