Click blow to listen to their story (From Life Matters: ABC)

(Source: abc.net.au)

Ballerup, Denmark and Sydney, Australia, September 3, 2019 – GN Hearing, the global leader in hearing aid connectivity, and Cochlear, the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, together with Google, today announce world-first support for direct streaming from Android™ devices to hearing devices using Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE).

The new technology is based on a recent hearing aid specification, Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) on Bluetooth Low Energy Connection-Oriented Channels, which Google has developed in collaboration with GN and Cochlear. This new direct streaming technology from compatible* Android devices allows people to use their hearing devices like a headset to enjoy music, take calls and much more, while using a protocol designed to maximise battery life.1-2 With BLE, people can use technology designed for streaming all day while preserving the battery life of their hearing devices, which is a challenge for the traditional Classic Bluetooth streaming currently available.
 
Around 466 million people worldwide live with disabling hearing loss**, and the number is increasing by millions every year, according to the World Health Organization.3 With the official release of Android 10,  Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3a XL* will be the first Android phones to support direct streaming to ReSound LiNX Quattro™ and Beltone Amaze™ hearing aids and the Cochlear™ Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor. The new streaming technology will be available by way of an update to Android 10, plus a firmware update on the hearing devices. The streaming specification is open source, which allows other manufacturers of hearing aids and Android devices to offer direct audio streaming in the near future.
 
“The streaming capability with the latest hearing devices from Cochlear expands accessibility to more consumer technology. The benefit to our users is they will no longer have to use an intermediate device to stream audio from a compatible Android device to their cochlear implant sound processor or hearing aid,” says Jan Janssen, Chief Technology Officer, Cochlear.
 
“We’ve partnered up with some of the leading technology companies in the world to deliver innovation with the user at heart. Now people with hearing loss can enjoy effortless streaming all day long and easily connect with people,” says Jakob Gudbrand, CEO and President of GN Hearing.

About Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)

Cochlear is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. The company has a global workforce of more than 3,500 people and invests more than AUD$160 million each year in research and development. Products include cochlear implants, bone conduction implants and acoustic implants, which healthcare professionals use to treat a range of moderate to profound types of hearing loss.
 
Since 1981, Cochlear has provided more than 550,000 implantable devices, helping people of all ages, in more than 100 countries, to hear. www.cochlear.com
 
Please seek advice from your medical practitioner or health professional about treatments for hearing loss. They will be able to advise on a suitable solution for the hearing loss condition. All products should be used only as directed by your medical practitioner or health professional. Not all products are available in all countries.

What a fantastic achievment for the Jervis Bay Hearing Centre! 

We won the award for Excellence in Professional & Commercial.  A big thanks to all of our team and wonderful patients that make the hearing centre great.  This wouldn't be possible without you!

It's such an honour to be recognised for our work in helping people reconnect and living their best lives!

Have a look below at some exciting moments from the awards night

It's with great honor that we are again off to the Shoalhaven Business Awards at the end of the month!  We are hoping to hold our title from 2017 as winners of the category of Excellence in Retail and Personal Services, and maybe this year we can also win the title for Excellence in professional and Commercial services.

Many thanks to our wonderful team and clients for making this a possibility!

Wish us luck!

The noise was complex, a cacophony of noises from all directions, and thunderous. “How is it?” asked my boyfriend, Howard, as he walked beside me.

“Loud!”

“You didn’t turn to me,” he answered back.

I turned toward him. “I didn’t?”

“You answered without turning to me. You’ve never been able to hear me on the street without turning to me,” he said.

“It’s so loud!”

“Welcome to New York,” he said, smiling.

By then, I had been living in New York a decade, but I only knew it muffled. I realized then that my life was about to change much more than I had guessed.  

Nodding instead of understanding

I was born with borderline normal hearing, just enough to get by, and so I did. My parents asked me in grade school if I wanted to try hearing aids and I declined. Every so often I made a serious “mistake,” as I thought of it. One day a friend’s father—let’s call him Mr. B--was speaking to me urgently from the doorway and I lurched up the front steps so I could hear him.

He yelled at me, “Go home!” I ran off, perplexed.

Later, my friend explained that the steps had just been repaired and Mr. B was telling me not to use them. “I didn’t hear him,” I told her. “Tell him.” She reported back a half hour later: “He says he was looking right at you and you nodded. He thinks you’re just pretending you didn’t hear him. Why did you nod?”

“Because he was talking!” I said.

“But nodding means you understand.”

“I nod when people talk. I do that all the time,” I said. 

“But why?”

“It’s just easier,” I said. I hadn’t really thought about why I did this.

Nodding had served me well. About a decade later, I found myself in a job interview listening to a woman who talked so fast she was all mumbles. I nodded and got the job.


