Tag Archives: Best hearing centre in Bucks
Earwax removal at Chalfont hearing centre Buckinghamshire
Earwax removal at Chalfont hearing centre Buckinghamshire
Earwax removal at The Chalfont hearing centre. Chalfont hearing centre is a premier private family run business with Leon Cox at the helm. Hearing tests and hearing aids are to be found at Chalfont hearing centre alongside ear wax removal using Micro-suction or the traditional water irrigation technique (ear syringing).
The very latest digital hearing aids by all the main manufacturers are available. Trail hearing aids are also available but please as Leon for a more comprehensive idea how this works in the Chalfont area.
Book now for your ear wax removal or for a hearing test.
Chalfont hearing centre, News:
GN Hearing Launches AI Personalized Hearing Solutions
GN Hearing announced that it has launched “the world’s first” hearing solutions that intuitively adapt to a hearing aid user’s personal preferences in any given sound environment. This breakthrough technology employs GN’s artificial intelligence (AI) solution in tandem with Apple’s Siri virtual assistant. The announcement was made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 in Las Vegas.
It follows GN’s longstanding commitment to progressing hearing aid technologies through extensive research and development programs. This new offering follows years of investment in GN’s dedicated in-house AI research center, investments in AudEERING, and extensive collaboration with other partners and academic research institutes. The launch helps to extend GN’s innovation footprint and partnership philosophy in the hearing care industry by what GN calls an “intuitive and personalized hearing solution.”
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“At GN, we believe that technology is at its best when it helps address people’s everyday needs and challenges,” said Marcus Desimoni, CFO of GN and Interim CEO of GN Hearing. “Employing AI technology in GN’s products brings this specific technology and innovation to the hearing aid space and is the first step in the journey to create a seamless hearing experience that will allow hearing aid users to ‘forget’ that they are wearing one. This is core to GN’s purpose of making life sound better.”
The new offering is an added benefit to the company’s latest 2.4 GHz product portfolio from ReSound and Beltone, and it will be reaching users in February 2019. Through the use of AI, GN expects to deliver a continuous stream of new user benefits through future software releases. This will enable users to always be at the forefront of innovation by updating existing GN Hearing instruments with new features.
Hearing tests Chalfont
When GN was established 150 years ago, the company introduced the world’s first telegraph line from Europe to Asia, creating the Internet of its time. It is this same pioneering spirit that is being applied today to transform lives, helping people hear more, do more, and be more than they ever thought possible.
Source: GN Hearing
Hearing tests Chalfont, Bucks
Hearing tests Chalfont, Bucks
Hearing tests in Bucks are available at the Chalfont Hearing Centre. Covering the the whole of Buckinghamshire and offers the very latest in hearing tests and other hearing related services such as ear wax removal using Microsuction and the traditional water irrigation technique (sometimes referred as ear syringing).
Chalfont hearing centre ear wax removal
The latest digital hearing aids would be offered after a comprehensive hearing test. These can be discussed after the test depending what your hearing loss (if any) are needed. Small in the ear digital hearing aids to the more powerful over the ear hearing aids are all available.
Chalfont hearing News:
Eargo hearing aids. Chalfont hearing centre, ear wax removal, digital hearing aids and hearing tests.
Hearing aids have been getting a lot better over the years thanks to the tiny electronic hardware that can be packed inside and smart algorithms that produce great sound.
Henley hearing tests
Eargois a company that’s trying to introduce new features to hearing aids to make them more comfortable, easier to use, and cheaper to afford, an important issue in this field.
Henley hearing aids
The new Eargo Neo hearing aids are almost invisible when inside the ears. They have tiny “Flexi Palms” soft tips that keep the hearing aids inside the ear comfortably while optimizing the sound quality. They have a 16 hour battery life per charge, but a recharge case can be used to refresh the Neos on the go. Something useful when taking a plane ride.
Beaconsfield hearing aids
Beaconsfield hearing aids
The Chalfont hearing aid centre covers the whole of Buck including Beaconsfield and Amersham. Suppliers of high end digital hearing aids including hearing accessories, hearing aid batteries and ear wax removal. Leon Cox the lead audiologist at The Chalfont hearing centre is a highly experienced expert on hearing and hearing tests. Please book an appointment if you need Micro-suction ear wax removal.
