In an age where aging baby boomers with damaged hearing, thanks to listening to loud music on their sony walkman back in the 80′s, are still too vain to consider wearing a hearing aid, Siemens have brought out a funky range of colours and patterns — including lipstick red, fluorescent orange and leopard-skin print digital hearing aids just for this purpose.

It’s estimated that one in six boomers suffer from hearing loss. (And it’s likely that three of the remaining five forgot to get their hearing checked, while the other two just don’t like what they hear anymore and want to keep it that way.)

Aware that old and uncool boomers are terrified of looking old and uncool, one manufacturer is marketing the devices as “not your grandfather’s hearing aid.”

“It’s about self-expression,” said Tom Powers, a spokesperson with Siemens Hearing Instruments.

The price for a new siemens “digital hearing aid” starts at around £400 for one ear and will fit snugly in the ear.

The two remaining hurdles that seem to exist however in making this work are seemingly in getting people to have a hearing examination in the first place and, perhaps more importantly, the self actualization that they indeed have a problem with their hearing.

The UCL Ear Institute stands on Gray’s Inn Road, one of the busiest thoroughfares in London. Outside, the din of modern life is relentless – revving motorcycles, idling lorries, honking taxis and the blaring of sirens. Inside, however, director Professor David McAlpine has just led me into what is possibly the quietest spot in our throbbing capital. We are in his anechoic chamber, a windowless room four metres square that could double as a set for Doctor Who. Angular wedges of thick grey foam jut from the walls and ceiling. As I step inside, my feet wobble precariously upon a suspended trampoline mesh because the same foam wedges, it turns out, are affixed to the floor beneath us. Their purpose: to absorb all sound waves. The chamber is, in effect, “dead space”. As the triple soundproofed door closes behind us, my head feels instantly muffled. When the lights are turned off, plunging us into pitch darkness, things get distinctly eerie. “In here,” McAlpine jokes, “no one can hear you scream.”

What I can hear, I realise after a couple of minutes, is that rare thing… nothing. Pure, unadulterated silence. What McAlpine hears, however, is a high-pitched tone, slightly more pronounced in his left ear than his right. That’s because while I’m blessed with robust hearing, McAlpine is among Britain’s five million tinnitus sufferers.

Often caused by prolonged or sudden exposure to loud noises, tinnitus is most commonly described as “ringing” in the ears. Symptoms can vary widely – from a low hum to a pinging and hissing that drives the sufferer to distraction. For 300,000 people with the condition, symptoms cause sleep deprivation and extreme anxiety, preventing them from leading a normal life.

The fear among auditory experts is that we are heading for a “tinnitus timebomb”. If you regularly spend several hours a week clubbing or going to gigs, or if you listen to your MP3 player at full volume, you will have almost certainly experienced some temporary tinnitus already. Prolonged exposure to excessive decibels can put your hearing in danger of permanent damage. And countless studies worldwide have now confirmed that an overload of noise levels is resulting in increased hearing loss among young people. According to some estimates, noise levels have increased tenfold in recent years – in shops and restaurants, in schools and at work, on trains and planes, on urban streets and in the countryside, the global hum is becoming a global howl.

Of course, tinnitus is not a modern phenomenon. McAlpine reminds me that Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure was often troubled by the “sound of fish frying” in his ears. However it has, until very recently, been a clinical enigma with various “trial and error” treatments on offer, but no cure. Advances in brain scanning over the past five years, combined with major pharmaceutical investment, are changing that. According to Vivienne Michael, chief executive of Deafness Research UK: “There is finally hope that tinnitus will not be a Cinderella area of medicine for much longer.”

McAlpine, an auditory neuroscientist and adviser to Deafness Research UK, is regarded as one of the world leaders in tinnitus research. He uses the anechoic chamber to provide rigorous test conditions for hearing and to support his studies into the brain-processing mechanisms underlying tinnitus.

