Regina Leader-Post

Good hearing but trouble with conversati­on?

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A lot of people have trouble catching what people say, especially in group situations, despite having good hearing. What a lot of people don’t know is that this may be caused by damage to the so-called motor or amplifier function of special cells in the ear. A new type of hearing aid can help balance this out.

A great many people have difficulty hearing others clearly on a daily basis. Bad acoustics, unclear pronunciat­ion, background noise and music often make it challengin­g to catch what people say. This results in them having to repeatedly ask questions, straining to hear and perhaps increasing­ly avoiding discussion­s in large groups. As mentioned earlier, this may be caused by malfunctio­ns in special cells in the ear. According to a theory proposed by hearing researcher­s, “motor cells” are a type of hair cell responsibl­e for amplifying quiet sounds. They vibrate up to 20,000 times per second. If these hair cells do not work properly then quiet sounds are no longer naturally Hair cells in the ear move very rapidly and can act as an amplifier or dampener. If these cells are damaged, they can no longer properly amplify speech and dampen loud noises.

amplified in the ear and loud sounds no longer dampened. This leads to more difficulty in hearing what is said in a lot of situations. If the hair cells have been damaged by noise or blood circulatio­n problems, hearing aids that amplify quiet speech and dampen loud ambient noise can be a good solution for most people.

This improvemen­t in hearing can be achieved for some clients through the new Phonak Audéo V’s hearing aids. This cutting-edge hearing technology comes in a miniature casing that can significan­tly enhance the user’s ability to hear speech in company. The hearing aids attune to the person you are speaking to and can also recognize if ambient noise increases in the background. Connect Hearing is currently looking to improve hearing for people who experience these challenges and want to try this new technology. We are particular­ly interested in candidates who have trouble hearing speech in the situations discussed above and can benefit from a trial to see whether they notice an improvemen­t.

Interested people can register for a free hearing evaluation and a no-obligation trial of the Audéo V hearing aids by calling 1.888.408.7377.

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