Breaking News: Which finds local providers of hearing aids are best
Local providers of hearing aids are the best
With big advertising campaigns going on all around the country and 'brand spokesmen' to tout what they have to offer, many people look at the big high street hearing aid dispensers and say "they must be the best because they have a big marketing budget", but are soon disappointed.
The reason for this: These behemoth sized companies care most about getting lots of people in their doors then selling their wares in bulk - in bulk you ask? That means that they aren't tailored specifically to you. Why is that? This article will help explain.
Why local hearing aid providers are the best:
Personal Service
Going with a local, independent hearing provider has many benefits. Firstly, you are often treated like part of the family business with your hearing needs. Staff members will get to know you personally, both from a clinical side and also administratively. And only then; when your provider completely understands you are they able to deliver exactly what you need.
Consultative style approach
When it comes to your health, there is nothing more important than discussing what you need with a qualified expert. Quite often with big companies, they will look at their day like a manufacturing line, often charging just to ask a couple of questions.
We are different. If you feel that your hearing isn't always at its best, we don't charge to have a discussion. Look at it this way - is the problem any better after the discussion? No? well then we haven't earned our keep yet.
Wider range of services available
Many big companies solely focus on the sale of hearing aids. Again, we are different. Our focus is on enriching your life through better hearing whether that means helping you with your annoying tinnitus (ringing in the ear), removing any wax blockages or providing advanced noise protection.
Take a look below at the 'Which?' overview on the top providers:
To view the full report, click here
We are here for you - please feel free to give us a call on 0333 320 7788 to experience the local independent experience.
Katie Melua finds spider in ears! - what is in your ears?
People often feel uncomfortable when they have wax in their ears, but sometimes it is a little more than ear wax. In our Glasgow clinic, we have seen beads, rings, bugs - all sorts really.
To show that these blockages don't just happen to the public, Katie Melua posted:
"So I had a rustling in my ear for a week and went to the doctor. This little fella is what they found!"
She had in fact found a little spider in her ear that was alive when microsuctioned out, Katie then released the critter in her garden.
Have you got something bugging you in your ears? Perhaps it may just be wax, but let's be on the safe side.
Give us a call on 0333 320 7788 for details.
Hearing Aid Demonstration - Glasgow Exclusive
Many people in Glasgow struggle with their hearing. They find that they can't hear their partner's voice quite so well. They can't hear the television very well and turn it up to make out what is being said; much to their friend and family's annoyance. At Christmas, they feel sit at the dinner table either stoney quiet or shout over everyone else causing frustration.
What many don't realise though is that these problems can be remedied much easier than they think. There are options out there that allow the twangs of the cutlery to be tuned out and the conversations that matter to be treasured.
You see, as technology has improved over the last few years, hearing devices have become far more powerful, both in terms of features and ability to amplify the important sounds around you. This means that an even closer match can be made between the boost and your hearing loss as well as giving you the control you want over the sounds around you.
We have an exclusive guest who is coming in on the 10th and 11th of December in Glasgow to talk through and even demonstrate these advanced devices.
Hearing aid demonstration - Glasgow Exclusive
Helen Whipday can walk you through the major updates in the hearing device market, allowing you to notice the difference.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to have a one-to-one discussion with one of the most sought after practitioners in the industry.
Call us today on 0333 320 7788 to book your place now.
The Hearing Clinic UK Shortlisted for Family Business of the Year 2014
After a tremendous two years in business, Chris and Martin Stone have finally been acknowledged for their efforts in re-establishing The Hearing Clinic UK as a leader in the hearing industry.
As a result of their strong focus on personal care and achieving the best possible results for their patients, they have each been nominated for Young Business Person of the Year and Family Business of the Year 2014.
Chris Stone said "We feel extremely honoured to be nominated for these awards, particularly the Family Business award as we care for our staff and patients very dearly, considering them to be part of the family when they are with us."
Chris also exclaimed that he was pleased to be competing with his brother Martin, noting that some healthy competition goes a long way.
How people coped with hearing loss in the past
Hearing loss in the past
Hearing loss can be something that is very difficult to adjust to or deal with. Thankfully, today, many people are able to receive high-quality hearing instruments to help them retain some kind of hearing capacity. While this is an incredible luxury today, many people didn’t have this same option in the past. There used to be no alterations or aids available to help cope with hearing loss. So, for the last few hundred years, what have been people using to boost their hearing?
