Galashiels Open House

House of Hearing's office in the heart of the Borders launch their Open House event on Monday! As with the popular Edinburgh event, there will be an opportunity to have your hearing re-checked and your hearing aids cleaned, serviced and adjusted. These services are completely free of charge for the duration of the event, which runs from Monday 21st until Tuesday 29 March.

There will be a chance to try out the latest bluetooth hearing technology and find out more about the latest in discreet hearing devices, the Phonak Lyric and Starkey Soundlens. With free goodies, and all hearing aid purchases discounted for the three days, the event is sure to be popular, so make sure of your place by calling 01896 755474!

Open House 2011

House of Hearing have run Open House events over several years now and these have proved to be a great success with our customers. They provide an opportunity to have your hearing re-checked and your hearing aids cleaned and serviced. With our in-house ENT nurse, you can also have your ears cleaned too, if required! All free of charge. We usually have a theme for our events and this year it will be demonstrating the wonderful new technology now available, allowing you the opportunity to learn about the latest in hearing aid technology; from the new truly invisible, completely-in-the-canal products, the Phonak Lyric and the Starkey SoundLens, to the latest easy to wear, open-fit micro products, with full bluetooth compatibility for excellent telephone and TV reception.

This year’s event runs from Monday 7th – Friday 11th March in our Edinburgh store, with later dates in March for our Gala and St Andrews events. For more information contact 0131 220 1220... Oh, and did I forget to mention there will be a 10% discount off all hearing aids purchased during the event?

Hope to see you there!

Recycle here!

An innovative idea being put into practice in our Galashiels shop has an environmental theme. In the UK only about three to five per cent of all household batteries are recycled. Most old batteries end up in landfill, where they can leak harmful chemicals into the soil.

House of Hearing are offering a free clean and check of hearing aids to anyone who brings in their hearing aid batteries for recycling. This invitation is open to any hearing aid user including NHS patients and those with aids purchased elsewhere.

Hearing aids are designed to be precision instruments, and they need a certain amount of basic attention in order for them to perform at their best.

A little care given to your hearing instrument will allow you to get the best possible service out of your device, make it work efficiently and ensure that you prolong the natural life of the aid.

The whole job has been made so much easier by the introduction of this new maintenance offer and we welcome anyone coming in with their hearing aid to take advantage of a free clean and check.

Our hearing aid audiologists will be happy to advise you about the importance of looking after your hearing aid and will be available to talk through any questions on general hearing aid maintenance.

Breakthrough towards hearing loss drug

Researchers at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, have discovered a drug that repairs hearing after damage caused by loud noise.

Until now, exposure to loud noise has led to permanent hearing loss. However, the researchers have shown that if treated with a compound called ‘ADAC’ after noise damage, hearing recovered substantially. The scientists found that a five day treatment of daily injections starting six hours after noise exposure were most effective. Single treatments were less effective but also resulted in some hearing recovery. The drug is thought to work by increasing the sensory hair cell’s ability to break down the damaging waste products, which build up during noise exposure.

This study presents the most effective pharmacological strategy to date for reducing noise-induced hearing loss after exposure to damaging noise. If clinical trials prove successful, this research could mean that, in future, people who are exposed to loud noise and risk damage could be administered a drug to stop the hearing loss becoming permanent.

Hearing Aid Top Tip!

Don’t leave your hearing aids on a windowsill in a bathroom or kitchen – condensation will readily form on the instrument and may cause it to become faulty.

Moisture can be a real problem for most hearing devices as the tiny microphones and receivers (loudspeakers) are susceptible to moisture ingression and when damp, will not function correctly, if at all. In addition, battery contacts can corrode, causing intermittent or complete malfunction.

Always keep your hearing instruments in their case when not in use and regularly use a proprietary silica gel drying agent. We always have these available at House of Hearing.

Take That Hear the World

Take That is helping to raise awareness about the importance of hearing and the consequences of hearing loss. Following the return of Robbie Williams, the hugely successful pop group are the latest names to support Hear the World, a global initiative launched by hearing system manufacturer Phonak, joining stars like Jude Law, Elle Macpherson, Annie Lennox, Sting and Peter Gabriel.

“Hearing is something that we rely on every day, even more so being musicians. To lend our support to this campaign is something we are really proud of and are grateful for a chance to play a part in raising awareness of the issue of hearing loss”, Robbie Williams says on behalf of the band.

Hear the World is now one of the world’s largest celebrity supported health campaign currently more than forty high-profile musicians, actors and models from across the globe helping raise awareness for a problem which affects over 800 million people worldwide.

More than 16 percent of the world's population have hearing loss with experts predicting this will to increase to 1.1 billion by 2015. In the UK an estimated 8.5 million people are affected by the condition and struggle for up to 15 years before seeking advice. Studies have shown that this has a significantly negative effect on a person's social, emotional and physical wellbeing.

Phonak set up the Hear the World foundation, a non-profit organisation that is committed to improve the quality of life and promote equal opportunities for people with hearing loss globally. To achieve this, the foundation provides financial funds, hearing aids and assistive listening technology. For more information visit www.hear-the-world.com.

Christmas battery offer!

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).