The Unique HearListen™
What Is HearListen™?
People with hearing loss become used to the loss, which usually has taken years to gradually worsen. Instead of noticing the hearing loss, the individual has adapted. This occurs because of the plasticity of the brain, and the individual often is not aware of the severity of the loss.
Years of experience have shown us that this individual needs to slowly adapt back to better hearing. Our research has culminated into HearListen™. HearListen™ is a way of relearning the skill of listening and hearing. Unlike the retail setting or the chain stores, our program allows the patient to relearn hearing at his or her own pace.
Since each individual is different, HearListen™ is customized as a step-by-step process toward better hearing. The program includes a combination of gradual sound adjustments and digitally interactive “games” of listening and responding. The interactive activities are available as either in-clinic or an at-home program, and been proven clinically to improve speech understanding.
Worried A Friend Or Loved One Has Hearing Loss?
More Apparent To You
Unlike a broken arm or a bruised body, hearing loss can be quite difficult for someone who suffers it to recognize. This is because of the nature of the onset of hearing loss, it is rarely sudden, and often develops gradually. Quite often the very last person to realize they have hearing loss is the person suffering with it. A hearing loss happens over many years in a slow and almost insidious manner. Because of this slow process and the slow change in a person’s terms of reference. It can be many years before someone realizes that they have a hearing loss.
Hearing loss is unlike sight loss, when you have problems with your sight, you know it immediately. However when you cannot hear a sound, it simply no longer exists for you. Hearing loss is often more apparent for the people around the person suffering. For this reason, the people involved with a person with hearing loss are key players in helping them overcome hearing loss. But how can you tell if they are having trouble hearing?
Quite often the very last person to realize there is a problem, is the person with hearing loss
We know how hard it can be to help someone you care about to come to terms with their hearing loss
Whether you are trying to diagnose your concern or gain more information contact us and we can help
The Seven Signs Of Hearing Loss
There are seven clear signs that a person may be suffering with hearing loss. We will detail them here and explain the background to the causes of them.
Difficulty understanding people, especially in crowded places like bars or restaurants
Because of the nature of most hearing loss the most difficult sounds to hear are the very soft consonants in speech. These are soft but important sounds in words, because they give words meaning. These sounds are of high importance in language but they tend not to have a great deal of power. These sounds are even more difficult to hear when there is any level of background noise, which increases the problems for people with hearing loss.
Asking people to repeat themselves
Because it is difficult to understand some speech sounds, quite often someone with hearing loss may repeatedly ask someone to repeat themselves.
The need to have instructions repeated. A clear sign that there may be a problem
Humans are quite amazing animals, we will unconsciously compensate for and overcome most problems, but there is a limit. People with hearing loss naturally compensate for their difficulties with coping measures. A person with hearing loss uses concentration as one of their coping mechanisms. Because “instruction” involves the passing of important information from the giver to the receiver, it requires an even greater level of concentration for the listener. The hearing loss becomes more obvious when the person cannot achieve the needed level . It takes even more effort to understand and remember the information that is being passed on to them.
A high volume level on the TV or stereo
Traditionally this is one of the first and biggest signs of hearing loss, and it is also one of the biggest causes of arguments. Arguments over the volume of the TV are legendary in our Practice. All joking aside, it can in fact put a real strain on relationships. The reason for the issue is essentially the same as the problems for hearing in noise. Soft consonants can be very difficult for a person with hearing loss. This is often compounded by accents that a person is unfamiliar with.
Difficulty hearing telephone conversations
Without visual cues, understanding voices on the telephone can be problematic. Sometimes a volume control on the telephone will help, but at other times the issue is not of volume but of clarity. Because specific sounds of speech may be “missing” for the listener, the words are difficult to understand. This is particularly true while trying to understand digits, such as a phone number that is being recorded.
Difficulty when people are speaking in another room
This is a combination of general volume of the voice and the soft consonants. Both cause real difficulties in this type of situation. Because the speaker is not visible and the listener is not able to Difficulty following group conversations Again mostly the issue here is with those consonants, it can be especially hard for a person with hearing loss to hear them. Particularly when people are talking across each other as happens in the best conversations. Further compounded by laughter as we all know happens in the best conversations.
Withdrawal from social situations
This is an established and much studied implication and symptom of hearing loss. Eventually social situations become too tiring, frustrating and stressful. So people with hearing loss simply withdraw from them; it is simply much easier not to go. This can be devastating and studies have shown that it can lead to depression.
The Impact Of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss greatly impacts the quality of a person?s life and it can be particularly hard to watch a loved one struggle with their hearing. In many cases, their hearing loss is more apparent to you than it is to them. If hearing loss is left untreated, it can leave a person feeling isolated or withdrawn to a level where they avoid social situations. It very often is frustrating for both the person experiencing hearing loss and those around them. It often leads to tension which further increases the feeling of isolation and may re-enforce the withdrawal from social activities. If any of the seven signs of hearing loss are a common occurrence with your loved one, then it is time to seek some help.
Helping You, Help Your Loved One Live A Full & Active Life Un-Hindered By Hearing Loss
We do know how hard it can be to help someone you care about come to terms with their hearing loss. Whether you are trying to diagnose your concern or gain more information contact us and we can help, We will work together with you to ensure that any hearing problems are diagnosed and treated. So you can be happy that your loved one is getting the best opportunity to live a full and active life un-hindered by hearing loss.