24/02/2010 by admin.

A perennial problem with ‘in the ear’ hearing aids is ingress of wax, skin flakes and other debris found in the average ear canal. This can have a detrimental effect on the performance of your expensively purchased hearing aids ranging from slight dullness to fully blown wooliness to no sound output at all.

Over the years the manufacturers have used various methods to overcome this ongoing problem, ranging from extended receiver tubes to brass springs in the receiver tube (sound outlet) and so on. These have limited success.

Hearing aids that ‘break down’ are a problem for all parties, the manufacturers, the hearing aid audiologist and most of all the client themselves. In the last few years three of the main manufacturers have brought to the market their own wax prevention methods, some would call them wax guards or wax traps.

The first waxguard of note is from Widex and is called the Cerustop. Basically it’s a very small basket with a fine filter that stops virtually any debris working it’s way into the hearing aid and impairing its function. It has the benefit of being very small so fits on hearing aids for even the narrowest ear canals. It is fitted mainly to Widex, Phonak and Unitron hearing aids. It’s best point is also sometimes its drawback, sometimes it blocks up a little too easily but is very easy for the client to change, even with limited dexterity. A recent development is that the Cerustop has been superceded by the NanoCare Cerustop, which has nano-coating to repel moisture, a real benefit for some clients.

The second example is the Oticon NoWax system. It works in a similar way to the Widex Cerustop but the Oticon NoWax is larger with a larger grill to stop debris ingressing down the receiver tube. It is easier to clean rather than replace. It blocks up less easily because the filter is not so fine but sometimes will let debris fall through to the receiver. Again a very credible wax guard. The Oticon NoWax is fitted mainly to Oticon and Bernafon hearing aids and was also fitted widely to Sonic Innovations hearing aids before they withdrew from the UK market a couple of years ago.

The Phonak SmartGuard is the third wax guard - the Phonak SmartGuard has a moisture proof barrier particularly good for clients with damp ear canals. The Phonak SmartGuard can’t be fitted to clients with narrow ear canals because of it’s size, but with the right client can be a very credible method of prevention. The Phonak SmartGuard is also a little more expensive to buy. SmartGuard is fitted on Phonak hearing aids.

With the advent of better waxguards hearing aid users can look forward to increased reliablity and less ‘down-time’ because the newer wax traps are easy for anyone, even with limited dexterity to change in a few seconds.

If you would like information on hearing aids or waxguards, or would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

Cheap Hearing Aid Batteries and Hearing Aid Accessories? Try www.hearing-aid-batteries.org.uk

Not in our area of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Manchester? Try Discount Hearing Aids, the UK wide network of independent local hearing aid suppliers.

Want some general infor about hearing aids and hearing loss? Try Hearing Aid Info.

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23/02/2010 by admin.

For anyone working in a noisy environment over the last 30 years or so, you’ll have noticed big changes in Health and Safety rules to protect your hearing. The rules are quite stringent now and as a general rule companies are keen to keep within the rules. But what about the noise produced while listening to music?

There have been lots of articles in the press  about the potential damage to hearing from MP3 players, also the sound levels at some rock concerts are at increasingly damaging levels. We are seeing more people at a younger age for noise induced hearing loss than ever before. The alarming thing is that, because the damage sometimes takes years to manifest itself, irreparable damage can occur before you know it has happened.

Here’s a list of typical decibel levels;

30 = Whispered Conversation

60-70 = Normal Conversation Levels

94 = MP3 Player on Medium Setting

100 = Motorcycle

120 = Formula One Racing Car

125 = Pneumatic Drill

130 = Passenger Jet Taking Off

170 = Shotgun Going Off Beside Your Ears

194 = Theoretically the Loudest Sound Possible

If you are exposed to excessive noise, a good indication damage is occuring is if you then suffer from a temporary slight deafness and / or a ringing in the ears it will probably be doing your hearing no good at all. Some people seem pre-disposed to their hearing being easily damaged by noise, whilst in others their hearing seems more hardy. However, hearing loss can have a very serious impact on your lifestyle and communications with friends and family, it’s not worth taking a chance  with your hearing. The best advice is always, if in doubt, remove yourself from noisy environments where you can, or wear adequate ear protection where you can’t.

