HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION- OF AMERICA QUIET CORNER CHAPTER NEWS
May 2008
A PUBLICATION OF Hearing Loss Association of America Quietcorner Chapter, AN AFFILIATE OF HEARING LOSS
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
A NON-PROFIT, TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATION P.O. BOX 314, ASHFORD, CONNECTICUT 06278
WEB SITE: http://qcshhh.tripod.com/
A movement to change the way the world thinks about hearing loss and
the way individuals with hearing loss think about themselves
Next Meeting
At the next meeting, May 10 th at Ashford Senior Housing (across the street from the Town Hall), our speaker
will be Debbie BAKER, Regional Director-- For New England States-- Coming From STOWE Vermont We are inviting
all Chapters in Ct-- NH-- Mass-- RI—to the meeting. We will be taking her to lunch at the midway- less
then a mile away.
June speaker is Ralph Compagna of Ampilsound. He canceled earlier in the year when his daughter ended up in the
emergency room, but asked if we could reschedule him at a later time.-----
Last Meeting
Mrs. Diane Wixted M.S.--LPC-- LADC ---( Conn Dept Of Hard Of Hearing))-CDHI- Supervisor of Counseling Services And
Legislative Liaison--- Counseling Services Officer, Personal and Family Counseling for those who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing,
.or have any Type of Hearing Loss. Legislative duties include Newborn Hearing program, Hearing Aids for Children--(to
18) Qualifying Apps For Deaf Interpreters And Oral Sign Language. She discussed her duties and passed out a lot
of hand outs, i.e. ‘How to alert 911 to your special needs’ , ‘How to request interpreter services’,
etc.
.
FEW PRODUCTS ARE HATED AS MUCH AS HEARING AIDS.
The devices can squeal with feedback and overamplify background noises like the click of a turn signal or whir of a ceiling
fan. They must be removed for showering or sleeping, and their batteries die frequently. Many users, out of exasperation,
decide they’d rather live with hearing loss. But now scientists have come up with a different kind of hearing aid. While the device, called the Lyric, is being used
in only 500 patients, it appears to have overcome many of the problems associated with traditional hearing aids — without
the expense and uncertainty of surgery and anesthesia.
The Lyric, made by InSound Medical of Newark, Calif., is hidden deep inside the ear canal, just four millimeters (about
one-sixth of an inch) from the ear drum. While doctors for years have been implanting hearing devices in the middle ear, the
Lyric is not an implant: it can be removed with a small magnet. It is worn 24 hours a day, and its batteries last one to four
months.
Typically, anything that clogs the ear canal would trap moisture and pose an infection risk, but the Lyric is surrounded
by a spongy material that allows moisture to escape. Because it sits so close to the ear drum, doctors say that it works more
efficiently and that sounds are more natural because they don’t have to be amplified as much. When the Lyric’s
battery dies, the entire device is replaced. Patients do not pay for a new device every time; instead, they pay an annual
subscription fee of $2,900 to $3,600 for both ears (less if the hearing loss is in only one ear). Insurance plans typically
do not cover the cost of the Lyric, or any other hearing device .A magnet is used to control the volume, turn it on and
off and remove it when the battery runs out. It takes only a few minutes for a doctor to insert a replacement device. The
Lyric does not work for everyone. In particular, some ear canals are too narrow to accommodate it, and the company estimates
that it is not suitable for up to half of potential patients. A planned newer version should work for about 85 percent of
patients, it says. Still, it is already getting an enthusiastic reception from patients and from hearing specialists
not connected with the company. “There are a certain number of patients who just can’t get over having something
in their ear, just as there are a certain number of patients who can’t wear contact lenses,” said Dr. Chester F. Griffiths, chairman of the department of surgery at the Santa Monica U.C.L.A. Medical Center.
“But that’s the minority. The patients that have them love them.”Dr. Griffiths says he has no financial
ties to the Lyric, nor does he receive a commission for referring patients.
One patient who swears by the device is Mike Waufle, the 53-year-old defensive line coach for the New York Giants. After
a stint in the Marines and regular exposure to the sounds of gunfire, Mr. Waufle suffered hearing loss that grew worse and
worse as he aged. On the football field, he just turned up the volume on his headset. But the locker room was a different
story. Some voices were impossible to hear (including that of his last boss, Jon Gruden, the former Oakland Raiders head coach). Players learned they needed to face him when they spoke to him. Using a traditional
hearing aid, he found it difficult to control his own voice.
