
CREDIT – Mr Collet-Fenson, Aston Hearing
by Jayne Bryce
CREDIT – Mr Collet-Fenson, Aston Hearing
by Jayne Bryce
“I am delighted to nominate Jayne Bryce for this award, she is a brilliant audiologist and I couldn’t have coped with my sudden hearing loss over the past year without her. In a matter of days I went from being a 38 year old with no hearing problems, to losing all of the hearing in my right ear. Jayne tested my hearing and found I had suffered from sudden sensorineural hearing loss. She gently broke the bad news to me that my deafness was almost certainly permanent, and explained my test results. Although it had been almost 4 weeks since I lost my hearing, Jayne had read research papers where steroid injections into the eardrum had recovered some hearing, even after several weeks, and she had just attended a conference where there was a case of steroid injections restoring hearing after 8 weeks. Jayne advised me to contact my GP immediately, explain her diagnosis, and ask for an urgent referral to ENT for steroid injections, as the window of opportunity for success was very small.
To my horror I struggled to get the steroid treatment that Jayne had recommended because my GP practice and local A&E were unaware of sudden hearing loss as a medical emergency and of the steroid treatment I urgently needed. During this struggle Jayne constantly supported me with phone calls and passed on advice from an ENT consultant colleague. Eventually I was treated with both steroid tablets and injections in the hope of saving my hearing. After the treatments Jayne tested my hearing again, which sadly confirmed that my hearing had not improved. Jayne advised my best option would be CROS hearing aids, explained how they worked, and showed me examples to reassure me of how discreet they were, because I was shocked that I was in my 30’s and suddenly needed hearing aids. Jayne suggested that I get fitted with NHS hearing aids first, as that would inevitably mean some waiting, she suggested ways to position myself in meetings at work and when I was socialising with my friends in noisy environments, so that I could hear better. My hearing aids from the NHS improved my hearing but I was struggling to hear conversations in noisier environments, especially at work conferences and socialising with my friends. To help me with this Jayne fitted me with the latest CROS hearing aids with StereoZoom technology which she thought would allow me to hear better in background noise. I trialed these new hearing aids and was delighted with the clearer sound and that I could hear much better in noisy environments.
Jayne is passionate about raising awareness of hearing loss which is evident through her charity work with events such as Tea for Tinnitus for the British Tinnitus Association and through organising a Listen.Live event and our cities first ever hearing show. During my experience of hearing loss Jayne told me she felt strongly that people are generally not aware that sudden hearing loss can be a medical emergency and that many GPs are often unaware of this condition, and the need for urgent steroid treatment. Sadly that was my experience at my GP practice, as a result myself and Jayne attended a meeting with doctors at my practice to discuss my case and sudden hearing loss. To prepare for the meeting Jayne spoke to an ENT consultant and the Head of Audiology at NHS Grampian to discuss the most important points to get across. As a result of the meeting an ENT consultant visited my GP practice to give a training session on sudden hearing loss. The aim of this training session is for it to also be extended to other GP practices in our area. After the meeting Jayne also wrote a blog on social media about the experience, to raise awareness of sudden hearing loss.
This year has been one of the most challenging of my life, I genuinely couldn’t have managed without Jayne’s constant support. Having lost the hearing in one ear so suddenly I was very afraid of anything happening to my good ear, but Jayne was always there to listen and to reassure me. Jayne is so friendly and appointments are never rushed and that has been invaluable to me, to allow me to ask any questions whilst adapting to my hearing loss. As well as fitting me with the latest technology in hearing aids, Jayne has given me hope for the future. When I was first diagnosed with sudden hearing loss, I was withdrawing from doing many of the things I loved because it was so difficult and exhausting struggling to hear. Thanks to Jayne’s determination to give her clients the best technology, my hearing aids have completely improved my life, and given me hope that I can return back to doing everything I was doing before my hearing loss. Although this past year has involved some huge changes for me, every cloud has a silver lining, and for me that has been meeting Jayne, I couldn’t ask for a better, more caring audiologist.”
by Jayne Bryce
The fluid in your inner ear is responsible for activating the inner-ear hair cells that send impulses to the brain about what you’re hearing – so that you recognise sounds.
Potassium is a mineral that’s key for regulating the amount of fluid in your body tissues and in your blood – and because there’s fluid in the inner ear, potassium is important for your hearing.