We can, of course, assess your hearing levels if you are worried they may be reduced due to exposure to excessive noise or any other factors.

If you would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

Cheap Hearing Aid Batteries and Hearing Aid Accessories? Try www.hearing-aid-batteries.org.uk

Not in our area of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Manchester? Try Discount Hearing Aids, the UK wide network of independent local hearing aid suppliers.

Want some general infor about hearing aids and hearing loss? Try Hearing Aid Info.

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20/02/2010 by admin.

With very little fanfare Siemens have launched two variants on their successful Nitro CIC product, the Siemens Nitro Super Power BTE 300 and 700.

Aimed at the severe / profound hearing loss these new products offer great performance with all the technology associated with the rest of the range of Siemens hearing aids. The Siemens Nitro 700 SP in particular, compared to say the Siemens Motion 700, has all the same features, the only thing that seems to be missing is the rechargeable factor. Not such a big deal really to miss that feature, I’m told this new range incorporates the very latest and excellent feedback manager that will be filtering through to the rest of the range upgrading in June.

Both variants of the Siemens Nitro SP are TEK compatible so the rather elegant bluetooth solution offered by Siemens is now vailable in a Super Power BTE, no compromises as we have often seen in the past with this segment of the hearing aid market!

If you would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

Cheap Hearing Aid Batteries and Hearing Aid Accessories? Try www.hearing-aid-batteries.org.uk

Not in our area of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Manchester? Try Discount Hearing Aids, the UK wide network of independent local hearing aid suppliers.

Want some general infor about hearing aids and hearing loss? Try Hearing Aid Info.

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19/12/2009 by admin.

We’ve just finished production of our latest newsletter ‘Making Sense of Sound - Winter / Spring 2010′

The newsletter is posted out to all our clients and also all those that have expressed an interest but not yet purchased hearing aids from us over the last 7 years or so of trading.

We also have wide readership on the internet, why not take a look at our latest newsletter?

If you would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

Cheap Hearing Aid Batteries and Hearing Aid Accessories? Try www.hearing-aid-batteries.org.uk

Not in our area of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Manchester? Try Discount Hearing Aids, the UK wide network of independent local hearing aid suppliers.

Want some general infor about hearing aids and hearing loss? Try Hearing Aid Info.

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14/11/2009 by admin.

Digital Hearing Care announces the arrival of Unitron Latitude, a new family of hearing instruments that offers a choice of advanced technologies to provide rewarding listening in more situations and environments than ever before.
Comprised of three distinct product lines, Latitude 16, Latitude 8 and Latitude 4  offer a choice of innovative technologies  in an unmatched array of styles, allowing you to choose the one that’s right for your unique hearing loss, preferences and  lifestyle.  All three include industry-leading technologies, many of which were previously available only in premium-priced hearing instruments.

Unitron Latitude boasts superior automatic performance and Latitude 16 combines this performance with smartFocus technology.  In every listening situation, smartFocus continuously - yet transparently - adjusts to provide the best speech clarity and listening comfort, even when background noise levels are high.  It also gives you the option to discreetly fine tune your listening experience on the spot with the optional handheld Smart Control remote.
All three Latitude product lines offer premium-level features that improve your listening experience.  These include:
Comfortable listening – antiShock™ instantly detects sudden, jarring noises, like a door slamming, and makes them comfortable, while preserving natural sound awareness
Improved speech understanding - advanced speech enhancement technology makes speech clearer and easier to understand, without having to adjust the volume
No more whistling – Latitude’s feedback management system is proven to provide better listening with less chance of embarrassing whistling

Unitron Fuse - seriously small - a revolution in hearing aid design.
Out of sight - At about half the size of the smallest in the ear hearing instrument, Unitron Fuse is fully concealed inside the ear, yet fully loaded with technology that lets you experience natural, satisfying listening.
High tech - We cut the size but kept all the sophistication of an advanced hearing instrument, including fully automatic performance.
Feels good - Unitron Fuse is the first hearing instrument in the world that actually flexes with the natural movement of your ear canal for better comfort and fit.
Sounds great - When something goes inside your ear, it can affect how your own voice sounds to you. Fuse’s design is different than anything that has come before, and the result is remarkably natural sound.

