Common Conditions
This section and the associated pages contain some basic - and we hope - useful information about various hearing conditions, what they mean and what choices are available to people with hearing-related difficulties. Regional Hearing Services offer a conmprehensive range of solutions for many conditions.
Our Hearing Aid Audiologists are all fully qualified and we adhere strictly to the guidelines set by the Hearing Aid Council (HAC) - the government body that regulates the private hearing aid market . In conforming, we protect your interests.
The HAC Code of Trade Practice specifically states that:-
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"Dispensers shall at all times give the best possible advice they can to their clients regarding hearing aids and their use". We provide this free of charge - just ask.
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"Dispensers shall, where appropriate, make it known to their clients that a hearing aid may not necessarily be of benefit". This is one reason we must offer you a free hearing test before we recommend any hearing aid solution at all. It also ensures that the hearing aid is correct for your particular hearing loss.
So, our customers receive a fully professional and ethical service from us. This includes:-
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FOUR-YEAR PEACE OF MIND WARRANTY
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FREE AFTERCARE for life
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QUALITY BRAND hearing aids - no cheap "own-brands"
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A FULLY QUALIFIED HEARING AID AUDIOLOGIST will provide your FREE hearing test and LIVE DEMONSTRATION - with free consultation and advice - before you consider buying, with absolutely no obligation.
Some more about Hearing Aids
Hearing Aids are an impressive adancement in understanding and technology from their ancestors, which were known as ear horns or ear trumpets. A person with a hearing difficulty would have to lift a trumpet shaped object up to the ear. The trumpet would then focus sound vibrations and direct them towards the eardrum.
Many advancements in hearing assistance have been made since the days of the ear trumpet. From hearing aids to cochlear implants and beyond, the science of hearing improvement has been given many boosts by technology. Not only do we now have devices that can modulate and amplify sounds to improve hearing in a variey of different environments but we are able to take a hearing opportunity and transform it into a listening experience.
From movies and conferences to concerts and sports, hearing assistance devices have become a necessity for those needing assistance with their hearing. A vast array of devices is available to meet this need, whether the purpose is to provide a better musical sound, provide a complete alternative to sound (such as using light variations to convey messages) or to translate from one language entirely to another. These systems are not hearing aids; hearing aids are designed to amplify existing sounds for the wearers ear. Hearing assistance devices, on the other hand, can change sound completely into a sensation like vibration or into a visible display. Who knows what future technology will bring!
It is incredible that a device as tiny as a hearing aid can so significantly and dramatically improve a person’s life!
All hearing aids have certain things in common. All hearing aids have the same basic components (without which hearing aids would simply be unable to function) and these are:-
- A microphone
- An amplifier which boosts the sound received by the microphone
- A receiver that transfers amplified sound to the inner ear
- A battery to power the electronics
- A small container in which fits all of the above components
All of this enables a hearing aid wearer to be able to hear many sounds that were previously lost.
Hearing aids are split into two main categories - digital and analogue. Analogue aids are further divided into conventional and programmable aids.
Programmable analogue aids allow you to program specific functionality within the hearing aid to make it suitable for different environments. The wearer can adjust these settings by using a switch or remote control.
Digital hearing aids work in a similar way to programmable analogue aids. The main difference is that digital aids are self-adjusting - which means that the wearer doesn’t have to alter the volume or any other setting manually.
Digital aids are characterised by the sampled analogue signals as only high and low impulses. These signals are then manipulated by using techniques of digital signal processing to add extra features to the hearing device, including noise reduction, automatic gain control, compression and sound generation. Digital hearing aids are much more expensive than analogue because of this extra functionality.
In addition to this classification, hearing aids are also distinguished on the basis of their style. Three popular styles are:-
Their names pretty much explain where they all fit. Each type looks different and each are suitable for different degrees of hearing loss.
BTE hearing aids are composed of a hearing aid that sits behind the ear which is attached via a tube to an Earmould that fits inside your ear. They are easy to use, easy to clean and easy to maintain. Whilst traditionally BTE hearing aids have been quite large, recent developments have meant that they are now available in a wide range of sizes depending on what is required. These types of hearing aids are especially suited for younger children because they may struggle to manage the other types of hearing aids.
ITE hearing aids completely fit inside the ear and they usually come with extra functions like a telephone switch to allow the user to easily listen to a telephone conversation. ITC hearing aids are the same but slightly smaller (less visible area in the Outer Ear)
CIC works in a similar way but are much smaller than ITE/ITC hearing aids as they fit right into the canal and are practically invisible.
There is another type of hearing aid that is much less well known, this is called the bone conduction hearing aid. This is designed for people whose eardrum or ear canal becomes so damaged that other hearing aids are not feasible The brain interprets these vibrations as sound There is an additional component in this type of device, known as the oscillator, which receives sound signals and produces vibration according to their pattern. These aren’t very common, they’re only really used by people that have no alternative.
If you would like some more information or would like to enquire about a FREE full hearing test - either at one of our many Hearing Centres or in your own home, at your convenience, please phone for free 0800 612 7992 ref. WB RH 02
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