“Hearing aids don’t work for me. I purchased three sets online and I still can’t hear”. “I saw these hearing aids in a magazine or on TV so I thought I would give them a try but that was a waste of money.” “I purchased hearing aids from a retail chain or big box store, and I am still having trouble understanding what people are saying.”
We hear these comments all the time. Let’s address why we are so concerned with these comments and some of the potential reasons why this may be the case.
Hearing loss is a neurological degenerative disease. Depriving the brain of the full sound scape of auditory information results in cortical changes in the brain which increase our risk of cognitive decline. We have all read recent research using imaging studies that clearly supports the correlation between untreated/under treated hearing loss and dementia.
Our auditory system not only consists of our hearing but also our balance. Auditory deprivation increases our risk of falls. According to the National Institute of Health, a mild hearing loss is associated with a nearly three-fold increase in the odds of reporting a fall over the preceding year. Unfortunately, most patients with a perceived mild hearing loss don’t seek treatment. According to the CDC, falling once doubles your chance of falling again.
If you are like me, I want to do everything I can to keep all the parts of my brain doing what they are supposed to do as I get older. Hearing rehabilitation is good for the brain and our overall health. We don’t want to fall!
When we are talking about the brain and neural plasticity, it is critical to invest in the best hearing treatment possible. If you purchase something “online” or from a TV ad, do you truly know what you are purchasing? The answer to that is NO. Did you invest in an amplifier that just makes everything louder? Our auditory process is not linear so we need greater amplification for softer sounds than louder sounds. Without a proper diagnostic evaluation, the hearing aids cannot be programmed to amplify the frequencies of sound that your ears are not properly hearing.
All hearing aid processes sound different. During our Functional Hearing Assessment appointments we evaluate not only the frequencies of sound you are not hearing properly but also how your brain processes information so we can make the best recommendation of treatment for you based on the data that we collect. Hearing aids are just the vessel of hearing treatment.
In the words of a Functional medicine physician with the Cleveland Clinic…” don’t guess…test”. That is what we do. Every individual that invests in their hearing treatment with our team receives testing that ensures their hearing prescription is being met. Your hearing loss has a prescription just as our eyes do when glasses are needed. If you don’t measure what is occurring in the ear canal you have no idea of what sound is being transmitted to your brain. Most people who come to us for help after investing in hearing aids fit elsewhere are not receiving enough amplification therefore soft sounds are not audible. You cannot understand what you don’t hear.
If you would like more information about our Functional Hearing Assessment, if you purchased hearing aids but need help determining why they are not meeting your needs, if you would like your balance assessed, if you suffer from annoying tinnitus, give Taylor, Jamie or Diane a call at 704-633-0023 to schedule an appointment. Remember to visit our website at www.hearingsolutionsofnc.com and like us on Facebook. Dr. Mussler, Jane, Cheryl and I look forward to seeing you soon.