For years, the big question that perplexed scientists was whether tinnitus was a ringing in the ears, or in the brain. “Our thinking now is that it emerges as you go from the ear to the central nervous system,” says McAlpine. “If you have some hearing loss with the ear, the brain tries to compensate by switching up its own amplifier. One theory is that when your brain turns up the dial, it doesn’t just turn up the signal for frequency channels, it turns up the noise – so like with a shortwave radio, you hear more sound, but you hear more hiss as well.”

McAlpine is the first to admit that his personal experience gives an added impetus to his work. Now 40, he pinpoints his own condition to a single night, spent in a noisy Irish bar in Sheffield ten years ago, at a friend’s engagement party. “It was low-ceilinged room with massively loud music – so loud I couldn’t hear myself speak. I was there two or three hours, and remember cutting the evening short because of the noise. As I left, my ears were ringing.” He recovered, but two weeks later, while carrying out audio tests in a laboratory, he realised that he was having problems hearing higher frequencies. Since then, he has had recurring bouts of “mildly annoying” tinnitus, which worsens when he has to do any long-haul travel because of aircraft noise and air pressure. He no longer frequents loud bars, “and I don’t know anyone in the auditory world who uses an iPod, except in a very limited way.”

Personal music players must, by law, be manufactured with a maximum volume of 100 decibels (although worryingly, according to Vivienne Michael there are adverts on the internet offering “unlocking” services so that they can be played at higher levels). Prolonged exposure to anything over 80 dBA (the decibel scale) will damage hearing. At clubs and rock concerts, noise levels can reach well over 110 dBA. Even classical concerts can exceed 100 dBA. (If you think the differences seem slight, you need first to remember that decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, so a small increment can result in a large increase in perceived volume. For those who are not mathematically minded, an increase or decrease of three dBA represents a doubling or halve of intensity – the energy it contains. So, for example, 73 dBA is twice as intense as 70 dBA.)

“If you go to a club, you wouldn’t allow someone to shine dangerous lasers in your eyes. And yet people regularly expose their hearing to damaging noise levels,” says McAlpline. “For many young and otherwise healthy people, tinnitus will be the first sign that they are not, after all, invincible.”

Dr David Baguley, Head of Audiology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and adviser to the British Tinnitus Association, fears it is “imminently likely” that the number of tinnitus sufferers will rise as MP3 use increases. On the upside, however, he points to several breakthroughs that are bringing us closer to discovering the cause of the condition.

In the past five years, researchers in America and also at the University of Nottingham have, with the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging, detected brain activity related to tinnitus. They’ve found it in the auditory cortex and also the limbic system – the part of the brain that governs anxiety and emotion. “This is hugely significant,” says Baguley. “The suggestion is not that tinnitus is stress-induced, but that stress could be a factor because in people who complain of the condition, the part of the brain that produces fearful emotions is exceptionally active.”

Elsewhere, in Belgium and Germany, studies into repetitive magnetic transcranial stimulation have shown promise for some sufferers. The treatment involves holding a magnetic plate just above the ear where the auditory cortex is. Electromagnetic pulses then alleviate symptoms by disrupting, and possibly resetting faulty brain signals. Sessions last between five and 30 minutes. The treatment is painless and does not require anaesthesia. The downside is that it is highly specialised, and requires the use of expensive equipment found only in major neurology centres.

Among the most potentially exciting developments, according to Baguley, are those within the pharmaceutical industry. Within the past two years, it has been established that injecting the anaesthetic lidocaine into the bloodstream of someone with tinnitus will bring about a complete absence of symptoms for five minutes. “It is actually a very dangerous thing to do, because it has heart and breathing implications, but what it tells us is that somewhere in the brain there is a lock that can be unpicked,” he explains. At least three major pharmaceutical companies are now actively researching a drug solution to tinnitus. “This is a huge step forward in solving the last great mystery of the auditory system,” says Baguley. “Many goals are now in sight in terms of deafness and balance but for too long, tinnitus has remained a heart-sinker of a condition. I’m more and more convinced now that a drug solution will be possible within our lifetime.”

