The Commoditization Of Better Hearing

So here is a topic that has been a point of significant contention for me. If you have ever spent any time in Florida and picked up a newspaper there you will notice the inundation of advertising for hearing aids. You see coupons and graphics and “Free, Free, Free” in everything, the end result is sensory and information overload. Even though we live in Canada we are seeing this kind of advertising and marketing hitting us as well, messages like two for one or 40% off or free this, free that, full page colour adds, direct mail, T.V. offers etc. You see the big box stores like Costco selling hearing aids at discount rates making you feel like you have saved money, you see hearing aid manufacturers buying up clinics to set up distribution chains for their products. The world of better hearing has been commoditized leaving you feeing like a consumer unsure of what is real and what is the best decision to make in your health care. The reality is that the world of better hearing should be in its best form; part health care and part technical care. Health care from the standpoint that hearing is a function of ones body and a change or deterioration of that function is relative to a component of your health. Working inside the ear by the standards of our province is a regulated controlled act. Hearing and communication cannot be minimized to the point that a product is your entire solution. Understanding and accepting and seeing the difficulties that you have with hearing and communication as well as vestibular function (balance) is why you come to an audiologist.

Identifying pathology and the correct intervention is a job that an audiologist is trained for, many audiologist today posses a Doctoral degree to know enough to get started in the field. Anyone that has worked with hearing and hearing loss as well as hearing aids no matter what their qualifications will tell you that there is so much more to successful intervention than a simple fitting of a product. I have learned much from my patients over the years as well as the knowledge of formal education, and what I know is that a one size fits all solution does not exist, I also know that there is no Santa, or Easter Bunny and that advertising that seems too good to be true probably is exactly that.

Helping my patients hear better, live living to its fullest, is a journey that begins long before wearing a hearing aid. Understanding the patient’s needs comes from understanding physiology but also understanding psychology as it applies to the individual. The journey of better hearing is an ongoing one that the audiologist and patient go on together it takes place over many years as we constantly work at doing better and dealing with the challenges that can come our way. Perhaps a better way to understand where importance lies is in considering the use of hearing aids as a part of a rehabilitative process with far more than just the involvement of a device.  Learning how to hear again is a process that takes time and effort. The effort that I speak of one that the patient puts forth as well as the audiologist.  Perhaps when we approach the hearing aid fitting as just the beginning of rehabilitation we can start to understand the importance of a team that helps to get you to your ultimate goal.

At The Ear Company we have refused to product advertise or price advertise because we believe that better hearing is not a commodity. While it is sometimes disappointing and difficult to see others in our profession following a different path in advertising we believe that it remains important to hold to what we believe serves our patients in the best way possible and we have been rewarded with loyal patients and friends of our company that spread the good word, which is far more powerful than any coupon or marketed discount can ever be.

Shoot Yourself In The Foot

We in the Audiology profession sometimes forget the importance of what we do and how our job really does change lives for the better. Within our own profession we have insecurities that sometimes get the better of us. Ours is a profession based in science and research yet we sometimes get uncertain about ourselves as professionals given the variability of outcomes in the area of hearing aids. We sometimes get caught up sidetracked by our own technology and fail to remember that we are not in the hearing aid business, instead we are in the business of empowerment. Ours is a profession in which lives are changed through reconnecting our patients with those that are important to them, by creating opportunity for better communication ability. Sadly many Audiologists get caught in the world of product rather than the Doctoring profession that ours is. 

In recent years we have seen research validating what we have understood to be true regarding the effects of auditory deprivation. In a nutshell what this research shows is that untreated hearing loss can lead to accelerated cognitive decline with measurable central neural deterioration apparent on imaging. The implications of this study by Doctor Frank Lin and colleagues has led to further research along the same lines with similar findings but other researchers as well.

What has bothered me is the response of the industry to these findings. I have seen these findings being used as a marketing tool with the belief that given this medical evidence we should be able to move more people towards earlier adoption of prescribed hearing aids. Quite honestly as a consumer I would find that someone telling me that I am going to go through cognitive decline if I don’t get hearing aids as another reason to pull away from the industry. Societally we have already had to fight the stigma that has long been associated with hearing loss and now the message becomes one that is supposed to motivate with fear of mental decline. The stereotype we already have in place is that hearing loss is associated  with aging and now we have associated mental decline. While this is not necessarily true for all this  is a very powerful suggestion affecting our perception of reality. If I am in my 40s or 50s suffering from mild or early stage hearing loss I would have to overcome these stereotypical understandings given to me by society and now our own profession in order to come to terms with doing something about it. My belief is that taking this approach to motivating people will cause further resistance and negative feelings towards a profession that fights an uphill battle with inaccurate  perceptions and stigmas already associated with hearing loss.

