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Men are twice as likely to develop hearing loss than woman are – a fact that experts believe may be related to work environments and recreational activities that men more frequently take part in. After years of loud noise exposure, Lyric Hearing Ambassador John realized that he had hearing loss and began wearing hearing aids. When he tried Lyric, he realized that Lyric is a very different kind of hearing device.
John tells us, “It's been three years since I got the Lyric. I had trouble using other hearing aids and typically removed them. With the Lyric, it stays in the ear canal 24/7, so you don't. That means that you acclimate to it very quickly. Anything new takes time to get used to, but with the Lyric I was quickly forgetting that I had it in. Now, when it comes out for replacement, I just can't wait to get it back in to feel "normal".
Lyric has also helped John in the workplace and at home with his family. “I'm married with five children and seven grandchildren. Those soft high pitched voices can be difficult to hear and understand. Thanks to Lyric, I don't miss anything…[As] the Director of Marketing and Business Development for a French-based global company my geographic responsibilities include North and Central America. The job involves a lot of communication and regular speaking engagements. To communicate requires that you can hear and speak. Lyric is responsible for my hearing. I'm responsible for the speaking.”
For John’s full story, watch his Lyric Hearing testimonial below.
National Men’s Health Week is celebrated each June in the week leading up to Father’s Day. The goal of the week is to raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.
One medical condition that men should consider being tested for is hearing loss, which affects men at a higher rate than it affects women. Some experts believe that this may be due to increased noise exposure among men vs. women. For instance, men are more likely to work in occupations that expose them to excessive noise ( like construction), but are also are more likely to engage in “loud” recreational activities such as hunting, motorcycle riding and woodworking.
Below are some interesting facts about hearing loss in men:
- Men are twice as likely to develop hearing loss than women, especially men between the ages of 20-69*
- Men tend to lose hearing in the higher frequencies first; women tend to lose hearing in the lower frequencies first.**
- As a result of higher frequency loss, men tend to have more problems understanding consonants and women have more difficulty understanding vowels.*
- A study published in the American Journal of Medicine indicated that regular use of certain pain relievers in the “NSAID” category (like aspirin and acetaminophen), were found to increase the chance of hearing loss in adult men younger than 60.***
If you think that you may have hearing loss, talk to your audiologist about getting a hearing test. It is important to identify and begin treating any hearing loss as early as possible because of the impact that this medical condition can have on quality of life. To find an audiologist in your area, visit the American Academy of Audiology page. Or, find a Lyric Provider to learn more about Lyric hearing aids and how they can help appropriate hearing loss candidates.
*National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
**http://www.healthyhearing.com/content/articles/Hearing-loss/Types/50553-Studies-show-men-are-affected-by-hearing-loss-more-than-women
***S Curhan et al. Analgesic Use and the Risk of Hearing Loss in Men American Journal of Medicine, The Vol. 123, Issue 3, Pages 231-237, http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(09)00795-5/fulltext
We call Lyric the hearing aid that can change your life without changing how you live for a lot of reasons; not just because of everything you can do while wearing them, but also because of what it can do for your relationships. This week’s Lyric testimonial comes from Lyric Ambassador Rebecca. Before treating her hearing loss, straining to hear people at work left her too tired to fully enjoy time with friends and family at home. It was also affecting her ability to fully pursue her dream of becoming a therapist.
Rebecca tells us in her own words, “For many years I owned and operated various retail establishments. At the age of 42 I decided that I wanted to finally pursue my dream of becoming a psychotherapist. While my hearing impairment made it difficult when going back to school, the school offered many resources such as note takers and video to help compensate for my hearing loss. I remember the incredible feeling I had when I finally graduated and was ready to take the next step in my dream. I can’t even describe the disappointment and frustration I encountered when discovering that my hearing loss was going to interfere with my ability to act as a practicing therapist. Without the note takers and video, I was at a loss as to how to practice my profession. I had accomplished four additional years of school only to find out that I would still have to struggle to even provide the core aspect of my profession – Listening!
