Open Hours:  Tues, Fri - 9 am to 5 pm       Wed, Thurs - 12 pm to 8 pm        Sat - 9 am to 4 pm         5544 Calgary Trail, Edmonton T6H 4K1

Treatments

35% CANADIAN AGE 40 – 79 HAVE UNTREATED HEARING LOSS

WHERE ARE YOU STANDING?

Avoiding the treatment of hearing loss is the same as avoiding a trip to the dentist when your tooth hurts. The problem won’t be fixed when ignored.

Hearing loss treatment

The same as your orthodontist, dentist, or physical therapist guiding you through your treatment and expecting you to follow it, we prescribe the treatment of your hearing loss and expect you to follow our recommendations.

You don’t just buy braces at the orthodontists’ office. The orthodontist uses the braces for the long-treatment of crooked teeth, overbites, spaces between teeth, the treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) etc.

Just buying a set of hearing aids based on traditional pure-tone and speech in silence is not a treatment.  It is called shopping. It won’t solve your problems with hearing loss.

Hearing loss is a physiological change in the whole auditory system:

  • Hearing cells might be dead and make a dead zone
  • Chemical fluid around hearing cells prompt changes
  • Worn-out membranes in the cochlea
  • Poor blood circulation and lack of oxygen can affect the fast movement of hearing cells
  • An undeveloped cochlea doesn’t perform efficiently.
  • A lost connection between hair cells and the nerves carrying information to the brain cause zero brain stimulation

We determine whether or not you have any hearing loss, what type of hearing loss it is, the frequencies that are affected; and whatever hearing loss is in one or in both ears.

We will test to indicate how well speech is received or understood.

We test to find the “cochlea dead zone”, where hair cells are destroyed and don’t functionanymore.  Amplifications of these zones would reduce speech understanding.

We test to find APD – when the ear and brain don’t fully coordinate, and the brain cannot make sense from what was said. Additional wireless technology will assist in problem-solving.

You need to go through auditory learning, hear a lot of new sounds, accept them and eventually your brain will learn how to separate consonants from noise. To get full benefits from your hearing aids, you must wear them all day, every day

While you go through the adaptation process, we will slowly increase the amount of gain until we reach the targets. It will help your brain slowly adapt to the loudness of the environment.

We will support and counsel you as long as you need, to achieve your goals.

We encourage you to tell us whether the hearing aid fitting is worthwhile for you, so we can continue to improve the results every day.

Treatment steps

TREATMENT’S STEPS

When you accept your hearing loss and our help, you begin your treatments and a way to rehabilitation.

Self-report measurements

Stage 1. Assessment for treatment planning

  • We encourage every client to complete questionnaires related to hearing difficulties and communication needs to determine the best treatments for hearing loss.
  • It helps to establish realistic expectations
  • Select and prioritize technology

Stage 2. Assessment for the effectiveness of the hearing aid fitting provides benefits in real-world conditions.

  • How the treatment impacts and improves your life
  • Did treatment improve your communication ability
  • Did we meet all of the goals we placed at the beginning of the treatment?

Hearing aid fitting

We make sure that your hearing aids are comfortable, effective, and long-lasting. You will learn how to manage and take care of your hearing aids. This appointment includes 2 parts

PART 1. FITTING

Step 1. Otoscopic exam to observe the condition of the ear canal and eardrum.

Step 2. A properly programmed hearing aid will be put on your ear to confirm

  • Loud sounds are not uncomfortably loud
  • Ensured for no acoustic feedback (whistling)
  • Ensured that hearing aids fit properly (not too loose or tight)
  • You will be taught and have to practice how to insert hearing aids yourself.

Step 3. Discussion on how hearing aids work. Then discuss the functions of the main parts

Step 4. Discussion on batteries or using a recharger.

  • Type and size of the batteries
  • Estimate battery life
  • Demonstration properly insertion
  • The warning signs of weakening batteries
  • Battery ingestion Hotline 1-202-625-3333
  • How to store batteries
  • Safety measurements towards children and pets.
  • Placing inside the charger
  • How long to charge
  • Light indication

    PART 2. VERIFICATION ON ACCURATE FITTING

    New hearing aids need to be able to determine that soft sounds are audible, speech sound is comfortable and loud sounds are not too loud.

    A small flexible tube will be placed in your ear canal together with the hearing aid.