“I teach a lot in a classroom as a coach, but when I would wear a hearing aid my voice pattern wasn’t very
good,” he said. “It was all over the place. I just took it out most of the time. I missed an awful lot.”As
it happened, a team doctor was one of a handful of physicians test-marketing the Lyric, which has been available for about
16 months. Mr. Waufle tried it, and he says it has changed his life.“My voice pattern is so natural, and I hear so much
better,” he said. “Obviously, it’s easier to carry on normal conversations without having to always say,
‘Huh? What did you say?’ And it helps just enjoying life over all and being able to hear the simple things like
birds and other sounds you take for granted.” Mr. Waufle says he has no financial ties to the company and receives no
benefit for talking about his experience with the device. (The company says none of the people featured in testimonials on
its Web site, www.lyrichearing.com, receive any form of compensation for their endorsements.)Right now, the Lyric is offered only through a dozen clinics in
California, Florida and New Jersey, but it should be available at about 100 sites by the end of the year. Some patients who
don’t live near a clinic simply fly or drive to a site four or five times a year. InSound is a privately held firm,
although the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is a major investor.Dr. Robert A. Schindler, a co-founder of InSound
and chairman emeritus of the department of otolaryngology at the University of California, San Francisco, says he has had
hearing loss most of his life and has worn a Lyric since 2005. He says he remembers listening to an orchestra and hearing
the light ping of the triangle.
Article above from the NY Times on April 14, 2008
“I realized I hadn’t heard it before,” he said. “That was a very exciting moment for me.”
Go Green
If you use battery-powered hearing aids, here is something you should know: never throw
your used batteries in the trash. By law, you are not required to recycle hearing aid batteries, but battery users are encouraged
to do so because of the hazardous components – zinc and mercury – that pose proven risks if batteries end up in
the waterways or in a landfill. Some stores, hearing aid retailers, or hearing clinics will accept the batteries for recycling.
In
general, all batteries should be disposed of carefully. Why? Because improperly discarded batteries may eventually
end up in the food chain, causing serious health risks to humans and animals.
The Environmental Protection
Agency estimates that more than 350 million rechargeable batteries are purchased annually in the United States. Not all of
them are the same and they require specific instructions to ensure that each type of battery is properly discarded or recycled.
If
you are not sure where and how to safely discard your batteries, ask your local authorities.
This may seem
like a chore, but until and unless all our batteries are rechargeable with solar power, that is a sound advice to heed.
What does Dizziness have to do with Hearing?
Chances are that if you have had an evaluation for
dizziness, you also had your hearing checked. It is also likely that a professional hearing evaluation will be accompanied
by at least a question to you about any dizziness.
The main reason for this marriage between hearing and
balance is anatomical. One of the things that makes the ear unique is that it is the only organ to house 2 senses: hearing
& balance.
The hearing portion of the inner ear is called the cochlea. Contained within the cochlea
are hair cells and 2 distinct fluids (endolymph and perilymph).
The balance part of the inner ear is referred
to as the vestibular system and contains –you guessed it- endolymph, perilymph and hair cells.
It
makes sense that some inner ear disorders can affect both our hearing mechanism and our vestibular sense. The particular pattern
of hearing & vestibular impairment can give clues as to the etiology of an ear disorder. If you were dizzy but noted no
problem with your hearing at all, a hearing evaluation would probably still be done. Sometimes that evaluation can pick up
subtle, unnoticed changes in your hearing that can provide diagnostic information about your dizziness.
Both these articles appear in the February issue of HEALTHY HEARING
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Please complete this form with your check payable to QUIET CORNER SHHH, INC., return to QC SHHH @ P. O. Box
314, Ashford CT 06278
QUIET CORNER SHHH, INC.
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ASHFORD, CT 06278
Officers
President - Norman Babbitt (860) 923-0171 nbabbitt0171@charter.net
Vice President Nance Paulhus (860) 423-4784
Treasurer Robert Balinskas (860) 745-6654 Balinskas@sbcglobal.net
Secretary Ruth Mensing (860) 646-7039 aemensing@snet.net
Board of Directors
Gerald Boone (860) 774-5575
David Kovarovics (860) 429-4690
Nancy Palhus (860) 423-4784
Patricia Rock patrock1944@sbcglobal.net
Daniel Rock patrock1944@sbcglobal.net
CAN Operator
Kathy Rivers (860) 202-5297