Chalfont Hearing Centre News:
Original story by: The Hearing Review
Researchers Identify Gene Associated with Age-related Hearing Loss
An international group of researchers, led by Ronna Hertzano, MD, PhD, associate professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and Michael Bowl, PhD, program leader track scientist, Mammalian Genetics Unit, MRC Harwell Institute, UK, have identified the gene that acts as a key regulator for special cells needed in hearing.
Ronna Hertzano, MD, PhD
The discovery of this gene (Ikzf2) will help researchers better understand this unique type of cell that is needed for hearing and potentially develop treatments for common age-related hearing loss, UMSOM announced.
Bucks hearing aids
“Outer hair cells are the first inner ear cells lost as we age,” said Hertzano, whose research will be published in the journal Nature. “Age-related hearing loss happens to everyone. Even a 30-year-old has lost some of the outer hair cells that sense higher pitch sounds. Simple exposure to sound, especially loud ones, eventually causes damage to these cells.”
The inner ear has two kinds of sensory hair cells required for hearing. The inner hair cells convert sounds to neural signals that travel to the brain. This compares to outer hair cells, which function by amplifying and tuning sounds. Without outer hair cells, sound is severely muted and inner hair cells don’t signal the brain. Loss of outer hair cells is said to be the major cause of age-related loss of hearing.
About the Research
Hertzano’s group, in collaboration with Ran Elkon, PhD, senior lecturer, Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel, took a bioinformatics and functional genomics approach to discover a gene critical for the regulation of genes involved in outer hair cell development. Bowl’s group studied mice from the Harwell Aging Screen to identify mice with hearing loss. Bowl identified mice with an early-onset hearing loss caused by an outer hair cell deficit. When the two groups realized that they were studying the same gene, they began to collaborate to discover its biological function and role in outer hair cell development. The gene is Ikzf2 gene, which encodes helios. Helios is a transcription factor, a protein that controls the expression of other genes. The mutation in the mice changes one amino acid in a critical part of the protein, which impaired the transcriptional regulatory activity of helios in the mice.
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To test if helios could drive the differentiation of outer hair cells, the researchers introduced a virus engineered to overexpress helios into the inner ear hair cells of newborn mice. As a result, some of the mature inner hair cells became more like outer hair cells. In particular, the inner hair cells with an excess of helios started making the protein prestin and exhibited electromotility, a property limited to outer hair cells. Thus, helios can drive inner hair cells to adopt critical outer hair cell characteristics.
Funding for the research was provided by Action on Hearing Loss UK, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) at the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense (DOD).
As Professor Steve Brown, PhD, director, MRC Harwell Institute, said, “The development of therapies for age-related hearing loss represents one of the big challenges facing medicine and biomedical science. Understanding the genetic programs that are responsible for the development and maturation of sound-transducing hair cells within the inner ear will be critical to exploring avenues for the regeneration of these cells that are lost in abundance during age-related hearing loss. The teams from the University of Maryland and the MRC Harwell Research Institute have given us the first insights into that program. They have identified a master regulator, Ikzf2/helios, that controls the program for maturation of outer hair cells. Now, we have a target that we can potentially use to induce the production of outer hair cells within damaged inner ears, and we are one step closer to offering treatments for this disabling condition.”
Original Paper: Chessum L, Matern MS, Kelly MC, et al. Helios is a key transcriptional regulator of outer hair cell maturation. Nature. November 21, 2018.
Source: University of Maryland School of Medicine, Nature
Image: University of Maryland School of Medicine
New type of hearing aid for Buckinghamshire
New type of hearing aid for Buckinghamshire
We are always on the look out for new hearing tech at the Chalfont hearing centre. Today we are posting a review on the newly available Sivantos hearing aids that buck the trend of how hearing aids should look like.
Chalfont hearing news:
Sivantos Launches New Form Factor with Signia Styletto SLIM RIC
Signia Styletto
Why should a hearing aid looklike a hearing aid? That’s the question Sivantos engineers asked themselves when designing the new Signia Styletto receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) hearing aid which is being launched today. Styletto is a rechargeable SLIM RIC that features a contemporary design and breaks the mold of traditional behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids by taking advantage of how its lithium-ion battery technology doesn’t need to conform to the traditional size and shape of a button cell. The new RIC, which uses the Signia Nx platform with Own Voice Processing (OVP), also comes with an extremely small charger which offers fast charging solutions as well as three full charges on the go.