    We will measure the sound level in the ear canal and determine whether or not a hearing aid user is receiving the precise level of amplification needed at every frequency to achieve the best hearing improvement possible.

    We will adjust each sound to the targets to ensure accurate fitting

    Step 5. Discuss how to use hearing aids

    Demonstrate how to use the hearing aids with a phone

    Demonstrate how to use the programs and volume control

    Demonstrate how to use the T-coil

    Step 6. Discuss the earmold or domes

    Discuss the 3 main functions: to anchor, to direct sound in the ear, and prevent feedback

    Demonstrate insertion

    Discuss care of the earmold and domes

    Show how to replace tubing on the ear hook (if applicable)

    Step 7. Discuss maintenance and care of our hearing aids

    Step 8. Providing paperwork

    • Warranties
    • Invoice
    • Instructional brochure

    Adaptation and acclimatization to new hearing aids

    Acclimatization to new hearing aids takes time and patience. The brain needs time to adapt to forgotten sounds

    The purpose of visits after you got your new hearing aids is to ensure that you operating the hearing aids properly. We expect you to share your new listening experiences or concerns with us.

    We will ask you to monitor any issues:

    Hearing aids should be comfortable physically and acoustically

    Hearing aids should NOT cause any sore spots in the ear

    Your own voice might sound different but it should NOT echo, vibrate, or sound hollow.

    Noise should be loud but NOT uncomfortable

    Adaptation and acclamation of new hearing aid

    Follow-up care – Continuing aftercare

    Sounds have an emotional association, and we have a personal preference for the sounds. Some sounds we like and some of them we hate.

    Even if your hearing aids are fitted to target the best performance, you might have your own meaning of comfortable hearing. We will adjust your hearing aids to match your own comfortable preference. Usually, we get the best result over the course of two to three follow-up visits.

    We provide periodic hearing aids performance checks. For example, microphone ports can easily become clogged with debris which reduces directionality. We suggest our clients return to the office at least two times per year for testing the cleaning and testing the hearing aids. We want to monitor unaware changes in the client’s hearing or the hearing aids performance.

    Our clients will be invited annually for a hearing re-evaluation

    Continuing aftercare

    CONNECTIVITY AND APPS

    Today’s hearing aids are not only a personal communication device, but also a gateway to enjoy media.

    We will help to connect your cell phone, TV links, computer, iPod, etc. with your hearing aids.

    It doesn’t matter how comfortable you are with the technology, it is designed so that everyone can operate it with minimum effort.

    However, some clients feel embarrassed to show low knowledge in technology. We will teach our clients how to choose the phone, app and be able to manage it before they start the treatment. 

    With a smartphone, you can

    • Stream phone calls, music, and other media into the hearing aids using Bluetooth
    • Control all the standard functions of a hearing aid like volume control, programs, directionality
    • Use it as an instruction booklet.
    • Manage tinnitus with a range of sound therapy options that can be streamed into the hearing aids. Use it as a fall-detection and heart rate
    • Find a lost hearing aid.
    • Make a rating of satisfaction or the hearing aid performance
    • Control your lights, home alarm or smart thermostat
    • Control your daily activities and fitness

    What hearing aids can’t do?

    Hearing aids cannot

    • grow new hair cells
    • restore the normal function of a damaged hearing system
      • Humans are born with 15,00 hair cells in each cochlea.
      • Hair cells detect sound and transfer the signal to the brain.
    • Human damaged hearing cells can not regenerate themselves the same as
    • our damaged teeth do not regrow back

    Only birds and amphibians can regenerate hair cells throughout their lives.

    prevent or improve hearing loss from the organic condition make speech sound B/P, T/D, K/G, F/V, S/Z. more distinct

    Hearing loss can be compared to vision loss in when a person has damaged or scratched the retina of their eye. The dead area of the retina makes holes in their visual field. These holes stay the same with or without glasses. The dead-area of damaged hearing cells makes a dead area in the frequency regions of hearing. If outer hearing cells are damaged, you won’t be able to hear the difference between sounds b/p, d/t, f/v etc. with or without hearing aids.

     

    “Hearing is a communication sense for receiving speech, vision is just an environmental sense which helps us navigate the physical world”.

    What hearing aids can't do?

    How hearing aids help?

