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Hearing Aids

Hearing Aids

Hearing Aids

Changes to the ears can occur for many reasons. For many, various medical conditions can impair our hearing. For others, the aging process can deprive us the ability to perform well when we need to most. Tens of millions of Americas report various issues hearing, including in the presence of background noise, on the television, or with soft speakers. Hearing aids allow the user the opportunity to drastically improve in conditions like these, vastly improving communication and quality of life. Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat has a vast array of options to assist all hearing needs.

What Are The Benefits of Hearing Aids?

Hearing loss has social, professional, and health impacts. Multiple studies have shown that unaddressed hearing loss can lead to social isolation, loneliness, and depression. Perhaps due to the lack of interpersonal interaction, hearing loss is also linked to cognitive decline and dementia.
Wearing hearing aids is about more than improving hearing. When you can hear and understand what others are saying, you are more involved in your life. You can carry on conversations and connect with colleagues and those you love. Hearing well reduces your risk of accidents and also fosters long-term cognitive health.

What Should I Look For When Choosing Hearing Aids?

Choosing a hearing aid formerly was relatively simple, as there were only a few styles available and they all worked the same way. But when digital technology made its way to hearing aid development, everything changed. Today’s hearing aids perform much better, but now your choices are more involved. There are more and more features on today’s hearing aids, but here are some of the most important things to look for when choosing a hearing aid:
manahawkin hearing aid
  • Versatility— Hearing aids differ in their capabilities. In addition to ensuring that your hearing is improved, hearing aids need to be able to accommodate for lifestyle needs. Hearing aids vary in how well they perform in background noise, in the car, or on a busy city street. The hearing aids you acquire should accommodate your lifestyle as well as have the capability to be adjusted by the audiologist to improve them if your needs are not being met.
  • Style — If you have heavy wax production, certain in-the-ear models may not be appropriate. Conversely, this type of hearing aid may work well on the telephone. Style may not be of the fashion sense, although that is important for some people. There are many styles of hearing aids now, from behind the ear to completely in the ear canal. You want to balance functionality, ease of use, cost, and appearance when looking at the various options available to you.
  • Directional microphones — Directional microphones are aligned on the hearing aid to provide for improved pick-up of sounds coming from in front of you with some reduction of sounds coming from behind you or beside you. This helps when talking with a person in a public place where there is a lot of background noise.
  • Telecoil — Telecoils are small copper coils integrated into the hearing aid. They make it possible for you to talk on the phone without creating feedback, and you can connect to hearing loop systems. These systems are installed in movie theaters, home theater systems, concert halls, churches, Broadway theaters, and places of worship. The telecoil allows for your hearing aids to directly receive information from the sound source, removing concerns of hearing things at a distance.
  • Performance in background noise — Hearing aids have drastically improved performance in background noise over the years, with certain models permitting the user to hear speech significantly clearer when background noise is present. Various environments may be harder than others; find a product that suits the lifestyle that you live.
  • Wireless connectivity — Smartphones permit the user to stream telephone calls, music, and video directly with exceptional sound quality. Additionally, those with wireless connectivity permit the user to make their own programming adjustments on the fly through a manufacturer designed app. As a result, there are fewer issues hearing in difficult environments given real time adjustments.
  • Rechargability – Many hearing aids today have rechargeable batteries and charging docks, which results in a much simpler daily routine. Patients will simply place hearing aids on the charging dock at night and they will be good to go for the entire following day. Rechargeable batteries usually last approximately 3-4 years in duration and can be replaced by the manufacturer.

 

Will They Be Noticeable?

Hearing Aids Manahawkin, Neptune, & Holmdel New Jersey
Many of today’s hearing aid styles are tiny and discreet. Even the more powerful hearing devices that traditionally sit behind one’s ear are available in “miniature” styles. Coastal Hearing and Balance Center in Neptune, Manahawkin, and Holmdel, New Jersey offers a wide variety of high-quality hearing device brands, styles, and levels of technology to fit your individual needs. Some patients may require devices other than conventional hearing aids, such as bone anchored hearing aids or cochlear implants to adequately rehabilitate their hearing loss. Our team of experts will carefully evaluate your lifestyle requirements and recommend the most appropriate option for you.
There are two steps to choosing a hearing instrument.