Lyric has made it possible to keep living my dream. I can honestly say that without the Lyric hearing devices, I would have had to leave my profession. To think that something this simple (and invisible!) could add so much to the quality of my life, is truly a “dream” come true!
Watch her full story below:
Dr. Frank Lin at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore made waves in the medical community when he first reported a significant correlation between hearing loss and dementia through his 2011 article in Archives of Internal Medicine. His study, which was sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, showed a two- to five-fold higher rate of dementia in subjects with hearing loss.
Since then, research has only continued to support those findings. Late last year, a UK-based team published results reporting that they too found a relationship between hearing loss and dementia or cognitive decline. Now, Dr. Lin has followed up his initial study with an even larger study of nearly 2000 patients. His findings, which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine this year, again concluded that hearing loss increased the risk of dementia and that the risk of cognitive decline was associated with the severity of hearing loss.
If you have untreated hearing loss, we encourage you to speak to a hearing health professional about hearing solutions that can help. Find a Lyric Provider at www.lyrichearing.com or call us at 1-866-964-8450 to make an appointment in your area.
Source: http://www.enttoday.org/details/article/4644111/Study_Supports_Correlati...
We hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend. As we look forward to the warmer months and all the activities that come along with summer, we bring you Ellie’s Lyric hearing aid testimonial.
When Ellie’s audiologist first recommended Lyric, she didn’t want anything in her ear; she had also tried other hearing aids previously and felt like they “didn’t work”. But, after she agreed to give Lyric hearing aids a try she got “hooked” on them. Now Ellie wears her Lyrics everywhere – biking, at the symphony, and in the pool. She loves that Lyric’s hassle-free hearing allows her to feel “absolutely normal” again.
With Lyric hearing aids, Ellie can maintain her active lifestyle without worrying about her hearing. “For 22 consecutive years I was the #1 Realtor with the #1 company in Syracuse, N.Y. I am a widow, mother of 5 children & 7 super grandchildren. Being retired is a different way of life, but not enough of a challenge for me. So I am looking for a part time job working with Seniors or in Sales. Lyric has been a great asset to me from the very beginning. Easy acceptance of the hearing aid. I felt so normal.”
If you’ve been waiting to try Lyric hearing aids, take advantage of our risk-free trial! Call us toll-free at 1-866-964-8450 to make an appointment with a Lyric Provider in your area. To watch additional clips from Ellie and the other Lyric Hearing Ambassadors on the Lyric Hearing Facebook Page!
*Professional fees may apply. Annual subscription begins the first day of trial.
Hearing loss doesn’t only affect the person who is having trouble hearing, it affects relationships with the people around them as well. Thus, when we spoke to family members of people who wear Lyric hearing aids, they overwhelmingly agreed that Lyric had made a positive impact on their lives. In our survey, 96% of family members of people who wear Lyric hearing aid users agree that Lyric has helped them better communicate with the Lyric wearer and 94% would recommend Lyric hearing devices to other families in which a member suffers from hearing loss.*
Our first ever Lyric hearing aid spouse video from Niki (wife of Jeremy whose testimonial was featured last week), brings some of these ideas to life. In her story, Niki tells us how wearing Lyric hearing aids has helped Jeremy communicate better with her and their children. Not only can she whisper to him in a crowd and know that he has heard her, she also feels safer knowing that he hears everything that she does. Watch her video testimonial below and read her story in her own words:
“Hi my name is Niki Williams I am 39 years old, wife of Jeremy Williams, a Lyric user, mother of 4, receptionist and doer of all, residing in Saskatchewan Canada. Lyric hearing aids have added so much needed help with communication in our home. The frustration of translating between what the kids say to their dad is no longer an issue as Jeremy now hears everything that is said.
It has taken so much stress away from normal everyday life. It doesn't even compare to other aids he had previously used. It has also been so wonderful to see him be able to lead worship [as a Pastor and musician] each and every Sunday with no issues with his aids, when previously he would have to take them out while he performed and put them in to hear the band members ask questions, etc. It is wonderful to watch someone you love flourishing in what he was created to do and his loss of hearing not be an issue. What a blessing Lyric has been in our lives, it has not only made Jeremy's life better it has improved my life as well.”