    All hearing aids have the same basic technologies as all vehicles have tires, batteries, and brakes. However, regardless of technology level or brand, signal classification systems, multiple channels of compression, complex noise reduction algorithms, automated directional microphone technology, and types of wireless capabilities are significantly different.

    Hearing aids altered the sounds that enter the damaged auditory system. A practitioner finds the best combination of signal processing, manipulating these sounds for the best use of the remaining capabilities of the client’s auditory system. Modern hearing aids no longer simply make sounds louder or more audible. They represent the real-world dynamic acoustic landscape, reduce steady-state noise like refrigerators, computer fans noise and reduce listening effort.

    Hearing aids help you to hear better by:

    • Making sounds louder (amplification of sounds)
      • Environmental sounds can be perceived as soft, comfortable, and loud. Hearing aids have different fitting methods to increase soft, comfortable, or loud sounds for individuals with hearing loss, but when hearing aids imitate these sounds, they are still perceived as soft, comfortable and loud to listeners. That is achieved by amplifying soft sounds a lot, and loud sounds a little. For example, for people with mild loss, only soft sounds will be amplified.  
      • Making speech louder than background noise (Increasing speech-in-noise Ratio), partially separating speech from noise. HAs can identify the type of noise and reduce the amplification of that frequency. Improving SNR leads to reduced listening effort.
        • Every hearing aid uses two basic methods to deal with background noise: a directional microphone system which consists of two microphones on each hearing aid. When the directional microphone system is activated, the hearing aid focusses to the direction of sound pick-up forward to the interest. This means you hear loudest from the direction you are looking at, while sounds next to and behind you are suppressed
        • Noise reduction systems analyze sound and determine if it consists of unwanted sounds. Noise has a steady sound and loudness doesn’t fluctuate over time (fan, water flowing). Speech sounds are changing in loudness all the time. The difference in loudness fluctuation allows hearing aids to differentiate between speech and noise.

    Most consonants are not voices but:

    • have a noise quality
    • have a period of silence
    • involve the nasal cavity

    It’s very challenging to separate them from noise with basic methods. Every manufacturer implements their own new innovations in hearing aids to improve SNR.

    • Sound classification:
      • Acoustic signals can be divided into 3 categories: speech, music and noise. Hearing aid can change its mode of operation to process signals in different categories in different ways.  For speech, the hearing aids promote mild and low frequencies. Low frequency signal is a strong component of music and hearing aids can generate a full sound. For noise, hearing aids constantly modify and repeatedly increase and decrease pulsed sounds of noise.
    • Reducing tinnitus
    • Reducing listening fatigue because with hearing aids the brain uses less energy to understand speech.

    Dramatically improving hearing in wind noise:

    • Improving phone use by allowing you to hear landline calls in both ears
    • Improving Landline Phone use with T-coil
    • Assisting with Single Sided Deafness
    • Hand-free mobile phone usage, access to remote microphones and better television enjoyment.

    Hearing aids communicate with one another, improving sound localization and enabling the user to control both devices with a single touch to one device or remote control. Bluetooth streaming to the hearing aids from almost any sound source (including radio, TV, FM, smart phone, laptops, tablets, computers, dedicated sound systems, etc) provide a realistic dynamic acoustic landscape.  

     

    Manufacturer combines and implements these technologies and features in its own unique ways.

    Levels of Hearing aids technologies

    Living with hearing loss means constantly managing the noise.

    Electronic chips.

    All digital hearing aids have chips just like computers. A chip is a small circuit board with all of the electronics on it. The electronics provide the functions of the hearing aids. 

    Most hearing aid manufacturers use one chip for an entire line of products and program them to be an entry-level hearing aid for one client, medium or premium hearing aids, for the other clients. That means they activate and deactivate the features depending on the level of technology the hearing aid will be sold at.  

    They perform the same in the most common listening situations, and different in more complicated listening situations with a lot of background noise. The entry and premium levels of hearing aids work the same in a quiet room but different in a restaurant with a lot of noise.

    Premium level

    Uses edge-cutting technology reducing noise in a more complex sound situation, like having a party with your friends in a noisy restaurant.

    Deliver the best speech clarity

    Deliver the most natural sound

    Mid-Level

    As a middle level. It works well in a quiet environment but not the best in a noisy environment. It has basic noise reduction but lets you better adjust sounds in each frequency group.

