Hearing Aids - online shopping

Audiology Hearing Aid Associates - Specializes in hearing aid evaluation, sales and fitting. Based in Virginia.

Audiology Innovation - Offers custom fitted digital hearing aids. Free hearing tests and hearing aid reprogramming via the internet.

Audiology Online - North American online resource referral system for audiological related services and products.

Basin Audiology - Provides audiology and hearing aid care in southern Oregon, including hearing testing, diagnosis and dispensing.

Chesapeake Hearing Centers - Private audiology practice providing hearing aids and diagnostic care in Maryland.

Chico Hearing Aid Center - Provides sales and service of major hearing aid brands. Dispensers are National Board Certified in Hearing Instrument Sciences.

Ear 2 Ear - Features hearing aids from makers like Telex, Starkey, Unitron, Siemens. and Bosch. Also provides accessories.

Ear Supply.com - Sells hearing aids as well as supplies and accessories.

EarMall.Com - Presents hearing aids, hearing aid repairs and batteries.

EarWear - Offers simple amplification devices to help hear better in everyday situations.

Hear And Go - Offering hearing aids developed for people who need a little extra help with their hearing.

Hear Easy Hearing Aids - Presents canal, over-the-ear, and refurbished hearing aids and accessories.

Hearing Aid Services of Hollywood - Audiology services and sales of hearing aids. Based in Hollywood, CA.

Hearing Aids Online - Presents most major brands of behind the ear (BTE) hearing aids.

Hearing Unlimited - Specializes in hearing aids and audiological services. Includes information for concerned seniors with a special focus on digital and programmable aids.

Hearing-Aid-Site.com - Features sales of hearing aids and batteries, 24 hour shipping is available.

Hearingexpo.com - Supplies a broad range of hearing aids of different types. Includes a chat area.

Hearmore Co. - Manufactures modular, behind-the-ear, and custom hearing aids.

Hearmore Hearing Aid Center - Sells hearing aids and accessories in Minnesota.

HearToday.com - Presents a range of hearing aids related products.

High Tech Hearing Aids - Features digital hearing aids as well as a discussion about Web versus local purchasing.

Lakin Engineering - Electric dryers that reduce moisture and wax in hearing aids.

Lifetime Hearing Aids - Offers hearing aids, service, and repairs. Based in Louisiana.

Lloyds - Offers all styles of hearing aids as well as batteries and repairs.

Sonus - Offers online hearing aids and batteries, nationwide clinics for the hearing impaired, a network of audiologists, dispensers and physicians, and the Sonus Hearing Institute research facility. Information on hearing loss.

Sound Device 002 - Tiny, affordable device for people with moderate hearing loss.

Sound of Nature By Frillie - Manufactures hearing enhancement devices for birdwatchers.

Hearing aids - batteries

Battery Club, The - Sells Zinc air hearing aid batteries. Features the Energizer brand.

Buyer's Haven - Hearing aid accessories, including Ray-O-Vac brand batteries and cleaning tools.

Canadian Hearing Accessories - Sells Rayovac hearing aid batteries, assistive listening and signalling devices. Answers common hearing health questions.

Hearing aid batteries by Energizer - Hearing aid battery brands Energizer EZChange and Amplifier (Spin-Pak) batteries for secure on-line ordering at wholesale prices.

Hearing Aid Batteries Co. - Sells batteries in all sizes. Rayovac, Duracell and Zenith brands.

Hearing Help Express - In business for over 20 years, this company offers name-brand hearing aids, batteries, custom molds, and accessories.

J. Kelbe Co. - Provides hearing aid batteries in all sizes.

Powerpalace - Carries hearing aid batteries and accessories, medical batteries, flashlights, smoke alarms, merry walker, and senior links.

Hearing Impairment

Hearing impairment is a defect in the perception of sound by the brain. The two major categories of hearing loss are:

sensorineural, or neurological, impairment and

loss due to malfunction of the physical apparatus of the ear.

The treatment and prognosis of hearing impairment is somewhat different for each category, as well as the specific type of impairment. In many cases, the cause of the impairment is unknown. In other cases, the cause may be genetic ("runs in the family"), environmental (due to noise), or brought on by disease (such as rubella or meningitis).