Case study: The ringing never stops

Tom Wilkinson, 29, works in IT development and lives in Topsham, Devon. His tinnitus was triggered by going to rock concerts while he was at university in Birmingham.

“I would always have a buzzing in my ears for a day or two after seeing a band. Then one day, the ringing didn’t go away. I got used to it, but tinnitus is exacerbated by anxiety, and during a stressful period a couple of years after I graduated, I sought help. A sound generator under my pillow helped me at nights, and I have invested in specialist earplugs, which I wear if I go to the cinema or a gig now. Tinnitus is a unacknowledged danger among young people because ear problems are associated with middle and old age. I think it is vital that we increase awareness of the dangers.”

How to treat it

Three years ago, a study by the charity Deafness Research UK showed that millions of tinnitus patients were being badly let down by the NHS. The research found that many GPs were unsympathetic and unwilling to refer sufferers to a specialist. More than 50 per cent of patients were being told: “There is no cure. You’ll have to live with it.”

Since then the Department of Heath has produced a “tinnitus patient pathway”. Dr David Baguley, a member of the DoH committee, says: “The aim is that all patients receive timely attention and the same standard of care.”

For those seeking treatment, options include:

Sound generators. Tinnitus can be more of a problem during quiet times, such as before sleep, when there are no everyday sounds to mask symptoms. Sound generators are available on the NHS. There are under-the-pillow machines and also a behind-the-ear version.

Digital hearing aids. Conventional aids can aggravate tinnitus symptoms because they block the ear with an ear mould. With a new design, the canal is left open as the hearing aid is connected into the ear by a thin tube.

Cognitive behavioural therapy has been found to improve patients’ quality of life, even when the volume of noise from the tinnitus remains the same. It works by helping to change people’s attitudes and behaviour.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is a specific form of counselling combined with sound therapy.

Some sound advice

A survey in 2006 showed that more than a third of all 16 to 34-year-olds admitted listening to their MP3 player for more than an hour a day and 14 per cent listened for more than 28 hours as week. The Deafness Research UK/Specsavers survey also showed that 54 per cent of people did not realise that listening to loud music on an MP3 player in a nightclub or at a concert could damage their hearing.

The World Health Organisation recommends the 60/60 rule: that you listen to your personal music player for no longer than 60 minutes at a time and at no more than 60 per cent of its volume.

Apple has produced an update that allows people to set the maximum volume on their iPods. It also comes with a code, so parents can stop their children from undoing it. For more information on the patch and installation help visit:

http://docs.info.apple.com/ article.html?artnum=303414

Cinemas and clubs regularly reach volumes of more than 100 dBA. For every two hours of exposure at such levels, your ears need 16 hours of rest to avoid permanent damage.

As a rule of thumb, if you can’t make yourself heard easily to someone standing a metre away, the noise level is too high.

Dehydration exacerbates inner ear function. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids if you are in a noisy environment.

Cheap, effective earplugs are unobstructive and can protect the ear from higher volumes in clubs or at concerts without blocking out the sound of music or conversation.

On a plane, noise cancellation headphones will enable you to enjoy listening to music without raising the volume unnecessarily.

Sounds above 80 dBA can damage your hearing:

Nightclub: 80-110 dBA

Pneumatic drill: 110 dBA

Rock concert: 110-120 dBA

Plane taking off 100 metres away: 130 dBA

140 dBA is the threshold of pain for many people

Source: www.dontlosethemusic.com

Deafness Research UK has information and factsheets on tinnitus at www.deafnessresearch.org.uk

British Tinnitus Association has helpline on 0800 0180527 or visit BTA at www.tinnitus.org.uk

Source Catherine O’Brien – The Times Online

Go to your GP first. Your GP will check your ears to see if you need further medical examination or treatment.

