Should the NHS Do More to Address Hearing Loss?

When NHS England launched its Action Plan on Hearing Loss in 2015, the primary goal was to improve services designed to address hearing loss and its consequences among patients. The Action Plan has done well thus far, but some say more can be done. Action on Hearing Loss chief executive Paul Breckell is among them.

Breckell has publicly stated that his organisation hopes the Action Plan will eventually include more strategies designed to encourage people to address hearing loss as soon as possible, rather than waiting the roughly ten years it now takes for the average person to start looking for help.

The call for the NHS to do more is a direct result of the recent release of World Health Organisation (WHO) data in advance of World Hearing Day. According to the WHO, the global cost of hearing loss is upwards of £750 billion annually. Here in the UK, it is estimated that just diminished access to employment alone affects our economy to the tune of some £25 billion every year.

How We Can Help

Should the NHS do more to address hearing loss? That’s for the charities, think tanks and politicians to decide. In the meantime, we are here to help those who are ready to address their hearing loss. We offer free hearing tests along with earwax removal, tinnitus therapy, occupational audiometry, digital hearing aids, and more.

If you are suffering from any form of hearing loss, do not hesitate to give us a call or stop in for a visit. We want to help you hear better. As the Action on Hearing Loss charity says, don’t wait years to address your hearing loss. The sooner to take action, the more we can do to help you.

The Original article Published at Darroch Hearing Blog

Common Reasons People Stop Wearing Their Hearing Aids

At Darroch Hearing Clinics, our main goal is to help people suffering from hearing loss and tinnitus enjoy better quality of life through digital hearing aids. We are sometimes disappointed to work with a patient to find the perfect hearing aid solution only to discover that the patient is no longer using his or her hearing aids after some time.

There are some very common reasons individuals stop wearing their hearing aids. We can certainly understand all of them, but we also want our readers to know that there are solutions. If you have stopped wearing yours, do any the following reasons apply to you?

Hearing Aids Are Uncomfortable

A lack of comfort is one of the leading reasons for people no longer wearing their hearing aids. Fortunately, this is a problem that can usually be addressed through refitting. If we cannot remove all the discomfort through a refit, we should be able to eliminate most of it.

Hearing Aids Do Not Meet Expectations

From time to time, a patient receives new digital hearing aids only to be disappointed by their performance. This is something we might be able to address with a few adjustments here and there. We urge patients to at least give us a chance to improve hearing aid performance before taking them off for good.

Hearing Aids Are Embarrassing

Many patients find that they are embarrassed by their hearing aids. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to address this problem. Hearing loss is what it is.

We understand that hearing loss is not the most pleasant thing to deal with. But digital hearing aids can improve quality of life if they fit well and are used properly. Will you allow us to try to help if you’ve decided to stop wearing yours?

The Original article Published at Darroch Hearing Blog

How Can a Hearing Aid Help with Tinnitus?

In our last blog post, we discussed three things you might not know about tinnitus. Among them is the fact that there are two different kinds of tinnitus, the most common being subjective tinnitus. In this post, we want to discuss how hearing aids can help people suffering from this form of the condition. Keep in mind that subjective tinnitus is almost always linked to hearing loss.

When a person begins to lose some of his or her hearing, whether that is due to age, illness or some sort of injury, the result is less auditory stimulation from external noises. Think of it in terms of standing under a tree during a rainstorm. The train does not prevent all the precipitation from getting through, but it does prevent some of it. Hearing loss results in fewer external sounds making it to the auditory portion of the central nervous system.

Tinnitus is caused by the brain trying to make up for the loss of those external sounds. The brain processes the limited frequencies it is exposed to in different ways, resulting in tinnitus. People with tinnitus related to hearing loss are often suffering from a loss of higher frequency recognition. Thus, tinnitusis often described as a high-pitched ringing in the ears.

With all of that said, let’s talk about how a hearing aid can help. Hearing aids can amplify certain frequencies depending on the needs of the patient. Digital hearing aids are especially adept at this. By amplifying the frequencies that are not heard as well, a hearing aid can make up for the loss of natural sound. This can prevent some of the frequency modification happening in the brain. A hearing aid can also provide enough amplification to mask the tinnitus.

The Original article Published at Darroch Hearing Blog

Your Hearing Is More Delicate Than You Know

Some of our blog readers are people investigating digital hearing aids for older loved ones. It is that group of individuals we want to address in this post by stating the following: your hearing is more delicate than you know. So many things can affect hearing over a person’s lifetime that it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why certain individuals suffer hearing loss while others do not.

As one example, did you know that a recent study reported by the Daily Mail and echoed by the NHS indicates that long-term use of certain over-the-counter painkillers can contribute to hearing loss in women? Indeed, the study found a link between long-term use of paracetamol or ibuprofen and hearing loss.

Researchers discovered that women who used NSAIDs at least twice per week for 12 months or longer had a higher risk of hearing loss compared to those who didn’t use the painkillers quite as often. Furthermore, the risk of hearing loss increased with the length of time subjects used the drugs.

What is not clear is the cause-and-effect. One possible explanation is that certain NSAID drugs can damage multiple components of the ear including its protective layer and the tiny hairs that vibrate when sound waves are present. Researchers also say that NSAIDs can reduce blood flow to the ears.

The NHS recommends checking with your GP for other options if you find yourself taking over-the-counter painkillers, like ibuprofen, on a regular basis. If there are other ways to treat your pain, you may be able to reduce your risk of developing hearing loss in the future.

Darroch offers free hearing tests if you’re concerned about your hearing right now. If you are suffering hearing loss, you may benefit from a digital hearing aid.

The Original article Published at Darroch Hearing Clinics Blog

Understanding the 3 Kinds of Hearing Loss

Darroch Hearing is thrilled to be able to offer the latest in digital hearing aids for improved hearing. Our recommendations for individual patients really depends on the type of hearing loss they are suffering from. No, not all hearing loss is the same.

There are three distinct types of hearing loss. These are as follows:

Conductive Hearing Loss

Conductive hearing loss is the most common of the three, so named due to an inability among the ear’s ‘mechanical components’ to properly conduct sound waves to the central nervous system. This kind of hearing loss can be caused by anything from a blockage in the ear canal to some sort of physical disorder that renders certain parts of the inner ear less effective than they otherwise would be. Conductive hearing loss can be addressed by increasing the power of sound waves to the point that they overcome the conductive impediment.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

This kind of hearing loss is caused either by a problem with the nerves in the inner ear or the ability of the central nervous system to process the electrical impulses it receives. People suffering from this sort of hearing loss will have difficulty hearing in terms of volume, but their nervous systems may also distort the sounds they do here. Thankfully, this form of hearing loss is not as common as conductive hearing loss. It is a bit more difficult to treat.

Mixed Hearing Loss

Lastly, mixed hearing loss combines both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss at the same time. The conductive component can be addressed medically while the sensorineural may or may not be treatable.

If you are concerned about hearing loss, contact Darroch Hearing right away. We may be able to treat your condition with a state-of-the-art, digital hearing aid.

The Original article Published at Darroch Hearing Clinics Blog