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Researchers Explain Link Between Hearing Loss & Dementia

September 30, 2020/in Ear wax removal Devon, Earwax removal, Exeter hearing aids /by admin

Researchers Explain Link Between Hearing Loss & Dementia

   

Researchers Explain Link Between Hearing Loss, Dementia

Hearing loss has been shown to be linked to dementia in epidemiological studies and may be responsible for a tenth of the 47 million cases worldwide.

Now, published in the journal Neuron, a team at Newcastle University provide a new theory to explain how a disorder of the ear can lead to Alzheimer’s disease—a concept never looked at before. An article summarising the results of the research appears on the University’s website.

It is hoped that this new understanding may be a significant step towards advancing research into Alzheimer’s disease and how to prevent the illness for future generations.

Key Considerations

Newcastle experts considered three key aspects; a common underlying cause for hearing loss and dementia; lack of sound-related input leading to brain shrinking; and cognitive impairment resulting in people having to engage more brain resources to compensate for hearing loss, which then become unavailable for other tasks.

The team propose a new angle which focuses on the memory centers deep in the temporal lobe. Their recent work indicates that this part of the brain, typically associated with long-term memory for places and events, is also involved in short-term storage and manipulation of auditory information.

They consider explanations for how changes in brain activity due to hearing loss might directly promote the presence of abnormal proteins that cause Alzheimer’s disease, therefore triggering the disease.

Professor Tim Griffiths, from Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences, said: “The challenge has been to explain how a disorder of the ear can lead to a degenerative problem in the brain.

“We suggest a new theory based on how we use what is generally considered to be the memory system in the brain when we have difficulty listening in real-world environments.”

Collaborative Research

Work on mechanisms for difficult listening is a central theme for the research group, including members in Newcastle, UCL, and Iowa University, that has been supported by a Medical Research Council program grant.

Dr Will Sedley, from Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences, said: “This memory system engaged in difficult listening is the most common site for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

“We propose that altered activity in the memory system caused by hearing loss and the Alzheimer’s disease process trigger each other. Researchers now need to examine this mechanism in models of the pathological process to test if this new theory is right.”

The experts developed the theory of this important link with hearing loss by bringing together findings from a variety of human studies and animal models. Future work will continue to look at this area.

Original Paper: Griffiths TD, Lad M, Kumar S, et al. How can hearing loss cause dementia? Neuron. 2020;108.1-12.

Source: Newcastle University, Neuron

https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Honiton-hearing-aids-Devon-2019.jpg 360 640 admin https://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.png admin2020-09-30 18:23:362020-09-30 18:23:36Researchers Explain Link Between Hearing Loss & Dementia

Starkey Updates Fall Alert Feature in ‘Basic Mode’ for IOS and Android

July 28, 2020/in Ear wax removal Devon, News /by admin

Starkey Updates Fall Alert Feature in ‘Basic Mode’ for IOS and Android

 

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New Hearing aids in Devon at the Honiton Hearing centre. Ear wax removal USING Microsuction

 

Starkey announced that its  Thrive Hearing Control app has been updated to enable the Fall Alert feature in the “basic mode” for both iOS and Android versions. This feature was previously only available in “advanced mode.” Using their built-in 3D sensors, Starkey’s Livio Edge AI hearing aids can detect when the wearer falls and send alert messages to selected contacts. This update will “allow hearing healthcare professionals to give even more patients the opportunity to maintain their independence and caregivers peace of mind—which, due to current social distancing practices, is more crucial now than ever before.”

“We find it increasingly important for hearing aid wearers to feel secure in their day-to-day lives,” said Starkey Chief Innovation Officer Dave Fabry, PhD. “Because some Livio Edge AI wearers prefer the easy layout of basic mode, the simplified version of our Thrive Hearing Control app, enabling the Fall Alert feature for them was a vital task for us.”