Usually, they will refer you to the audiology clinic or ear, nose and throat (ENT) department of your local hospital. Digital hearing aids are available free of charge through NHS audiology services.

The NHS will usually give you high-quality, behind-the-ear (BTE), digital hearing aids fitted using thorough procedures to suit your individual needs. But there is high demand on the service and you may have a long wait before receiving your hearing aids. Many people choose to buy hearing aids from a private dispenser to avoid the wait, to have a choice of style of hearing aid and to have a more convenient appointment.

What should I consider if I’m thinking of going to a hearing aid dispenser?

How do I choose a private hearing aid dispenser?

How much will a hearing aid cost?

A private digital hearing aid can cost between £600 and £3,500 depending on its style and how sophisticated it is. Many companies charge extra for the more discreet in the ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC) and aids that fit completely in the ear canal. Hearing aids last five years or more, but you will have to pay again when they need replacing. Hearing aids that fit completely in the ear may not last as long. With behind-the-ear aids (BTE), you may also have to pay for new earmoulds from time to time.

Remember that you will also need to budget for a regular supply of batteries and any hearing aid repairs you need after the warranty expires. Batteries can cost between £25 and £40 a year for each hearing aid if you wear it all day. Repairs to the hearing aid can cost £100 or more each time.

How do I decide which hearing aid to buy?

You can choose from a range of hearing aids. Remember that the type of hearing aid someone else has will not necessarily suit you. For example, very small hearing aids might not be suitable for you if you have a severe hearing loss. If you find it hard to manage small or fiddly controls, you may want to use a larger type of aid or one with a remote control. If you wear spectacles, make sure that the hearing aid fits snugly beside the spectacle arm and you can wear both together comfortably.

In general, the more expensive hearing aids have more advanced features but some of these may be more useful to you than others. On the other hand, the cheapest hearing aids are unlikely to prove satisfactory unless you simply want one as a spare aid or for use only in very limited situations.

What features should I look out for in hearing aids?

Don’t be pressured into buying an expensive hearing aid unless you can try it first in everyday situations to make sure it is easy to use and that it really helps you.
See our leaflet Hearing aids (opens new browser window) and our factsheet Digital hearing aids (opens new browser window) for more information.

Hearing aids and loop systems

Not all private hearing aids can be used with loop systems. If using a loop is important to you, make sure that you can use one with the model you are buying. A loop system helps deaf and hard of hearing people who use a hearing aid that has a ‘T’ setting to hear sounds more clearly by reducing or cutting out background noise. Infrared systems are an alternative to loop systems. To hear sound, you need to use an infrared receiver with a neckloop.

See Induction loop and infrared systems – a guide for deaf and hard of hearing people (opens new browser window) for more information.

I have a severe hearing loss. Will it be harder to find a suitable hearing aid?

No. There are models specially designed for people with severe and profound hearing loss. But you will be very reliant on the skill and experience of the dispenser in programming the aid to give you the best results.

What will happen when I go to a private dispenser?

Whether you visit the dispenser or they visit you in your home, you may want to have someone with you for support and to make sure you don’t mishear something.

The hearing aid dispenser will:

Then, if the tests show that a hearing aid is likely to help, the dispenser will discuss with you which type will suit you best. Ask if you can pay separately just for a hearing test if this is all you want at this stage.

The range of tests carried out can vary, but they must include an air conduction hearing test. In this test, you listen to tones (beeps) through headphones and tell the dispenser when you can hear them. If this test shows that you have some hearing problems, the dispenser will carry out a bone conduction hearing test. In this test, you wear a special headband that conducts sound through the bones of your skull.

When the results are compared with what you heard through the headphones in the air conduction test, they show whether you have a problem with your eardrum or middle ear.

You will be shown your results plotted as an audiogram. This is a graph that shows how well you hear low, middle and high-pitched tones.

What happens next if I decide to buy a hearing aid?

