If you play an instrument, you should take steps to preserve the sense that is so crucial to your enjoyment of music. According to one study, up to 30 percent of pop musicians and 52 percent of classical musicians may develop some degree of noise induced hearing loss. While factory machinery may produce about 100 decibels (dB), a large orchestra can reach levels of 112 dB or more, and rock concerts can hit 120-130 dB. With this in mind, it certainly makes good sense for musicians to protect their ears from prolonged and accumulated exposure to loud sounds. Otherwise, they may soon find that their ability to hear high frequencies will be compromised and ringing in their ears may obscure melody. Hearing professionals recommend that you have your hearing evaluated once a year. You should always report a change in hearing to your hearing healthcare professional and your doctor. Some insurance plans will assist with the cost of hearing aids.

Some people order nonprescription hearing instruments in much the same way that they might buy inexpensive reading glasses in a drugstore. While some people with age-related reading difficulties may benefit from low-cost magnifying glasses, the same might not be said about non-custom hearing instruments. To begin with, most (if not all) “generic” hearing instruments lack desirable features such as directional microphones (which help to locate sound) and telecoils (which work in tandem with telephones to make phone conversations clearer). Other drawbacks include lack of feedback suppression, difficulty manipulating controls, and lack of power and customization. When the primary driving force in hearing instruments is greater customization and easier comfort and utility, generic instruments fall far short.

 There are many reasons why good quality hearing aids cost as much as they do and why you should want to invest in a hearing aid built by a reputable manufacturer. Developing new hearing aid technology is not just about electronics anymore. Medical research is a new area of cost for manufacturers. It is necessary for scientists to gain a better understanding of the complexity of the cochlea and effects of hearing loss in order to develop better products. For more information, please call 507-281-8989. Our office is located at 2700 N. Broadway, Rochester, MN 55906

 One, wearing hearing protection can prevent hearing loss from the get go.  While mowing the yard, sport shooting, or being involved in any noisy activity, it is always a good idea to protect your hearing early on to prevent loss in the future.  The best hearing aid is not having to use one in the first place.

Second, once a hearing loss is discoverd, it is crucial to accept treatment of hearing aids, if needed, to prolong the effects of hearing loss, mainly speech discrimination.  Ever heard  a hearing aid wearer say they can hear but cannot understand?  The main thing all hearing aids do is make sound louder so the patient can perceive as much sound as possible.  This helps the impaired to understand better as the brain is getting more speech signal.  Understanding takes place in the brain and not the ears.  Prolonged untreated hearing loss can cause the brain to “forget” the speech signals and cause a more difficult problem.  Depending on how long a person waits to get treatment, the brains ability to understand words often worsens.  These changes are, for the most part, irreversable.  By attaining hearing aid help early on, you can often sustain your speech understanding for a lifetime.

 P.S. The study mentioned above noted that improved learning ability among young users of bone-anchored hearing instruments was probably due to the instruments’ beneficial effects in noisy surroundings.