Bucks hearing tests
“There are people who look at a hearing aid and really don’t see it matching their style,” says Eric Branda, AuD, director of product management at Sivantos Inc, Piscataway, NJ. “We see all these people wearing large Bluetooth headsets flashing on their ears—huge devices on their ears—and yet [the hearing industry has] struggled to get them to adopt hearing aids, and I think it really comes down to the fact that we keep asking them to wear what looks like a hearing aid.”
Styletto uses a slim-pin design instead of the current coin or button-cell design.
Stylistic freedom by thinking outside the button cell. In terms of the history of hearing aids, Branda points out that, going all the back to the original body-worn devices and moving into today’s CIC and RIC devices, hearing aid sizes and styles have been dictated by the size and shape of button cell batteries. Although lithium-ion rechargeable batteries have also been built in this coin design, they’re not restricted to it—as demonstrated by the new Styletto SLIM RIC. Instead, it departs from the traditional coin cell look by using a slim pin design to create a new form factor.
“With today’s battery technology, we can take a new approach,” says Branda. “Rather than being discreet by being invisible, we can be discreet and drive acceptance withvisibility, which is a novel approach for people with hearing loss.”
Differentiating a hearing aid practice by appealing to different wearers. With its slim, elegant design that harkens to other high-tech product categories, Styletto provides a new option for those who might be put off by the traditional look of a hearing aid. In a US study of 500 mostly new users (92%) with moderate hearing loss, Sivantos found that when participants were given a choice between traditional BTE (Motion) or RIC (Pure) designs, or given the option of no hearing aid at all, more than half (57%) opted for the RIC, 19% selected the BTE, while almost one-quarter (24%) chose to go without a hearing aid. However, when the new Styletto was inserted into the study as an option, 90% of the participants selected a hearing aid: 65% of the study participants selected the SLIM RIC design, while about equal percentages opted for either the BTE and RIC (13% and 12% respectively), and only 10% chose no hearing aid at all.
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Similarly, when consumers looked at a simulated practice storefront window with a standard portfolio, only about 16% of the participants chose an offering without Styletto, while 84% of people chose an offering with the new aid.
Branda says that this indicates Styletto provides dispensing professionals with a new product that aligns more closely with patients’ style and view of themselves. “It may come down to the fact that people know what a hearing aid looks like,” he says. “But, when they see Styletto, they think ‘I can see myself wearing that and it doesn’t make me look like a hearing aid wearer.’”
Recharging case for Styletto.
Portable rechargeability for the wearer. The Styletto’s recharging case is very small, and reportedly offers 19 hours of full-day use with a 3-hour charge. If the wearer forgets to charge the device, they can drop it into the charger for 30 minutes and be able to use the device for 5 hours, says the company. The charger also carries three additional full charges. Thus, if the user starts out in the morning with a full charge and the charger is fully charged, they actually have four days of portable battery capacity available to them, according to Sivantos. The charger also contains an LED indicator to view the status of the charging, as well as an automatic on/off feature which means that the charger can serve as the primary carrying case.
The Styletto recharging/carrying case is exceptionally small and carries 3 full charges.
Nx technology. The Styletto hearing aid uses Signia Nxsignal processing which is designed to emphasize a natural experience using Sivantos’ Own Voice Processing (OVP) technology. Signia’s ear-to-ear wireless (Ultra HD e2e®) is used in OVP as well as the hearing aid’s Narrow Directionality for a more natural sound quality and better speech intelligibility in noise. The wireless technology also enables the device’s Twin Phone capabilities, which allows the wearer to place the phone up to the ear, obtain the acoustic signal, and then the hearing aid wirelessly sends the signal to the opposite ear for binaural advantage during the phone call.
The sleek instrument does not have push-buttons or a volume control. For those who want more control, the touchControl®App is a downloadable cell phone application that allows for the changing of volume, programs, and directionality. Similarly, miniPocket™, which resembles a keychain type remote control, allows for volume and program changes.
Styletto is available in all three of the Nx performance levels (7/5/3) and uses a Size M (60/119) receiver in lengths 2 and 3. The device is applicable for people with mild to moderately severe losses (60 dB gain).