Once the dispenser has tested your hearing, they will discuss which kind of hearing aid will be best for you. Some people benefit from wearing a hearing aid in each ear, rather than just one. However, remember that this will usually mean paying out almost twice as much. Also, ask the dispenser to give you information about all the different types of aid that might suit you and their prices. Be wary if they don’t give you any choices.

If you decide to buy a hearing aid from the dispenser, they will usually then take an impression of your ear and send it to a laboratory for the earmould – or the casing, if it is a hearing aid that goes completely in the ear – to be made. This takes about a week. When this is ready, you will need to visit the dispenser again for them to fit and programme the hearing aid to suit your hearing loss and explain to you how to use it.

There are also some other, smaller types of earpiece, which can sometimes be used with BTE hearing aids instead of an earmould. These look like a tiny soft plug round the tip of the tubing and are called ‘open ear fittings’. They are less noticeable than hearing aids with earmoulds but are only suitable if your hearing loss is not severe. They can give you very natural sound. If you have this kind of fitting, you can have your hearing tested and get your hearing aid fitted all in one appointment.

Can I get my money back if I’m not happy?

Dispensers should give you a 28-day trial period with a money-back guarantee so that you can return the hearing aid if you aren’t happy with it. If the dispenser isn’t prepared to offer this or suggests a guarantee for repair only, instead of giving you the option of a refund, go somewhere else. You are unlikely to get a full refund because the price you pay usually includes the hearing tests and fitting. Some companies charge a 12.5% cancellation fee so check the small print and returns policy carefully before buying.

How long is the hearing aid guaranteed for?

You will have to pay for repairs after the guarantee on the hearing aid runs out. The cost of these can mount up. Guarantee (‘warranty’) periods are often two years but can range between one and four years, so find out what the guarantee period is for the hearing aid you are being offered. You can usually insure your hearing aid against loss or damage through your household insurance, but it’s a good idea to check this with your household insurance company first, before you buy the hearing aid.

What should I check before signing the agreement to buy?

What do I do if I have a problem with my hearing aid?

Most people are happy with the hearing aid they buy and with the service they get from their private hearing aid dispenser, but some people run into difficulties because:

If you have any problem at all with a hearing aid you have bought, the first thing you should do is ask your dispenser for help and advice. Make a note of the problems you experience over a period of a few days so that you can explain what is wrong and help the dispenser to sort it out.

If, after a period of time, you are still unhappy with the aid, or feel the dispenser is not providing a good and professional service, write to the HAC. Describe the problems you have had with the hearing aid dispenser, include copies of any correspondence or other documents connected with the sale of the aid, and give the name and address of the dispenser or company that sold you the aid.

If the HAC Disciplinary Committee decides a dispenser has broken any of its regulations, it can fine them. In extreme cases, a dispenser may be struck off the HAC’s register and will then be unable to continue to sell hearing aids. If you still aren’t happy with the outcome, and feel the HAC has not addressed your concerns, it may be worth pursuing a claim through the Small Claims Track (external link, opens new browser window). Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (external link, opens new browser window) will be able to advise you about this.

Can I buy a hearing aid abroad?

You may have read about buying hearing aids abroad at cheaper prices, particularly in Germany and Denmark. RNID can’t recommend any particular hearing aid models, manufacturers or services. We would advise you to think carefully before buying a hearing aid abroad.

The initial cost of buying a hearing aid abroad may be lower than in the UK, but you may need to see the dispenser for adjustments – sometimes several times – which could be expensive and inconvenient. It is important to check before you buy what will happen if you need more help or if your hearing aid breaks down once you are back home.

Where can I get further information?

If you have any concerns about your hearing, you should always seek medical advice from your GP or audiologist.

