Emergency procedures: Are you in danger?

A warning is being made to hoteliers that they may be risking the lives of some of their hearing impaired guests by not having the correct emergency procedures in place.

Some 232 hotels in London were surveyed by Action on Hearing Loss and they found that one in ten admitted to not having a specific procedure or equipment for deaf or hard of hearing guests in the event of an emergency.

Of those hotels that had modified equipment systems in place, only 13% used flashing alarms specifically designed for people with reduced hearing ability, in addition to acoustic sirens or bells.

Under the Equality Act 2010, hotels as well as other public areas are duty bound to make 'reasonable adjustments' to accessibility for those people with disabilities.

It is not known if these figures are reflected across all areas of the UK but it would be wise for anyone with affected hearing levels to always ask, when staying at a hotel or guest house, what procedures they have in place for guests with impaired hearing.

How old?

According to an American plastic surgeon, earlobes can give your age away.

Earlobes - like other areas of the face and neck - lose collagen and elasticity in much the same way your face does, leading to sagging lobes that are elongated. This is exacerbated with woman if they wear heavy earrings and hoops that are so popular nowadays.

This plastic surgeon recommends to all his face-lift patients, that they should consider ear lobe surgery in addition to their face-lift as gravity takes its toll on earlobes too.

Did you know? #3

The emperor of Rome, Hadrian 76 to 138 AD who inherited fame for building Hadrian's Wall in Britain, had to cup his ears to hear orders repeated because of hearing difficulties, as recorded in contemporary court descriptions.

Inner ear memory

Our ears still hear sounds even after the sound source has stopped. Researchers have found that sounds create after-vibrations in our inner ear and these vibrations, in all probability, function like a form of short-term memory.

It has always been assumed that the hair cells in the inner ear only moved when they were directly affected by sounds. The study has, however, shown that there are after-vibrations in the inner ear. How long the small hairs move after the sound depends on the strength of the sound and its frequency.

The goal of these after-vibrations, according to the research team, could be to function as a form of mechanical archive or short-term memory in the inner ear. The researchers believe that the after-vibrations can have an effect on our ability to perceive sounds and language. The ability to detect brief gaps in an ongoing stimulus is critical for speech recognition. Even a minor hearing loss can lead to a substantial reduction in these after-vibrations and that would mean it is more difficult to perceive the small gaps in an ongoing stimulus, which in turn would have a bearing on speech recognition.

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.

Did you know #2

Quintus Pedius was a Roman painter and the first deaf person in recorded history known by name.

He is the first recorded deaf painter and his schooling is the first recorded education of a deaf child.

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

Did You Know?

£700 for a plastic ear? That is illogical, captain.

It may seem completely illogical, but fans of the smash television show Star Trek are expected to fork out hundreds of pounds for a single piece of memorabilia from the franchise.

For a false ear worn by key character Mr Spock in the first Star Trek feature film has come up for sale - and is expected to fetch a staggering £700.

The silicone latex auricle with its famous pointed end has been carefully preserved, and now Trekkies - as fans of the hit show are known - are queuing up to buy it.

That's purr-fect

Smokey the pet cat, officially has the LOUDEST purr ever recorded and is now entered into the Guinness World Records. Twelve-year-old Smokey from Northampton peaked at 67.7 decibels, which is about 16 times louder than a normal cat, but has been known to reach a deafening 92db – the same sound level as a hairdryer or lawnmower.

Confirming the cat's purr-themed title, a Guinness spokesperson said: "It's incredible to think a purr can be as loud as a vacuum cleaner!"

Moose-tastic hearing

Moose have exceptional hearing, thanks to their huge ears which are 60% bigger than human ears and can rotate independently in almost every direction. Their antlers also act like giant hearing aids focussing sounds to their ears from up to two miles away.