For more information, visit pro.signiausa.com
Bucks hearing centre
Bucks Ear Wax
Chalfont hearing centre is a premium independent hearing centre based in Buckinghamshire at Little Chalfont. Family run and lead by Leon Cox a specialist audiologist for many years.
If you are suffering with blocked ears or think you may need a hearing test please book in with reception. Leon is a fully qualified hearing aid dispenser and can show you how to connect any recent digital hearing aid to your iPhone, iPad etc. Please ask Leon for his sound advice when it comes to T.V. streaming to your hearing aid.
Based in Chalfont the hearing centre covers the whole of Bucks from Henley to Beaconsfield and beyond.
Chalfont hearing news:
Oticon Announces Five New Opn Custom Solutions Styles
Bucks hearing aids and ear wax removal services
Oticon announced the launch of five new custom hearing aid styles, including what is said to be the “smallest hearing aid style Oticon has ever produced,” using BrainHearing™ and Opn’s technology to support the brain in making sense of sound and enabling users to identify where sounds are coming from, even in challenging environments.
Oticon Opn Invisible-in-Canal hearing aid (IIC)
“The variety of Opn Custom styles, functionalities, and features combined with Oticon’s groundbreaking open sound experience provides hearing care professionals with even more Opn choices for their patients, especially those who are reluctant to try hearing aids,” says Don Schum, PhD, Oticon vice president of audiology. “For many first-time users, the appeal of an invisible hearing solution, our smallest IIC ever, may be the catalyst for taking action to address their hearing loss.”
No Compromise on Quality, Reliability, Performance
Opn Custom hearing aids are said to break through some of the challenges faced by people with hearing loss: understanding speech in noise and handling multiple speakers, according to Oticon. The custom lineup includes styles with 2.4 GHz low-energy Bluetooth® connectivity that offer wireless possibilities.The miniaturization of all components can help enable more functionality in less space, resulting in fewer compromises and more modeling freedom to support a better physical fit and a higher fit rate. The effect and availability of Opn Custom features varies with hearing aid style and prescription.
Oticon Opn and Siya
Bucks, hearing aids and Ear wax removal
The new Oticon Siya amplifies the detail of sounds, which can enable users to be able to follow conversations in noisy environments. Oticon BrainHearing technology and a chip that reportedly processes sound 50 times faster than Oticon’s previous generation of essential hearing aids are said to deliver high-resolution sound quality to improve speech understanding.
Chalfont hearing centre
With 2.4 GHz Bluetooth low-energy technology, Siya is said to be the “first hearing aid” in the essential category to allow wireless connectivity with low battery consumption to modern smartphones, TVs, and other Bluetooth®-enabled devices. Siya comes in a complete lineup of styles, ranging from invisible custom styles to power hearing aids.
Oticon Siya
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HearingFitness™ is a new tool, available in Oticon’s proprietary ON App, to help people with hearing loss understand how they can optimize their hearing health behavior to take full advantage of their hearing aids. Users of internet-connected Oticon Opn and Oticon Siya hearing aids can use HearingFitness to track how long they wear their hearing aids and receive notifications and prompts to help them reach their wearing goals and track the noise levels they are frequently exposed to. The new tool can be especially useful for first-time users who find it difficult to adapt to wearing hearing aids.
For more information on the new Oticon Opn Custom solutions and the extended Oticon Opn family, visit www.Oticon.com/OpnCustom. For information on Oticon Siya, visit www.Oticon.com/Siya. For information on the Oticon ON App with the new HearingFitness tool, visit www.Oticon.com/HearingFitness.
Source: Oticon
Images: Oticon
Buckinghamshire hearing aids
Hearing aids at the Chalfont Hearing Centre covering Bucks and beyond
The Chalfont hearing centre are a truly independent small hearing company based in Little Chalfont. Leon Cox is a fully qualified audiologist and a member of the professional body of hearing experts. Fully comprehensive hearing test, ear wax removal using Micro-Suction and the traditional ear wax removal using water irrigation. For a full hearing test please call to book an appointment.
Hearing test
Our comprehensive hearing tests are conducted with the latest hearing and digital audiology equipment. Please go here to watch our hearing test video and other hearing related videos. If you feel you need a hearing test them please call Sam on reception to book an appointment.
