Soundwaves – The Hearing Healthcare Centre Newsletter, Summer Issue 2011

Practice News

Hearing is one thing… but listening is quite another!

How many times have we heard “Sorry…I know your talking but I can’t hear what you’re saying”. We hear with our ears but we listen with our brain. The problem happens frequently in many situations and we have often featured articles relating to just how important the brain and cognitive processing is in our ability to hear clearly and understand speech. However, we are pleased to announce that we now have a new and innovative practical training programme to improve listening skills whether or not you wear hearing correction. It will help the brain improve communication skills such as: understanding speech in noise; focusing on one voice in the presence of other voices and increasing auditory memory. The solution is called ‘LACE’ and it stands for Listening & Communication Enhancement. Just as physical therapy can rebuild muscles to compensate for physical weakness, LACE will help develop skills and strategies to deal with situations when hearing alone is inadequate. Whether you wear hearing aids, are just acquiring hearing aids, or simply wish to improve your listening skill, LACE training will help you get the most out of the sounds of life. LACE retrains the brain to improve comprehension by more than 40% in difficult situations. The self-paced interactive 20 half hour sessions can be run on a home computer or DVD player. To learn more about LACE, contact us for further details.

Recognition of Excellence

The Hearing Healthcare Centre’s reputation is built upon the provision of the highest level of care and service to our clients and this has been recognised by the Association of Independent Hearing Healthcare Professionals (AIHHP) as being of the highest standard designating us a ‘Centre of Excellence’. These ‘Centres of Excellence’ are only awarded to a select, highly skilled professional group who demonstrate exemplary customer care and technical expertise. Making sure that a client receives the greatest possible benefit from their hearing instruments is a highly skilled job. Unlike a pair of glasses where the skill lies in the initial diagnosis and the resulting prescription can simply be “popped on”, hearing aids require a huge amount of time and expertise after the diagnosis. Every hearing instrument must be delicately tailored to each individual’s hearing ability. They require skilled, precise electronic programming and adjustment as the client becomes accustomed to their new

world of sound. This fine-tuning can take several appointments over a number of months and it is this careful procedure that ensures the wearer is getting the most from the hearing aids that they have invested in. To be recognised as a Centre of Excellence, the Hearing Healthcare Centre was able to demonstrate a commitment to expertise, training and professional development in a clinical and caring environment and a comprehensive aftercare programme. Chris Carr, owner of the Hearing Healthcare Centre said “We are delighted that the care and service we offer our clients has been recognised by AIHHP. Our ethos has always been to put the client first and we are prepared to spend as much time as is necessary to make sure that our customers get the best out of their hearing systems. We guarantee that this level of care makes a real, audible difference to our clients”.

Rayovac crowned by Queen’s Award

Rayovac, the world’s longest standing hearing aid battery manufacturer and only UK-based one, has been given the royal seal of approval and awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is one of the highest honours that can be bestowed on a UK based company and is awarded each year to those demonstrating outstanding achievement. Vince Armitage, divisional VP at Rayovac, said: “This is great news for Rayovac. The pace of change in battery technology is increasing all time as manufacturers of hearing aids continue to add new digital features to their devices which need more power. We’re working hard to anticipate these developments by constantly improving the power and reliability of batteries.”

Stay cool in the summer heat…

We all look so forward to having a holiday break in the sun but none of us want our enjoyment ruined by having a hearing aid go wrong on the very first day – a problem we hear happening all too frequently. Make sure you have a pre-holiday hearing aid check up a week or two before you go (just in case your device needs a laboratory repair) and take one of our hearing aid holiday travel kits to ensure a trouble free vacation available from our reception.

That’s Purr-fect

Smokey the pet cat, officially has the LOUDEST purr ever recorded and is now entered into the Guinness World
Records. 12-year-old Smokey from Northampton, peaked at 67.7 decibels, which is about 16 times louder than a normal cat, but
has been known to reach a deafening 92db – the same sound level as a hair dryer or lawnmower. Confirming the pussy’s purr-themed
title, a Guinness spokesperson said: ‘It’s incredible to think a purr can be as loud as a vacuum cleaner!’

Did You Know?

Moose have exceptional hearing, thanks to their huge ears which are 60% bigger than human ears and can rotate independently in almost every direction. Their antlers also act like giant hearing aids focussing sounds to their ears from up to two miles away.

Signature: Bespoke hearing assistance

Our desire to deliver exemplary hearing care and value for money without compromising on quality is now available with our own bespoke hearing instrument called ‘Signature’. Easier speech clarity in noise and unparalleled sound quality were two of the most important criteria we looked for and we are pleased to announce that Signature achieves both these goals. Signature spotlights technology featured in all premium brands but at a lower cost. Based on the latest research, Signature recognises the fact that we all experience sound differently. Our hearing is unique. What we hear day to day is unique. Even the way our brains interpret sound, is unique. So getting the best out of your hearing requires a combination of state of the art technology and professional expertise to precisely tailor the sound to match your own unique ‘hearing signature’. By commissioning Signature, we hope to cut through the hearing aid marketing material with a simple message. Your
signature is your seal of approval and is unique to you. Our Signature hearing instrument carries our seal and is also unique. It allows us to design a hearing aid to perform with all the knowledge we have from years of fittings. The new instrument allows us to personalize the sound quality just for you, to make it as individual as your signature. Signature instruments also don’t whistle when you use the phone or when someone hugs you. They use mainly open-fitting technology so you hardly know they are there and can even be used with an additional range of wireless accessories to connect to your mobile phone, TV, stereo or computer. To find out if Signature is suitable for you, call or email us.