Following recent advice and recommendations from our governing bodies regarding the COVID-19 situation, we have now re-opened the clinic for hearing tests, wax removal and hearing aid appointments. All our appointments are now spaced out to reduce the likelihood of clients overlapping. Our staff will also be adhering to recommendations on PPE and the clinic will be subject to a cleandown in-between clients.Unfortunately, we are still not providing home visits until we have been advised it is safe to do so.

Please contact us on 0113 8800 190 or email hello@leedsaudiologyclinic.co.uk for more information or to book an appointment.

The post Open For Business appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

Daily Tips For Hearing Aid Wearers

Getting into a good routine in the early days with your hearing aids can be very important. We have helped so many people get back to enjoying life with hearing, and we know that there are factors that can contribute to making this initial period with hearing aids a success.

 

We have compiled a list of five useful tips that you can incorporate into your everyday life. Here aare the top 5:

 

1. Batteries are coded by colour and number 

Hearing aid users quickly get used to changing batteries at home. Going on holiday can, however, be a different matter if you need to restock on batteries (not that’s going to happen in the current climate)!

Some wearers are not sure which batteries their hearing aids use, which can pose a problem when buying new ones abroad. That is why batteries are universally coded by colour and number: yellow size 10, orange size 13, brown size 312 and blue size 675.

You can simply check the colour of your existing battery pack and match them to those you find in the local pharmacies and supermarkets. If you don’t have the battery pack with you, you can use the batteries currently in your hearing aids for size comparison. 

 

2. Store your hearing aids in the same place every day 

Find a designated drawer to put your hearing aids into at night – or use the case that comes with them. If you are doing activities that require you to remove your hearing aids, make a habit of storing them in the case, which makes them easy to find again.

The case is useful both at home and away. If you have a dog or a cat at home, it’s a fair bet that he or she would love to chew on your hearing aids. The scent reminds the dog of its owner, so be sure to keep them in a safe place such as the case. Children also have a habit of seeking out hearing aids to play with – keep them away from babies and toddlers alike.

 

3. Create a routine

Taking your hearing aids off and putting them back on in the same place can be very helpful in building a solid routine. This could be after combing your hair, showering or brushing your teeth – activities that you perform every day.

 

4. Turn on a light or lower background noise

When your hearing is compromised your other senses are hard at work to compensate. You use your eyes more to get clues about what is being said from people’s lips moving, their facial expressions and body language.

By turning on a light and lowering background noise in the room – if possible – you can make life easier in situations where there is lots of noise around you.

 

5. Be open about your hearing loss 

Telling people about your hearing loss and sharing your experience of life with hearing aids can help other people understand your situation better and allows them to help you if needed. It also serves to de-stigmatize hearing loss and lets the person you are talking to know that you may need to move to a quieter, brighter place to continue your conversation.

 

The post Tips For Hearing Aid Wearers appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

World Hearing Day

The post World Hearing Day appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

Tinnitus Week: Some Facts and Figures About Tinnitus

Surprisingly, tinnitus affects around 1 in 5 of the UK population. It is defined as any noise which is ‘heard’ where there is no external sound being made. It can be experienced in many forms and can be in one ear, both or appear to be inside the head. Some people ‘hear’ a high pitch ringing, others a low tone hum. It can be also sound like a familiar tune or sound (known as musical tinnitus) or throb like a heartbeat (pulsatile tinnitus).

Tinnitus usually has some underlying cause, whether damage to the cochlear from noise damage or ageing or even just from a wax blockage or stress.

Treatment Of Tinnitus

Although no specific ‘cure’ is available for tinnitus, there are many ways to alleviate it’s effects and reduce the impact it can have on daily life. As stated above, 80% of sufferers also have some degree of hearing loss. Hearing aids can not only help boost hearing but in many cases the amplification can dramatically reduce the noises one experiences from tinnitus. Additionally, many modern hearing aids also have some tinnitus masking features such as a gentle ‘white noise’ or ‘wave sounds’. These have the effect of re-focusing the brain on these sounds and away from the tinnitus.

If tinnitus is becoming troublesome or lasting more than a few weeks, it may be wise to have a hearing test with an audiologist or consult your GP. This is especially advisable if the tinnitus is just in one ear, is causing distress or is pulsing. Call the Leeds Audiology Clinic for more advice or to book in for a hearing assessment and ear check!

The post Tinnitus Week appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

We Hear With Our Brains And Not Our Ears!! PLAY VIDEO

The post Brain Hearing appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

In the Marvel comics, superhero Hawkeye, is actually deaf after having his eardrums blown out. However, in the new Avengers movies, Hawkeye, played by Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner, has normal hearing. This has caused a stir with deaf activist and model Nyle DiMarco who has argued that the character should not only be portrayed as having a hearing loss but be played by a deaf actor.