Digital hearing aids
We pride ourselves on dispensing the very latest digital hearing aids supplied by the leading hearing aid manufacturers. The digital hearing aids of today are more advanced than you could imagine. They connect wirelessly with your mobile phone, iPad, and T.V. just ask Leon Cox our lead audiologist to advice you on hearing aid connectivity.
Chalfont hearing News:
Widex Announces New Insights into EVOKE Hearing Aid’s AI Function
Widex announced the first data gathered from the WIDEX EVOKE™ hearing aid, which is said to achieve “a new level of Artificial Intelligence (AI)” through machine learning, and is helping to bring new insights into how users are taking control of their sound environment to improve their hearing experience, according to the company.
Denmark-based Widex launched the WIDEX EVOKE hearing aid in April. The hearing aid is reportedly the first to give users the ability to employ real-time machine learning that can solve the tricky hearing problems that users face in their daily lives.
“We launched WIDEX EVOKE with SoundSense technology to put users back in control of the most difficult hearing situations,” said Jens Brehm Nielsen, data science & machine learning architect at Widex. “And we can see that EVOKE users have taken the opportunity to do that and, in the process, are helping us understand more about them. That information will help us to make the EVOKE and future hearing aids even better.”
Hearing aids in Bucks
SoundSense Learn is an AI system, because AI is said to refer to systems that solve tasks humans are inherently good at—such as driving a car, doing the dishes, etc. SoundSense Learn expands into entirely new applications by helping end users adjust their hearing aids in the moment, reportedly something that no humans can replicate to the same degree of accuracy, according to Widex.
The SoundSense Learn smartphone app is connected to the EVOKE hearing aids and uses machine learning to guide users in optimizing the settings to their exact needs. The app gathers a variety of anonymous data such as how often they turn the volume up or down, which sound presets they use, and how many custom settings they create—including those made with SoundSense Learn.
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Tagging of custom settings has proved to be one of the interesting pieces of data generated by EVOKE.
“We found that many people have created a setting and tagged it with, for instance, ‘work’ which suggests that it is something that our end users need and want,” said Nielsen. “And from SoundSense Learn we already have an idea of how they like the settings.”
Some hearing aids give users the ability to customize their sound experience by adjusting frequency bands to boost or cut bass, middle or high tones. Adjusting frequencies works well in many situations once the initial settings have been set by a skilled audiologist. However, some situations are so complex that hitting the right combination of adjustments can be difficult.
“Widex hearing aids are well known for the quality of their sound,” said Nielsen. “But SoundSense Learn has added an extra layer of quality sound on top of that by using a machine learning algorithm together with reinforcement learning—the two key ingredients in state-of-the art AI algorithm, that enables the algorithm to learn in the moment.
“The algorithm learns an optimal setting every time a user finds the sound to be a little below expectations in a given sound environment. It learns these settings by simply asking the user to compare two settings that are carefully picked by the algorithm. This allows it to learn an optimal setting in a new environment very fast.”
By collating and analyzing the anonymous data WIDEX EVOKE will continue to become even smarter as time passes.
Source: Widex
Image: Widex
Hearing test and Hearing aids in Bucks
Hearing tests and hearing aids in Bucks
Chalfont hearing centre is the premier hearing clinic in Little Chalfont Buckinghamshire. Leon Cox the lead audiologist is fully qualified to conduct hearing tests, dispense hearing aids and remove ear wax using Micro-Suction. If you are suffering with Tinnitus Leon can discuss Tinnitus therapy to reduce the Tinnitus. Please ask reception or ask Leon at your next appointment. Tinnitus can be managed.
Hearing tests are always available at the Chalfont Hearing Centre, please call for an appointment.
Chalfont hearing centre news:
GN ReSound Showcases New Partnership with Google and LiNX Quattro at EUHA 2018
ReSound LiNX Quattro.
With today’s start of the European Union of Hearing Aid Acousticians(EUHA) Congress in Hannover, Germany, GN ReSound has announced a new partnership with Google that will provide a full spectrum of direct streaming to hearing aids from Android devices, and the company is showcasing what the company is calling a “premium-plus” hearing aid, ReSound LiNX Quattro,™ which was previously launched in August.