Hearing Aid Council (HAC)
Visit the HAC’s website for a list of hearing aid dispensers.
Hearing Aid Council, 70 St Mary Axe, London EC3A 8BD
Telephone 020 3102 4030 Fax 020 3102 4476
Website: www.thehearingaidcouncil.org.uk/ (external link, opens new browser window)

Further information from RNID

Our Information Line offers a wide range of information on many aspects of deafness and hearing loss. Contact us for further copies of this factsheet and our full range of information factsheets and leaflets. You can also contact us if you would like information in Braille, on audiotape or large print.

RNID Information Line
19-23 Featherstone Street, London EC1Y 8SL
Telephone 0808 808 0123 Textphone 0808 808 9000 Fax 020 7296 8199
Email: informationline@rnid.org.uk
Website: www.rnid.org.uk (external link, opens new browser window)

RNID Tinnitus Helpline
19-23 Featherstone Street, London EC1Y 8SL
Telephone 0808 808 6666 Textphone 0808 808 0007 Fax 020 7296 8199
Website: www.rnid.org.uk/ (external link)

Buying equipment:

Confident hearing fully comply and understand the pre-needs, after sales care and financial implications of buying a digital hearing aid. Should you ever not be 100% satisfied with our service care guarantee you will receive a 100% refund. Call now to learn more :0870 850 7964

So, how do you recognise hearing loss?

If you or someone you know is not sure whether they have hearing loss, answer the following questions:

• Do you regularly have to ask people to repeat themselves?
• Do you have problems hearing the television, radio or telephone?
• Do you struggle to hear in noisy environments?
• Do you ever confuse words or misunderstand conversations?
• Are you ever confused as to where sounds are coming from?

A ‘yes’ to any of these questions may indicate that you or may have some degree of hearing loss and it would be advisable to have your hearing checked. This can be done by your doctor who may refer you to the hospital for testing, or to a company like ourselves. You may also arrange an appointment direct with ourselves completely free of charge.

A little known fact is that hearing loss does not necessarily mean you need hearing aids; there are different types of hearing loss and hearing aids don’t suit everyone:

Our trained audiologists will be able to advise as to the best course of treatment or assistance available to you.

• Sensorineural hearing loss: Damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve. Mainly due to wear and tear; noise and many other factors can cause this.
• Conductive hearing loss: Damage to the outer and/or middle ear. This can be due to injury or caused by infections amongst other causes.
• Mixed hearing loss: Some people have a combination of the above.

A hearing test is painless and will establish the degree of your hearing loss and determine whether hearing aids will be beneficial. This will depend on the type and degree of loss but also your lifestyle and your need for improvement. Your ears will be examined using an Otoscope (a small torch light instrument) then tested using an audiometer (which shows the extent of the hearing loss). Sometimes speech clarity testing is also used. If hearing aids are recommended, it is possible to sample the benefit of better hearing. This will help you when deciding which hearing aids to choose.

Digital hearing instruments represent the most advanced hearing aid technology available, with several benefits:

• The instrument is tailor programmed to suit the individual
• Annoying ‘whistling’ (feedback) is reduced
• Background noise is less noticeable
• Digital instruments have a longer life span
• Digital instruments have less distortion of sound
• Digital instruments have better, more natural sound quality

These benefits will vary according to the size (behind the ear, in the ear, or very small aids completely in the canal) and the capacity of the computer chip (digital aids are now available in a range of prices to suit most budgets). Remember: not everyone will benefit from the top-of-the-range products and no hearing aid can return damaged hearing back to normal. They can however, improve your quality of life using the hearing you have left.

1. Keep your hearing aid away from heat and moisture. Hearing aids contain very sensitive circuitry and therefore should be handled with care.

2. Replace dead batteries right away.

3. Clean your hearing aid regularly and as instructed by your audiologist. Before you start, make sure your hands are washed and dried. Remember not to get the electronic parts wet. You may want to use a soft cotton cloth to clean the entire device. If your hearing aid is in the ear, you need to take extra care while cleaning it. You should inspect the hearing aid daily after taking it off at night to look for any dried earwax on it. If you find wax, use a soft cloth to clean it.

