All modern digital hearing aids feature Bluetooth® technology so that your Apple and Android phones, TVs, tablets, and other devices with audio can connect to your hearing aids.
Earlier hearing aid styles forced users to choose between wearing their hearing aids to hear or removing their hearing aids and replacing them with earbuds or a headset. Wireless hearing aids use Bluetooth® to link your electronic devices and stream the sounds to hearing aids. Hearing aids and Bluetooth® Multiple leading technology firms developed Bluetooth®. It’s a wireless communication that transfers data between at least two electronic devices. Radio waves set to a high frequency to transmit data without hindrance or risks to security can pair with Bluetooth®. Devices such as computers, mobile phones, music players, tablets, and TV now use Bluetooth®. Hearing aids for the iPhone®. There has been a patent developed by Apple to connect Bluetooth® with hearing aids. That means certain hearing aids can connect with the iOS platform that controls iPhones, iPads, and iPods. This technology lets devices connect directly without draining too much battery power. The majority of hearing aid manufacturers make hearing aids that use Bluetooth® - marketed as Made for iPhone™. Hearing aids for the Android Phone. Google is developing a standard hearing aid compatibility platform for Android. Many hearing aid brands can stream Android-based phones that are 10.0 or more. Can’t connect your hearing aids? Not all hearing aids feature direct streaming from the smartphone to the hearing aids. If that’s the case for you, wireless hearing aids can connect to a compatible listening device (AKA streamers) which provides a communication link for the wireless technology and hearing aids as long as it has Bluetooth®. You can pair digital hearing aids with a streamer. The streamer connects to an external device. The streamer harnesses the Bluetooth® signal and transmits it to the hearing aid using an FM signal or electromagnetic field. The streamer can be donned around your neck or stored in your pocket, giving you a hands-free experience. Talk to your hearing aid provider about the options suitable for you. Bluetooth® is one of the top technologies that’s prevalent today. Bluetooth® has helped make hearing aids ultra-customized for people’s listening needs. Not only is it convenient to use, but it helps by tailoring people’s unique listening needs. Stay connected with others by contacting one of our hearing instrument specialists from Pure Sound Hearing. Can you count how many times a week you’ve said to yourself, “I know it’s somewhere around here, I just had it with me”?
Due to their small size, it’s common for people to lose hearing aids and have trouble finding them. Here are some precautions to reduce your chances of misplacing them. 1. Label Cases or Storage Units used for Hearing Aids. There are varied ways in which people can store their hearing aids. It’s normal to mix up a hearing aid case for something used to store other small items like medication, a mouth guard, dentures, jewelry, or eyeglasses. Simply label all of your containers if you use multiple ones. Glow-in-the-dark labels are available if you need to find these items in the dark or dim lighting. 2. The Case for Using Hearing Aid Storage When hearing aids are not in the ears, they may fall from the table or shelf they are stored on and knocked into a garbage can, down a drain, or in the toilet. Placing them in a designated case is a great way to prevent these scenarios from happening. Just about every pair of purchased hearing aids has a storage case. If your devices do not, ask your hearing instrument specialist for one. At Pure Sound Hearing, our providers always give you a storage case with your hearing aid purchase. 3. Keep Your Hearing Aids Stored at Eye Level When unused, placing your hearing aids in a dry space at eye level is a practical way to store them and notice if they are missing. Another benefit of leaving your hearing aids at eye level or a higher level is that pets and small children have a lower chance of chewing or swallowing them. Preventing yourself from accidentally stepping, rolling over, or getting water on the hearing aids lowers the risk of damage to the device. 4. Hearing Aids Should Not Frequently be Adjusted by Hand or Removed Attempting to adjust or remove your hearing aids in public should rarely be carried out. If you’re in a busy, dark, or crowded area, there’s a higher chance that you’ll lose them if they fall out. Keep your hearing aid case on hand for storage. You can use a find my hearing aids app and download it for your smartphone to locate your lost device(s). Different hearing aids and different smartphones require certain apps. Discuss what works best for you with your hearing instrument specialist. You should remove your hearing aids when getting ready for bed. Not only does it give your ears a break, and you can recharge them overnight if your hearing aids are rechargeable, but the hearing aids and the batteries can become loose and fall onto the floor. It may become a chew toy for your dog or cat. 5. Do You Live or Work with Other Hearing Aid Users? If others in your household also wear hearing aids that look similar to yours, they might mistakenly take them. For households with multiple hearing aid users, store hearing aids in separate rooms and try not to share hearing aids with others. 6. Tidy Up Your Home Whether it is your hearing aids or any other item you are frequently misplacing, having a tidier home may be the solution to keeping track of your hearing aids. Keep your hearing aids and all belongings in a clean, designated area so that it’s easier to locate if you think it’s gone missing. If you’re looking for hearing aids in Lancaster County, schedule an appointment at Pure Sound Hearing for discount hearing aids programmed for your specific listening needs. Our offices are in Elizabethtown, Lititz, and Strasburg. Are you looking forward to live music performances coming to Lancaster County this summer? Or are you traveling out of the area to see your favorite musician or band? Do you enjoy listening to the banter in between songs from the singers?