Since the amount of potassium in our bodies tends to drop naturally as we age, it’s a good idea to serve your ears some potassium-rich foods to support your hearing.
We recommend oranges, potatoes, sweet potatoes, avocados, apples, spinach, melons, lima beans and tomatoes, just to get you started. Yum!
The body needs folate to create new cells. But folate also contributes to good circulation, which is important for the hair cells in the inner ear (the ones we were talking about above). That’s how folate can support the functions of your inner ear.
Research suggests that folate can help fight off free radicals, too. That’s also good news for your hearing, because free radicals could reduce blood flow to the inner ear and damage the sensory cells – which are crucial for good hearing.
Get your folate from asparagus, broccoli, spinach, legumes and citrus fruits, for instance.
Magnesium may just protect your hearing from noise-related hearing loss.
Research by the University of Michigan Kresge Hearing Research Institute suggests that because magnesium can fight off free radicals produced by hearing loud noises, it contributes to protecting your inner-ear hair cells and thus your hearing.
Low levels of magnesium in your body, on the other hand, could shrink your inner-ear blood vessels.
So next time you’re at the store, stock up on bananas, artichokes, tomatoes, nuts, avocado – and dark chocolate!
Omega-3 is an important cornerstone for your entire system. It’s anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing, and it helps your brain functions – and, as it turns out, it may also just prevent hearing loss.
In fact, a study has found that it may reduce the risk of age-related hearing loss by a whopping 40%.
There’s no time like the present to add flax seeds, salmon, cold-pressed olive oil and sardines to your diet.
You’ve probably heard that calcium is important for your bones. Did you know that so is vitamin D?
In your middle ear there are three tiny bones that are crucial to your hearing. And without vitamin D, these bones could weaken, and that could potentially impact your hearing.
Vitamin D mainly metabolises when sunshine hits your skin – but often we don’t get enough sunshine.
Supplement your sunbathing with fish like salmon, canned tuna, herring, sardines or cod liver oil for more vitamin D.
by Jayne Bryce
This is a great article written by Amie Hynes Fitzpatrick for the Irish Times that we’d like to share with you, click here to view the article on the Irish Times website.
For many of us, our first interaction with hearing loss is through our grandparents. But it’s not just something that affects only the elderly. More than 80,000 Irish people of working age are currently dealing with a significant level of hearing loss. By the time we reach 60, one in three of us will have experienced significant hearing loss.
But, while many workplaces already employ health plans that promote caring for our eyes and teeth, hearing health appears to be largely overlooked.
Dealing with hearing loss in the workplace can be extremely stressful. Many people who experience it try initially to ignore the problem, hoping that it’s only a temporary issue or that it will rectify itself.
But letting something like hearing loss to go untreated will only result in further deterioration. For managers, an unexplained decline in productivity, a lack of confidence and depression can all be indicators that someone in your team is suffering from hearing issues.
Employees often are afraid to raise their concerns at work for fear it will affect their employability or have an impact on their career progression. For others, admitting that they are dealing with hearing loss can be embarrassing. In some cases, it can come on suddenly and without warning, leaving them feeling frustrated and unsure of what action to take.
That’s where an appropriate hearing healthcare policy can really help. Without one, we’re putting the onus on the employee to self advocate and it’s very possible that they don’t know where to start.
As one of the last health taboos to be addressed in the workplace, it’s time to bring the conversation around hearing health and hearing loss into the mainstream.
There are signs you can look out for. Some can be seen as early as the interview stage. For example, is the candidate struggling to hear the questions? Other things to look out for include:
• People regularly saying “what?” and “pardon?”;
• Work done incorrectly by normally reliable staff who may have been misheard instructions;
• People who need a lot of the conversation repeated several times;
• Misunderstanding what is being said;
• Complaining that you are not speaking clearly or loudly enough;
• Failing to hear someone address them or to hear the telephone ringing;
• A dislike of going to events, pubs or other noisy environments;
• Turning up the sound on their computer too loud for your comfort;
• Noticeably straining to hear what is being said.
As a manager, there are steps you can take to tackle hearing loss and the challenges it can create for employees within an organisation. Normalising the conversation around the condition is one. That’s where an effective and highly visible hearing health programme can really be of benefit.
