News

Wearing a hearing aid can slow the progress of dementia by up to 75 per cent, according to a new study. Scientists believe that keeping older people engaged and active by adopting the devices can significantly reduce age-related cognitive decline. They followed the progress of 2,040 individuals between 1996 and 2014, asking them to complete word memory tests at various […]

Dementia Warning – why you should never ignore this symptom in your ears. DEMENTIA symptoms include memory loss, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, and confusion. But, you could also be at risk of Alzheimer’s disease if you have this sign in your ears – are you at risk? Dementia is the name given to a group of symptoms linked […]

Travel tips for people with hearing aids. AARP, a US-based non-profit interest group to improve ageing, recently published an interesting article in their health column on what to do to ensure easy travel if you have hearing aids.

Initial general recommendations include packing enough batteries, and chargers. Also, a dehumidifier if you’re travelling to a humid climate. It is also important to remember that other people cannot see hearing loss and don’t know someone wears hearing aids. As a result, letting people know they may need to speak more distinctly and look at you when speaking can make a real difference.

Tips for travelling by car include adding GPS navigation instructions to the hearing aid’s connectivity options. This means that you can stream directions to the hearing aid and not take your eyes off the road. Staying aware of the surroundings by reducing distracting noise can also improve safety.

Travelling by train can be particularly noisy. This is where background noise-reducing hearing aids can be especially useful. Using an app for train departure information, any changes, and stops can help to reduce stress related to understanding announcements made by train staff.

At the airport, apps are also useful for getting any important information directly. When passing through security, AARP reminds hearing aid users that they are not required to remove any hearing aids or cochlear implants. Travellers may, however, be given a pat-down if the hearing device sets off the metal detector or imaging scanner. Importantly, hearing devices should not be placed on the X-ray belt because this could damage the microphones.

Source: AARP

On hearing loss forums, I see people asking for advice about dating hearing people – should they admit their hearing loss and when, should they hide their hearing technology under a hat, what’s the best way to explain the difference between deaf and hearing loss, and so on. These nerve-wracking thoughts plague people with hearing loss […]

TV presenter Eamonn Holmes says he is liberated by a hearing aid after going through the ‘manopause’. The broadcaster, 58, said his health had declined in recent years, adding: ‘Of course there is a manopause. There is a natural decline. And I’m not a superhuman. But I have a positivity, a lust for life. I […]

A new study by the University of Michigan suggests that hearing aids can prevent more hospital visits for older adults. The study was published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. The data the researchers used was from 2013-2014 and showed that “1,336 adults ages 65 to 85 reported having a severe hearing loss.” Of those 1,336 only […]

A recently published Lancet Commission (2017) into dementia prevention, Hearing loss when you’re young could lead to dementia when you are old; intervention and care concludes that around 35% of dementia is attributable to a combination of nine modifiable risk factors, including education to a maximum age of 11 to 12 years, midlife hypertension, midlife obesity, […]

The debate around private hearing aids vs NHS hearing aids is in some respects a microcosm of the larger and more general debate of private vs public healthcare. Whilst the focus of this article is on hearing correction it is perhaps helpful to first dive into the larger question of private vs public. What has been […]

Our very own Martyn Scott, Audiologist at Hearing Aid Solutions in King Street, Carmarthen has once again been Highly Commended in the UK Audiologist of the Year Awards for 2017. Every year Rayovac sponsor a competition for Audiologist of the Year in the UK and Europe.  Celebrating a decade of industry excellence, a panel of independent hearing care professionals came together over the summer to judge the […]

It can be hard for people with hearing loss to follow conversations in noisy places such as restaurants or at meetings even if they use hearing aids. But training your brain can help to get more out of the hearing aids, study finds. An American study has found that elderly people with hearing loss can […]