The First Aids
The 17th Century heralded the first of the hearing aids ever used, when large “trumpets” were the common choice for improving hearing. They were wide at one end, narrow at the other. This helped to amplify the sound coming in from the wide side to come through at the narrow side, into the ear itself. They were originally made by using glass, but in time they started to be made from typical metals like brass, the same that was used for instruments of the time, too.
At the same time, there was a discovery made for “bone conductions” which sent sound vibrations through the skull into your brain. These small devices sat behind the ear and projected the sound into the small bears within your ear.
A Fashion Decision
It was in the 1800s that more minute hearing aids started to come into use. They were even as aesthetic devices at once point, and were commonly used in collars and hairstyles to create a whole new look of their own. In fact, these fitted hearing aids were fitted into the thrones of high-ranking royalty at the time.
The sound was also collected through the arms of the throne, which channeled into an echo chamber above and amplified back into the aids into the openings towards the top of the King’s head, making sure that they heard everything perfectly clearly.
Electricity & Digitalized Hearing Aids
As electricity became a commonly used part of technology, it was only a matter of time before hearing aids were made electronic, too. Electronically amplified using a microphone and a battery, early 20th century microphones were carried around using battery packs that only had short life spans before needing replaced. By the 1950s, however, a transistor switch was added to prolong the life much further. Transistors were actually used in hearing aids long before they were used in radios, a whole two years!
Come the 1990s, as digital technology came to the fore, digital circuitry became the norm in hearing aids and allowed for a much more amplified sound to be developed. This made it much easier to direct sound into the ear itself, and it allowed for settings to be completely altered for each person’s unique needs. Helping eliminate background noise and extra feedback that could otherwise disrupt the quality of the sound, these changes to hearing aids have helped improved the quality of life of thousands.
How we cared for Jean after a traumatic experience
Everyone relies upon their hearing to continue their daily lives, but what happens when this sense is suddenly taken away from you?
That is exactly what happened to Jean. Strolling through town, she was barged into by a group of boys. One of whom, hit her and knocked out her hearing aid while another tread on it. While nothing was stolen, she had indeed lost something far more valuable – her hearing.
Losing something of value
Looking down, she saw the hearing aid in pieces. Unable to hear anything but murmurs, she sought out help. Her usual hearing care provider was not open and Jean didn’t know what to do.
Luckily though, she began asking passers-by if they knew someone that could help and soon found us on Bath Street. Although he had a near-full diary for his Saturday schedule, Chris managed to fit her in and attempted to repair her device through his knowledge of mechatronics and his experience of running a hearing device service station, but to no avail. The damage to the hearing device was irreparable.
What could be done now? Jean’s hearing loss was profound, her device was broken, and she had nobody else to turn to. A terrible ordeal.
When things started to look up
Chris asked Jean to wait in the patient room while he thought of a solution. Then it came to him, only a week before, a patient had traded in their device to a more advanced version that let them hear at the best possible level.
While Jean’s original device was very old, Chris felt that this trade-in would likely do a better job.
Returning to the patient room, Chris called on Jean: “I have something for you”.
Jean took a seat in the treatment room.
After considering the shape of her ears to make the fitting most comfortable, Chris fitted the device.
At this moment, she was taken aback by the help she had received, but the process was not over yet. Chris began to tune the device to the frequencies that she was missing, restoring her to hearing to more normal levels.
Joy and Amazement
She sat back in amazement. Her eyes welling up again, this time not from sadness or dismay, but from joy.
Thankful for everything that we were able to do, Jean left our clinic able to hear even better than before.
This story highlights something about us, our patients and our staff. We care deeply and personally for those who need us. Jean was able to hear again because the trade-in scheme we offer allows people who can afford the best hearing devices to put their old ones to better use.
Thank you for reading.
Please share this story to provide inspiration for organisations and individuals to make a difference upon people around them.
