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Viewing entries tagged with 'hearing aids'

Viewing entries tagged with 'hearing aids'

New Insights turn sound upside down for hearing loss

Posted by MAC on 4 December 2020

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New research is changing the way we think about hearing aids by unlocking the secret to how our brains process sound and paving the way for improved treatments and technologies.

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SHIFT Ready-to-Wear Hearing Devices

Posted by Admin on 28 September 2020

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Take Charge of your Hearing Experience

Designed for people with a mild to moderate hearing loss and who are not quite ready to commit to professionally fitted hearing aids. The SHIFT hearing devices can be easily programmed by the user, using the SHIFT hearing app. Once programmed, the SHIFT hearing app functions as a remote control. You can adjust the volume and programs. The SHIFT ready-to-wear hearing devices have two programs; the main automatic program and a special program for listening to music.

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How to find the best hearing aids for your needs

Posted by ADMIN on 17 September 2020

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How to find the best hearing aids for your needs 
If you have a hearing loss, hearing aids can help.
There are many brands and styles of hearing aids on the market. So how do you know which is best for you? Consult an audiologist.
Audiologists are the experts in hearing and hearing loss. They understand the complexity of hearing loss and it’s impacts on relationships. Audiologists also understand and keep abreast of latest hearing aid technology. They make evidence-based recommendations. In addition, there is a large range of add-on accessories that can take hearing aids to another level. Your audiologist will ask you about your hearing and how hearing loss is impacting your life. They will recommend the best hearing aids for your hearing levels, needs and budget.
Hearing loss is a complex condition with damage occurring to the ear and/or the hearing nerves. Some types of hearing loss can be treated with medication or surgery. But most cases of hearing loss cannot be treated medically.  This is when the audiologist comes in.  The two major causes of hearing loss are getting older and loud noise.  Both age-related and noise-induced hearing loss are complex and permanent.  They affect the inner ear, the hearing nerves or both.
Audiologists also know about the impacts of hearing loss on relationships, the enjoyment of sounds and wellbeing.  Hearing aids can help. 
Our audiologists have ongoing training in all the new hearing aid technologies.  They keep abreast of current advances in devices that will help with hearing loss.  Hence, they can match up the best hearing aid technology and devices with an individual’s hearing loss and listening needs. 
Hearing aids do more than make sounds louder. Making both speech and noise louder may not necessarily make it clearer for someone with hearing loss. In fact, making sounds too loud can cause distortions of the sound and distortions in the ear, as well as being uncomfortable. 
Hearing aids must make speech clearer. They must reduce annoying noise and amplify speech. This is quite challenging to achieve because; 
• the speech and noise often occur together
• there are different types of noise - background noise, echo/reverberation, wind noise
• sometimes the 'noise' you do not want to hear is other speech
• the sound environment around us is changing from one instant to another 
• sounds are coming from all around us
The newest technologies in hearing aids focus on:
• improving speech clarity by:
o more accurately identifying what is speech and what is noise when they are combined 
o improving strategies for amplifying speech and reducing noise
o faster processing computer chips to keep up with the constantly changing sound environment
• more natural sound and ability to detect which direction sounds are coming from
• unique amplification strategies for music to improve it’s fidelity
• connecting directly with mobile phones so audio from mobile phones is sent wirelessly using Bluetooth to the hearing aids
• connecting to TV, tablets and more so audio is streamed wirelessly to the hearing aids
• new rechargeable hearing aids that give a full day’s charge.
Melbourne Audiology Centre offers a wide range of the latest quality hearing aids.  We only supply hearing aids made by the leading hearing aid manufacturers.  In this way we are confident that the hearing aids we supply meet high quality standards.  We can also be assured that they provide the correct amplification for each individual hearing loss.  Delivering the correct amplification is vitally important to achieving optimal speech clarity. 
Hearing aid prices depend on several things including:
• technology features
• the style of the hearing aid 
• whether there are any rebates available:
o Government’s Hearing Services Program (HSP) rebates for pensioners, veterans and other eligible clients 
• HSP clients may be eligible for fully or partially subsidised hearing aids
o health fund rebates
o Please contact us for more information 1300 761 021.
Our audiologist will ask you about your listening needs and your lifestyle.  They will help you select the best hearing aids that are within your budget and they will program and fine-tune the aids, so you achieve the best hearing possible. 
The price of your hearing aids includes the audiology services required for programming and adjusting the hearing aids.  Our goal is to help you achieve the best hearing possible with the best hearing aids for your needs.  Hearing aids generally last for years.  Over time your hearing, hearing needs or lifestyle may change.  Your hearing aids may need further adjustment and we are here to help you, so you have many years of good hearing with your investment.  
Hearing aids are an investment of your time and money. The way to find the best hearing aids is to get professional unbiased advice. Consult one of our audiologists.
Book an appointment for a ‘Hearing aid assessment and consultation’ or call us on 1300 761 021.
[book now] link to 
We supply hearing aids from leading hearing aid manufacturer’s including Oticon, Starkey, Unitron, Signia, Phonak, Widex and Resound. 
As an essential health service, we are open during COVID-19.  We are practicing strict infection control procedures for the safety of everyone.  

How to buy the best hearing aids for you

If you have a hearing loss, hearing aids can help.  There are many brands and styles of hearing aids on the market. So how do you know which is best for you? Consult an audiologist. Why?