Unlike other fall-detection devices, which are worn around the neck or on the wrist, Livio Edge AI is reportedly “the world’s first ear-worn, fall-detection device and alert system.” To learn more about Starkey and Livio Edge AI, please click here.

Source: Starkey

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Covid-19 hearing loss

July 6, 2020/in Ear wax removal Devon, Ear wax removal Exeter, News /by admin

Researchers Look at Potential Link between Coronavirus and Hearing Loss

 

Researchers Look at Potential Link between Coronavirus and Hearing Loss

An article in The Conversation—a network of not-for-profit media outlets that publish news stories written by academics and researchers—provides a systematic review of the literature around COVID-19 and hearing loss.

The authors point out that coronaviruses, in some cases, can cause peripheral neuropathy, and, ”in theory..COVID-19 could cause auditory neuropathy, a hearing disorder where the cochlea is functioning but transmission along the auditory nerve to the brain is impaired.” Further, they say, auditory neuropathy has been linked with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which is associated with COVID-19.

There is no conclusive link between hearing loss and COVID-19 at this time, but the authors stress the need to continue researching and monitoring any potential outcome.

To read the entire article, please click here.

Source: The Conversation

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Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality

June 30, 2020/in Ear wax removal Devon, Ear wax removal Exeter, News /by admin

Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality

 

Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality

On Monday, June 22, Apple introduced its latest operating system, iOS14, which includes —among many new features—a substantial move towards its AirPod Pros becoming a hearing-aid-like device. Almost buried as an afterthought at the bottom of Apple’s IOS New Features Preview are identical entries in the “Airpods” and “Accessibility” sections that say:

Headphone Accommodations

This new accessibility feature is designed to amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies for an individual’s hearing, to help music, movies, phone calls, and podcasts sound more crisp and clear. Headphone Accommodations also supports Transparency mode on AirPods Pro, making quiet voices more audible and tuning the sounds of your environment to your hearing needs.

Hmmm…sounds a lot like a basic description of wide dynamic frequency compression (WDRC) or AGC, doesn’t it? Abram Bailey of Hearing Tracker, who broke the news yesterday, stated “This is the extremely exciting part, as it indicates that AirPods can now essentially be used to provide typical hearing aid functionality; applying personalised amplification to make it easier to hear those around you.” Bailey went on to show how the headphone accommodations use a custom audio setup with a listening test that generates an “audiogram” from the Apple Health app that “seems to indicate that the AirPods Pro will be capable of providing a very fine-tuned custom amplification experience, based on the audiogram (pitch-by-pitch hearing abilities) unique to the user.”

It should be acknowledged that Apple has for many years been developing hearing-aid-related features, including Live Listen for hearing aids and cochlear implants in 2014 (and later for AirPods and the Earpods), in addition to speech audiometry and speech-in-noise packages for developers, noise warning apps for its WatchOS, and more. The company sold more than 60 million Airpods in 2019, compared to about 15 million hearing aids worldwide for the entire hearing industry (4.2 million units in the US). Apple’s Wearables, Home and Accessories division had the most significant year-on-year growth for the company last year, with its sales increasing 41% thanks to the Airpod and Apple Watch, and the tech-giant owns an enviable 36.5% of the wearables market, according to CompareCamp. Mind you, this includes the “hearables” market that Nick Hunn predicted earlier this year will reach $80 billion a year by 2025.

As Paul Dybala, PhD, AuD, of AudiologyDesign points out in a recent LinkedIn post about Apple and its threat to the hearing industry, “If none of this impresses you, buy a pair of AirPod Pros and turn on the Active Noise Cancelling feature. Then change them over to Transparency Mode and listen further. Once you wipe your jaw off the floor, continue reading. Take your time, I’ll wait…” However, he then goes on to point out that hearing loss is widely viewed as a healthcare problem that should be addressed by a hearing healthcare professional, as shown in a 2017 survey by a study he did with colleague Brande Plotnick at Healthy Hearing.