Want to hear better? Study links hearing loss to your diet
Hearing loss and your diet
The chances are that you have heard the expression before: "eat lots of carrots and you'll be able to see in the dark", but it's not just your eyes that are affected by your diet. It has been found that what you eat can have a large impact upon your hearing. The science behind it! Just like any area of your body, your ears need the right nutrients to keep them healthy and to do their job right. However, if they don't get the vitamins they need, then they won't be able to protect themselves against wear and tear, repair themselves or fight against infections.
What foods should I be eating to make sure I don't suffer from hearing loss?
How Omega 3 and Vitamin D rich foods can prevent hearing loss:
It is commonly known that fish such as salmon and tuna contain high levels of omega 3 and Vitamin D, but few realised the difference that it can make to peoples' ability to hear. By eating fish twice a week, you lower the risk of age-related hearing loss by 42%.
Preventing hearing loss with Anti-oxidants::
By regularly eating foods that are high in anti-oxidants such as: spinach, asparagus, beans, broccoli and blueberries you can decrease the risk of hearing loss by up to 20%. Anti-oxidants reduces the number of free radicals in your body that could damage your inner ears and therefore result in hearing loss.
How Magnesium can help:
Simply by eating foods that have a high magnesium content such as: bananas, potatoes, artichokes or broccoli, you can reduce the risk of noise induced hearing loss.
Zinc and hearing loss:
Who would have thought that eating dark chocolate would be good for your ears? However, it contains a high concentration of zinc that helps prevent damage to your inner ears.
Vitamins C and E to prevent against hearing loss:
Extremely easy to get a hold of with this being contained in many fruit and vegetables, vitamin C and E work in a similar manner to anti-oxidants to get rid of free radicals and strengthen your immune system. This will in turn reduce the likelihood of ear infections that could damage your ears.
Summary
Taking care of your ears, like any part of your body begins with having a healthy diet, but just because you eat these foods doesn't mean that you are not susceptible to a hearing loss through age related issues or noise so we recommend that you look after your ears by opting for a regular hearing check.
Does Hearing Loss Increase the Risk of Dementia?
Hearing loss in our daily lives
Hearing loss affects many people in their daily lives. It causes them to misunderstand their friends and family, misinterpret when they should meet people for appointments and create difficulty in simple tasks like answering the phone. Together, these items result in a dulling down of the experiences that can be had in our lives. The colourful tones that you can hear in familiar voices can be lost and lead to frustration for everyone.
However, these sounds that are lost are not the only inconvenience. When you stop enjoying sound-based activities like talking with friends, listening to stimulating music and watching television, it can have a massive impact on your life. Of course, when you then stop participating in these activities completely it can truly disrupt how you feel. The isolation of not being able to understand what your friend are saying puts you in a corner that is difficult to get out with and leads to you spending less time with them and more time by yourself.
John Hopkins Study
People often forget the importance in communicating with their friends and family to maintain an active mental capacity. John Hopkins study, which was 12 years in the making, found that this social isolation as a result of hearing loss was directly linked to dementia. Often people think dementia is just when you get a bit slow in the way you do things, but it is more than that. It is medically defined as a loss of brain function with symptoms including forgetfulness, impaired thinking and judgement, personality changes, agitation and loss of emotional control.
Why are they linked?
When you shut yourself out of company, the muscles in the brain that look after simple tasks like remembering where you are going to meet someone don't get enough exercise. We all know what happens when you don't exercise your body enough - you get unfit. Your brain works in the same way - when you don't get it working away with friendly conversations then the muscles will weaken.
How can you prevent this from happening to you?
Firstly, you should make sure you are going to regular social events; go out for coffee with people you know and have a catch up. Perhaps start going to a walking group or a book club to discuss ideas that get your mind working. At least at this stage you will keep your mind active. Where there can be problems though is when you don't hear these people correctly enough to engage with them. At this point, you need to get some advice to find out if there is something that you can do to hear them better.
Quite often, this may be a caused by a build up of ear wax and you just need a good clean to get yourself back to normal again. We can do this for you using our safe and gentle microsuction technique. If it's more than that and you have an issue with your inner ear, then that unfortunately means you have a hearing loss. These aren't as difficult to mitigate as they used to be - have a look at what Beethoven used to sort his hearing problem here.