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Telehealth and RemoteCare for Audiology Services – Teleaudiology

Posted by on 3 June 2020

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Telehealth and remote care for hearing services

As hearing health care practitioners, we are facing challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic.  How do we deliver hearing services to our clients in a safe way? 
The incidence of hearing loss increases with age.  Hence, we tend to see more seniors at our clinics.  Our older clients are at a higher risk if they are infected with corona virus.  So, we have adapted.  We are now conducting many of our appointment protocols differently to reduce the risks to our clients.  
From mid-March we have been providing some hearing services via telehealth.  Pensioners, veterans, and other eligible clients funded under the Hearing Services Program (HSP) can have some hearing services funded via telehealth.  Our Worksafe clients can also have some hearing services completed by telehealth.
Telehealth is often done by phone, which has its own challenges when talking to someone who has a hearing loss.  This is because people with hearing loss depend on visual cues and lip reading to hear optimally.  Have you heard anyone saying they can hear better when they are looking at you?  This is because we are using visual cues such as lip reading to help with hearing.  If the client with hearing loss can see us, they can use visual information to support their hearing.  For this reason, we would prefer to use video-chat for telehealth services in audiology.  In our industry we call this teleaudiology.  To be able to do teleaudiology, our clients need to have internet access and be familiar with using technology.  However, this is not always the case with our older clients.  Another compounding factor for teleaudiology services is when someone has limited English.  Despite these factors, we can do teleaudiology services with many of our clients.
The appointment types that we can do by teleaudiology include:
• reviewing hearing aid fitting
• reviewing your progress with hearing aids
• troubleshooting an issue with the hearing aids
• tinnitus counselling and support.
RemoteCare is an innovative technology in hearing aids that enables us to program some hearing aids "remotely' via the internet.  We can offer RemoteCare to our clients who have newer hearing aids with this technology.  They must also have internet access and know how to use apps on their smart phone.  RemoteCare allows the audiologist to connect to the hearing aids via the internet.  The connection is via an app specific to the model of hearing aid.  For example, we can adjust the Oticon Opn hearing aids using ‘Oticon RemoteCare’ app.  We book a ‘remote’ appointment which we do via video-chat (like Skype).  At the same time, the audiologist can connect to the hearing aids and adjust them in real-time.  The audiologist adjusts the hearing aid programming based on the conversation with the client.   The goal is to get to the best hearing possible.  Our audiologists love it!  It works like a face-to-face appointment in many respects.  However, if there are issues with physical fit or inserting the hearing aids clients will need a face-to-face appointment.
However, we cannot do all appointments via teleaudiology or RemoteCare.  We must do some appointments face-to-face.  These include:
• hearing tests, which we must do using calibrated equipment and in sound treated conditions
• most hearing aid fittings as we need to check the physical fit of the hearing aids on the ear and measure the amount of sound in the ear canal
• taking impressions for custom hearing aids
• otoscopy - checking the ear canal and ear drum.
To reduce risks of infection in face-to-face appointments, we are reducing the time spent in close proximity to our clients.  Where we can, we are doing part of the appointment by teleaudiology and the other face-to-face. 
As audiologists, we are often looking after older and hence more vulnerable people.  It is vital that when delivering our services, it is as safe as possible.  In summary, when supplying hearing services to our clients we are:
• practicing strict infection control
• physically distancing and managing the number of clients in a room
• adapting our service delivery procedures
o teleaudiology services
o remote care hearing aid adjustments
o reduced face-to-face time during appointments
o kerbside help.
RemoteCare will become more common as clients upgrade their hearing aids and become familiar with apps.  The other benefits of teleaudiology and Remote Care in addition to the ones already mentioned are:
• it can save clients time by reducing the need to travel to the clinic
• it’s a convenient service to people who live further away or cannot drive to clinic
• more support to clients especially in the first few days following a new hearing aid fitting
• timely minor hearing aid adjustments and counselling.
Whilst some appointments may be delivered in a different way as we embrace new service delivery models, we are still committed to providing our clients with the best hearing care. 
You can contact us on 1300 761 021. 

As hearing health care practitioners, we are facing challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic.  How do we deliver hearing services to our clients in a safe way? 

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Happier, healthier and wealthier with hearing aids

Posted by on 11 March 2020

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People who treat their hearing loss with hearing aids are happier, healthier and wealthier compared to people who do not use hearing aids.  These are results found in a report “hearing loss – numbers and costs” published by hear-it AISBL*.

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Can hearing aids slow down dementia?

Posted by on 28 February 2020

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The answer is yes.  A recent study1 showed that using hearing aids is associated with slowing cognitive decline.   

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Transforming hearing aids into Bluetooth headsets.

Posted by on 16 December 2019

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Users of iPhone 5 or newer smartphones have been able to stream voice and music to compatible hearing aids for a few years.  Resound were the first hearing aid manufacturer to release ‘Made for iPhone’ devices.   Today most hearing aid brands have hearing aids ‘Made for iPhone’ which has been great for iPhone users.  They have been able to stream voice calls and music directly to the hearing aids without the need of an intermediary device.   Which has not been the case for Android user - up to now.  Android users could stream voice and music but had to use of an intermediary device called a streamer.  Some have not liked this as it meant having the streamer on a lanyard around your neck of clipped to clothing.

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The new Opn S hearing aids have ground breaking technology to control the risk of annoying whistling.

Posted by on 12 April 2019

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Around mid-March 2019, Oticon launched their latest hearing aids called the Opn S.  They are an update of the very popular Opn family of aids which we have been successfully fitting since July 2016 and have many satisfied users.

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For anyone who struggles in noisy places – like cafés – we’ve got good news :-)

Posted by on 20 December 2017

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For anyone who struggles in noisy places – like cafés – we’ve got good news :-) 

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