Chime, the national charity for deafness and hearing loss, offers a corporate health and wellness programme called the Chime Charter. It includes on-site audiology screening, support services, and information on financial supports for talent with a disability. It can help to identify issues that your employees may be experiencing, helping organisations to create a more equal and effective work environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Alongside an effective hearing health programme, there are other steps you can take to make your work environment more comfortable, and fair, for employees with hearing loss.
• Promote and advocate: establishing a hearing health programme is great but people need to know about it. Place posters around the office (the back of the bathroom cubicle door is a great spot to catch passive readers) and promote on-site assessments using email, internal comms channels, and incentives.
• Normalise the testing process by encouraging senior members of the team to sign up.
• Don’t drop the mic: introduce an “always on” microphone policy for meetings and events. Speakers often decline the use of a mic because they deem it unnecessary or don’t want to hear their own voices amplified. However, it can benefit anyone who may be hard of hearing. According to the Health Service Executive, 8 per cent of Irish adults need audiological support. By refusing a mic, even at an event with as few as 20 attendees, you are pretty much guaranteed to be alienating someone in the room.
• Be an ally: don’t assume that a person with hearing loss will always self identify. If you’re attending a large meeting or town hall, ask the person presenting to use a microphone. If someone in the crowd asks a question, request that it is repeated by the person with the microphone so everyone can hear what is being said. If you’re hosting a video conference, turn on your screen so people can see you when you’re talking and always speak in the direction of the microphone. Small changes can make a big difference.
• Educate yourself: as a employer, learn about the various grants available to make your workplace more accessible. The workplace equipment/adaption grant from the Department of Employer Affairs and Social Protection offers up to €6,350 towards the cost of adaptations to premises or equipment.
• Create a constructive environment: While improvements in hearing aids have come a long way, they are still not perfect. Some devices can pick up on background noise and intensify it. If an employee has identified that they are experiencing hearing issues, make sure to sit them away from any windows beside thoroughfares with highs volumes of traffic or areas that contain noisemakers such as printers, coffee machines and dishwashers.
Amie Hynes Fitzpatrick is the fundraising manager at Chime, the national charity for deafness and hearing loss. chime.ie
All credit for this article goes to Amie Hynes Fitzpatrick and the Irish Times
by Jayne Bryce
#1 to protect your brain functions
#2 to reduce the risk of dementia
#3 to prevent symptoms of depression and generally improve your social life
by Jayne Bryce
A couple of weeks ago I attended a meeting with a customer, who is in her 30s, at her GP practice, she had made a complaint to them regarding her misdiagnosis and subsequent treatment of sudden hearing loss. As a consequence of the misdiagnosis and lack of knowledge by all GPs at her practice she wasn’t referred urgently to ENT and given the intratympanic steroids that could have saved her hearing. The meeting was very open and honest and the 3 senior GPs in attendance apologised profusely and admitted that they had never heard of the intratympanic steroid being used as a treatment for sudden hearing loss?
This is the time line of her symptoms and experience with her GP practice as she tried to get the referral and treatment she needed from ENT:
8th August- 1st doctor’s visit:
Symptoms: Started on 1st August with hearing loss in right ear, followed by dizziness and then nausea – all occurring for a couple of hours each day.
Diagnosis: Blocked Eustachian tube. Doctor saw a couple of small bubbles behind the eardrum, which could indicate possible congestion (although no history of head cold/allergies). No obvious sign of any external problems (no pain, no discharge, no swelling or blockage). Advised to try popping ears to clear any congestion.
23rd August – 2nd doctor’s visit:
Symptoms: Since last appointment symptoms of hearing loss, followed by dizziness, nausea and loud ringing in ear had gotten worse, and were lasting for 24 hrs, before going away. These symptoms had then worsened further and by the time of this visit I had had constant hearing loss for 4 days, as well as worsening dizziness and vomiting.
Diagnosis: Blocked Eustachian tube. Ear examined again where doctor’s observations were same as on previous visit. Doctor recommended to start taking decongestant tablets and try popping ears to clear any congestion.
3rd September – 3rd doctor’s visit:
Symptoms: Nausea and dizziness had gone but hearing loss in right ear remained constant (constant hearing loss for 2 weeks now) and constant ringing noise had been replaced with a constant static noise. Told doctor that I had noticed I couldn’t hear anything in my right ear when I had headphones on.