4. Try and reduce the use of hair spray or other hair care products while wearing your hearing aid.

5. Turn off your hearing aid when you’re not using it. This will give your battery longer life.

6. Keep replacement batteries and small hearing aids away from children and pets.

Confident hearing are holding a number of free seminars and workshops up and down the country, visitors will be able to learn to fingerspell, improve their non-verbal communication skills and take part in a sound check.

An audiologist will also be on hand to answer questions on hearing aids and general hearing issues.

To learn more about our workshops please call us on 0870 8507964

Most new models of hearing aids are immune to radio frequency interference from GSM phones that are more than two metres away. Some are also immune to interference when the phone is brought up to the same ear as the hearing aid. The result depends on the level of immunity designed into the hearing aid, the nature of the hearing loss and the type of mobile phone.

The Lyric, made by InSound Medical of Newark, California, is hidden deep inside the ear canal, just four millimeters (about one-sixth of an inch) from the ear drum. While doctors for years have been implanting hearing devices in the middle ear, the Lyric is not an implant: it can be removed with a small magnet. It is worn 24 hours a day, and its batteries last between one and four months.

Typically, anything that clogs up a persons ear canal would trap moisture and pose an infection risk, but the Lyric is surrounded by a spongy material that allows moisture to escape. Because it sits so close to the ear drum, doctors say that it works more efficiently and that sounds are more natural because they don’t have to be amplified as much.

When the Lyric’s battery dies, the entire device is replaced. Patients do not pay for a new device every time; instead, they pay an annual subscription fee of between $2,900 to $3,600 (approx £1450 to £1800) for both ears. The price is less if the hearing loss is in only one ear.

A magnet is used to control the volume, turn it on and off and remove it when the battery runs out. It takes only a few minutes for a doctor to insert a replacement device.

The Lyric does not work for everyone. In particular, some ear canals are too narrow to accommodate it, and the company estimates that it is not suitable for up to half of potential patients. A planned newer version should work for about 85 percent of patients, it says.

The Lyric is already getting an enthusiastic reception from patients and from hearing specialists not connected with the company. “There are a certain number of patients who just can’t get over having something in their ear, just as there are a certain number of patients who can’t wear contact lenses,” said Chester Griffiths, chairman of the department of surgery at the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center. “But that’s the minority. The patients that have them love them.”

Griffiths says he has no financial ties to the Lyric, nor does he receive a commission for referring patients.

One patient who swears by the device is Mike Waufle, the 53-year-old defensive line coach for the New York Giants. After a stint in the Marines and regular exposure to the sounds of gunfire, Waufle suffered hearing loss that grew worse and worse as he aged.

On the football field, he just turned up the volume on his headset. But the locker room was a different story. Some voices were impossible to hear (including that of his last boss, Jon Gruden, the former Oakland Raiders head coach). Players learned they needed to face him when they spoke to him. Using a traditional hearing aid, he found it difficult to control his own voice.

“I teach a lot in a classroom as a coach, but when I would wear a hearing aid my voice pattern wasn’t very good,” he said. “It was all over the place. I just took it out most of the time. I missed an awful lot.”

As it happened, a team doctor was one of a handful of physicians test-marketing the Lyric, which has been available for about 16 months. Waufle tried it, and he says it has changed his life.

“My voice pattern is so natural, and I hear so much better,” he said. “Obviously, it’s easier to carry on normal conversations without having to always say, ‘Huh? What did you say?’ And it helps just enjoying life over all and being able to hear the simple things like birds and other sounds you take for granted.”

Waufle says he has no financial ties to the company and receives no benefit for talking about his experience with the device. (The company says none of the people featured in testimonials on its Web site, www.lyrichearing.com, receive any form of compensation for their endorsements.)

