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Hearing loss is no longer a problem only for people in their sixties - every sixth Polish child has such problems. Hearing aids are increasingly needed by younger people, but few of them want to wear them. Hearing aids are very discreet and the range of models is huge. Which device to choose? Cheaper or more expensive? The ones that are placed behind the ear or attached inside the ear?

We have a choice ofbehind-the-ear hearing aidsandcustom hearing aids . The first is recommended for people with significant hearing loss, the second - for people with mild hearing loss, because with severe hearing loss such a device may not be enough. In addition, in-ear aids are not suitable for those who have a narrow ear canal or effusion.

A good hearing aid, which is what?

For a person using a hearing aid, understanding speech is the most important thing, so the device should be equipped with an automatic system that cleans the speech signal from noise, feedback, etc. A good hearing aid can reduce sounds from the environment and emphasize speech, which is what we care about the most. If we do not hear low-frequency sounds, the hearing aid should amplify them and leave others unchanged.

Be sure to test your hearing aid

It's always a good idea to try on several different cameras before choosing the right one. This is important because the more closely the hearing aid is adjusted, the better, more natural your hearing will be. But a short break should be taken between trying on each device in order to be able to properly evaluate the individual devices. Prosthodontics values ​​hearing and understanding speech first without the hearing aid and then after wearing it. Sounds and words are reproduced at different levels, which allows you to judge your actual speech understanding and to better choose a hearing aid. Improperly selected may contribute to the deterioration of the hearing impairment, especially when it will amplify all sounds, regardless of the situation. A good hearing aid is one that amplifies sounds less and less in louder and louder surroundings.

Important

When to audiolog

If you turn on the radio louder and louder or listen to the TV news, go to the ENT specialist and ask for a referral to an audiology clinic. There you will do basic hearing tests, including speech understanding and, if necessary, a doctor withthe audioprosthetic specialist will select the appropriate hearing aid parameters. It is a good idea to try on a few cameras with similar parameters, but from different brands.

Conversation with dr. n. med. Anna Geremek-Samsonowicz, otolaryngologist, specialist audiologist, head of the Rehabilitation Clinic at the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing.

  • Is there any research showing that electromagnetic waves emitted by cell phones can damage hearing?

Anna Geremek-Samsonowicz, MD, PhD: Nobody proved that it is so. However, I believe that using both phones and headphones should have reasonable limits. Imagine what happens to the hearing aid of a person who, with headphones in his ears, listens to music so loud that we, standing nearby, hear its sounds. I know this will be my patient in a moment. After all the concerts, many young people come to us, complaining that their hearing has suddenly deteriorated or that there was tinnitus, and there was also a 17-year-old boy who fell asleep at a disco by the loudspeakers and woke up deaf.

  • What are the first symptoms of hearing loss?

A.G.-S .: It starts with a worse understanding of speech. You hear someone speaking but you do not understand what they are saying. This is especially the case in poor acoustic conditions - in big company or in a church. These are the symptoms that prove that the high-range hearing is "cut" by our hearing aid, and in Polish the fricatives - all, sh, cz, j… - are spoken in a high pitched tone. The next symptom is very discreet noise, constant or increasing with fatigue or increasing in silence

  • And when is the time to support your hearing with a hearing aid?

A.G.-S .: Certainly when we lose contact with the environment due to hearing loss. People withdraw from life then because they are ashamed that they cannot hear what the seller in the store is saying, friends during a social gathering, actors from the stage.

  • Is there anything to be ashamed of?

A.G.-S .: Apparently not, but our society is not tolerant of otherness, including old age and worse fitness. Such people are marginalized, ostracized. It's hard to deal with, but you can't give up.

  • So wear a hearing aid?

A.G.-S .: Yes. Technology has gone so far, and the hearing aids are so perfect that anyone can choose one that will help them understand speech.

  • So why are people so defending themselves against them?

A.G.-S .: Well, glasses are the subject to which they areeveryone has got used to them and no one pays attention to the person who wears them. On the other hand, a hearing aid stigmatizes, connects to something worse, weaker, arouses unhe althy curiosity - and what does he have in his ear?

  • Many people, especially older people, are afraid of the technical difficulties involved in using hearing aids.

A.G.-S .: Wrong. We select the hearing aids individually - to the level of the patient's hearing loss and to their intellectual, manual and financial abilities. First of all, I advise you to try out the apparatus and choose it so that it helps to better understand speech - it should be an object that is not only useful, but also friendly. You have to put it on and see that you hear better. It's like wearing glasses for the first time and suddenly you see that the world is not as blurry as it seemed.

  • What is the choice of hearing aids?

A.G.-S .: Huge. For smaller hearing losses, aids discreetly hidden in the ear canal are used. There are many others that are put behind the turbinate, with thin, virtually invisible tubing. Today's hearing aids are really small and you don't have to worry that they will become unsightly.

  • Can only hearing aids improve hearing?

A.G.-S .: There are also surgical methods, e.g. treatment of partial deafness with the use of cochlear implants. It is an excellent solution for senile deafness, when the patient does not benefit from a conventional hearing aid. And there are no contraindications for such surgery due to age. We have patients even in their 80s.

  • What is the advantage of this method?

A.G.-S .: Improvement of hearing is achieved by means of electrical control and stimulation of the inner ear. The implant stimulates high tones, which the patient cannot hear poorly, and does not stimulate low tones, which often have not deteriorated. This cannot be done even in the most modern cameras. And more and more people decide to undergo such an operation, especially since it is reimbursed by the National He alth Fund.

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