For more Lyric hearing aid testimonials, visit our Lyric Hearing Facebook page.
* Based on results from two surveys totaling 50 family members of a Lyric hearing aid patients.
In follow-up to our post on tinnitus causes, we wanted to discuss tinnitus treatments and therapies. Although tinnitus does not have a cure, there are ways to manage it. The effectiveness of these different treatments will vary by person based on individual factors like the cause of tinnitus, severity of tinnitus and other health factors.
Hearing aids have been reported to lessen the annoying ringing sensations*. That is because tinnitus is not a condition in itself; it is actually a symptom of something else, like hearing loss, which can often be treated by wearing hearing aids. Hearing loss can reduce auditory stimulation from surrounding sounds. Therefore, wearing hearing aids can make a person less aware of tinnitus by helping them hear other sounds that can mask the ringing noises. Additionally, since hearing loss can change auditory pathways by depriving them of the stimulation they receive in a person with normal hearing, wearing hearing aids can bring back sounds that “re-activate” the auditory nervous system.
Hearing aids are only one possible therapy for tinnitus sufferers. Other tinnitus treatments include sound therapy, which utilizes sound like music or white noise to mask the tinnitus and is often combined with counseling. Alternative tinnitus treatments and drug therapies have also been studied as possible tinnitus management strategies.** A full list of tinnitus treatments can be found on the American Tinnitus Association website.
*Del B L and Ambrosetti U. Hearing Aids for the treatment of tinnitus. Prog Brain Res. 2007, 166:341-5.
**American Tinnitus Association: http://www.ata.org/for-patients/treatment
This week marks National Tinnitus Awareness Week, part of Better Speech and Hearing Month!
Even if you have never heard the term “tinnitus”, chances are that you have experienced it before. Tinnitus is the medical term for a sensation that people often describe as “ringing in the ears” although descriptions of “hissing”, “chirping”, “whistling” or “clicking” sounds are not unusual. Tinnitus is extremely common; one third of all adults experience tinnitus at some time in their lives and about 10-15% of adults have prolonged tinnitus that requires medical evaluation.*
There are many causes of tinnitus, many of which have not yet been fully understood. However, overexposure to loud sounds has been identified as the leading cause of tinnitus.* Overexposure to noise can also make tinnitus worse in people who already have it. Loudness of sounds is measured in decibels, and hearing protection like ear plugs are usually recommended when somebody is exposed to sounds that are 85 decibels or more for longer durations. How loud is that? Average traffic is associated with a loudness level of 85 decibels; a blow dryer, subway, power mower or chain saw measures around 100 decibels, and a jackhammer comes in at around 110 decibels**. Educational resources about noise levels and risk include “Dangerous Decibels”***, an interactive website, and the American Tinnitus Association’s “How Loud is Too Loud” page** .
If you have severe or prolonged ringing in your ears, you should visit a physician and an audiologist (or “hearing doctor”) for an evaluation and hearing assessment. Doing so can determine whether you have a medical condition like hearing loss that could be the underlying cause of your tinnitus. Tinnitus may be associated with different hearing-related conditions and an evaluation by an audiologist can provide helpful information about possible causes and tinnitus treatment options.
*American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Tinnitus page: http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/tinnitus/
**American Tinnitus Association “How Loud is Too Loud?” http://www.ata.org/for-patients/how-loud-too-loud#howloudwebsite
***Dangerous Decibels: http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/
May kicked off Better Speech and Hearing month, an annual event that raises awareness of communication-related issues like hearing loss, and treatments that can improve the quality of life for those affected. In celebration of the event, we are excited to share a Lyric Hearing Aid testimonial from our Lyric Ambassador, Jeremy.
Jeremy Williams is a 40 year old husband and father of four active kids. Originally from Oklahoma he now resides in Regina, Saskatchewan CANADA and works as a pastor and professional musician. Lyric hearing aids have been a crucial part of enhancing communication with his family, serving the people in his community and enjoying his passion of music not to mention made it possible to enjoy all the great outdoor activities he enjoys with his family.