If you would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

Cheap Hearing Aid Batteries and Hearing Aid Accessories? Try www.hearing-aid-batteries.org.uk

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01/11/2009 by admin.

A little under a year ago Phonak pushed the boundaries of miniature wireless technology with the introduction of the Phonak Audeo YES. The next step in miniature RIC technology has just been launched in the UK - The Phonak Audeo SMART and the Phonak Audeo MINI. Also launched is a new entry level product to replace the Phonak Extra, the Phonak Milo Plus.

All three products are based on the latest chip, CORE technology, meaning all price points are covered now with the latest technology available.

Phonak Audeo SMART -  Phonak Audeo SMART is the world’s smallest hearing system with full wireless functionality. It’s the choice if you want a top performing RIC product with some manual control ie a push button and unlimited connectivity.

Phonak Audéo SMART features SoundRecover for expanded audibility of high frequencies, ZoomControl with DirectTouch, DuoPhone, a peerless telephone solution, and more. Phonak Audeo SMART, a SMART solution.

Phonak Audeo MINI -  Phonak Audeo MINI is the smallest Phonak RIC product and also happens to be the smallest RIC product on the market, period. If size and cosmetics are very important to you as well as great performance you need look no further, it’s so tiny and automatic you can just wear it and forget it.

Phonak Audeo MINI features SoundRecover for expanded audibility of high frequencies, VoiceZoom for improved speech intelligibility, SoundFlow and more.

Phonak Milo Plus -  Phonak Milo Plus is the final piece of the jigsaw, it’s an entry level product to replace the Phonak Extra which is now discontinued. The feature set is actually quite impressive for an entry level product, including the industry leading WhistleBlock Technology, NoiseBlock Processing and more.

With the introduction of Phonak Milo Plus, regardless of budget, virtually everyone can take advantage of the excellent CORE technology Phonak is renowned for

If you would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

Cheap Hearing Aid Batteries and Hearing Aid Accessories? Try www.hearing-aid-batteries.org.uk

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22/10/2009 by admin.

We’ve been busy the last few days developing a hearing aid batteries and accessories website www.hearing-aid-batteries.org.uk

The aim is to provide and easy to use and secure one stop shop for all hearing aid accessories. We’ve concentrated on supplying only quality hearing aid batteries, Rayovac Extra. There are websites out there charging less for hearing aid batteries, but they tend to be supplying ‘own label’ cheaper lower quality batteries or selling at a loss to generate names and addresses for future mailing campaigns. (Read masses of junk mail and recurring phone calls). We are also supplying a good range of waxtraps, domes for RIC products, bluetooth accessories and remote controls, and many more items.

We’ve probably forgotten to add one or two items, if you’d like to see anything else for sale please just contact us via our handy webform on the contacts page of the website.

We hope you’ll take the time to have a look and maybe purchase a few items. Here’s a link to the website www.hearing-aid-batteries.org.uk

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21/10/2009 by admin.

I attended the launch today 21st October 2009 of GN ReSound Live and GN ReSound Dot2, a very interesting launch it was. The stand out points were the big improvements in the feedback managers, the new directional microphone technology (Surround Sound), the VERY neat LV70 RIC form factor and the fact that pretty much the whole range has been replaced in one fell swoop!