Diagnosis: Ear examined again; no sign of small bubbles seen by previous two doctors and no sign of any cause of the hearing loss. Doctor tested hearing by whispering in each ear, which confirmed hearing loss in right ear. Prescribed Beconase Nasal Decongestant Spray instead of the decongestant tablets, to clear any congestion. Follow up appointment made for 1 month and routine referral made to ENT (doctor said wait time would be ~3 months).
13th September – Hearing test at Bryce Hearing Services:
Audiogram results revealed profound hearing loss in right ear. After 3.5 weeks since hearing loss, the damage was probably permanent but there could still be a slight chance of some improvement with steroid injections into the ear drum, which needed to be done urgently.
13th September – 4th doctor visit (phone call):
After hearing test I phoned and explained the results to the on-call doctor at my GP practice who said that she had no knowledge of steroid treatment for hearing loss and all she could do was make a record of my audiogram results in my notes. I told her that a professional audiologist had advised that steroid treatment was the only possible chance of salvaging any of my hearing and should be treated as an emergency, but I made no progress with this doctor.
14th September – Visit to A&E at ARI:
As I had made no progress with steroid treatment from my doctor’s, I went to A&E to ask for steroid injections and showed them my audiogram results. A&E turned me away because my hearing loss hadn’t just happened that day. They told me to go back to my GPs again and ask for the steroid treatment.
14th September – 5th doctor visit (phone call):
Phoned my doctors again and asked to speak to a senior doctor. This doctor also told me that she was unaware of steroid treatment for hearing loss but contacted the on-call ENT consultant who confirmed the use of steroids to treat hearing loss and I was prescribed a course of oral Prednisolone and told I would get a letter for a follow up appointment with ENT after the steroid treatment.
2nd & 3rd October – Visit to ENT consultant (Mr Ram) at Albyn:
After I had finished the oral steroid treatment I hadn’t received any letter from the NHS for a follow up appointment with ENT. I phoned to ask about my appointment and was told that I was still on the general ENT referral waiting list, which would have meant waiting for 2 more months. I said that I thought I should have been moved to the urgent list and was told the wait time was still 6 weeks. I still wanted to try the steroid injections and thought that 6 weeks was too long to wait so made an appointment privately at Albyn with Mr Ram, he said that he was sorry that I hadn’t been able to see him sooner and that he would give me the steroid injections the following day for free on the NHS.
15th October – 2nd Hearing test at Bryce Hearing Services:
Two weeks after steroid injections there was no improvement in hearing in right ear.
16th October – Follow up visit with Mr Ram at Albyn:
Since there had been no improvement in my hearing after the steroid treatment I was referred for hearing aids on the NHS. Mr Ram fast-tracked me through audiology and I got my hearing aids from the NHS a few weeks later.
by Jayne Bryce
We are very pleased to have become a certified Roger partner!
The Phonak Roger devices are brilliant for those people who need extra help in noisier situations.
by Jayne Bryce
The Widex Evoke is the only hearing aid in the world that uses machine learning; the Widex SoundSense Technology means that every time you use EVOKE it learns from different situations and uses the anonymous data to create a better listening experience. EVOKE knows the difference between classical and pop music, how a meeting sounds different than a party and it keeps up with you indoors and out – mapping your environment and adjusting accordingly.
When it’s noisy, you need your hearing aid to filter out anything that can distract from hearing speech but in quiet situations, you want to hear all the subtle details. EVOKE has a built-in Fluid Sound Controller that sets the optimal sound for different sound environments. This makes hearing aid adjustment is easy and EVOKE quickly adapts to the changes in your life. Because of its built-in SoundSense Adapt technology, it remembers all changes you make and intelligently applies them to similar situations – even if you’re in a totally new environment.
Check out this great video by Dr Cliff Olson in which he talks about the Widex Evoke’s machine learning capabilities:
by Jayne Bryce
In most situations, this is easily solved by using a pair of modern hearing aids that enable the wearer to take part in conversations. However, the feeling of being cut off is not only related to situations where people are face to face. Being able to hear and see the people we care about from a distance is becoming more and more important for our quality of life.
This goes for people with hearing loss as well. Most of us have friends or loved ones who we need to speak to on the phone, via apps such as WhatsApp – or increasingly through video-call services such as Skype or FaceTime.
