Hearing NEWS

Voted Best of the Best -

"by a landslide!"

2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022

By BestOfSurveys.com

reNew Hearing Patient Voted Best Hearing Aid Centers in their regions: Portsmouth NH, Kittery ME, Beverly MA & Salem MA.

"We will never sell hearing aids, we will educate you the patient so you can make an intelligent investment in your hearing. Thank you for continued trust, we are in a business with a bright future thanks to great people like you." Dan & Laurie, owners.

Related Hearing Aids Reports

» S.48 - Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act

" tax credit of up to $500 once every five years for the purchase of a hearing aid"

OTC (Over The Counter) Hearing Aids update

OTC Hearing Aids... "deadline of August 2020, which will be followed by a mandatory commentary period—making it possible that the final regulation will not be finalized until early 2021."

http://www.hearingreview.com

For Taxpayers...

A 2010 survey to 80,000 households by the Better Hearing Institute reviewed income levels of 43,000 adult heads of household with and without hearing loss controlling for degree of hearing loss, age and other demographic variables. In a study titled "The Impact of Untreated Hearing Loss on Household Income" they showed that untreated hearing loss results in a loss of income per household of up to $30,000 per year, depending on degree of hearing loss.

For the 24 million Americans with untreated hearing loss, this equates to $176 billion in lost income, due to underperformance on the job.
This translates into a cost to society of $26 billion annually in unrealized income taxes (in the 15% bracket).

To download this study, click here.

Siemens Audiology Solutions has a new name...

The investment company EQT, with Germany’s Strüngmann family and Siemens as co-investors, are the new owners of Siemens Audiology Solutions effective January 15, 2015. After obtaining regulatory approval, EQT is now officially the new owners and a new company name... Sivantos.

As announced in our press release from January 2015, Sivantos has an agreement with Siemens to continue to use the Siemens brand to develop, market, and sell hearing products over the medium term. Therefore, the Siemens brand will be used by Sivantos for the coming years alongside Signia.

Hearing Loss and Bird Sounds

By Nathan Pieplow

Age-related hearing loss, or presbycusis, happens to almost everyone to some degree, although it tends to be more severe among men, and susceptibility can run in families. It runs in my family, for better or for worse — even though I’m not yet 35, when I go birding with my friend Walter, he can detect chickadees by ear at twice the distance at which I http://www.healthyhearing.com/report/51682-The-gift-of-help-during-the-holidays can hear them. The other day, he and I watched a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher vocalizing at a distance of about 50 meters. He could hear it distinctly; I watched the bird’s bill opening and closing in silence.

Age-related hearing loss tends to affect high frequencies first so that the upper-frequency limit of a person’s hearing tends to decrease over time. A European inventor exploited this fact to create a device called “the Mosquito,” a type of sonic “youth repellent” that keeps bus stations and storefronts free of loitering juvenile delinquents by emitting a piercing high-pitched frequency that only young people can hear. (In retaliation, young people have converted the “Mosquito’s” buzz into a cell phone ringtone that their aging teachers can’t hear when it rings in class.) Read more...

If you don't know what to get your friends and family this holiday season, especially because they seem to have everything they need or want, consider instead of giving the gift of help. For a friend or family member that has hearing loss, there are many things you can do to help out that don't require money and are even more special than a gift, including:

Offering to drive your friend to an audiologist appointment

For people with hearing loss, driving can sometimes be a challenge and be a bit uncomfortable, so offering rides is a great thing to do. Also, if it is your friend's very first appointment with an audiologist to check out and assess his or her hearing, your support will definitely be appreciated, as it usually isn't easy for people to take that first big step toward getting hearing aids.

Talking to your family member about hearing loss

While this doesn't necessarily have to be your gift, if you have noticed a family member is having a difficult time hearing lately, the holidays are the perfect time to talk about it. Choose a quiet, comfortable place and let your family member know that you've noticed he or she is having a little difficulty hearing Make sure to stay calm and only bring it up out of love - refrain from mentioning things like a frustrating moment or being critical. Express that you're concerned that he or she is missing out on fun or important things in life. Be non judgmental and make sure to listen. Offer your support when he or she is ready to see an audiologist.

Volunteering to get his or her hearing aids cleaned

Hearing aids need regular maintenance and occasional deep cleanings at an audiologist's office. Right before the holidays is a great time to make sure hearing aids are in tip-top shape so your family member or friend is able to hear and communicate easily and enjoy his or her time with family and friends to the fullest. Offer to take the hearing aids in to the local audiologist to be cleaned, pick up fresh batteries or even clean the hearing aids yourself at home - provided you know how to do it. This can be especially helpful for a family member or friend who has difficulty cleaning his or her hearing aids due to arthritis.

Advising other family members about how they can help

Send an email or a note to other family members just before you get together during the holidays to remind them of the things they can do to help make hearing easier. Include tips like:

Turn off the TV and limit other background noise.
When speaking to the person, make sure you are facing him or her, don't chew gum and keep your hands away from your mouth to help your family member lipread.
Don't talk over or interrupt each other.
Find a quiet place for a one-on-one conversation.

reNew Hearing The gift of help during the holidays photo

Short-term hearing loss is the body's way of coping with loud noise

A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), revealed that short-term hearing loss following sustained exposure to loud noise doesn't reflect damage to our hearing: rather, it is the body's way of coping.

Short-term hearing loss occurs when sound levels rise and the cells in the cochlea release a hormone called ATP, which binds to a receptor resulting in temporary reduction in hearing sensitivity.

reNew Hearing tobacco smoke could be harmful to the auditory system

Almost 3-fold increased odds of unilateral

hearing loss in adolescents with prenatal smoke

Prenatal smoke exposure was associated with hearing loss in a study of adolescents, which suggests that in utero exposure to tobacco smoke could be harmful to the auditory system, according to a study published Online First by JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

reNew Hearing Obesity in childhood is associated with higher hearing thresholds

Childhood Obesity is Associated with a Higher Risk of Hearing Loss

Published on Thursday, 20 June 2013 12:19Higher Risk of Hearing Loss

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005 to 2006, for 1,488 participants who were 12 to 19 years old.

The authors concluded, “Obesity in childhood is associated with higher hearing thresholds across all frequencies and an almost 2-fold increase in the odds of unilateral low-frequency hearing loss. These results add to the growing literature on obesity-related health disturbances and also add to the urgency in instituting public health measures to reduce it.”

NBC News Resources for coping with hearing loss

Kristin Wells, Doctor of Audiology at John C. Lincoln Health Network, explains more baby boomers have hearing loss than some of the older generations and says hearing loss is avoidable if we protect what hearing we've got.

reNew Hearing audiogram high frequencies

Purdue innovation could help people with severe (high frequency) hearing loss

An innovation developed by a Purdue researcher in the College of Health and Human Sciences may make it possible for people with severe hearing loss to hear high-frequency sounds like "s," "sh," "f" and "th."

reNew Hearing currently offers products from Starkey and Phonak, both of which replicate hard-to-hear high-frequency sounds into lower frequencies, designed to enhance and expand audibility.