Hearing Loss: Adam Savage

Adam Savage, of MythBusters fame, spoke about his experience with hearing loss on a recent episode of Still Untitled. The whole episode is worthy of a listen, but I wanted to elaborate on a few of their points.

Importance of Getting Your Hearing Checked

This can't be emphasized enough. Hearing loss can be the result of more than just noise exposure. Adam himself said that his hearing loss had nothing to do with the explosions  on MythBusters - hearing loss can be a symptom of something else going wrong in the auditory system. This includes a perforated tympanic membrane (hole in the ear drum), fluid in the middle ear, a problem with the ossicular chain, or even a tumor. We should treat our ears as important as the rest of our body.

Hearing Aid Stigma

They work wonders and they aren't, by any means, exclusive to the elderly. Adam shows us his hearing aid, but it's kind of hard to see. (For what it's worth, it looks like a Phonak Audeo, and since he said it's top of the line, that would make it a Q90.) Todays hearing aids are small, discreet, and work better than ever. He even goes as far as to say that they "saved" his marriage. Each advancement in hearing aid technology was a step up for Adams quality of life. There should be no stigma attached to better quality of life.

Hearing Aid Price

You'll hear a brief rant (after minute 14) about the cost of his hearing devices. This may be a little self deprecating, but I couldn't agree more. In my experience, considering the type of hearing aids Adam purchased, I wouldn't be surprised if they cost $8,000 (for the set) - possibly more since he's in California. I hate that some people charge that much - because it makes the technology so out of reach for most people. That's why I've worked so hard to lower the prices. Unfortunately, the high end devices are still 'thousands of dollars', but my everyday price on a pair of Q90 is $4,800 - knocking over $3,000 off of the typical cost. 

Self Tuning

Again, Adam hits the nail on the head. His biggest gripe about the tuning process is that it takes place in a sound isolated room. The acoustic environment in a sound isolated room is unlike any acoustic environment your are ever likely to be in - including a quiet room in your house (let alone a noisy bar). This is one of the many reasons that Hearing In Motion is based on the idea of being 'mobile'. What better way to tune your hearing aids than in the very environment that you are having trouble in? That's not to say that a quiet room doesn't have it's place - that's an extremely important baseline, but it also isn't a realistic way to make sure someone can hear wherever they go.

As far as adjusting your own hearing devices, I think we'll see a lot more of this in the near future. Once companies are able to put in various protections in the software there will be less risk of harming oneself with these 'homemade' adjustments. This won't replace the fine tuning that a skilled professional will be able to perform, but it may very well create less followup appointments. 

This was a great podcast and I really appreciate Adam sharing his experiences. The more knowledge is out there about hearing loss and hearing aids, the easier it will be for people to make the step and live a better quality of life.

Wearable Technology

Some people may think that Apple is lagging behind in the 'wearable technology' space - but they may actually be ahead of everyone else.

As a tech enthusiast, there seems to be a lot of attention given to 'wearable technology'. An Apple iWatch has been rumored since shortly after the iPhone, Google has come out with Google Glass, and Nike and Samsung are among numerous companies making devices we wear on our wrists. 

Where's Apple? 

Introducing: Made for iPhone Hearing Aids

Just a tiny note in the bottom right corner of the iOS6 release features.

Over 30 million people have a substantial amount of hearing loss in the United States - it's a big market.

A lot of people may dismiss hearing aids because they consider them ugly, clunky, and associate them with a disability. That may have been the case upwards of 5 years ago, but now hearing aids are tiny, sleek, and sound amazing. 

In fact, as someone who is around hearing aids a lot and does not have hearing loss - I use them as wireless headphones every chance I  get. It's like having your own private theater. 

Right now Apple is teaming up with hearing aid manufacturers, but I wouldn't doubt for a second that they are considering building some personal sound devices of their own.

Anyone remember the Apple HiFi? 

There are a ton of amazing applications for personal sound devices. 

• Siri would live in your head.
• A sensor in the earpiece could easily measure body temperature.
• Wireless headphones.
• Tinnitus treatment/masking application.
• Monitoring ambient noise level to let you know if its getting dangerously loud.
• Stream customized public service announcements.
• Receive driving or walking directions without getting out your phone.
• Combine Siri + iBeacon + Personal Sound Device for amazing custom experiences.

Hearing aids that look like something Angela Ahrendts (recent Apple hire, ex-CEO of Burberry)  might sell.

Wearable technology is here, and the exciting stuff is not on your wrist.

High Frequency Hearing Loss

Many people  suffer from high frequency hearing loss. For example, words like 'star' may sound like 'tar' or 'are'.  For some, the hair cells that pick up high frequency sounds are so damaged that they become completely inaudible regardless of the amount of amplification. This wreaks havoc with speech understanding as high pitched consonant sounds become inaudible. Even with the volume turned all of the way up, these patients still only catch part of the word. 

We're proud to offer a technology called 'Sound Restore' that compresses the damaged high frequencies sounds to a lower frequency that can be more easily heard. 

This technology is available in most Hansaton devices. We're currently offering the highest-end device at a special price of $1,599. Please contact us for more information or to inquire about more affordable alternatives.

A Brief Update

You've probably only seen a few changes to the website for the past several weeks. While we are continuing to update our website, most of the work has gone towards infrastructure and internal organization. 

Things are moving fast! We are currently setup to perform hearing evaluations, create custom ear molds, and digitally program most hearing devices. But we aren't stopping there. Keep checking back with us as we continue to announce exciting new services!

Coming Soon

Soon we will be providing an exciting new service that's never been offered before! Most people wouldn't imagine that a hearing healthcare provider would come to you and cost less money. That is the foundation of Hearing In Motion. How will we do it?

 Less overhead and a little forward thinking.

All of our equipment is state-of-the-art and fits in the trunk of our car. Theres no need for big offices and big booths - its just not necessary. Waiting rooms, reception areas, and 'open house' areas are a thing of the past. 

Happy patients are the best marketing. We won't ever send out big mail pieces and huge newspaper inserts. Rather than marking up the prices because of marketing expense, we pass those savings on to the patient.