Get ready for some sticker shock. If your hearing is starting to deteriorate and think you need a little help, what choices do you have? Digital Hearing Aids are generally the first things that come to mind but they can set you back $ 3,000 or more … and that is just for one ear. The process is pretty simple. You find a doctor or audiologist located near you, you pull out a coupon from one of their frequent ads in the local newspaper offering the promise of great discounts, you make an appointment, have your hearing testing, and are told, “we can outfit you with a state of the art hearing aid complete with fabulous features – noise reductions, 100% digital hearing aid processing, comfortable fit, feedback cancellation (whatever that is) – and it will only cost you about $ 2.945 per ear … plus tax. You ask yourself, quite rightly, if I can buy a full flat screen High Definition TV with internal DVD player for less than $ 700 or an iPad for under $ 500, why does a hearing aid cost almost $ 3,000 ? How can such a little electronic device cost so much? Ahhh, you think, there really is no problem. My health insurance or Medicare will take care of that for me. Wrong. There is no insurance coverage for hearing aid. The money has to come out of your pocket. “Do you have any cheap hearing aids”, you ask. The good news is that for anyone looking for a little hearing help, there is an inexpensive hearing aid alternative – the hearing amplifier. A prominent audiologist in Connecticut who does not want to have his name used for fear of angering his fellow audiologist calls Hearing Amplifiers “starter hearing aids – an inexpensive hearing aid alternative. These hearing amplifiers fit nicely in the ear. Have tone control. And magnify the sounds to make routine conversations easier, phone calls more pleasant, and watching TV at home not a battle over the sound control. Best of all, they cost a fraction of digital hearing aids. Often less than $ 30.00 Hearing aids or hearing amplifiers? The choice is yours. But hearing amplifiers, the so called starter hearing aids, deserve a look.
Archive for the ‘Ite Technology’ Category
Hearing Aids or Hearing Amplifiers, what is better for you?
Sunday, July 18th, 2010Television Stand vs. Apartment Wall Mount.The Age Old Question
Monday, July 5th, 2010
What’s best in an apartment…hanging the flat-screen on the wall or putting it on a stand? Either way looks great when you are watching it, but they both have some hidden issues that should be weighed before the decision is made.
Mounting a television to your wall will inevitably leave a few holes in your drywall when you take the TV down or want to move your furniture around. If you don’t repair the holes, they will stick around and look bad even after you move out. Some communities do consider this normal “wear tear,” but some don’t and you may end up paying a fee or losing some of your deposit to cover the damage.
Also, even though you’re saving space putting on your wall, you’ll still need a DVD, stereo, PS3 or other component which have lots of cables that will run down your wall. If you don’t cover them up somehow, they’ll just dangle and make your living area look kind of ugly. You could try hiding the pesky cables a tall plant or a dresser, but then you wouldn’t saving much floor space, would ya? Sort of defeats the purpose.
There are a number of very, very cool stands and entertainment centers available that will work really well in your apartment. Most of them aren’t very big, have places to store your components, and are fashionable. Best of all, they don’t leave any damage to your apartment.
As an apartment-ite, the choice seems obvious…go with a stand. Don’t agree? We’d like to hear from you! Leave a comment and tell us how you would store your television.
The Dawn of Invisible Hearing Aids
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
The exact date of the development of the first hearing aid is unknown, but the first written description was in Natural Magick written by Giovanni Battista Porta in 1558. Over the years movies, comics, and books have poked fun at hearing aid users while ignoring the usefulness of the device. No wonder no one wanted to be seen wearing one. There is much on the history of hearing aids to satisfy the curious. Museums exist that have documented the long history of the hearing aid in the USA as well as other countries.
Just the thought of getting one was usually a reason for despair; up to five years ago no one wanted a hearing aid. They were huge and unattractive and shouted to the world – look at me! Many persons equated them with old age and they definitely carried a stigma. In addition, early hearing aids, even when they had advanced beyond being trumpets, horns and those worn on the body, were still unattractive. Even with the new behind the ear hearnig aids, called BTE’s, continued to carry some level of stigmatization.
However, the future of hearing aids is here with the development of almost invisible hearing aids. The new offerings are definitely hi-tech and part of the information age. Some are even quite chic, offering Bluetooth technology and music streaming via iPod, which helps to remove the stigma of aging in our youth-obsessed society.
Even some of the smallest hearing aids today allow the wearer to connect directly to TVs, computers, CD players or other electronic devices. These types utilize what is known as ‘direct audio input’ technology; they are so designed that most persons wouldn’t even know that you are using one, assuming instead, that you are just utilizing the technology like everyone else.
Types of almost invisible hearing aids
Almost invisible hearing aids are those worn inside the ear or ear canal itself. These are fitted based on the severity of hearing loss, the size, and shape of the person’s ear and the style.
Some of the main types of ‘almost invisible’ hearing aids are the behind the ear types, namely:
The small open ear hearing aid fits behind the ear. These are very discreet and fitted based on ear size. This type is best suited to persons with mild to moderate hearing loss. Behind the ear types (BTE). This type of hearing aid is good for all types of hearing loss.
These are barely visible with the only tell-tale sign being the tube that enters the ear itself. Another very popular digital hearing aid is the style that fit within the ear.
These include the:
In the canal hearing aids (ITC) are very small and most fit inside the ear canal thereby being fairly hidden. They are great for moderately severe hearing loss. In-the-ear type hearing aids (ITE) work well for severe hearing loss. While not as appealing as the ITCs, they are still a big improvement on earlier types.
This last type truly fits the ‘almost invisible’ label. They are known as CIC or completely in the ear canal hearing aid. Used mostly for mild to moderate loss, these fit, as the name suggests, completely inside the ear canal. In most cases they are completely invisible to the onlooker. This is a far cry from early hearing aids in terms of size and aesthetic appeal. The small battery which operates the device is the only drawback. Some users find this difficult to operate.
The invisible hearing aids The Unitron Moxi CRT hearing aid is a Canal Receiver Technology (CRT) device that fits inside the ear so completely it is virtually invisible. It is best for those with mild to severe hearing loss.
Totally invisible hearing aids are also implantable so that they cannot be seen at all. This new completely invisitble hearing aid, which is still undergoing clinical trials, is also waterproof. With this type the social stigma that still exists to some degree will be greatly eliminated. In fact these new lightweight and small hearing aids have one main disadvantage, they are often lost or can be difficult to find when taken out and placed on a surface.
No longer does anyone regardless of age have to decide to between ignoring their hearing problems and wearing hearing aids. The new invisible devices make this choice a non-issue, and hearing aid wearers can now use them stylishly and proudly.