Ask the Audiologist Part 6

VH Our Town Mag Questions & Answers 4-24-2024

Dr. Victoria Harris, AuD

Question: The loudness of our TV is a constant battle in our house.  I wear hearing aids that work very well for me, but I still struggle with understanding certain television programs, so I raise the volume up.  My husband finds the TV too loud when I raise it.  Also, when my father is listening to the TV in another room, he has it so loud we can hear it throughout the house.  My father refuses to consider getting hearing aids.  Do you have any solutions for these problems?

Answer: The volume of the television is a common problem for many households. There are a few different options to consider.  Most all recent hearing aid technologies have the ability to connect via Bluetooth to the TV.  You would need to get the TV streamer that is meant for your specific hearing aid make and model.  This is a wireless connection between your hearing aids and the television.  You would pair the two devices together.   This would allow you to hear what is coming out of the television and stream directly through your hearing aids.  Your husband can set the volume of the TV to his comfort level, and you will hear tv through the hearing aids.  Contact your Audiologist to find out what TV streamer you would need to order for your specific hearing aids.

As for your father, It sounds like he may need a hearing test to determine if he has a hearing loss. If he he refuses a test there is a device that he could use to listen to the TV and not disturb the rest of the house.  In this case, he would wear either a headset or earbuds.  The device would be plugged into the TV and send a wireless signal to the headset/earbuds that he is wearing.  This would allow him to set the tv volume at a comfortable level for him while not raising the volume for the others in the room.

Question: My friend only wears her hearing aids when going out.  She complains that the background noise interferes with what she wants to hear.  She also said she doesn’t like the sound of her own voice.  I am getting hearing aids soon and wonder if I need to wear my hearing aids all day or just when I go out?

Answer: YES!!!! Hearing aids should be worn every day all day.

It is very important to wear your hearing aids all day every day to get the most benefit out of them.  The only situations that you should NOT wear your hearing aids are when you are sleeping, if you will be wet (showers, bathing, swimming, hot tub, saunas, when getting your hair cut, etc.), or if you should be using hearing protection around loud noise.   The more you wear your hearing aids the better you will understand conversations and speech in many different listening environments and especially in background noise.  Your ears and brain need to be stimulated by sound as much as possible to be able to hear better in background noise.   So even if you are alone, not listening to the TV or the radio, there is sound all around you.  There is sound from when the refrigerator kicks on, your footsteps as you walk, turning a page in a book, your clothes rustle when you move, opening a drawer, etc…there is always sound.  A person will habituate to these sounds and not notice them after a while but this only happens if you wear the aids every day. Your ears, nerves, and brain need to be stimulated by those sounds in that quiet environment to be able to handle hearing in background noise better.  People that only wear their hearing aids part time never hear as well with the hearing aids as they could be.  Give yourself the best chance to hear as well as you possibly can in many different environments and wear those hearing aids all day every day.

Regarding your own voice,  It is normal to hear your own voice differently when you first get hearing aids.  However, the more you wear your hearing aids the faster you will get used to the sound of your voice.  Consistent use of hearing aids allows your ear and brain to listen to your own voice and it becomes more natural over time.  Only wearing the hearing aids part time never allows your brain to adjust to the sound of your voice.  So once again, wear those hearing aids all day long every single day and you will be the one getting the most benefit from them!!!

Dr. Patrick Bergmann, AuD

Question: I make a lot of ear wax what is the purpose of it? 

Answer: Many people ask me why do we have ear wax? Cerumen better known as ear wax serves a few purposes. It’s primary purpose is to keep the ear drum moving well and flexible. We have sebaceous glands that emits oils to help the ear drum. Similar to how we might treat leather with a wax or oil to keep it soft and supple so it won’t crack. The oils our ears produce help the ear drum stay soft and move easily.  A secondary purpose of ear wax is to keep bugs out of our ear. The cerumen is a natural bug repellent.  The issues that arise with ear wax is that some people over produce it. Having excessive hair in the ear canals or use of cotton swabs (Q-Tips) can push it back in the ear canal.  It is best not to put anything in your ears and allow the wax to naturally work its way out. If you do feel the need to remove it allowing water to stream into the ear canal as we shower will often help flush it out.  Another method is to buy an over the counter product called DEBROX which is an ear wash system. Lastly if this is not effective you will likely need to have it removed by an Audiologist, ENT or your primary care doctor. 

Question: My primary care doctor told me to see an Audiologist for my hearing loss. What is the difference between an Audiologist or the other hearing aid providers call “hearing aid specialist, hearing aid dispenser, hearing technician”?  

Answer: It can be very confusing to know the difference between the different titles and how they vary in education and their scope of practice. An Audiologist is a Clinical Doctor who has studied for a minimum of 8 years so they can test and diagnoses hearing loss, monitor surgeries, remove cerumen (ear wax) fit hearing aids and bill insurances for the testing performed. They look for the key markers for acoustic neuromas (a tumor which causes hearing loss and refer patients to specialist when necessary. Hearing aid specialist, hearing aid dispenser, and hearing technician are hearing aids salesmen. They take a basic test about hearing loss and hearing aids after which they can sell and fit hearing aids. They are allowed to perform a basic hearing screening to determine if a hearing loss is present but do not perform a full diagnostic evaluation and they can not bill insurances for the screening. It is very important to ask the your provider about their education, training and what their experience level is when getting tested or hearing aids as it can make a difference in the out come of success.