The message of empowerment in life is a far more potent message to communicate, focusing on living life the way you choose to live. To be able to choose a life of involvement in which human relationship and interaction is important to us is a far better message to communicate as an industry and as a profession. Beyond this message being the better message it is also an authentic message that is honest and true. While fear may motivate it is not a positive motivator. Yes I want to maintain my cognitive abilities but that message pales in comparison to having great relationships and interactions with those who are important to you.

To Soar Above The Clouds

Dealing with death is really hard for me. I don’t like going to funerals at all primarily because they are so emotional for me. Over the years I have had so many patients pass away and on my own I mourn the loss. I am happy to sit with their family in office and talk, share and grieve yet I have a hard time getting myself to go to funerals. Recently I had a patient pass away unexpectedly, this was someone that I have known in excess of 15 years. I was so saddened by his death and felt it deeply. After a few days this gentleman’s wife came by the office to talk and to donate his hearing aids. We spent time talking about their life together and the special relationship they shared. This lovely lady eventually asked if I would come to the memorial service that was to take place in a few weeks. I said I would come. As I said I do have a very hard time with these types of events but I said I would be there and knew that I would go. This last Saturday I put on my best suit and headed out to the funeral home.

It is amazing what a small community we live in and the way out lives cross. At this memorial service I ran into patients, friends and acquaintances that I had no idea were connected to these folks. The celebration of life was full of stories that amazed me moved me and yes, made me cry. You see this man was stricken with polio at the age of 9 and was hospitalized for three years returning to his family at the age of 12. I heard stories of the fierce determination that he possessed to overcome and be a part of society without the boundaries of inhibition that polio had rendered in his life. I heard a beautiful love story set around his love for sailing where he met the love of his life, his beautiful. I heard of their special life in a cottage community swimming and sailing and enjoying the company of friends and family, I heard about their travels to Brazil or the West Coast of Canada. All through this story I continued to hear about the determination that persisted in this man that helped him overcome and adapt to life’s challenges and the further limitations in mobility that afflicted him. It should be no surprise to me that when he saw me in the context of seeking help with his hearing loss that he approached this disability with a will to find success and did.

One of the most beautiful parts of the service was when his wife spoke and shared pictures of their life. Towards the end of the talk she shared with us his love for airplanes and how he loved to fly. At one point in her story she shared with us a story, a special experience. Even though this man was wheelchair bound he wanted so badly to fly an airplane and eventually found his way into a glider with another pilot.  In order to get him into the plane they had to remove much of the safety equipment that would be of little use to him anyway. This lovely lady shared the story of his time flying and how the pilot let him fly and even extended their time significantly given the sheer joy that this man felt gliding silently through the clouds. When listening to this story many of us were brought to tears because as his wife shared this was a time in this mans life where he felt like he was not limited where he felt free. As she concluded with this story we could all infer our own belief system and how we viewed death with this visual in our minds. In the end I was lifted up by having attended this celebration of life being blessed by the experience.

While many have limitations either of mobility, or hearing or visual acuity etc. it is an important lesson in life to take on that challenge and find ways to live you r life to the fullest and in the way you choose. This very specific message is one that we as a company have been communicating this year through our marketing campaign. The message is to life your life in the way you choose being empowered to control what you can and in our case this is about hearing loss and communication. In the end I was honored and blessed to have experienced this celebration of life, as it was another learning experience for me.  Determination, stubbornness, a will to succeed can be such a valuable characteristic in life.

Selective Spousal Hearing Loss

Why is it so hard to hear your spouse  (insert smile)? Is this really an intentional inefficiency or is there more to it? I mean is "selective hearing"a real thing? I can't tell you how many of my patients come in because their significant other is telling them that they need to get their hearing checked. While often there is validity to the concern and hearing loss is definitely a part of what is going on there are other possibilities as well.

