Santa Barbara Audiology

I get asked this question a lot. I see Consumer Report testing and audiologist Youtube videos that rank the hearing aid manufacturers. My answer is, For who? The best hearing aid manufacturer depends on who it’s for. There’s a problem with ranking manufacturers because it’s not a toaster we’re talking about here. I will say that there are a lot of excellent manufacturers that I work with. There is a lot of competition between them. They all have a specialty they focus on from year to year. They generally come out with something significantly improved every 5 years or so.

Call me if you’re wondering which manufacturer would be best for you and why. I’m big on education. 905-881-2620

Here’s a little homework though:
1) Read Consumer Reports’ buying guide .
2) Check out the major manufacturers listed below.

Oticon
ReSound
Phonak
Signia (Siemens)
Starkey
Widex

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Robert McCloskey

Think about how a physical therapist treats someone with a knee injury. They might use a knee brace, but they always give the patient a series of exercises, and the exercises change slowly as their patient gets stronger. Treating a hearing loss is similar because a hearing aid is just an aid. It’s not enough. Sometimes it isn’t even appropriate.

Aural rehabilitation is something audiologists do to help hearing impaired people overcome a hearing handicap. Audiologists do a little bit of it whenever they test hearing or balance. It’s also part of helping someone get used to a hearing aid. It includes diagnosis, counseling related to hearing loss, education on assistive technology, learning communication strategies, giving information on community and non-profit resources, speech perception training, and instruction for family members. The communication strategies can include things like sign language and lip-reading.

Aural rehab is relevant for the 14% of adults who have a hearing loss, but it’s also relevant for an even larger group, family and friends of people with hearing loss. I am currently developing a series of 6 aural rehabilitation classes. It may be offered at SBCC Adult Education, at a retirement community, at the Hearing Loss Association of America meetings, or at a public library. We’ll see. I’ll announce it when the dates are set. Call or shoot me an email if you’re interested.

audiologyhome@protonmail.com
805-881-2620

“Everybody’s uptight and they’re always building these walls around themselves. All you can do is try and break down the walls and show that there’s nothing there but people. It’s just like looking in the mirror.”

– John Lennon –

I encourage everyone to learn a language, because there is no better way to understand people than to learn their language. As it turns out, Gallaudet University offers free online ASL classes.

It is good for hearing people to understand that for people who grew up deaf, deafness is not a disability.

It also helps to learn about the history of deaf education. This documentary follows a family and their experience, generation to generation. (After you start the video, you can turn on the closed captions by clicking on the symbol at the bottom of the screen.)

“Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience. Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people everywhere.”

– William H. Stewart, former U.S. Surgeon General

Noise isn’t just annoying. It isn’t just bad for your ears. It’s bad for your health. Noise causes higher blood pressure and cortisol levels, which leads to heart disease. Students learn less and workers make more mistakes when exposed to too much noise in the environment. Research continues on the effects of noise on the immune system and birth defects.

The New York Times published an article on noise in NYC establishments. “The New York Times measured noise levels at 37 restaurants, bars, stores and gyms across the city and found levels that experts said bordered on dangerous at one-third of them.” Some restaurants were simply unaware of the danger and pledged to look into it. Restaurants like to play loud music because it makes people eat faster and leave sooner, so significant change is unlikely. (If you’re looking for a quiet(er) place to eat in Santa Barbara, check out my patient-recommended restaurant list.)

As I was investigating this, I actually found an organization called Quiet Communities, whose mission is to make communities quieter. I love that.