We want to make sure that everyone can engage the best they can so if you think you have a hearing loss, no matter how big or small, we want to help. That's our job and we are great at it. Give us a call on 0333 320 7788 and we'll talk over what the problem seems to be and try our very best to make it better for you.
Three Famous People with Hearing Loss (and how they dealt with it)
Although many people look up to them as superstars, famous people have problems with their hearing too. Long exposure to excessive noise or a simple ear infection has caused them hearing difficulties which have affected their lives. Have a read at three famous people who have needed their hearing addressed.
Pete Townshend, Guitarist for The Who
Part of the iconic band, The Who, Townshend has made a huge impact upon
the world’s music scene. Having sold over 100 million records, The Who are one of the biggest selling bands of all time, however the constant exposure to loud sounds has had a detrimental impact on his hearing.
Pete lost the ability to hear in one of his ears after his band mate, Keith Moon blew up his drum kit during a gig in the 1967. In subsequent years, this hearing loss expanded to both ears as he was exposed to high levels of sound.
Consider that the ‘safe’ level of noise is around 85 decibels – equivalent to busy city traffic, yet he has been rocking at gigs for 50 years with The Who at decibel levels in excess of 115 then you can understand the impact that this has had on him.
Their concert in 1976 was recorded by the Guinness Book of Records as ‘The Loudest Ever’ by the Guinness Book of Records, measuring in at 126 decibels, 32 metres from the stage.
He was advised to visit an audiologist by his friend Neil Young and now takes advantage of the latest hearing aids available.
Click here for some of The Who
Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America
You might have known that the former President of the United States of America is a regular helicopter traveller, but did you know that Bill played the Saxophone when he was younger? The damage from his early years has now caught up with him in the last 17 years and he now uses hearing aids to supplement his ears back to an acceptable level.
Want to hear Bill play some saxophone? Check this out!
Ludwig Van Beethoven
How could we forget to mention one of the greatest composers of all time and his hearing condition? He has produced timeless compositions that will live on for centuries to come. However, he was unable to hear many of these compositions himself other than inside his head.
Beethoven began to lose his hearing at age 26, he suffered from a ringing in his ears known as tinnitus that made it difficult for him to hear music, causing him to avoid conversations. In 1802, he wrote letters to his brothers describing the pain and isolation he had as a result of his hearing difficulties.
Beethoven sought out various types of hearing aids to help him improve his ears. He opted for one called an ear horn (pictured right) which helped, but by 1814, he had almost lost his ability to hear.
In 1824, during his masterful Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned around to hear the applause of the audience because he could not hear the orchestra or the audience, after which he wept.
Summary
We have seen the impact that listening to music to loud can have on peoples’ hearing and the way that it can change peoples’ lives. In an age where people around the world are listening to music at excessive levels through their earphones, we can expect the number of people suffering from these problems will grow in the future.
We encourage musicians to wear adequate ear protection when performing and anyone who uses headphones to make sure that they adjust the volume to an acceptable level.
We are happy to help if you feel that you are not hearing the way you used to. Please feel free to give us a call on 0333 320 7788 to arrange an appointment.
Seeking Hearing Aid Audiologists
Calling all HCPC registered hearing aid audiologists in Scotland.
We are continuing to grow at a rapid pace and are looking for experienced HCPC registered hearing aid audiologists to join the team.
If you are motivated by a passion to help your patients and love working in a team The Hearing Clinic UK would like to speak with you.
We have a growing network of clinics throughout central Scotland and plan to double our size this year. You will be an experienced professional with a verifiable track record.
With immediate opportunities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Ayr. We can give you flexibility in your role and can offer full time, part time or locum positions.
Full training will be given. We offer excellent salary packages including pension plan, mobile phone, and car allowances
We do have extremely high professional standards and you must be able to meet all of these criteria below.
1. be driven to get success for your patients
2. posses an excellent knowledge of the hearing solutions offered by Widex, Starkey, Phonak, Unitron, Oticon, Resound - able to identify, troubleshoot and program/adjust all major product lines
3. competent in undertaking audiometry and impression taking to BSA standards
4. ability to undertake visible speech mapping and tune hearing devices to their maximum potential for your patients
5. hold a full UK driving license
Call Chris Stone on 07456828301 or email chris@thehearingclinicuk.co.uk for more details