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According to ReSound, the LiNX Quattro offers “a brilliant sound experience with unprecedented Layers of Sound.” In a direct comparison, where hearing aid users were asked to listen to music and rate the sound, the company states that 95% of respondents preferred ReSound LiNX Quattro compared to other premium hearing aids.
A new high-performing chip platform drives the extensive sound quality improvements, providing 100% faster processing, twice the memory capacity, and 35% increase in frequency bandwidth compared to ReSound LiNX 3D™. With a bandwidth of up to 9.5 kHz, a greater range of high-frequency sounds is accessible to people with hearing loss. An input dynamic range of 116 dB SPL—reportedly the highest in the industry—is designed to ensure that softer sounds are clearer and louder sounds are distortion free.
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GN Hearing’s recently-announced partnership with Google allows it to offer a full spectrum of direct streaming from Android devices to hearing aids. It continues GN Hearing’s record of industry breakthroughs, including 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity, Binaural Directionality, direct full streaming compatibility with Apple devices, and cloud based remote fine-tuning.
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“With the launch of ReSound LiNX Quattro, as well as other major technology launches and partnerships, GN Hearing is continuing to shape the future of hearing care,” said GN Hearing CEO and President Anders Hedegaard. “We want to help people hear more, do more, and be more than they ever thought possible. We are striving to support people living with hearing loss and hearing care professionals alike access the latest technology and support the provision of high-quality care.”
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GN Hearing has also recently launched Beltone Amaze™, which GN characterizes as the world’s most complete hearing solution that combines great sound quality, connectivity, rechargeability and remote fine-tuning. The company also recently introduced Interton Ready™, which is designed to offer great sound, ease-of-use, and connectivity at an affordable price.
Source: GN ReSound
Hearing aid repairs Bucks
Cheapest hearing aids Buckinghamshire?
Latest Digital Hearing Aids arrive in Chalfont Bucks.
The latest hearing aids in Buckinghamshire
We may not be the cheapest hearing aids in Buckinghamshire, but we are very competitive and an independent small family owned company. Your ears deserve the best, we are the best in the Chalfont and Bucks area (according to our receptionist).
Unlike the larger high street companies, when you visit us you will be seen by the same person each time! This make a huge difference for your treatment and dispensing. Consistency is key when it comes to ear health. We don’t have the buying power of the major companies but we are pretty close. We offer what the majors don’t. We offer one to one ongoing treatment and advice with the same person who you will get to know and we will get to know you. For most of our clients we are almost family as we know each other so well.
If you feel like you need advice before you buy a new hearing aid or a set of hearing aids we are happy to trial these so you are 100% happy before you purchase. Please ask our receptionist or Leon Cox our lead audiologist for more info.
We are committed to make sure you are happy and content with your hearing aids, so always here to make sure you get the best from them and us. We will always try and fit you in as soon as possible if you are in need to see us urgently.
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We also conduct ear wax removal using Micro-suction, and the traditional water irrigation technique, along with hearing test, hearing batteries and hearing aid repairs.
Hearing aid batteries last how long?
How long will a fully charged hearing aid last
How long should the hearing aid battery last after a full charge, and how does Bluetooth affect this?
The Chalfont hearing centre is a premier independent hearing company based in Chalfont Buckinghamshire. We supply all manufacturers hearing aid batteries and conduct hearing tests. Microsuction ear wax removal is our speciality here and we also still use the traditional technique of water ear irrigation if you prefer. Hearing aid batteries can be bought over the counter or we can post them to you if this is easier.
This Weeks blog is about the hearing aid battery and how long these should last from a full charge.
Original story by the Hearing review
Chalfont hearing Blog:
How long should the hearing aid battery last after a full charge, and how does Bluetooth affect this
Q: How long should the battery last after a full charge? How much does Bluetooth activity affect this?
A: This is a great and very important question. Battery life is dependent on several factors including the amount of capacity of the battery, how fast the hearing aid drains the current, and the wear behaviors and habits of the user.
Hearing aid batteries last how long?
Much like how a car’s mileage range depends on its gas tank, the driving conditions, and the owner’s driving habits, a hearing aid’s battery life depends on the capacity of the battery, the wearer’s listening environments, and use of the various hearing aid functions, including audio streaming.