**************

As a side-note, I’ve personally tried several of the products and hearing tests available in some of the better PSAPs. As one example, Alango Technology’s BeHear app did an impressive job of replicating an audiogram of my own mild sloping hearing loss and tailoring the sound to suit my preferences. The idea of an app doing this also reminded me of a September 2018 Hearing Review article by James Jerger, PhD, who—after describing three basic forms of automated audiometry—wrote:

“The most important issue is to catch up with the rest of the automated world…In spite of the many examples of successful automated systems summarised above, I suspect that there will be little further progress in the actual clinical use of automated audiometry of any variety until clinicians become part of the solution. It goes back to their initial educational experience. If the only procedure they learn as students is the manual Hughson-Westlake method on a conventional audiometer, it is unlikely that they will be easily diverted from that familiar path, sophisticated technology notwithstanding. PhD and AuD students—in addition to practicing clinicians—need to understand that automated audiometry can be carried out by less credentialed personnel, resulting in time and cost savings in a clinical setting. It is apparent this testing is moving into the digital/consumer realm [with the link going to Apple’s WDDC 2018 video that includes a demonstration of speech audiometry].

The point is professional hearing healthcare is so much more than automated tests and apps. As Dr Dybala notes in his article, it’s about assessing an often-complex medical problem and applying all of the tools available to tailor an individual solution that works for the patient in all kinds of listening situations, including (and especially) noise. However, as shown by Apple and others, the world of hearables with their automated testing and applied amplification should help millions of consumers make their first moves toward professional hearing care.

https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Apple-earpods.jpg 1400 1400 admin https://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.png admin2020-06-30 18:09:002020-06-30 18:11:33Apple Takes Another Step Toward Hearing Aid Functionality

ChatableApps Launches ‘Universal Hearing Aid’

June 1, 2020/in Ear wax removal Devon, News /by admin

ChatableApps Launches ‘Universal Hearing Aid’

 

ChatableApps announced the launch of “the world’s first universal hearing aid, using neuroscience-led artificial intelligence to enable those suffering from hearing loss to hear one-to-one conversations clearly, using an everyday smartphone and a standard pair of earbuds.”

Hearing loss affects 37.5 million adults in the US* and the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that 466 million** people globally have ‘disabling hearing loss,’ with this expected to reach 900 million by 2050. However, due to the high cost of traditional hearing aids and lack of inclusion in medical insurance, many of those suffering are currently going untreated.

Honiton hearing ear wax removal

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Chatable Hearing Aid (Photo: Business Wire)

Serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who provided early investment in the technology, said: “Chatable is using AI to address growing health care inequality by providing an affordable hearing aid app that helps with conversation.”

Founder and chief scientist at ChatableApps, Dr Andrew Simpson (PhD) has devised a “brand-new way of thinking about AI which reverse engineers the neural processes of the hearing brain and implements them as AI,” according to the company’s announcement.

“Putting an auditory cortex on a smartphone has been a dream for a long time. As far as I know, this is the most advanced real-time AI that has ever gone on a phone,” said Simpson. “It’s been a long road, but our preclinical trials reveal something of a medical breakthrough: A hearing aid that doesn’t need hearing tests and going straight into the hands of people who can’t afford a hearing aid.”

The performance levels Simpson’s approach achieves reportedly “surpass those of a traditional hearing aid when it comes to one-to-one conversation.” The company says this was confirmed in pre-clinical trials where “86% reported that the ChatableApps universal hearing aid was better for conversation than their traditional hearing aid.”

Despite the complex science and AI at work in the app, the company describes its user interface as “simple.”  Once downloaded, the user moves two sliders up and down to find their desired balance. The volume boost slider helps enable “clear and loud voice, while the background noise slider removes background noise, allowing users to hear conversations no matter where they are.”

