Four Reasons to Listen to a Loved One When it Comes to Hearing Loss
Like any condition, calling hearing loss to someone’s attention can be awkward. More often than not, it’s loved ones that first identify a person’s inability to hear fully, and it can come off offensive or insensitive if the topic is not approached correctly. However they go about it, it is important to listen to loved ones, as they’re usually the first ones to tell us what everyone else is thinking or noticing. Also, their intention is typically to help rather than offend, so be gentle before getting defensive.
Via We’re All Ears, a blog by Connect Hearing: https://goo.gl/9yAGck

Happy #SaintNicholas Day from Sonova and its brands! #Nikolaus

Four Bizarre Home Tinnitus Remedies
Although it’s one of the most common hearing conditions in the world, tinnitus is still highly misunderstood – even by those who have it. The unexplainable, untreatable ringing has confused doctors and patients alike, making it difficult to diagnose and deal with. While there is no cure for the condition, we asked our audience what the most bizarre home remedies they had heard of. From simple lifestyle changes to herbal concoctions – we’ve found the most different and outrageous treatments to share with you. Before we go into them, remember the best advice if you are experiencing tinnitus is to visit an audiologist to provide professional medical advice.
Via We’re All Ears, a blog by Connect Hearing: https://goo.gl/v75AXR

The 2018 Hear the World calendar – stars support good cause Priyanka Chopra, Shawn Mendes, Jamie Cullum, Alessia Cara and The Weeknd are just a few of the stars captured on camera by Bryan Adams for this year’s calendar. Each of the subjects of this beautiful series of black and white photographs adopt the familiar Hear the World pose that is synonymous with conscious hearing— one hand behind their ear— to help raise awareness of the importance of good hearing and the consequences of hearing loss. All proceeds from the sale of the calendars will go to Sonova’s Hear the World Foundation, a global non-profit that aids disadvantaged people, particularly children, with hearing loss.
More: https://goo.gl/jyC3X9

Happy #thanksgiving from Sonova and its brands!

*Tips for Staying Positive with Hearing Loss *
Getting diagnosed with anything can be uncomfortable and overwhelming, and hearing loss is no exception to that. Seeing as it’s a lifelong condition that may not be easily treatable, many patients don’t know how to react when they first receive the news. We asked our Facebook fans to weigh in with words of wisdom for newcomers to the hearing loss community.
Via We’re All Ears, a blog by Connect Hearing: https://goo.gl/6sjRBq

Happy Republic Day to all of you in #Brazil! Don't forget to protect your #hearing during parties and fireworks!

The fly: an insect with a “rocker” for unique hearing

They possess one of the most accurate and efficient hearing systems in the animal kingdom, and the precision with which the fly species Ormia ochracea can localize sources of sound is unparalleled - which is why researchers are trying to reverse engineer its hearing apparatus with a view to helping people affected by hearing loss.

Things can get pretty loud in the natural world - for flies' ears at least. The fly species Ormia ochracea is nonetheless able to locate exactly where a cricket's chirping is coming from, for example, and researchers at the University of Texas have discovered that it is a flexible “rocker” in the insect's head that allows it to do this. When a sound wave hits the seesaw-shaped membrane, it deforms and tips to one side, allowing the fly to positively identify a cricket's chirping - and where it is coming from.

This precise localization is unique in the animal kingdom - although the fly's hearing organs are positioned only half a millimeter apart, they can pinpoint the direction of a sound to within two degrees. This is all the more astounding when you consider how directional hearing usually works: the brain registers how much later a sound reaches the eardrum located further away from the source, and how great the difference in volume is from ear to ear. To achieve this, however, there has to be a certain spacing between the two receptors: sound pressure diminishes with distance. “In principle, a fly's ear is a clever directional microphone,” explains Stefan Launer, Sonova's Senior Vice President Science & Technology and an audiological research expert.

The process described above could, if replicated successfully, benefit people with hearing loss, as it could be deployed to help them filter out significant sounds - such as a voice for example - from background noise. “The problem is that a fly's ear is constructed for a higher frequency range than we use for a hearing aid, so we are investigating how the principle and the mechanism might be adapted and transposed to the correct frequency band.” While Launer concedes that the mode of operation cannot be transferred directly to humans, he says: “It certainly makes sense to attempt to understand such systems. Doing so is genuinely inspiring and prompts you to think about things in entirely new ways.”

Discreet and effective methods for hearing aid wearers to focus voices already exist - Phonak's Roger Pen, for example. A wireless microphone for use at work or home, the Roger Pen offers optimal speech comprehension in noise and over distance, plus Bluetooth connectivity.

Links:
http://www.phonak.com/ch/b2c/de/products/wireless-accessories/products/roger-pen/hearing-aid-accessory.html

https://www.phonakpro.com/com/en/products/wireless-accessories/roger-pen/overview-roger-pen.html

https://www.phonakpro.com/content/dam/phonak/b2b/C_M_tools/Library/background_stories/de/bgs_zoomcontrol_200711.pdf

Three things you shouldn’t say to someone with hearing loss
Compared to other health conditions, hearing loss is one that society seems to have little sensitivity towards. As our Facebook fan Wayne T. put it, “if a near blind person were in difficulty, would people be rude to them? What about a person with a physical handicap? Well, same should go for industrial tinnitus.” With a little help from our Facebook audience, we’ve compiled a list of the top three things you should avoid saying in the presence of someone with hearing loss.
Via We’re All Ears, a blog by Connect Hearing: https://goo.gl/VhZxZW