As Jeremy says, “After being fit with Lyric I would never go back to my old hearing device. The very first time I was fit with Lyric the first day or so it was slightly uncomfortable but by the third day I forgot it was there and I could hear better than I ever had. Now my fittings are quick, easy and not the slightest bit uncomfortable. Lyric has made all the difference in my everyday communication with others and given me back my confidence.”
If you or someone you know has untreated hearing loss, we encourage you to seek treatment. As Jeremy’s story shows, there really is a hearing aid that can change your life without changing how you live. Find more Lyric hearing aid reviews and testimonials on the Lyric Hearing Facebook page. Or, request a Lyric appointment now and get a 30-day risk-free trial of Lyric hearing aids by calling 1-866-964-8450.
Did you know that the average person with hearing loss waits over 10 years after their initial hearing loss diagnosis to treat it*? In the meantime, hearing loss can significantly affect quality of life. Not only can hearing loss impact relationships with loved ones, it can directly affect
Difficulty hearing at work can be a good signal to check whether someone is experiencing a hearing loss. A great example of a case like this comes from Kim, who initially treated her hearing loss because it was affecting her ability to teach new students. After trying hearing aids, she could finally hear what her students were saying to her, and she additionally discovered other sounds she had been missing for years. Now she wears Lyric hearing aids because they take her hearing to “the next level” by offering the sound quality and hearing benefits 24/7. Watch her Lyric Hearing testimonial in the video below:
If you have or think you may have untreated hearing loss, visit a hearing health professional as soon as possible. Should you have hearing loss, the audiologist or hearing professional can recommend a hearing solution that can make a positive impact on your quality of life. To make an appointment with a Certified Lyric Provider in your area, call us toll-free at 1-877-964-8450.
* Davis, Smith, Ferguson, Stephens, & Gianopoulos, 2007
**Kochkin S, “The Impact of Untreated Hearing Loss on Household Income”, Better Hearing Institute, August 2005.
Last August, we ran a Lyric Hearing Ambassador Contest through the Lyric Hearing Facebook page to identify some of Lyric’s biggest fans. After 21 entries and over 800 votes from our Facebook community, we selected 6 Lyric Hearing Ambassadors—then flew them out to our headquarters in Newark, CA to give them a behind-the-scenes look at Lyric hearing aids.
When our Lyric Ambassadors were visiting, they told us their hearing loss and Lyric hearing aid journeys. Below is a video testimonial from Syd, whose Lyric experience is a true testament to hassle-free hearing benefits of Lyric hearing aids.
Syd was a teacher for 16 years, then founded and was the principal for a private K-8 elementary school. After selling her six-acre campus in 2006, she set off to explore the world and then came home and created a fitness center. You can find her exercising daily and teaching health and wellness immersions, retreats and workshops – all while wearing her Lyric hearing aids! Syd lives in Phoenix, AZ and aside from teaching health and wellness classes, regularly speaks at events for her book, "All-Day Energy: 100 Ways to Boost Your Energy...Now".
Learn more about Syd at www.SydHoffman.com, and join the Lyric Hearing Facebook community to interact with her and the other Lyric Hearing Ambassadors around their Lyric hearing aid experiences!
In NPR’s piece, “Listen Up to Smarter, Smaller Hearing Aids”, they discuss advanced new hearing aid features like “directional listening”. That capability helps with something that audiologists or hearing health professionals refer to as “sound localization” – the ability to tell where sounds are coming from.
Cues that help listeners identify sound location come mostly from the way sound interacts with the pinna (outer ear) and concha (the hollow next to the ear canal). When sound enters the ear canal, the pinna produces acoustic transformations that help listeners determine where sounds are coming from.* This in turn, allows a listener to “organize” different sounds within the same environment and choose which one to focus on—like who to listen to while standing in a crowd of talking people**
As the NPR article points out, new hearing aids have “tiny computers” that can help users with sound directionality and localization. But, the Lyric hearing aid is especially well designed to offer these benefits for hearing that feels very natural.