Certainly when one encounters hearing difficulty they themselves are often the last to know as they base normal upon themselves and their experience. Many times it is ones significant other that can see how hard it is for their partner to hear and is able to point it out. When you have known someone for a very long time it may be more obvious to you than another that they are not functioning the same way that they once did. In some cases it can be that split second of pause while filling in the parts one didn't quite catch or that look of confusion that quickly passes and is covered up with a smile or a nod or some other compensatory mechanism. Perhaps the domination of the conversation is what is witnessed as it is too difficult to follow. Whatever the difficulty may be it is common that those suffering are the last to know or accept the reality .
Now for another possibility. So many of the people that come in to see me because their significant other thinks they have a hearing problem have no hearing problem at all. The reality is that when you are comfortable with another you tend to do things in communication that may be very inefficient. In our own homes we try to have conversations from one room to the next or while on a different floor or with the television on or at the kitchen sink with the water running. The point is we communicate in ways that we never would with someone that was visiting our home. When we have company in our homes we tend to be in the same room conversing while atleast facing each other without the television or a lot of other background noise present, we tend to introduce our subject and converse in a manner where there is listening taking place as well as leading in conversation. In this context that individual that might be considered to have hearing loss may have little to no difficulty at all simply because of the efforts made to communicate well.
The responsibility for good communication is a two way street where all parties involved in communication have a responsibility. If you really want your husband or wife, family member friend or significant other to hear something and understand, then take the time to optimize your approach in communicating by limiting the background noise, by physical proximity, using your eyes, introducing your subject and a variety of other good communication habits. 

How Hearing Loss Is Good for The Health Of Wild Turkeys

 The motivation to do something about ones hearing can be different for everyone. One of my patients told me a funny story regarding his moment of realization that I thought I would share.

This particular man is an avid hunter enjoying all kinds of hunting. On this particular occasion I believe he was bow hunting. One of the things he really likes about hunting is being out I the woods by himself enjoying nature. This particular year he was in his regular tree stand and noticed that the woods seemed devoid of any kind of animal life, no squirrels running around, no birds in the tree, and certainly no turkeys to shoot.

When this man got home his wife and daughter both finally asked him what the loud beeping sound was that seemed to be following him around. Apparently what had happened was that his watch alarm had gone off emitting a high pitched beeping that he was unable to hear but that all the woodland creatures heard very well and avoided leaving hi sitting in his tree stand with no company.

When he told me this story and told me it was the final straw in recognizing that he may have a hearing problem he had me laughing out loud especially since he was telling it a s a humorous story. The happy ending to the story is that he got his hearing aids and wild turkeys are no longer safe

Flying and Hearing Loss

 

As a little boy I loved the idea of being able to fly. Superman’s greatest gift in my opinion was his ability to fly, yes faster than a speeding bullet able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, was it a bird was it a plane, no it was Superman! I would run around the house with a towel wrapped around my neck jumping of my bed trying desperately to fly. I loved the idea of flying but never really loved heights. I remember that first time I recognized this failing in myself when we visited the Grand Canyon and I got that wobbly feeling in my knees and that tingling in my feet as I approached the edge. Even though I don’t love heights I still love the idea of flying which is why the idea of flying via the indoor vertical wind tunnel also known as indoor skydiving has really intrigued me. This is one of those things that I have really wanted to do. I have watched the video and have talked to many people that have tried this and loved it.

Recently I had a patient come in to see me after having taken part in an indoor skydiving adventure. The patient shared with me their personal experience with indoor skydiving. I have known that this was potentially a fairly noisy thing to do, as it is the powerful wind turbines at close proximity that allows you to be lifted off the ground and into the air. This particular patient did report that he was given earplugs but that they were ill fitting. The reported noise was painful to this gentleman and upon exit he had a hard time hearing with his ears feeling full and plugged. Initially the thought was that perhaps he had suffered from temporary threshold shift but as days went by the ears did not get any better as the plugged feeling persisted. After a few weeks and several visits with his Physician he was sent to see me. Unfortunately what I ended up finding was a significant noise induced hearing loss that is permanent. The loss was mild to moderate in severity and was primarily in the high frequency spectrum which was why he felt plugged primarily hearing low and mid-frequencies normally.  When I tried to research the sound levels encountered in these structures there was not a lot of information available though most sources reported the sound levels exceeding 120-130 DB. These sound levels approach and exceed the threshold of pain for a lot of people. These levels can and did cause significant damage in the short time of exposure that most of these events are limited to. The thing about foam insert hearing protection is that every ear can vary in shape and size and even if there is s small crack in the seal the effect of the noise is the same as if you were not wearing hearing protection.

I still really want to fly like superman but I think I will make sure that I wear excellent hearing protection before flying.