Out goes the old - gone are ReSound Azure, Xplore and Ziga, in their place are ReSound Live 9, 7, 5. Gone are ReSound Dot 30, 20, 10, in their place are ReSound Dot2 30, 20, 10. Completing the lineup are the ReSound Be 9 and 7, and the ReSound Sparx power BTE. Don’t be fooled by the Dot being replaced by the Dot2, the ReSound Dot2 is a real upgrade in technology more than is suggested by the slight difference in brand name. On the outside the Dot2 looks very similar to the old Dot, apart from the addition of a pushbutton for extra flexibilty. Under the hood there’s lots more going on to build on the already impressive performance of the ReSound Dot. The ReSound Live family of products boasts all the same features as the Dot2 in a different form factor, the most interesting in my opinion being the LV70 RIC product, available at three price points. The size of this little beauty is tiny, but it still has room for a telecoil (missing on most RIC products), a volume control and a pushbutton. Any / all controls can be disabled / enabled as required. I would guess the most popular configuration would be using the ReSound Live as an automatic hearing aid, disabling the volume control and enabling the pushbutton for telecoil pickup only, to be used with loop systems.

The hearing aid industry sems to be having a love affair with  Bluetooth Connectivity at the moment and telecoils for loop systems seem to have gone out of fashion. The simple fact is that loop systems are commonplace, domestic loop systems are cheap and easy to set up, and telecoils in hearing aids can be very effective, not to be discounted! At last, a discreet RIC product even the fussiest client concerned with cosmetics can be pleased to wear with a built in telecoil feature!

Only time will tell how well the ReSound Live and the ReSound Dot2 will be received, after years in the hearing aid industry I tend to take the claims of the manufacturers and their marketing departments with a pinch of salt. However, on paper and first impressions I have to say I’m rather impressed, lets see how the first fittings go, I’ll keep you posted!

If you would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

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15/10/2009 by admin.

It’s a busy time at the moment for hearing aid manufacturers, in the space of a month we have big launches of new product from three different manufacturers. ReSound have launched their new product line ReSound Live, and a new improved version of the popular Dot range, dot2 by ReSound.

At the end of October Phonak have been promising a launch to remember, details are sketchy at present but it’s anticipated to be a variant on their very successful Phonak Audeo YES range of RIC (receiver in canal) products.

Mid November sees Unitron rolling out a whole raft of new product, we’re still awaiting details but it’s anticipated new products will be based on the successful Unitron Passport premium product launched a few months ago.

Busy times ahead, we’ll keep you posted on the new launches as the information becomes available.

If you would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

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13/10/2009 by admin.

GN ReSound have announced their largest ever product launch. Two new product families ; ReSound Live and ReSound Dot2.

Ask any hearing aid wearer what they would most like to improve about their hearing instruments and they will usually say ’speech in noise’. Both ReSound Live and dot2 by ReSound incorporate Surround Sound by ReSound technology that is tested and proven to improve ability to understand speech while retaining awareness of surroundings. They will also experience unrivalled, rich, full sound quality that ensures instant satisfaction.

In addition dot2 by ReSound builds on the cosmetic success of the original dot by ReSound, while the slimline ReSound Live RIC has been calledthe ‘bestlooking RIC I have ever seen’.

ReSound Live and dot2 by ReSound each have three different technology levels and price points. ReSound Live is available in a full range of form factors including Remote Microphone Technology and both families come with a range of receiver options from low to high.

The ReSound Live 9, 7, and 5 products are direct replacements for respectively the ReSound Azure,  ReSound Xplore and ReSound Ziga, which drop off the price lists from October 2009. The dot2 by ReSound 30, 20 and 10 models are direct replacements for the original dot by ReSound 30, 20 and 10 products which likewise have dropped off the price list.

If you are offered the old products insist on an upgrade or at the very least negotiate an extra discount for being supplied older product!

The full and current line-up of GN ReSound products now comprises of ReSound Live, dot2 by ReSound, be by ReSound and ReSound Essence.

If you want more information about the new GN ReSound Live and Dot2 products or would like to arrange a free hearing test please browse to our main website and click on the contacts page to get in touch.

 Digital Hearing Care - Low Prices, Wide Choice and Great Aftercare

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