I like to use the example of an automobile. How many gallons of gas does the fuel tank hold or, for hearing aid batteries, how many mAh capacity is in the battery? How many miles per gallon does the car use or how many mA does the battery drain both when streaming and not streaming? And, finally, is the car driven on the highway or in the city and is the air conditioner on or off? Or, for hearing aids, how many hours per day does the hearing aid stream? Does the hearing aid use 2.4 GHz streaming or does it is use NFMI with an intermediate device that has its own battery? And, what features are turned on or off on the hearing aid?
The Chalfont Hearing Centre for ear wax removal in Bucks
Please note a factor we have learned in our electronics’ lab. Not all hearing aids are the same. Some 2.4 GHz products have current drains averaging 4.8-5.0 mA when streaming while other 2.4 GHz products using lower power Bluetooth will drain the battery at 3.0-3.4 mA while streaming. Some 2.4 GHz products when not streaming may have battery drains of 1.8-2.0 mA, while some of the newer products with bilateral beam-forming may drain the battery at 2.3-2.5 mA when not streaming.
The key is to know your products and know your patient’s listening habits. This is critical to good counseling.
Q: Is the life of the hearing aid circuit reduced as a result of using the rechargeable system? It did happen when [a previous model of hearing aid] were rechargeable.
A: The ZPower Rechargeable System has been thoroughly evaluated by the hearing aid manufacturers and there is no indication that the system will have a negative effect on the life of the hearing aid circuit. The ZPower silver-zinc battery is designed to mimic the performance of traditional zinc-air batteries and is transparent to the DSP of the hearing aids. Extensive studies of hearing aids using the ZPower System also show the system including the ZPower silver-zinc batteries have no impact on the electrophysiologic performance of the hearing aids. Therefore, the ZPower System will not have a negative impact on the hearing aid circuitry or performance.
Previous Q & A’s
Q: What’s a realistic time frame for a rechargeable hearing aid battery to last?
A: Rechargeable silver-zinc batteries last about a year. They are removeable and therefore easily replaced. It is recommended that rechargeable silver-zinc batteries are replaced once a year by a hearing care professional.
Li-ion batteries are sealed within the hearing aid, and are usually removable only by the hearing aid manufacturer. They last approximately 4 to 5 years.
Q: What would happen if my patient accidentally places their hearing aids in the charger while they have zinc air batteries in them?
A: When the hearing aids are put on the charger, the charger will check to see what type of battery is in the hearing aid. If the charger detects a disposable zinc air battery, the lights on the charger will turn red. If the charger detects a silver-zinc battery, the lights on the charger will start blinking green; once the battery is fully charged, the lights will turn solid green.
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Q: Can my patients overcharge a ZPower battery if they leave it in the charger for too long?
A: The batteries will not overcharge if left in the charger. It is a best practice to put the hearing aids back on the charger when the hearing aids are not being worn during the day. This will keep the hearing aids turned off and the batteries charged. For long-term storage, if batteries will not be used for over 2 weeks, the rechargeable batteries should be removed from the hearing aids and stored in a location where they will not touch each other or other metal objects.
Q: What happens when the silver-zinc rechargeable battery is getting low on power?
A: The hearing aid wearer will hear the low battery warning. Once the low-battery warning occurs or once a hearing aid shuts off due to a low battery condition, the battery door should not be opened and closed to reboot the hearing aid. Rebooting after the low battery warning can override the smart circuitry in the battery door into believing it has a traditional disposable battery installed and, although the hearing aid will continue to work for a short period, it may over-discharge the battery. If a low-battery warning from the hearing aids is received, the hearing aids should be placed in the charging base for charging or the batteries should be replaced with non-rechargeable batteries. The rechargeable batteries should not be stored with metal objects such as keys or coins.
Q: How often should the batteries be charged?
A: The batteries should be fully charged every night. Once the hearing aids are finished charging, the indicator lights turn from blinking green to solid green. A full charge may take up to 7 hours—the charge time varies based on how much the battery was depleted during the day. Do not try to extend battery life by charging every other day, as this increases the chances of depleting the battery. A fully depleted battery will take longer to charge and may not fully charge in time for next use.
Q: What happens if the hearing aid wearer forgets to charge the battery at night?