“Our unique ground-up AI makes our universal hearing aid the first app capable of addressing the global hearing epidemic,” said Giles Tongue, ChatableApps CEO. “Following successful preclinical trials, we have decided to launch immediately due to urgent demand from audiologists to help people struggling because of coronavirus. With many unable to lip-read due to face masks or unable to visit a hearing clinic in an emergency, our app provides a lifeline that will help people communicate.”

The ChatableApps Universal Hearing Aid app is available to download now on iOS and Android. The app is free to access, with the option to subscribe to unlock maximum voice amplification and reduction of background noise. The full version is available for $12.99 /monthly, $79.99 /annual.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/chatable-hearing-aid/id1494968908 
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hearingaid.volumebooster&hl=en_GB

*Figures taken from – https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing 
**Taken from the World Health Organization’s ‘Global estimates on prevalence of hearing loss’ (2018)

In pre-clinical trials:

● 76% said conversation was easier because of our background noise slider, 15% in a life changing way;

● 80% said conversation was easier because of our volume boost (and that was before we beefed it up), 15% in a life-changing way;

● 86% reported app was better for conversation than their hearing aid.

Source: ChatableApps

Images: ChatableApps, Business Wire

https://honiton-hearing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ChatableApps.jpg 480 480 admin https://honitonnew.leecurran.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/honitonhearinglogo.png admin2020-06-01 09:37:422020-06-01 09:37:42ChatableApps Launches ‘Universal Hearing Aid’

 Ear wax removal Devon

June 9, 2019/in Ear wax removal Devon /by admin

 Ear wax removal Devon

 

The best ear wax removal Devon is at the Honiton hearing centre. If you are in need of expert advice for ear wax issues or you know you have ear wax issues, the Honiton hearing centre have various ways they can remove it. The latest technique is using a small hoover type of machine.  This very gently removes ear wax using Micro-Suction. Suction so small you can hardly feel it.  Colin Eaton, the lead audiologist at Honiton hearing demonstrates how Micro-suction works here. The video really does show how simple and effective this way of removing ear wax is.

 Ear wax removal Devon

Sometimes ear wax removal can be called ear syringing. Honiton hearing can do the traditional ear syringing technique if you prefer.

Devon wax removal

Ear wax removal in Devon at the Honiton hearing centre.

 

Honiton hearing news:

 

New Apple Watch Feature to Measure Noise Levels

The Honiton hearing centre offers the very latest in hearing aids and hearing wearable connectivity.

 

Ear wax removal and hearing aids, Bath, Somerset

A new feature on the Apple watchOS 6 will help users keep track of the decibel level in their surrounding environment, according to an article on Mic.

The app, known as “Noise,” will periodically use the watch’s microphone to check sound levels, and will issue a warning if sound reaches or exceeds 90 decibels, according to Mic. Users will also be able to perform checks on demand as well.

The Mic article does note, however, that the Noise app will not measure sound levels when listening to music via headphones.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.

Source: Mic

Image: © Jair Fonseca – Dreamstime.com

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Areas that Honiton Hearing Centre services:

Exeter, Exmouth, Lyme Regis Bridport,Taunton, Wellington Tiverton, Honiton, Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary, Sidford, Axminster, Charmouth, Horton, Ilminster,Dunkeswell, East Budleigh, Sudbury, Branscombe, Beer, Seaton,Whimple, Clyst Honiton, Topsham, West Hill, Fairmile, Culmstock, Wiveliscombe, Dulverton, Bampton, Oakfordbridge, Morebath,Rackenford, Cove, Catworthy, Norton Fitzwarren, White Ball, Huntsham, Milverton, Bishops Lydeard, Chard, Beaminster, Crewkerne, South Petherton, Tytherleigh

Honiton Hearing Centre

12 New St, Honiton Devon
EX14 1EY

01404 47070 or 01884 255722

Please note: WE DO NOT SUPPLY GOODS OUTSIDE THE UK

Opening Hours

9:15-16:30 Mon-Fri
Closed on Saturday
Closed on Sunday

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