Right now, the Lyric is offered only through a dozen clinics in California, Florida and New Jersey, but it should be available at about 100 sites by the end of the year. Some patients who don’t live near a clinic simply fly or drive to a site four or five times a year. InSound is a privately held firm, although the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is a major investor.

Robert Schindler, a co-founder of InSound and chairman emeritus of the department of otolaryngology at the University of California, San Francisco, says he has had hearing loss most of his life and has worn a Lyric since 2005. He says he remembers listening to an orchestra and hearing the light ping of the triangle.

“I realized I hadn’t heard it before,” he said. “That was a very exciting moment for me.”

There is no word on when the “lyric” will become available in the UK

Source iht.com

“Her life was blighted by this stammer – there was no way of disguising it and it was heartbreaking,” says her mother Lindsey, 42, a school business manager she would struggle to get her first word out and sometimes her face would contort with the effort of trying to speak. She never wanted to take part in school activities – even games – and would never want to answer a question in class. She was bullied because of her stammer and started to become more self-conscious.”

Then eight months ago, Natalie had a special hearing aid fitted and, says her mother, her life has been transformed.

The SpeechEasy device works by recreating the choral effect. It looks – and is worn – like a hearing aid, and is placed behind the ear or inside the ear canal. When someone with a stammer talks using a SpeechEasy, their words are captured on microphone and replayed in their ear at a slightly higher frequency (this helps them hear it better).

The SpeechEasy replays these words within 60 milliseconds – fooling the brain into thinking the stammerer is speaking at the same time as other people, triggering the choral effect. According to manufacturers, the device has around an 80 per cent success rate. Peter Jones, a clinical physiologist at BMI The Alexandra Hospital in Manchester, who treated Natalie, says: “Some people who use the device find that after a few months, they are cured completely because using this system kicks them into a manner of speaking without stammer.”

Normally the device is considered suitable only for those aged 16 or over because until the age of 14, a stammer can be solved with speech therapy. However, Natalie’s case was so severe that it was decided she might benefit from it.

Natalie was fitted with the device in September.

The thief broke into 44-year-old David Lenehan’s house in Crownhill Road, between 10.30pm and midnight on Monday, April 7 and stole the piece of specialist equipment, without which he finds it difficult to communicate. The crime was discovered only when one of his carers, on whom he relies to get in and out of bed, came at 7.30am the following day, to find the front door wide open, with the key still in it. The burglar had smashed open a box with a keypad containing the key to the home and then opened the front door. Mr Lenehan was asleep at the time of the incident and could not hear the intruder.

Investigating officer Dc Tona Pooley said: “This is a particularly vile crime, the hearing aid is absolutely worthless to anyone else.” She appealed for anyone who had found a hearing aid discarded in the area of Crownhill Road since the break-in on Monday night.

Mr Lenehan has been extremely shaken up by the incident and has moved temporarily into Whitleigh House, a residential home, whilst he recovers from the stress of the ordeal. He said, “I’m just glad I’m here to tell the tale.” His carer of five years, Joyce Champion, said: “David is very vulnerable. He cannot get out of bed on his own. Once he’s in his wheelchair, this is where he’s got to stay.

“If someone was to attack David, he wouldn’t be able to do anything. He is deeply distressed. David is happy-go-lucky with a brilliant outlook on life, he is now not the same David. It’s really shaken him. It could have been fatal.”

David had bought the new hearing aid out of his own funds and it wasn’t covered by insurance.

Other items that were stolen included his wallet and a cash box, both containing money, cash cards and important documents such as his birth certificate.

Joyce said carers had had their tyres punctured outside his house in the weeks leading up to the incident and a bungalow behind David’s had also been vandalised, its windows having been smashed.

DC Pooley said scenes of crime officers had combed the house and police have carried out house-to-house inquiries. She also appealed for anyone who knew anything about the burglary to get in touch.

Anyone who can help should contact police on 08452 777444, quoting crime number EL082545

Source thisisplymouth.co.uk