What I had been missing all those years

But once I had my hearing aids, I slowly learned what I was missing. I also realized that, in some ways, my hearing loss shaped who I am today.

I was bookish, maybe because reading didn’t require hearing, and I rarely put on music at home. I definitely didn’t love it the way so many people did. 

Now, with my new hearing aids, I began playing the radio at night while wearing my hearing aids. Not always, but sometimes I could make out lyrics—instead of the mushes I was used to. (In one instance, when I was around 10 and somewhat fascinated by medical conditions, my brother put on “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by The Beatles and I sang along, “The girl with colitis goes by.” I didn’t know the correct words for years.) 

In my 30s, with my hearing aids on, I tried a spy movie, the kind of movie I usually couldn’t follow. For the first time, I understood the plot as well as Howard did.


‘I began to feel more at home’

At my job and in social settings, I felt awkward in large groups. I didn’t know as many people as other people seemed to. I found excuses for not going to the largest office meetings, which were hard to hear. Instead, I would ask a coworker to brief me.

But with my hearing aids, I not only attended large meetings, I made an effort to start conversations with colleagues I didn’t know. I began to feel more at home.

Before hearing aids, I also skipped birthday dinner parties, the kind with a long table at a restaurant, where I couldn’t hear a word. With hearing aids on, if I sit in the middle, I can participate. I might still have trouble in group conversations, but it is worth going to the party.

New York has only gotten noisier, particularly restaurants, a well-documented problem. These days, even with my hearing aids, and even in small groups, it’s hard to hear at most restaurants. But if I didn’t have my hearing aids, I probably wouldn’t eat out at all. 

On the street, I accept the noise, though I’ll confess sometimes when it’s overwhelming, I take off my hearing aids. In a way, I feel lucky to have that option!  But most of the time, I’d rather know what is going on around me. I wear the little things in my ears for the same reason I get out of bed in the morning and usually read the news. I wear them because I’m glad I’m here and want to fully experience the world around me.


(Source: healthyhearing.com)

Life is busy. Work, family, friends, chores, a social life. The days fill up quickly. Sometimes we’re so busy running around after everyone else, we don’t take the time to think about our health.

For many Australians, putting themselves at the bottom of their ‘to do list’ puts their health at risk. This could include being diagnosed with diabetes too late. This is true for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Not making time for yourself, or time to learn the early warning signs, can put you at risk of major life-threatening health problems. Both types of diabetes are more common than you think.

Take the time. You’re important, your family is important and it’s really important, we don’t waste any more time. It’s about time.

Did you know diabetes…

• Is the leading cause of blindness in working age adults?
• Is a leading cause of kidney failure?
• Is the leading cause of preventable limb amputations?
• Increase a person’s risk of heart attacks and stroke by up to four times?
  

It’s about time you made ‘me time’, took time out and put you first. There is no time to lose. The earlier type 2 diabetes is detected,  the more lives will be saved.   

Many Australians will live with type 2 diabetes for up to seven years before being diagnosed. More than 500,000 Australians are living with silent silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

If not diagnosed in time, it can cause blindness, kidney damage, amputation and heart attack.

Although you can develop type 2 diabetes at any age, your risk increases if you are over 40, especially if you are overweight or have a family history of type 2 diabetes.

It’s about time you took the time to get checked. A type 2 diabetes risk check only takes a minute.
The earlier people are diagnosed, the more time they have to live well and reduce their risk of complications.
During this time, type 2 diabetes can do serious harm and lead to:

• Blindness
• Kidney damage
• Amputation
• Heart attack and stroke

Every year 640 children and adults are admitted to hospital because the early signs of type 1 diabetes are missed.
If not diagnosed in time, type 1 diabetes can be fatal.

It’s about time you took the time to learn the 4 T’s – the early warning signs of type 1 diabetes. It takes just a minute to learn. If you see the signs, don’t waste time and see you doctor immediately. If not diagnosed in time it can be fatal.

Learning the 4T’s could just save a life.

• Toilet – going to the toilet a lot
• Tired – unexplained or excessive fatigue
• Thirsty – a thirst that can’t be quenched
• Thinner – sudden or unexplained weight loss

(Source: itsabouttime.org.au)

Earmolds are made of either plastic or silicone and custom-fit so that they sit snugly and precisely within the ear canal. They generally have small vents in them to let air through. 

Depending on the type and degree of hearing loss, and the anatomy of the ear, the earmold can be canal size (small), half-shell size (medium) or full-shell size (large). The kind of earmold you wear also depends on your personal preference, the shape and texture of your ear, and your specific hearing aid. 