  • The first step is choosing the hearing aid style that is most suitable for your hearing loss and your dexterity needs.
  • The second step is assessing your lifestyle and your listening demands and expectations to determine the most appropriate level of technology for your needs.

 

How Long Does it Take to Adapt to Hearing Aids?

It is important to get hearing aids to not only treat hearing loss, but to improve social interactions. However, adaptation takes time. Each environment that you may encounter with your hearing aids is unique; repeated exposure allows your ears to get comfortable to sounds that you may have forgotten about and environments that you have historically had difficulty hearing in.
Hearing decline is a gradual process. At first, maybe only certain environments were difficult to hear in, or perhaps only certain family members were difficult to hear. Perhaps you may not have noticed difficulty hearing as early as your loved ones may have. It may have taken years to get to the point where hearing aids became something that you feel was beneficial for you.
Your brain will re-educate itself on selective focus and filtering. Some sounds may be startling at first until your brain acclimates to hearing. While it helps to wear new hearing aids as much as possible to help regain recognition of various sounds, it can be taxing depending on the severity of the hearing loss you have. Your audiologist will be your guide and build up your sound tolerance over repeated visits to the office. They will learn about what you enjoy with your hearing aids and what you do not enjoy. Adaptations will be made based upon your insight and experiences as well as the data stored into your hearing aids. This team approach will ensure that your transition to hearing aids will be a successful one.

Will My Hearing Aids Still Be Effective in Hearing People Who Are Wearing Masks?

It can be somewhat difficult to hear others when they are wearing a mask. It can help to:

  • Face one another when conversing, taking care to maintain a safe distance.
  • Minimize ambient noise, if possible.
  • Speak slowly and clearly.
  • Inform the other person of your hearing aids.
  • Take turns speaking.

Additionally, with many hearing aids that are Bluetooth compatible, apps may be helpful in allowing the user to create a “mask program”, which emphasizes certain components of speech more effectively. Consult your audiologist if you have any questions.

What is The Best Hearing Aid for People Wearing a Mask?

Custom hearing aids that fit in the ear canal may be the most comfortable to wear with a mask. This is because no tubes or wires are sitting where the mask may interfere with fit or sound quality. Our team is happy to answer questions you have or assist you in choosing the most suitable hearing aids for your needs during this unprecedented time.

How Do You Wear A Mask With Hearing Aids?

If you wear a behind-the-ear hearing aid, you may encounter problems such as discomfort or tugging at the wires from the hearing aid to your ear. Many people worry that they will accidentally pull their hearing aid loose when applying or removing their mask. These are all understandable concerns. There are a few strategies that may be considered.

  • Ensure that the mask is closer to your head than the hearing aid is. When worn in this fashion, the hearing aid wires, and mask will not tangle. However, please be conscious when removing your mask. Pull back the mask before bringing it around the ear to ensure that the hearing aids remain stable.
  • Considering purchasing or creating a mask extender. These often look like a strip of fabric with a button on each end. Instead of looping the mask around your ears, the “arms” of the mask loop around the buttons near the back of your head. Raising this extender above your ears will also reduce traffic around the ears.
  • If you have long hair that can be put into a ponytail or bun, your mask “arms” can loop around your hairstyle.
  • Some masks are made with strings that tie at the back of the head rather than loop around the ears. These may be purchased online.

Questions? Call Today

Hearing Aid cleaning

Contact Us Today!
Coastal Ear Nose and Throat has locations in Neptune, Manahawkin & Holmdel, New Jersey providing patients with hearing aids. Visit our Contact Us page if you have any questions or to request an appointment today!


Click to learn more about the following brands that Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat dispenses:

Widex logo
Starkey logo
Phonak logo
Signia logo
Oticon logo
ResoundGN logo

Oticon

Oticon builds on its platform of BrainHearing Technology with its new model, More.  More boasts the industry’s first on-board Deep Neural Network, whereas a catalogue of 12 million sounds allow the user and the aid to learn via experience.  Oticon is proud to have Bluetooth connection to IPhone and select Android devices, allowing for a seamless transition to hearing effectively on the phone.Oticon is proud of its IPhone compatibility and associated Opn application. It allows the patient to make manual adjustments; there is also streaming of music, audio, and phone calls. Its rechargeable option is available at no additional cost and permits the patient a full day of usage on a single charge. Through a Remote Care app, the Opn S can be programmed or adjusted by your provider even while at home.

