Hearing Aids - Blog Posts

Fact 1: The controversial 2.3% excise tax on medical devices goes into effect on 2013. The "ObamaCare" 2013 tax doesn't include hearing aids or corrective lenses, but does include devices like defibrillators, pacemakers, artificial joints and others.Fact 2: Hearing aids are not required to be covered. The PPACA expands coverage to many things, but hearing aids are not part of that. However, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be covered by a provider - they’re just not required to be covered. The gulf between federal and state laws affects this particular issue, as hearing aids are not part of any...

A team of scientists from Sheffield University have partially restored the hearing of deaf gerbils with injections created from human embryonic stem cells.The Sheffield team, lead by Dr Marcelo Rivolta, saw the gerbil’s hearing improving by an average of 46% – with the improvement taking place over four weeks from the injections. Rivolta said, “We developed a method to drive human embryonic stem cells to produce both hair cells and neurons, or nerve cells, but we only transplanted the neurons. We then used a technique called auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABR), which measures if the brain can perceive an electrical...

Hearing Aids Using Bluetooth.......Bluetooth technology or (Bluetooth hearing aids) is a wireless option - an extra technology- something you wear around your neck or attach to your belt - for connecting and exchanging information between mobile phones and receivers. With Bluetooth technology, information is sent and received by an electronic device (neck loop or belt) with a matching personal identification number (PIN). For this reason, Bluetooth devices have to be paired with a particular mobile phone in order to function. Hearing aid accessories are available from several manufacturers (see here) that enable you to use your hearing aids with your...

Big six account for 98% of the marketAccording to the data collected by Bernstein, the so-called “big six” hearing aid manufacturers richly deserve the term, since among them they accounted for 98% of the world market last year.10.8 million hearing aids were sold in 2012, for a total wholesale value of $5.4 billion. Forty-five percent of the hearing aids were sold in Europe, 29% in North America, and 26% in the rest of the world.For 2012, the research firm estimated the following market shares in terms of unit sales:1) Sonova (owner of Phonak et al.): 24%2) William Demant (owner of...

DALLAS, Aug. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of the Texas Hearing Aid Association have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) based on claims that the world's largest retailer sells hearing aids without the state-mandated license.The group is seeking to stop Wal-Mart's hearing aid sales immediately, in addition to asking the court to require the return of profits from prior sales."Wal-Mart knew it was required under Texas state law to become licensed in order to dispense hearing aids in Texas stores, yet the corporation has failed to take all necessary steps to ensure their ability to...

Moisture:Humidity, perspiration, or taking your hearing aid for a bath or pool can cause damage to a hearing aid and prevent it from working.If you live in an area subject to high humidity or regularly engage to activities that create a lot of sweat are are few preventative options:1. Audiologists Choice Desiccant. This is a small jar of silica (desiccating) crystals in a jar. At night, after removing the battery, place the hearing aid down in the jar. During the night, the moisture in the hearing aid will be absorbed by crystals. The silica crystals can be recycled by oven...

A few months ago, a customer of ours told me that he went to a hearing aid clinic for an audiogram. We’ll call him “Bill”. Bill was asked to fill out a new patient questionnaire. At first he didn’t think much of the questions. They included the typical name, address, and contact information. Then he got to the question about what kind of car he drove. It struck him as a little strange, but he answered the question and wrote in that he drove a 2008 Cadillac.After taking the hearing test, he was consulted about the results. The audiologist told...

You may have seen the infomercials on TV touting that once you put on one of these bluetooth looking contraptions, you can “hear somebody whispering from across the room”. They claim that you will be hearing the birds again and listening to television at a low volume. All this and more for under $20! Don’t be fooled by these claims.These ads are not for hearing aids. They are for “amplifiers” and cheap ones at that. The difference between a hearing aid and an amplifier is that an amplifier amplifies all sound, while a hearing aid will amplify only certain ranges...

Age related hearing loss is when your hearing decreases as people get older. It is also known as presbycusis.There are tiny hairs inside your ear. These hairs help process sound to your brain. Hearing loss occurs when these tiny hairs inside your ear are damaged or die.There is not a single cause for age related hearing loss. The phenomenon mostly happens when the aging process causes changes to the inner ear as it grows. Other factors can also play a role, like a lifetime of loud music, machine noise, or even genes.Age related hearing loss most commonly effects the high...

Hearing Aids Versus Reading GlassesGuest Post from Doctor Randall Bock M.D. Hearing aids cost thousands of dollars. In my early dotage ;-) currently 53 years old, I recently found imperfection in my near-vision (as we all do, over time). Probably I was laboring for a year or so before caving in: purchasing reading glasses. I am using them right now and they have made all the difference. In the space of a few months, this year, I went from no reading glasses to seven pairs. I bought all seven online together as a package recently, for the grand sum of...

It is common for adults to have some hearing loss. The older we get, the poorer our hearing becomes. Hearing loss usually begins gradually with certain words sounding soft, muffled and/or distorted. This change often makes listening a difficult task, especially in noisy areas.People with a hearing loss often feel that they can hear fine but cannot understand what is being said. In most cased, people with hearing loss have more difficulty hearing high pitch sounds. The consonants s, z, f, v, sh, and th, are difficult to hear if you have high pitch hearing loss.If a person hears low...

WHY DO HEARING AIDS COST SO MUCH? I recently had a customer tell me that an Audiologist offered to sell him a pair of hearing aids for $8000. This post is going to explain why the prices are so high.First....The main reason is that the hearing aid manufacturers and audiologists have a self-preserving high margin deal to keep the price for hearing aids as high as the market will bare—what you are willing to pay.In the United States, the licensing of hearing professionals is governed and the responsibility of the each state. The audiologist and dispenser lobby groups have had...