Sensorineural hearing impairments

Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when the nerves that communicate information from the cochlea to the brain malfunction such that the information transmitted does not reach the auditory centers of the brain. There are several different types.

The most common type is a broad category in which the threshold at which sound is perceived is significantly louder than the human norm (approximately 30 decibels). In this case, it is surmiseable that the nerves leading from the inner ear require extra energy to become activated prior to signalling the auditory centers. Persons with this type of loss can often be successfully treated with the use of hearing aids.

Another type of loss is one in which sound is perceived, but the auditory centers of the brain are unable to make sense of the data received. This is different from the damage that occurs in aphasias, where the language centers of the brain are impaired. For the most part, speech therapy in persons with this type of loss is unsuccessful, and they are dependent upon sign language for communication.

Other, rarer, types of loss include losses in specific pitch ranges, and certain brain dysfunctions in which the person cannot separate multiple auditory stimuli.

Impairments due to abnormalities of the ear

Hearing loss can also occur due to abnormalties in various parts of the ear. The success of treatment depends in part on which portion of the ear is affected. Those who suffer from a condition in which the three bones behind the eardrum are fused, rendering them immobile, may be treated for a time with hearing aids. If the fusion is complete, surgery may be an option, as may be the use of cochlear implants. The latter are particularly effective for those who lose their hearing after acquiring spoken language.

In cases where the eardrum and/or outer structures of the ear are affected, loss may be minimal. Treatment may not be needed, or is facilitated through the use of hearing aids designed to accommodate the abnormality.

When the inner ear or cochlea is affected, it may be difficult to distinguish from a sensorineural loss. This is particularly true if tympanometric readings (measurements of the vibration of the ear drum) are normal. Here, the course of and success of treatment depend partly on the underlying cause. Where the cause is abnormal growths, such as polyps or cysts, these may be surgically removed. If the cause is infection, then medication and drainage of the canal are indicated. Other causes require other methods of treatment.

Effects of hearing impairment

When hearing loss is congenital (present at birth) or occurs pre-lingually, spoken language acquisition can be severely affected. The severity of impact is directly proportional to the level of loss. Those born with minor impairments may simply "sound funny". Those with severe impairments are likeliest to be noted first, particularly by their parents or caretakers, since these children do not begin speaking at a normal age.

Other symptoms of congenital hearing impairment include lack of reaction to loud noises; delayed language acquisition; disordered speech; and appearing to ignore adults when spoken to. Children who are suspected of having a hearing loss should be screened by a trained audiologist. This is because general practitioners and pediatricians are often not adequately trained in testing for and diagnosing hearing impairment and deafness. In the United States, up until the 1970s, the severely impaired and deaf were sometimes not diagnosed until the age of four. This is unfortunate, as the prognosis for the acquisition of intelligible speech increases the earlier a child's impairment is detected, and where indicated, fitted for hearing aids. Those who cannot learn spoken language even with assistance benefit from learning sign language as early as possible.

Post-lingual impairments are far more common. In the most typical case, hearing loss is gradual, and often detected by the affected person's family and friends long before the person themself will acknowledge the disability. In cases where the cause is environmental, the treatment is to eliminate the environmental cause and fit the person with hearing aids. When the loss is due to heredity, total deafness is often the end result. On the one hand, persons suffering from gradual deterioration of their hearing are fortunate in that they have learned to speak. On the other, they often suffer from social isolation, because they can no longer understand their friends, who cannot communicate effectively with them. Ultimately, unless the affected person becomes skilled in speech-reading ("lip-reading"), she will depend on sign language for communication.

In some cases, the loss is extremely sudden. Most often, the cause is unknown. Sometimes, it can be traced to specific diseases, such as meningitis, or to ototoxic medications, such as Gentamicin. In both cases, the final degree of loss varies. Some suffer only partial loss, while others become profoundly deaf. In the former case, hearing aids can be used with varying degrees of success, depending on the exact nature of the loss. In the latter, ultimately the affected person will depend on speech-reading and/or sign language for communication.

