#1 Most Important Thing to Know about Hearing Aid Programming!
Hi, I’m Dr. Egan from Now Hear This®, and today I’d like to talk to you about the number one most important thing when getting your hearing aids programmed—something called Real Ear Measures. If you were to think about yelling in a closet versus in an auditorium, the sound quality of that yelling would be…
Over the Counter (OTC) Hearing Aids Explained
Hi, I’m Anne Marie Egan from Now Hear This©, and today I’d like to talk to you about the recent FDA approval of over-the-counter hearing aids and what that even means.
On August 16th, 2022, the FDA established a new category of hearing aids—over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. These are to be sold as regulated devices to adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. We recommend a diagnostic hearing test for those who think they have mild to moderate hearing loss before purchasing over-the-counter devices in case they are inappropriate for their hearing loss.
Hearing Loss, Medications and Ototoxic Monitoring
Hi, I’m Dr. Egan from Now Hear This, and today I’d like to talk to you about something called ototoxic monitoring.
Now, the first thing you might be wondering is, what is ototoxic? I don’t even know the first word before the monitoring. Well, ototoxicity is when something, a medication, can cause damage to our inner ear hearing organ, the cochlea. There are many types of ototoxic drugs. Some of the most common include aspirin, when taken in large quantities. There are all sorts of NSAIDs, like ibuprofen and Naproxen.
The Hearing Aid Fitting Process
Hi, I’m Dr. Egan at Now Hear This, and today I’m going to talk to you a little bit about the typical hearing aid fitting process and timeline. This is one of our most asked questions, so I thought it would be good to break this down for you today, as there are several different components that go into the successful fitting and adaptation to wearing and benefitting from hearing aids. The most important thing is how the hearing aids are programmed, and we will talk a little more about that later on.
Tips for Protecting Your Hearing
Hearing protection is incredibly important in our increasingly noisy world. If something is over 70 decibels in volume, it can harm your hearing over a period of time or repeated exposures. Download the free NIOSH SLM phone app if you want to estimate the loudness of your everyday life, and watch the following video of Dr. Egan as she talks about other tips and tricks for hearing protection.
Problems with Demo Hearing Aids
Hi, I’m Dr. Egan from Now Hear This. I’m going to talk to you about the issue with demoing hearing aids.
A lot of patients are used to clinics where you just quickly drop hearing aids on the patient after the hearing test to show them everything they’ve been missing. There’s a big disconnect in understanding how hearing aids work when we do this type of process. People think getting hearing aids is a quick fix, and all sorts of media and TV commercials will try to tell you that.
New Aural Rehab Program
Hi, I’m Dr. Egan at Now Hear This, and I’m going to be talking to you about our new oral rehabilitation program called “Five Keys to Communication.” Now, the first thing you are probably wondering is, what is oral rehabilitation? Well, hearing aids alone can do many things. They have directional microphones to zoom in…
Experiment and Review: Self-Fitting Over the Counter Hearing Devices
Follow Along as We Review the Effectiveness of Self-Fitting, Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids.
Hi, I’m Dr. Egan, and today we are going to do a little bit of an experiment with some over-the-counter sound amplifiers. Our Patient Care Coordinator, Nathalie, has agreed to be part of the experiment.
If you look at her recent hearing test, she actually has a mild to moderate low-frequency hearing loss in both of her ears, but more so in her right ear. Because she falls into that mild to moderate category—where over-the-counter hearing aids will hopefully be an option—we thought she would be the perfect person to test out these sound amplifiers. That’s what we’re going to walk through next.
Your Top Hearing Aid Questions Answered by Dr. Egan
Dr. Egan Answers Common Questions We Hear at Our Clinic
Hi, I’m Dr. Egan from Now Hear This, and today I’m going to answer common questions we hear at our clinic when answering the phones.
The first question is: “What hearing aid companies do you work with?”
We work with all seven major manufacturers—Phonak, Unitron, Starkey, Signia, Oticon, Widex, and Resound. It’s important to us that we continue working with all manufacturers because that gives our patients access to every possible option.
Nuheara IQbuds Review: Are These Personal Sound Amplifiers Worth the Investment?
This video is a review of the Nuheara IQbuds, which are a personal sound amplifier and not an FDA-cleared hearing device, designed for people with minimal hearing difficulty.
Hi, I’m Anne Marie Egan, the Audiologist at Now Hear This, and today I’m giving you a review of the Nuheara IQbuds. These are a PSAP, or a personal sound amplifier, designed for people with some hearing difficulty who don’t technically have a significant hearing loss.