Even for people without hearing loss, phone and video calls can be difficult to hear clearly. Poor reception and dropped calls are a common nuisance. And for someone with hearing loss, dealing with poor sound quality or wonky phone integration can be too much. That is why hearing aid users need hearing aids that work seamlessly with both conventional phones and today’s modern phones.
The final group also typically features deep smartphone integration, which allows the wearer to tweak and personalise a wide range of functions in the hearing aid, including phone calls.
One important aspect of how hearing aids handle phone calls is streaming sound quality. Another is whether the hearing aid allows the user to hear the call through both hearing aids — or just one. For people adapting to hearing loss, the last thing someone needs is poor quality or glitchy sound that adds to the mental workload.
That is why the best modern hearing aids are made to stream the sound of the phone call in high-quality audio — to both the left and the right hearing aid at the same time. This gives the wearer a fuller, more natural sound experience and enables effortless hearing.
Currently here at Bryce Hearing Services we have the following devices available that connectivity features:
If you ‘d like to find out more about these devices just give us a call on 01224 647652 or send us a message.
by Jayne Bryce
The first factor to dictate which hearing aid to get is your unique hearing loss, which could be anything from very mild to severe. So what comes next? What do you want your personal hearing aid to be able to do – and what should it look like?
Credit: Widex UK
According to the World Health Organization , 466 million people worldwide suffer from disabling hearing loss. While some prefer to show off their new hearing device, others prefer that it doesn’t attract too much attention. That all depends on who you are! With hearing aids, it’s like any other piece you wear on your body, and you can choose your style, colour and size (depending on your specific hearing loss). So think about what you would like your hearing aid to say about you, or if you don’t want it to say anything at all.
Prefer a night out at a restaurant, or fancy watching TV at home? Lifestyles are so different, and that’s why hearing aids are too. If you prefer to go out, you’ll be exposed to a lot of background noise, which is often where people have most problems hearing conversation. So make sure you get a hearing aid that reduces background noise and enhances speech. Maybe that’s not so important if you’re more prone to staying in, quietly reading a book or having a conversation over tea with a friend.
If you’re an avid smartphone user, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Bluetooth hearing aids that are made for connectivity. Many hearing aids today offer Bluetooth 2.4GHz connectivity (Made for iPhone) that will connect your iOS devices (Apple products) directly to your hearing aids. A solution for streaming directly from Android phones is also in the making, with hopes of it coming in 2019. Until then, you’ll have to use an assistive listening device to stream from your Android phone, and the same goes for TV or radio. In any case, you’re able to control the audio streaming through your phone if you have 2.4GHz connectivity.
Hearing aids today can do so much more than simply amplify sound. In fact, you can get apps for your smartphone that will help you personalise your listening experience through Artificial Intelligence, or track your activity level, for instance. These kinds of features are usually managed through your smartphone. So if you have one, and you like using it, this could be a great way to get even more features available to you on top of the automatic sound features, which vary from hearing aid to hearing aid.
Loud sounds are not usually hard for any of us to hear, but the softer sounds like birds chirping, the rustling of a newspaper or maybe even the soft voices of small children sometimes reduce in volume when you have hearing loss. They can even disappear completely! If you miss them, there’s no doubt you should find a hearing aid with good capacity for those soft, ambient sounds.
There’s a big difference between working at a construction site or in a theatre or an office. That said, your office could be a noisy one! Think about how your work situation is: do you need a hearing aid that reduces unwanted background noise substantially? Do you need one that captures soft sounds, or has a good handle on acoustics at big venues?
Are you active in sports, or do you often host large lectures, go to religious services or sail on the sea? Whatever your important listening moments are, make sure you capture them with your hearing aid. Some hearing aids will offer features that are great for sports; others may be better for concerts. And some hearing aids can almost do it all! Just make sure that your new hearing aids can give you the best possible support in your favourite moments.
If you haven’t yet taken a hearing test, we suggest you do. You can book an appointment to see our Audiologist Jayne for a full hearing test at our office in Aberdeen or at our clinics in Inverurie and Banchory. You can also take our online hearing test which can provide you with some quick and useful feedback about your hearing. Once you have completed the test you will be given the option to request an appointment with our audiologist, Jayne Bryce, who will examine your ears, perform an accurate hearing test in our sound-proof booth and explain the results.
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