    Entry-Level 

    The entry-level cannot manage noise very well. This level of hearing aids is good for communication in a quiet environment. It also works better for people who have the same amount of hearing loss across all frequencies because this technology doesn’t let you adjust individual frequencies, but rather a small group of frequencies together – low, medium and high.  

     

    Technology levels and the difference in advanced features

    Hearing aid amplified sounds based on frequency from 250 to 8000 Hz. The frequencies are divided in groups we call channels. Hearing Aid’s software have handles to control the channels. Depending on the level of hearing aids, we can adjust small or little groups of frequencies.

    For example, a 3-channel hearing aid may treat all sounds 250 Hz-1000 Hz as a low-frequency channel: 1000 – 3000 Hz as a mid-frequency channel, and 3000- 8000 Hz as a high-frequency channel. More channels (up to 12) give more precisely identification, processing and adjusting of the sounds.

    Noise reduction (up to three types)

    Directional mic (wide or narrow-angle)

    Fixed – not alter the sound around but pick up best in front.

    Adaptive – follows the one loudest noise behind you as it moves

    Multi-band – follows to multiple sound sources behind you, suppressing them

    Super Beam forming – form a four-microphone array. Provide maximum pick-up sound in front and maximum suppression behind:

    • Frequency lowering
    • Feedback control
    • Own voice detection
    • Motion deduction
    • Data login
    • Wireless connectivity (Android, iPhone, both or none)

    Extra comfort

    Premium level hearing aids have some features providing extra comfort and make adaptations to  hearing aids much easy and faster.

     

    Levels of hearing aids technology

    One or two hearing aids?

    Better Sounds

    When you wear two hearing aids, you will need 2-8 dB less gain than with one hearing aid. That means you decrease the problems with squealing (feedback) because you get less gain.

    Hearing Loss Prevention

    Clients with symmetric hearing loss who only wear a single hearing aid, slowly losing the ability to understand speech in the unaided ear due to a lack of brain stimulation.  

    Localization

    Two hearing aids grants the ability to localize sounds relatively the same as people with normal hearing.

    Our brain recognizes the difference in loudness and time arrival of sounds

    Loudness: high pitch sounds coming from one side of the head, lose up to 15 dB when they reach another ear.

    The time: sounds reach one ear faster than another ear. That is how we know where the sounds come from.

    When a person wears only one hearing aid, other people don’t have raise their voice anymore, but now instead speak softer. Hence, there is less audibility in the unaided ear.  A hearing aid in one ear causes a mismatch in timing. Over time, the brain starts to ignore the weak sound from the unaided ear. There is no localization anymore.

    Speech in Noise

    When you wear two hearing aids, the sound is combined which means the speech becomes a minimum of 3 dB louder than noise. For that reason, 2 hearing aids improves speech understanding in noise by 20%. The same as your headphones, the sound is much better with two headphones compared to only one. 

    Hearing Aids Can “TALK” To Each Other

    Two hearing aids can wirelessly share full-audio signals which help to focus on a source of speech and significantly improve understanding of speech in background noise.

    What hearing aid do I need?

    Hearing aids will be matched to your “wants and needs”.

    As a clinic independent from manufacturers, we have the privilege to promise you that our choice of hearing aids for you will be prescribed solely based on your needs only and are not influenced by manufacturers’ benefits.

    We make sure that your hearing aids will solve all of your problems and any additional costs of advanced features equates with increasing the benefits.

    Because each brand has pros and cons, to avoid misleading/misrepresenting their performance, appearance, benefits, elements, or use; we will be carefully discussing:

    • Health issues
    • Degrees of hearing loss
    • Speech tests results
    • Cognitive and memory skills
    • Ability to understand Speech in Noise
    • Previous history amplification if applicable
    • Any physical dexterity and vision problems can affect the ability to handle hearing aids successfully
    • Level of social interaction
    • Acceptance to new technology, phone, apps and accessories
    • Your occupation
    • Your daily activities
    • Your expectations
    What hearing aid do I need?

    How long is the treatment?

    Hearing aids will be matched to your “wants and needs”.

    As a clinic independent from manufacturers, we have the privilege to promise you that our choice of hearing aids for you will be prescribed solely based on your needs only and are not influenced by manufacturers’ benefits.

    How long is the treatment?

    We make sure that your hearing aids will solve all of your problems and any additional costs of advanced features equates with increasing the benefits.

