Nova Forum

Where do you fall? Hearing aids are frequently broken down into five groups of technology. This has nothing to do with the size or style of the hearing aid, but with the needs of the individual. This quiz can give you an idea of how advanced the technology would need to be in hearing instruments t

Moderate hearing loss takes time to develop, but don't assume the only ones with it are in nursing homes! Communication isn't gone, but it's beginning to go. Your spouse is complaining about having to repeat themselves time and time again. Smaller sounds of nature- the bubbling of a creek, the

Happy July, everyone! As any American knows, Independence day is just around the corner. In Virginia and North Carolina, fireworks are allowed to be set off by professionals. Virginia allows non-projectile fireworks such as sparklers, and North Carolina allows a bit more. Whats funny to me is that

The Virginia Department of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH) is a special agency for members of the commonwealth that struggle with communication and hearing located in Henrico, Virginia. While VDDHH doesn't currently help finance actual hearing instruments for Virginians, they are still an excel

Beethoven? Van Gogh? It seems like there are no celebs with hearing loss. Amazing how small hearing aid technology is today, isn't it? There are actually quite a few people with hearing loss that you may know: First Hearing Aids in Chief Former President Bill Clinton - Clinton has presbycusis, o

It's funny how custom In-The-Ear instruments cause people to think one of two ways about pricing. I have had people come to me and expect the smallest, most invisible instrument to be the most expensive, and at the same time, have had people who think the most powerful, most filling instrument shoul

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health estimates that approximately 22 million Americans are exposed to hazardous noise levels while at work. Making occupational noise exposure and hearing loss the leading work place injury. For over 40 years the environmental protection agen

The worst reason to continue an unhealthy behavior is fear of stigma. Folks, we live in a cruel world. We live in a world where people judge and form opinions of people's goodness based upon simple notions. In a world where everyone, at some point, struggles with their health, we still fight stigm

Mild hearing loss, even from age, doesn't usually begin in your 80s. Sound isn't gone by any stretch of the imagination. You just may refer to it as "muffled", "muddy" or "unclear". When it comes to communication you're generally fine, ergo the noisy restaurant or crowded festival, but you can't h

GREAT POWER, itty bitty living space. Signia CIC Completely-in-the-Canal Hearing aids, or CICs, are VERY popular, and for good reason. These instruments are tiny! Many people come into the clinic dead-set on CIC instruments, for better or for worse. CICs are the small class of custom in-the-ear i

You are just fine right? It's not that you can't spend a few thousand dollars. You're getting by now, so why pay so much to have a machine do what you can do yourself, right? You KNOW the dementia study, you KNOW about increased falls, but just can't reconcile it in your head. Did you know that the

Most modern hearing aid wearers use Behind the Ear hearing aids. They're easy to fix, quick to clean, and fit even the highest degrees of hearing loss. Every Big 7 brand has BTE hearing aids, most smaller brands have BTE hearing aids, and even the majority of Personal Sound Amplifiers use microphone

Hearing Protection In The Workplace When does hearing loss, or hearing impairment, become the result of a work-related exposure?  After all, we live in a world where loud noises are common, like from heavy city traffic, or even the music so kindly being shared through the open windows of the ca

The oldest populations tend to have the most severe hearing losses, however it can happen for different reasons at different ages. If you are communicating regularly, it's because everyone else is yelling at you. Home may be okay, but even the lightest background noise knocks you out of conversati

So you want to protect your ears but don't know where to begin. How can you ensure that your hearing protection is enough for a sound? First off, whatever hearing protection you use will have an NRR rating on the box. This is a "Noise Reduction Rating" and it approximates the amount of decibels tha

Feedback is one of the greatest complains people have about wearing hearing instruments. Screeching, chirping, squealing, ringing. Feedback. Everyone's heard it, no one likes it. Older hearing aids do it every time you hug your friends, chew food or get too close to a wall. Newer hearing aids ofte

Any hearing aid user knows that background noise is the bane of their hearing aids' existence. Any personal sound amplifier user knows that more volume does not mean more understanding. Why is background noise such a problem? Signal and noise in a restaurant (blue lines are signal, green lines ar

You've been to a few chain retailers, an audiologist or two, and have been told you need technology that is "Top-of-the-Line". You have to try to swallow spending over $4000 an aid on hearing instruments, or try to buy a personal sound amplifier for $200 off an ad you saw on Facebook. Is there reall

The US Army has accepted two 3M™ products to equip soldiers with hearing protection and auditory situational awareness, 3M, St. Paul, Minn announced. The 3M Personal Safety Division has received initial orders for more than 6,500 devices that include 3M™ PELTOR™ TEP-100 Tactical Earplug Kits and 3