A: They can use a disposable zinc-air battery until it is convenient to re-charge the batteries—ideally the rechargeable batteries should be charged the next night. The rechargeable silver-zinc batteries are a gold color, so they will not be mixed up with zinc-air disposable batteries. The rechargeable batteries should be stored in a safe place and should not be stored with metal objects such as keys or coins.
Hearing aids, buckinghamshire
Hearing aids, Buckinghamshire
The Chalfont hearing centre is an independent hearing specialist centre based in Chalfont Bucks. We specialise in the very latest hearing aids that will transform your life. The new 2018 digital hearing aids are a joy to use, connecting with your Iphone or most Android smart phones that are on the market today. You can really hear the benefits of the latest hearing tech, so why not book in and have a hearing test today and discuss your needs.
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Swedish University Researchers Develop New Test for Balance Disorders
Many individuals over age 65 suffer from dizziness and problems with balance; however, tests to identify the causes of such problems are often painful and can risk hearing damage. Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology have developed a new testing device using bone conduction technology that is said to offer “significant advantages” over current tests, the Sweden-based university announced.
The researchers’ new vibrating device. Photo Credit: Johan Bodell/Chalmers University of Technology
A Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP) test uses loud sounds to evoke a muscle reflex contraction in the neck and eye muscles, triggered by the vestibular system—the system responsible for our balance. The Chalmers researchers have now used bone-conducted sounds to achieve what they say are better results.
“We have developed a new type of vibrating device that is placed behind the ear of the patient during the test,” said Bo Håkansson, a professor in the research group ‘Biomedical signals and systems’ at Chalmers.
Bo Håkansson, Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Chalmers. Photo Credit: Johan Bodell/Chalmers University of Technology
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The vibrating device is small and compact in size, and optimized to provide an adequate sound level for triggering the reflex at frequencies as low as 250 Hz. Previously, no vibrating device has been available that was directly adapted for this type of test of the balance system.
In bone-conduction transmission, sound waves are transformed into vibrations through the skull, stimulating the cochlea within the ear, in the same way as sound waves go through the ear canal, the eardrum, and the middle ear. Håkansson has over 40 years of experience in this field and has previously developed hearing aids using this technology.
The cause of dizziness can be difficult to diagnose for several reasons. In 50% of cases, dizziness is due to problems in the vestibular system. But today’s VEMP methods have major shortcomings, and can cause hearing loss and discomfort for patients.
For example, the VEMP test uses very high sound levels, and may, in fact, cause permanent hearing damage itself, according to the university’s press release. And, if the patient already suffers from certain types of hearing loss, it may be impossible to draw any conclusions from the test. The Chalmers researchers’ new method offers significant advantages.
“Thanks to this bone conduction technology, the sound levels which patients are exposed to can be minimized,” said postdoctoral researcher Karl-Johan Fredén Jansson, who made all the measurements in the project. “The previous test was like a machine gun going off next to the ear—with this method it will be much more comfortable. The new vibrating device provides a maximum sound level of 75 decibels. The test can be performed at 40 decibels lower than today’s method using air-conducted sounds through headphones. This eliminates any risk that the test itself could cause hearing damage.”
The benefits also include safer testing for children as well as patients with impaired hearing function due to chronic ear infections or congenital malformations in the ear canal and middle ear.
The vibrating device is compatible with standardized equipment for balance diagnostics in healthcare and the cost of the new technology is estimated to be lower than the corresponding equipment used today.
A pilot study has been conducted and recently published. The next step is to conduct a larger patient study in collaboration with Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, where 30 participants with normal hearing will also be included.
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The scientific article “VEMP using a new low-frequency bone conduction transducer” has recently been published by Dove Medical Press, in the journal Medical Devices: Evidence and Research.
Chalmers’ partners in the study are the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, and the Danish audio companies Ortofon andInteracoustics. Grants for this project are received from Vinnova (Swedish Innovations Agency) and Hörselskadades Riksförbund (Hearing Impairment Federation).
See the researchers’ own presentation of the project
Read more about research on medical signals and systems
Original Paper: Håkansson B, Fredén Jansson K-J, Tengstrand T, et al. VEMP using a new low-frequency bone conduction transducer. Medical Devices: Evidence and Research. 2018;11:301-312.
Source: Chalmers University of Technology, Medical Devices: Evidence and Research
Image: Johan Bodell/Chalmers University of Technology
