Offered by: John Wilson, B.S., BC-HIS, Blue Ribbon Hearing & Tinnitus Center

PERSPECTIVE – One day a man was complaining about his wife having a hearing problem. An argument ensued as the man explained that most of the time when he asked her a question, she did not answer. To prove his point, he went down the hallway to the other end of the house while his wife stayed in the kitchen. He loudly asked the question “What’s for dinner?” and waited for a response, but did not receive one. After a few moments of waiting, he walked halfway down the hallway toward the kitchen where his wife was still standing and repeated the question, “What’s for dinner?” Again, he waited, but received no response. Shortly thereafter he walked in the kitchen and said again, “What’s for dinner?” This time he received a response from his wife as she said, “For the third time, we are having chicken!”

Perspective is very helpful when it comes to hearing and hearing loss. Nearly everyone knows someone who has lost at least some hearing. Sometimes it is obvious when an individual has hearing loss, while at other times the symptoms are more subtle. Quite often, hearing loss is mistaken as dementia, and vice-a-versa. Regardless of age, signs of hearing loss should be investigated and taken seriously. If hearing loss is discovered, it should be treated as soon as possible to ensure better long term brain health. If you or someone you know is having problems with hearing, the first step is to have an ear check and hearing screening.

ON MASKS – While many people dislike wearing masks, people who wear glasses, hearing aids, or both, tend to find masks irritating and inconvenient. Wearing a mask with eyeglasses often causes the glasses to fog up, making it difficult to see. Wearing a mask with hearing aids that go behind the ear has led to many people having hearing aids get tangled in the mask, sometimes leading to losing one or both hearing aids. Another difficulty associated with masks is that individuals with hearing loss struggle more to hear and understand the speech of those who are wearing masks. This is due to both the muffling of high frequency speech sounds and the elimination of visual cues for those who consciously, or unconsciously read lips to improve understanding.

MASK SOLUTIONS – Starkey Hearing Technologies developed ways to improve hearing those wearing masks. First, for all “Made for iPhone” hearing aids, they created a “Mask” mode that can be engaged to improve speech clarity.  is setting significantly improved the ability to hear high frequency sounds lost through mask material. Second, they developed “Edge” mode, which actually reprograms the hearing aids on demand based on the current real-time situation of the wearer. It works amazingly well for masks, plexiglass barriers, and in restaurants or other noisy environments. In addition to hearing improvements, an app on the wearer’s phone can be used to track down lost hearing aids. Also, hearing aids that do not go over the ear have also been developed that connect directly to the iPhone and certain other smartphones. Custom in-ear hearing aids that do not connect to a smartphone are also available.

LAST CHANCE CLEARANCE – Shortages of components have led hearing aid manufacturers to consolidate products and discontinue a number of product lines. Unfortunately, one of those products is the Picasso Invisiblein-Canal (or IIC) which is one of my favorite custom hearing aids due to its invisible nature and lower cost relative to other IIC models. We have received notice that this great product will only be available to order until March 31st.