Whether you’re a hearing aid user or not, prepare for your upcoming concert. Sometimes it can be challenging to hear at a comfortable and safe level. Most people with hearing loss face challenges with hearing higher frequencies. Therefore, some music or vocal ranges are difficult to hear. On the other hand, some live shows, like rock concerts, can be dangerously loud for people of any hearing range. Being part of the audience at a rock concert can create risks for everyone who doesn’t take precautions beforehand. According to the National Institutes of Health, 1 in 3 people between 65-74 and half of people older than 75 experience hearing loss. Standing too close to speakers can lead to hearing loss in minutes. Exposure to noise that reaches over 70 decibels (dB) for a prolonged period can harm your hearing. Noise over 120 dB can instantly damage your ability to hear. Tinnitus and hearing loss are common occurrences after attending a loud live concert. Sometimes it’s temporary, or it can last longer. Seek help immediately if you experience either of these symptoms. Before Leaving to Attend a Concert The JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery published a study in 2016 based on 51 concert attendees. They concluded that just 8 percent of concert-goers who donned earplugs with a noise reduction rate of 18 dB experienced noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) compared to 42 percent of those who did not wear earplugs. Just 12 percent of earplug users experienced tinnitus compared to 40 percent of nonusers after a 4 ½ hour concert. If you are ready to attend a concert, you’re in luck. Pure Sound Hearing has simple foam earplugs available in our offices. Selecting the Safest Seats or Standing Area for Your Hearing It doesn’t sound fun, but being further away from speakers or the stage would be safer. Staying about 500 feet away from anything that emits loud noise is safest. Giant speakers are usually on the stage, but sometimes they can be located in other spaces in the venue. You can contact the concert organizers to figure out which area is safest for you. Venues located outside can be safer because the sound doesn’t get trapped inside a confined space, as it does with an indoor venue. If Necessary, Take a Break Sometimes, if the sounds are overwhelming, temporarily move yourself to a quiet space - maybe you need to go outside the venue. You can rest your ears for as long as you need, which could help prevent hearing damage. Use a sound meter app to measure the noise levels in your environment. For Hearing Aid Users If you have hearing loss and use hearing aids, you probably want the best possible experience at a concert. In some cases, hearing aids might lead to a not-so-great listening experience. The devices have been designed with speech as the primary listening experience instead of music. Music has more ranges of frequencies than speech sounds that are difficult to reproduce with hearing aids. With newer hearing aid features, there can be a problem with how music is perceived. Feedback suppression or blocking out background noises may inadvertently suppress sounds from other instruments, so you’d miss out on a full experience. Talk to your hearing instrument specialist, who will demonstrate how to adjust your hearing aids’ volume setting while experiencing a live concert. You can also ask how to stop other features, like feedback suppression or noise reduction. Your hearing aids are programmable by your hearing instrument specialist with a “music setting” feature that automatically switches to this feature. Before traveling to your concert venue, find out if it has a hearing loop system. This sound system is available in most public spaces that connect to people’s hearing aids or assistive listening devices. If you experience hearing loss and need hearing aids, schedule an appointment with Pure Sound Hearing for a hearing test and consultation with one of our hearing aid providers in Elizabethtown, Lititz, or Strasburg. |
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