Additionally, for those with severe to profound hearing loss, Oticon is proud of its new power product, the Xceed. Apart from rechargeability, Xceed boasts all of the benefits of the Opn S technology, including Bluetooth compatibility. Oticon ensures that though one’s hearing loss is significant; they should not compromise on performance.

Oticon has a line of accessories as well. Patients can be given direct accessibility to the television through the TV adapter 3.0 and to a landline via the Phone Adapter 2.0. A miniature mic also permits direct access to a specific voice while in one-on-one conversations.

Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat is a proud supplier of Oticon products and will be more than happy to demonstrate them to you.

Visit https://www.oticon.com/ for additional information.


Widex

The Widex Moment plans to revolutionize the industry with the goal of creating sound that is clear, comfortable, and performs well in the presence of background noise. As hearing aids historically have been defined as “not natural”, Widex decided to combat this with “PureSound”. PureSound technology strives to present sounds and voices to the ear with limited to no delay, resulting in a more natural presentation of speech and environmental sounds without echo, reverberation, or distortion.

The Moment builds on Widex’s previous platforms, which specialize in Speech Enhancement, a feature that allows for a beneficial signal-to-noise ratio in a myriad of environments. Widex products also perform exceptionally well with soft sounds and speech, providing the wearer the opportunity to hear the nuisances of whispers, female voices, and those of children.

The Moment hearing system is compatible with iPhone and select Android devices for Bluetooth streaming, which includes audio, video, and phone calls. The Moment app permits patients to make various adjustments, including the Sound Sense Learn feature which allows for real time sound comparisons and adjustments.

This hearing aid also had a rechargeable option, utilizing the smallest rechargeable lithium-ion receiver in-canal hearing aid in the industry. The product comes in various colors and sizes to fit all cosmetic concerns. With a special accessory, the product can even be remotely programmed and adjusted.

Widex utilizes various accessories, most notably the TV Play, which permits for a direct signal from the television to the patient’s hearing aids. The patient can listen to whatever volume is comfortable while others can listen at their preferred volumes.

Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat is one of the first practices in the country to fit the Widex Moment. Please call our office to schedule and appointment for a hearing test and a demonstration of this new product.

Visit https://www.widex.com/en-us to learn more about this ground-breaking product.


Starkey Hearing Technologies

Starkey Hearing Technologies is proud of the new additions to its family, beginning with the Livio Edge AI. In addition to improved performance in noise and superior sound quality, this product provides the most artificially intelligent unit on the market. The Edge Mode feature permits patients to tap their hearing aids, allowing the devices to survey the environment and make helpful changes in real time.Much of the fanfare associated with the Livio AI product line centers around its one-of-a-kind Thrive app, which allows iPhone and select Droid users to track physical as well as mental health. Patients and their loved ones can be alerted to falls and other health characteristics. Patients can use the Thrive Assistant, which will answer hearing aid questions as well as those through Amazon Alexa. Many additional features of the app include language translation, schedule reminders, and transcription. Finally, patients will benefit from remote care, whereas audiologists can program and adjust hearing aids through remote care virtual appointments.

The Livio Edge AI and Livio AI behind-the-ear products are available in rechargeable design. Additionally, Starkey is also proud to be the only brand that offers custom rechargeable hearing aids. These hearing aids are molded specifically to the patients’ ears but will also be able to charge on a specially designed charger. Custom rechargeable hearing aids are also Bluetooth compatible with the iPhone and select Droid products.

Starkey features many accessories, such as a television adapter and a multi-microphone, which can assist those in more challenging environments. The multi-mic, for example, allows patients to focus in a single direction to better hear in background noise. The television accessory streams the television directly through the hearing aids, regardless of distance, with a clear signal. A mini-mic also allows for better performance when trying to interact with a specific person in challenging environments.

Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat providers have had much success with Starkey products and would be more than happy to demonstrate them for you. Visit www.starkey.com to learn more.