For people who have trouble hearing at low frequencies or across all frequencies, earmolds deliver better sound because they fit snugly inside the ear. The snug fit keeps amplified sound from traveling back outside the canal and creating a feedback loop, which is a high-pitched whistling that's caused as the amplified sound leaks out and gets reamplified.

Earmolds are usually best for hearing loss across the entire speech spectrum.  People who are already accustomed to wearing hearing aids may prefer the earmold style, while first time hearing aid users often opt for hearing aid domes because they are more comfortable, have less occlusion, and are easily changed.

Since ears come in all shapes and sizes, it's important to have a hearing healthcare professional customise an earmold to fit the unique shape of your ear. These devices must be tight enough to prevent sound from leaking out and creating feedback—but not so tight they cause pain.

The customization process is painless and includes making an impression of your ear canal and outer ear with a soft molding compound, much like a dentist would use to take an impression of your teeth. 

Over time, ears and moulds can change shape, so make sure you get the audiologist to check regularly for changes.
Some of the common problems earmold users can experience include:

• Your own voice sounds muffled. Because the earmold blocks the ear canal, users may notice their voices sound muffled, much like during a bad cold. This is known as the occlusion effect and can be managed with earmold modifications or hearing aid circuit changes.
• Your own voice sounds too loud. When a hearing aid user complains their own voice sounds too loud, the earmold may need a larger vent.
• Feedback or whistling. If the vent in the earmold is too large or in the wrong place, sound can leak through and cause feedback. Your hearing healthcare professional can address this problem by attaching a small handle called a “canal lock” that will hold the earmold more securely in place, preventing feedback. 
  

Domes are small, bell- or mushroom-shaped silicone pieces that attach to the end of hearing aid tubing and fit deep in the ear canal. They come in different shapes and sizes to accommodate the unique twists and turns of each individual’s ear canal.

They're usually used with behind-the-ear styles of hearing aids referred to as either receiver in the canal (RIC) or receiver in the ear (RITE). Your hearing healthcare professional helps you pick which size of dome and length of tubing is best suited for the width and length of your ear canal.

Hearing aids with domes are best for those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, especially those with high frequency hearing loss—the most common type of age-related hearing loss, known as presbycusis.

Hearing aids with domes are generally best for those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss.

RIC or RITE hearing aid devices are typically small, with a microphone and processor that fits in a small case and rests behind the ear. The speaker is attached to the processor by a thin tube or wire, and it's meant to fit deep inside the ear canal.

This style of hearing aid is not recommended for those with severe-to-profound hearing loss; instead, a behind-the-ear device using earmolds is often more suitable. Earmolds provide the most powerful amplification and are less susceptible to moisture damage from the ear canal.

Although, in a lot of cases it comes down to personal preference. 

Pros
One of the biggest advantages to wearing a dome is the way it fits inside the ear canal.

The important thing about hearing aids is we must vent the hearing device so the ears don’t get occluded. This allows some natural sound and airflow to come into the ear. Domes are open enough to let low frequencies come through so the hearing aid amplifies higher frequencies and you can hear more clearly. That’s how we get better high frequencies without acoustic feedback.

Domes are easily cleaned by wiping them with a soft cloth each night after use. Because some hearing aid manufacturers share dome styles and sizes, they are also relatively inexpensive to replace.


Cons
they don’t last forever, and domes must be changed every two to three months. And if a person isn’t careful, it can get stuck in their ear if they are in a hurry or too lazy.

To prevent problems, talk to your audiologist about how often to change your hearing aid domes and how to take care of them. Never use old domes on new hearing aids. They're not always compatible and can become stuck in someone's ear canal if they don't stay attached to the receiver.

Also, domes are susceptible to damage from wax or moisture in the ear. Lastly, their small size can be problematic for those with dexterity issues.

work with your hearing care professional to find the device that best addresses their particular hearing needs. An improper fit can affect your ability to hear clearly as well as cause pain or discomfort.

No two people process sound the same way so it’s important to make that determination on a case-by-case basis.

(Source: healthyhearing.com)

Why Men's Health?

All this emphasis on the health of boys and men - what's that about?  They're alright, aren't they?

In many cases, the answer is no.

A boy born in Australia in 2010 has a life expectancy of 78.0 years while a baby girl born at the same time could expect to live to 82.3 years old.  Right from the start, boys suffer more illness, more accidents and die earlier than their female counterparts.
Men's Health Month has a direct focus on the health impacts of men's and boys' environments.  It serves to ask two questions:

• What factors in men's and boy's environments contribute to the status of male health as indicated in the table above?
• How can we turn that around and create positive environments in men's and boy's lives?

(Sources: www.menshealthweek.org.au
                unicity-ec.com
             & bell-wellness.com)