Open-fit technology improves hearing

Shari Norval, audiologist with St. John’s Clinic, notes that hearing loss most commonly begins between the ages of 40 and 50.

“It’s thought that by the age of 65, one in four people suffer from significant hearing disability,” she said. “At 75, one in three show significant loss.”

Scott George, president and CEO of Mid-America Hearing Center, said that the negative effects of hearing loss are gradual.

“Say it’s hard to understand a third of the words that are said to you. It can become hard to understand people in social settings, and you might start to withdraw from embarrassment, and there’s a kind of stigma to it,” he said.

He noted that individuals with hearing loss who seek help are more social and can perform better at work.

“If you can’t hear a conversation, and are not able to respond accurately to questions or discussions, you might not get picked for a promotion or project,” George said.

Not like grandma’s hearing aid

Norval said that new technology, such as the Oticon Delta, an open-fit device, is an improvement compared to other types of hearing.

Fit hearing aids can actually increase hearing loss because of the way that they’re designed and how they fit into the ear canal. Because of that increased loss, she said, people who suffer from mild hearing loss often did not enlist the help of hearing aids.

But now that open-fit devices are becoming more common, she said, people with mild hearing loss can take advantage of a hearing aid.

Mid-America Hearing Center offers two types of open-fit hearing aids, though they’re not made by Oticon.

“I like the new open-fit hearing aid,” George said. “It fits behind the ear and looks like the end of your eyeglasses. There’s a tube in front that goes inside the ear. It’s the least noticeable we’ve ever had. It’s a comfortable fit. I tried it myself, and after five minutes I didn’t notice it any more. Patients love them.”

Norval said people need to get past thinking of hearing aids as the larger pieces their grandparents or great-grandparents used to wear.

“These products are physically and functionally different. We are trying to educate people to the existence of these products and the fact that they can wear these without being embarrassed,” she said.

With open-fit devices, the speakers used to help patients hear are in the actual ear canal, which expands the range of hearing loss that can be treated with the devices.

“It’s an improvement in that it uses directional microphones, which sense an environment,” Norval said.

“Say you’re having dinner in a restaurant and want to focus on what the person sitting across from you is saying. Back sensors will decrease noise from behind and then focus on the person in front of you. It’s the best way to filter background noise. Whatever direction your head is turned, that’s the direction the devices work.”

George said his company buys modules and pre-wired kits and loads them into a device’s shell in an in-house lab. Open-fit devices, he said, are more expensive.

“The cost for these multichannel aids cost between $1,195 and $1,695,” he said, “For the in-ear aids, prices begin at $195. The newer technology is beneficial because of better sound quality, and the ability to tune and program. We can make minor adjustments to get closer to a person’s loss over time.”

Factors in hearing loss

Norval said that sensory-neural or nerve loss is the most common type of hearing loss.

“It affects 95 percent of adults, and the other 5 percent can have medical or surgical treatment,” Norval said.

“This new design is very popular, and the majority of people I fit them to choose to keep them. It’s digital and programmable, so it can be augmented as loss increases over time.”

George, who is current president of the Missouri Hearing Society and a past member of the Missouri licensing board for hearing specialists, said his typical patients are between 55 and 65 years old. But, he said, many of them could have benefited from earlier treatment.

“Most impaired people wait 10 years too long before coming in,” George said. “The baby boomer wave is creating national demand for medical and dental care, but we typically fit only 20 percent of those who need help. Once the brain forgets how to hear, it’s hard for adults to relearn auditory language.”

But getting help can help people get their lives back, he said.

“Imagine hearing your spouse say ‘I love you’ for the first time in 10 years. It’s amazing,” George added.

Dangerous decibels

While Norval said aging is the primary cause of hearing loss, she and George agree that excessive noise can also cause problems.

“We are beginning to see noticeable loss that results from noise exposure earlier in life,” she said. “For example, we see children and young adults because of headphone use at volume levels that are too loud.”

She added that there’s a misconception that young people are invincible, but “you can’t regenerate nerve endings. If you can hear music from someone’s headphones, it’s too loud.”

George added that loud sound systems in vehicles, which can cause damage and may not come with warnings or cautions.

Regardless of what causes hearing loss, George thinks that innovations in communications technology will result in multi-use devices aimed at helping people hear.

“I think that we’ll see cell phones merge with other products, like MP3 players and hearing aids,” he said. “We can have optimum communications in a single device – e-mail, music, video and hearing.”