Phonak

Phonak is proud to offer its Paradise technology. Paradise allows users a very comfortable first-wear experience, allowing for a smoother transition to wearing hearing aids.  This, coupled with Speech Enhancer, allows patients to understand even the softest levels of speech.  Dynamic noise cancellation allows for real time adjustments to handle variant noise levels.  Phonak is still proud of its all-Bluetooth concept, whereas users can stream to their Android, IPhone, or any other Bluetooth-enabled device.  More than one device can be paired at a time.

Marvel’s Virto custom technology permits for custom Bluetooth technology, allowing wearers the comfort for a custom product with the technology usually reserved for behind-the-ear wearers. Available in various colors, including black, patients can present like they are wearing modern Bluetooth headsets with the benefit of hearing aid technology.

Phonak’s claim to fame is its Roger technology, a special accessory line that allows for wireless accessibility to sound in challenging environments. Patients can place specially designed multi-microphones on tables in loud restaurants or similarly difficult environments yet avoid the struggle that many may still encounter though hearing aids are being worn.

The myPhonak app allows for various user controls, including volume and performance in the presence of background noise. The app also features Remote Support, permitting patients to interact with their audiologists remotely while making needed changes to programming. A hearing diary also lets the patient track their hearing aid journey.

Historically, Phonak’s Naida line has been at the forefront of treatment for those with severe to profound losses. Compatible with the Roger technology and the myPhonak app, patients with larger hearing loses can perform as effectively as others with hearing aids without compromise. Phonak’s product line comes in various sizes and colors, as well as rechargeable options in all technologies.

Our audiologists at Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat are very experienced with Phonak’s products and would love to demonstrate them for you.

Visit https://www.phonak.com/us/en.html if you’d like to learn more.


Signia

Signia, formerly Siemens Hearing Technologies, proudly promotes its newest technology, the Xperience. This product features real-time tracking during movement, allowing the user to equally understand speech in front and surrounding areas. The Xperience detects when in motion, then optimizes the listening experience.

The Xperience also features Signia’s unique Own Voice Processing (OVP). OVP, established at the patient’s initial fitting, allows the hearing aids to differentiate between the patient’s own voice and those of others. The result is vastly improved tolerance to the volume of one’s own voice and unneeded return visits to address one of the most common complaints of new users.

Signia’s product line features many rechargeable options, most notably the Charge&Go X. Products vary in size as well as color.

The new Signia app offers users a combination of adjustability, Bluetooth streaming to iPhones, and remote care. Patients will be able to interface with their audiologists, making needed adjustments without having to leave the home.

Signia hearing aids can be dispensed or repaired at Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat. Call our office and meet one of our Doctors of Audiology.

Visit https://www.signiausa.com/ for more information.


GN RESOUND

ReSound GN Lozenge


GN Resound has recently introduced the ONE hearing aid platform with a focus on performance in background noise and sound localization. Resound is known for their excellent feedback reduction, whereas they create a signal that is the exact opposite of the feedback sound to cancel it out, much like the technology used in noise cancelling headphones.The ONE platform offers an optional feature called M&RIE (pronounced Marie) which allows for an extra microphone located in the ear canal. This innovation helps you better identify where a sound is coming from in space, improves performance in noise, helps reduce wind noise, and most importantly, provides a more natural soundscape.

Resound ONE hearing aids are compatible with iPhone and select Android devices for Bluetooth streaming. The Resound Smart 3D app allows the wearer to fine tune their hearing aids with a simple and easy to use interface. The app provides helpful shortcuts to help with speech clarity and background noise. The app also allows the listener to focus the hearing aid 360 degrees to allow the listener to hear sounds coming all directions more easily.

This hearing aid also has a rechargeable option, providing the longest lasting power on a single charge in the industry. The Resound ONE rechargeable hearing aid lasts up to 30 hours on a single charge. Its charger acts as a power bank and can hold three full charges that can be even while the device is not plugged in.

Resound offers an additional product that can be used with their aids called the MultiMic which acts as a microphone to deliver the sound of a person’s voice, directly in the ears of the user. This reduces background noise and improves signal to noise ratio in environments such as restaurants and places of worship.

Coastal Ear, Nose, and Throat is excited to be offering this product. Please call our office to schedule an appointment for a hearing test and an evaluation to be able to try on this technology.

Visit https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids/resound-hearing-aids/resound-one to learn more about this product.

Audiology, Hearing and Balance