Partial Loss of Hearing

Hearing impaired persons with partial loss of hearing may find that the quality of their hearing varies from day to day, or from one situation to another. They will also, to a greater or lesser extent depend on both hearing-aids and lip-reading, similarly to more severely disabled people. They may perhaps not always be aware of it, but they do admit to it being important to see the speaker's face in conversation.

Some people may merely find it difficult to differentiate between words that begin with consonantal sounds such as the fricatives s, z, or th, or the plosives d, t, b, or p. They may be unable to hear thin, high-pitched or metallic noises, such as birds chirping or singing, clocks ticking, etc.

Others will find their condition so much worse if circumstances in their immediate environment affect the way they are able to use their hearing-aids, or prevent them from employing their lip-reading skills. A room with a high ceiling, sound-absorbing materials or acoustic tiles on the walls will affect the sound of a speaker's voice adversely. The position of the listener,too, sitting at a right angle to the speaker at a long seminar table, thus being able to hear only with one, maybe the ineffectual ear, can make a difference. Difficulties can also arise for the listener trying to lip-read, if the speaker is sitting with his back against the light-source and is in this way obscuring his face.

The speaker's accent; the topic under discussion, possibly with many unfamiliar words; the softness of his voice; possibly his having a speech impediment; a habit of holding a hand in front of his mouth or turning his face away at times: all these tendencies cause problems to the hard-of-hearing, especially when they have to rely on lip-reading. The rustling of papers, and notebook pages being turned are precisely the noises that will be the first thing hearing-aids pick up.

Social Impact of hearing loss

In children, hearing loss can lead to social isolation for several reasons. First, the child experiences delayed social development that is in large part tied to delayed language acquisition. It is also directly tied to their inability to pick up auditory social cues. A child who uses sign language and is deaf, or identifies with the deaf sub-culture does not generally experience this isolation, particularly if he attends a school for the deaf, but may conversely experience isolation from his parents if they do not know sign language. A child who is exclusively or predominantly oral (using speech for communication) will experience social isolation from her hearing peers, particularly if no one takes the time to explicitly teach her social skills that other children acquire independently by virtue of having normal hearing. Finally, a child who has a severe impairment and uses some sign language may be rejected by her deaf peers, because of her understandable hesitation in abandoning the use of her verbal and speech-reading skills. The deaf community views this hesitation as a rejection of their own culture and its mores, and therefore will reject her out of self-defense.

Those who lose their hearing later in life, such as in late adolescence or adulthood, face their own challenges. For example, they must adjust to living with the adaptive devices that make it possible for them to live independently. They must also adapt to using hearing aids and/or learning sign language. Loneliness and depression can arise as a result of isolation (from the inability to communicate with friends and loved ones) and difficulty in accepting their disability. The challenge is made greater by the need for those around them to adapt to the person's hearing loss.

How to communicate with someone who has a hearing loss

Ask the person what will be most useful for them; this varies from one individual to another.

Speak normally. Do not shout or over-enunciate. Both of these make it more difficult to understand speech, not less.

Conversely, do not mumble, cover your mouth, or whisper when speaking. All of these can conceal vital speech-reading cues that hearing impaired people use to decipher what is being said. A "favorite" pet peeve of the hearing impaired is people who speak from another room - How are they to speech-read with a wall between them and the speaker?

If asked to repeat yourself, don't. Rephrase instead. By using different words, your friend will be able to use two data sets to understand what you meant. (This is good advice for those with normal hearing, too!) Obviously, if only one word was missed, you can try just repeating that word, or a synonym. This is the area where people vary most: some hearing-impaired people find rephrasing very frustrating, because they have to start over: when a sentence is repeated, they can put together the syllables or words they heard the first time with those in the repetition. When in doubt, ask "Should I repeat that exactly?"

Reduce background noise by turning off the TV and radio, and closing windows. All of these can provide distractions that cause communication to break down completely. They also impede the perception of whatever auditory cues your friend is able to pick up and use.

For small children learning to talk, use context to help them decipher what you are saying. (Additionally, some studies indicate that hearing impaired children who are allowed to lead conversation acquire speech much more successfully than those whose parents attempt to guide conversation for them.)

