Painkillers Can Cause Hearing Loss

A recent study found that “women who took ibuprofen or acetaminophen two days or more per week had a 13% increased risk of hearing loss. The more often a woman took either of these medications, the more likely she was to report hearing loss”.

Read the full article here.

Neil Bauman, the director of the Center of Hearing Loss Help, has been telling us that for years.  You can purchase his book, Ototoxic Drugs Exposed, and sign up for his very informative, free e-zine at http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/products/ototoxicdrugbook.htm

If you are a member of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) you can access the “Hearing Loss Magazine” online.  The March/April 2013 issue has a very good article about ototoxic medications, “Poison to the Ears?  Making Sense of Ototoxicity” by Monique Hammond.  This article covers “Contributing Factors” and “Preventive Strtategies.”  Hammond concludes, “Until there are better ways for predicting the ear-harmful potential of new and existing substances, careful patient screening, responsible medication dosing and monitoring, attention to drug interactions and honest communication between patient and caregivers will go a long way to keeping our ears at least reasonably safe.”

The RONDO from Med-El

Med-El has just released the world’s first single-unit cochlear implant processor.  The RONDO is an all-in-one processor that simply attaches to the magnet of the cochlear implant with no cord or device behind the ear.  It is compatible with the Combi 40, Pulsar, Sonata and Concert implants.   For more information, search for “RONDO” on the Med-El YouTube Network.

TED Talks with Subtitles…and more captioning news

TED Talks are now available with subtitles using an app called TEDiSub for the iPhone and iPad.

More captioning news:  Mark Rejhon posted some very helpful information about services, devices, and apps that support closed captions.  This list is about a year old, so while all the information is accurate, there are more devices not included on this list.  I will post updates when available.

And remember, you can find captioned movies in your area at www.captionfish.com.  Just type in your zip code and Captionfish will bring up the theaters, showtimes, as well as a list of captioned trailers.  You can even “follow” @CCTrailers on Twitter!

Help! I’m going to the hospital!

Going to the hospital is scary for anyone, but especially for a person who is deaf or hard of hearing.  You can prepare yourself by buying or assembling a “Hospital Kit” to take with you.  There are several HLAA chapters that sell Hospital Kits and I recently purchased a very nice one from the Utah State Division of Services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. (DSDHH)

The Utah DSDHH makes two kits, one for hard of hearing and one for Deaf patients.   Below are just some of the items included.  They sell for only $5.00 so it is well worth it, but if you’d like to create your own, it would be easy to do.

Some important elements of a hospital kit are:

1.  A bag or container to store your hearing aids or cochlear implant.

2.  A large sign to hang above your bed to let people know you are deaf or hard of hearing.

     

3.  Stickers and signs with the international symbol of access for hearing loss.
This symbol is available on the  Center for Hearing Loss Help website to download and print.

Stickers can be purchased from HLAA in various sizes.  Great for sticking on medical charts and on your call button at the nurse’s station so the nurse will (hopefully!) remember to come into the room to answer your call.

4.  A visual aid to communicate your level of pain.

5.  A special needs card.

6.  A small white board or a large writing tablet and pen.

7.  Assisted listening device – if you have a Personal Amplifiers or FM Listening system, be sure to bring them.  They can be especially useful if you have removed your hearing aids.

Hospitals should have these and more accommodations available to you, but sadly they often do not.  Please share your experiences with hospital stays.  Were you provided with accommodations or did you have to fend for yourself?  Were assisted listening devices available?  Do you have other suggestions for accommodations during a hospital stay?  Let us know!

More good reasons to enjoy a glass of red wine!

“Resveratrol is a very powerful chemical that seems to protect against the body’s inflammatory process as it relates to aging, cognition and hearing loss,” study researcher Michael D. Seidman, the director of the Division of Otologic/Neurotologic Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, said in a statement.
See the full article here:  Resveratrol May Protect Against Harmful Effects Of Hearing Loss, Animal Study Shows

Communication Tips from Katherine Bouton

I’m reading Katherine Bouton’s new book,  Shouting Won’t Help—Why I  – and 50 million Other Americans – Can’t Hear You.  It is very well-written and informative.  Here are some of her tips for communicating with a person with hearing loss from an article in USA Today, March 10, 2013.

• Look at the person when you speak. Your instinct may be to lean into an ear. But if you do that, they can’t see your lips move. Most deaf or hearing-impaired people read lips or “speech read,” Bouton says: “They don’t have to be trained in it. They just pick it up as their hearing starts to go.”

• Make sure you have their full attention. A hearing-impaired person who is cooking dinner is not likely to pick up much kitchen chatter, she says.

• Don’t shout. “It doesn’t usually help to talk louder unless you’ve been talking in a whisper or have a very quiet voice,” she says. “What helps is to talk as clearly and distinctly as possible — facing the speaker.”

• Don’t keep repeating yourself. “Try it once. But if the person still doesn’t get it, rephrase what you’re saying, try to put it in some context,” she says. (The hearing-impaired person can help, she says, by repeating back whatever they did hear.)

• In a small group, speak one at a time. A hearing-impaired person will struggle to pick up anything from overlapping conversations, so dinner parties, meetings and book clubs can be difficult, Bouton says.

• Don’t compete. For the best chance at being heard, turn off the TV or music; get away from loud fans and whirring fish tanks.

• Don’t give up. “Once you’ve tried to hear the phrase or sentence three or four times, it’s incredibly frustrating for the speaker then just to shrug and say it isn’t important,” Bouton says. “It probably wasn’t important the first time he said it, but by now your curiosity is piqued and it matters a lot.”

Hearing Aids with Wireless Connectivity

My last two posts were about neckloops and hearing aids with wireless connectivity.  Below is a list of some hearing aid manufacturers that make their own accessories to help you connect with your cell phone, TV, and other sound sources.  They are not all neckloops, as some can go in your pocket or clip onto your shirt.

I can’t think of any accessory more useful than a wireless microphone; however, the one I tried was terrible!  I wear Oticon hearing aids so I tried the Oticon ConnectLine Microphone that works with the Streamer. There was an echo, a delay, and the sound was unclear.  Resound and Phonak have similar devices – the ReSound Mini Microphone and the Phonak RemoteMic.  I have not tried them, but would love to hear from anyone who has.  The Resound Mini Microphone transmits sound directly into the hearing aids without an intermediary device!!  The Phonak RemoteMic works with the ComPilot.   These wireless microphones seem like the ideal solution to talking one-on-one in a noisy restaurant.  I’m anxiously waiting for one to be developed that will work with ANY type hearing aid.

If you have had any experience with these wireless microphones, please share your experiences – good or bad!  Thanks!

Manufacturers with Wireless Accessories
Click on the links below to read more about each one.

Oticon Streamer and ConnectLine

Phonak ComPilot

Siemens mini Tek & Tek

 Starkey Surflink

 ReSound Unite

Widex Dex

Unitron uDirect

Rexton Mini Blu RCU

Kirkland Signature Premium Mini Blu RCU or Blu RCU