In an interview with media group Mic, DiMarco stated:

“So many times people forget the disability conversation in diversity. They think diversity has to do with race and gender, but there’s so much more to it. We are part of diversity as people with disabilities and the danger is that we get excluded.

“There are a couple of issues where specifically Hawkeye is deaf. And so they brought in an actor who can hear instead. I think it would have made better movies if they brought a deaf person in to play a deaf Hawkeye.

“I mean, no offence, but Hawkeye in the Avengers is boring. A lot of people don’t even like him… Let’s have a deaf actor in there instead, why not?”

Hawkeye has been portrayed as deaf in the past. Writer Mark Gruenwald had the character made deaf in a story in 1983 where he is captured by a villain named Crossfire and subjected to a new weapon. This weapon would cause anyone exposed to it to go into a violent rage. To stop the effects of this, Hawkeye placed a sonic arrowhead in his mouth and set it off. This worked, but also blew out his eardrums, leaving the archer hearing impaired and requiring him to wear a hearing aid. While his hearing was restored in a subsequent comic, Hawkeye was rendered deaf again after an encounter with another villain, The Clown!

Marvel have stated they will look into this but it is unlikely they will change the movie character.

So, even if not in the movie version, hearing loss and deafness exists in the Marvel Universe just as it does here in the real world!

LAC News

The post Marvel’s Deaf Superhero appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

From Monday 14th until Sunday 20th May, the country raises awareness of hearing loss and deafness with a host of articles and activities for Deaf Awareness Week.

Around 1 in 6 of the population has some form of hearing loss– that’s about 11 million people in the UK! Of those, about 3.7 million are still of working age, which can be quite a challenge with communications in the workplace. Perhaps even more alarming is that only around a fifth of people with a hearing loss wear a hearing aid! The rest just try and manage without any help, which is quite sad when hearing aids are available to the majority of sufferers free of charge on the NHS.

What did you say?

Hearing loss and deafness can lead to many problems and not just with missing what people are saying or having the TV turned up. Depression and loneliness due to social isolation have been linked to this disability for many years. And recent studies have shown that dementia risk can be increased by up to 5% where a hearing loss is present but no hearing aid is worn.

The purpose of Deaf Awareness Week is to bring these issues to light, to explain what the symptoms are and what solutions are currently available. Unfortunately, there is still some stigma with wearing hearing aids. But, as technology and designs improve and in-ear audio devices become more commonplace, it is hoped this will become less of an issue and they will be more widely accepted. The dispensing of hearing aids in the UK is certainly on the increase, with the number of devices issued both privately and on the NHS showing steady year-on-year growth. Whilst this is very encouraging, there are still millions who view a hearing aid as a negative sign of aging and so suffer with their impairment. From a technology point of view, modern hearing aids have advanced tremendously in recent years. This is especially true of the ones available privately. Rechargeable devices, remote programming, connectivity to mobile phones and even to the internet have brought hearing aids right up date with the 21st century. 

So this really is a good time to have your hearing tested because even if a hearing loss is present, the technology has never been better to help. Book a test today.

LAC News

The post Deaf Awareness Week appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

The post Open Day appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

Advances in neuroscience have proved a phenomenon known as neural plasticity occurs in the hearing system. This is where the brain can compensate for damaged areas by effectively re-wiring itself and, in the case of hearing loss, bring some sound detection abilities back.

Recent studies by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Medical School have shown that this plasticity can bring hearing back into normal limits for simple sounds but not for more complex sounds like speech. This can result with someone who shows normal levels of hearing in a standard hearing test but who really struggles to follow a conversation.

The re-wiring effect of plasticity appears to have the effect of working like an amplifier and, while it makes some previously unheard sounds now audible it is not as finely tuned as ‘normal hearing’. Additionally, this extra amplification could also be a cause of tinnitus and hyperacusis as the hearing system is effectively being over-loaded in some frequencies.

LAC News

The post Rewiring Hearing appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.

Whether its a hairdryer, a lawn mower, power tools or a vacuum cleaner, everyday domestic appliances can generate a surprisingly high volume of potentially damaging noise, often exceeding the danger level of 85dB. Pubs and bars have always been bustling environments but did you know that in restaurants the commonest complaint (after poor service) is not the food but the overall din of the venue? So being a social person could lead to a significant amount of noise exposure. Add to that an hour or so of loud music a day with some traffic noise thrown in and maybe a session at the gym and it’s a recipe for a noise-induced hearing loss.

The effects of noise exposure are cumulative too, so if this exposure is sustained over a long period of time there will be permanent damage to the ear. We would recommend hearing tests at least every 2 years and just being mindful of loud, uncomfortable sounds.

LAC News

The post Noise And Hearing Loss appeared first on Leeds Audiology Clinic.