    Because each brand has pros and cons, to avoid misleading/misrepresenting their performance, appearance, benefits, elements, or use; we will be carefully discussing:

      • Health issues
      • Degrees of hearing loss
      • Speech tests results
      • Cognitive and memory skills
      • Ability to understand Speech in Noise
      • Previous history amplification if applicable
      • Any physical dexterity and vision problems can affect the ability to handle hearing aids successfully
      • Level of social interaction
      • Acceptance to new technology, phone, apps and accessories
      • Your occupation
      • Your daily activities
      • Your expectations

    Selecting, applying, and getting used to wearing hearing aids take time and patience.

    It takes a minimum 120 days to feel significant improvement: to hear the whole spectrum of sounds and most importantly, high pitch consonants like SH, TH, S and F.

      • Because each clients’ hearing loss is a special case, we will give you as many appointments as they need:
      • A guide on how to train your brain to learn new artificial sounds.
      • Developing the confidence to live your life to the fullest with hearing aids
      • Developing skills to perform daily activities with confidence and comfort while avoiding complications.
      • Learning how to use your hearing aids in work and in leisure.
      • Learn about room acoustics and how sound can be distorted in some situations.
      • Learn how to position themselves to facilitate lip reading.

    Here is a blueprint of the treatments you may undergo.

    1st appointment (90 min)

    • Taking a case history
    • Physical inspection of the ears
    • Immittance test   
    • Pure tone testing
    • Speech testing in quiet
    • Speech testing in noise
    • The most comfortable listening test 
    • Loudness level test
    • Explaining test results to understand the type and degree of hearing loss as well as how to manage it.
    • Choosing treatment and hearing aid recommendations
    • Taking earmold impression
    • Counselling

    2nd appointment – beginning of a mandatory trial period (45 min)

    A properly programmed hearing aid will be delivered to you at this appointment

    Part 1. Fitting

    • Instructions on Insertion and removal of hearing aids
    • We will show you how to operate hearing aids for their best performance
    • We will make sure that your aid is compatible with your cell phone and cordless phones and that the T-switch is enabled. 
    • You will know how to use a phone and apps
    • We will show you how to care for and maintain your hearing device in the best condition.
    • Counselling; wearing scheduled, expectations etc.
    • Providing self-help literature

     

    Part 2. Validation

    We will perform a REM test to confirm the appropriate amount of gain provided by hearing aids for soft, comfortable and loud sounds. Verify that hearing aids optimize speech understanding and speech quality

    3rd appointment (30 min)

    • Discuss your experience
    • Move to the next level of adaptation (software)
    • Adjustments if needed
    • Ensure you remember how to operate the hearing aids for the best performance

    4th appointment – the end of the mandatory trial period (30 min)

    • Discuss your experience & adjustments if needed
    • Move to the next level up adaptation (software)
    • Counselling on using assistive listening devices for TV, talking in a car, for hand-free access to your cell phone etc.
    • QuickSIN test to demonstrate how your hearing aid with directional microphones improves speech understanding in noise
    • Hearing improvement will be documented using subjective tests

    5th appointment (in 3 months) (30 min)

    • Discuss your experience & adjustments if needed

    6th appointment (6 months) if needed (30 min)

    • Discuss your experience & adjustments if needed

    7th appointment (12 months) (60 min)

    • Annual check-up.  Electro-acoustic hearing aid test
    • Hearing evaluation. Adjustments if needed

    How to be ready for the test

    Do not come if you are sick or in pain. Active allergies, colds, sinus/ear infections can all cause fluid in the ear and as a result, temporal hearing loss. The test results will be inaccurate. Please see your family doctor to treat the symptoms.

    If you suspect you have built-up earwax, please visit your family doctor.  We need to see at least 30% of your eardrum, to perform the test.

    Try to rest before the test and avoid loud sounds because the test takes a lot of concentration by listening and responding to different sounds.

    Give your ears 10 hours rest before taking a hearing test in case you worked in a noisy environment.

    Take your S/O with you. We can help both of you to overcome the challenges involved with hearing loss, and find the best treatment based on your stories of how hearing loss impacts your relationship.

     

    Appointments Available Daily

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    Call Us

    (255) 352-6258

    Our Location

    5678 Extra Rd. #123
    San Francisco, CA 96120

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