Deafness

To be deaf is to be unable to hear. This word is frequently used and understood in an audiological sense, expressing deafness as a disease; see Hearing impairment.

Deaf subculture

The word also designates one who is a member of the Deaf community. (When used in this sense, the word is capitalized.) Being unable to hear is only a part of being Deaf. To be fully included in the Deaf community, one must also know sign language and share some perspectives on, and adaptations to, deafness. Although hearing people can participate in the Deaf community, their experiences tend to set them apart.

Sign language is the central feature of Deafness. All Deaf communities speak a sign language. In some places, such as Marthas Vineyard, groups of deaf people without a language have invented a sign language spontaneously. Deaf people write in a spoken language, not in an orthography of their sign language (although writing systems have been developed for some sign languages). Various degrees of speaking and lip-reading ability are also found among Deaf people, for interacting with hearing people who do not understand sign language.

Most Deaf individuals use certain assistive devices in their daily lives. In the U.S., Deaf individuals can communicate by telephone using a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD), also called a TTY. This device looks like a typewriter or word processor; it transmits typed text over the telephone. In the U.S., there is a telephone relay service so that a deaf person can communicate with a hearing person via a human translator. Wireless and internet text messaging are beginning to take over the role of the TDD. Other assistive devices include those that use flashing lights to signal events such as a ringing telephone, a doorbell, or a fire alarm.

Deaf people do not look on deafness as a disability. They consider deafness a positive trait, because it is tightly connected to other aspects of the Deaf subculture that are positive. Deaf unity and community is strong. The fact that deafness excludes Deaf people from some aspects of hearing culture and life reinforces cohesion within the community. Many Deaf individuals wish for their children to be born Deaf. Hearing people who do treat deafness as a disability are sometimes met with hostility.

Attitudes toward deafness

For much of time, deaf people were thought to be mentally retarded. This was not far from the truth as isolated deaf people rarely, if ever, learned language, which is fundamental to much of human thought. Aristotle believed that the deaf were incapable of learning or thinking. The kind of prejudice based on speech and hearing that Aristotle has expressed has influenced methods of teaching the deaf.

Oralism vs. Manualism

There are two opposing perspectives on how to teach language to deaf people: one is that deaf students should be taught primarily in sign language (manualism), the other is that deaf students should be taught primarily (or exclusively) to speak and lip-read (oralism). The rationale behind the latter method is that deaf people will have to interact with hearing people most of the time, so they must learn to communicate as hearing people do. The rationale behind the former method is that sign language is a natural form of communication while lip-reading and speaking are extremely difficult for those who cannot hear. Those who prefer the sign-language method take the approach that spoken language should be used only as an auxiliary language. In practice, deaf people have been observed to learn and communicate much faster and more fluently when taught in sign language than when taught orally.

In the U.S., the sign-language method was primarily used until 1880, when the second International Congress on the Education and Welfare of the Deaf (composed of 163 hearing and 1 deaf individuals) voted to use the oral approach to teach deaf students. Part of the reason for the emphasis on oralism was the melting pot ideology, that everyone should share the same culture and speak the same language. Also, because sign language was not recognized as a true language, it seemed deficient as a method of communication.

One of the major factors in changing public opinion was William Stokoe's findings, published in 1960, that American Sign Language was a true language. The findings were not immediately accepted, but they played a major role in shifting the emphasis of teaching back to the sign-language method.

A growing movement in deaf education today is called bi-bi, which stands for bilingualism/biculturalism. This method aims to both respect and foster Deaf cultural identity and sign language competence and to teach and encourage skills required to function in the dominant hearing culture.

The perception and education of Deaf people as a culture were revolutionized by the student strikes at Gallaudet University starting March 9, 1988. Deaf students were outraged at the selection of another in a line of university presidents who were hearing, finding it patronizing, marginalizing, and inappropriate for such an essential part of the Deaf community. In less than a week of activism, the president-elect, who had also been criticized for malapropos statements about the functionality of Deaf people, resigned and a Deaf president replaced her.

Attribition: These informational articles are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. They use material from the Wikipedia articles Hearing Impairment and Deaf.