Lyric’s placement deep in the ear canal enables the outer part of the ear to interact naturally with incoming sounds without reliance on a computer chip. The Lyric hearing device’s special placement leaves the pinna, concha, and lateral part of the ear canal completely clear. So, when incoming sounds reach the Lyric, they have already been transformed naturally by the pinna – instead of being artificially manipulated by a hearing aid receiver before entering the ear. This makes sound quality much more natural.
But, the high-frequency boost from Lyric’s wide bandwidth combined with Lyric’s location so close to the ear drum also helps more listeners take advantage of higher-frequency spatial cues for better sound localization.***
You can join the 91% of Lyric wearers who are very satisfied with Lyric’s sound quality by trying Lyric Hearing today. For a risk-free 30-day trial of Lyric hearing aids, call 1-866-964-8450. Or, watch real user testimonials about Lyric hearing aids’ natural sound quality to learn more about the benefits of Lyric Hearing.
* Blauert, J. (1997). Spatial Hearing: The Psychophysics of Human Sound Localization. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, p. 63; Langendijk, E.H.A. and Bronkhorst, A.W. (2002). Contribution of spectral cues to human sound localization. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 112, 1583-1596.
**Cherry, E. (1953). Some experiments on the recognition of speech, with one and with two ears. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 25, 975-979; Kidd, G. Jr., Arbogast, T.L., Mason, C.R. and Gallun, F.J. (2005). The advantage of knowing where to listen. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 118, 3804-3815.
***Arbogast A and Whichard S (2009). A New Hearing Aid Class: The First 100% Invisible Extended-Wear Hearing Aid. Hearing Review 16(4):20-27.
UK celebrity Jessica-Jane Clement was recently featured in the Daily Mail discussing her experience with sudden hearing loss and how her life has changed since wearing Lyric hearing aids.
The 27 year old actress and model acknowledges that adjusting to her hearing loss was a challenge early on. She struggled with depression, situations with a lot of background noise and work environments, but held off on trying hearing aids because she “didn’t want to have a visible hearing aid” in her line of work. However, after learning about Lyric, the world’s only 100% invisible hearing device, Jessica took the step to address her hearing loss.
Now that she is wearing Lyric hearing aids, Jessica recognizes what a positive difference hearing aids can make. Today, she accepts her hearing loss and is “happy to speak out about it” because she knows firsthand how fulfilling life can be even after hearing loss.
As Jessica points out, hearing loss is common and nothing to be ashamed of. Read about her hearing loss journey online. To find out whether Lyric is right for you, learn about the benefits of Lyric hearing aids, view the Lyric fitting range, or interact with our online community through the Lyric Hearing Facebook Page!
Lyric wearers are raving about Lyric hearing aid sound quality. 86% of Lyric hearing aid wearers agree that Lyric’s sound quality is “very natural” and another 91% of Lyric wearers are “very satisfied” with Lyric’s sound quality.
How can Lyric hearing aids deliver such exceptional sound quality? The answer is simple. Lyric works with the ear’s own anatomy to amplify sound. Lyric hearing devices sit deep in the bony portion of the ear canal. This deep placement means that sound travels into the ear canal naturally, like it would if there were no hearing aid. Then, unlike digital technology which mimics natural sound, Lyric simply takes natural sound that flows through the ear canal to make it more audible.
In a person with normal hearing, the pinna and outer ear capture and drive sound into the ear canal, where it travels down to the eardrum. The eardrum is located at the inner end of the ear canal. On that inner side of the eardrum is an air-filled space called the middle ear cavity. The ear drum’s vibrations are transmitted through the malleus (hammer) incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup), the last of which transmits the vibrations into the inner ear.
The inner ear has two main parts: one for hearing, the other for balance. The hearing division consists of the nerve of hearing and the cochlea, a snail-shaped structure that contains the sensory organ for hearing (the organ of Cort)i. The organ of Corti releases chemical messengers when vibrations that have traveled through the ear canal and past the ear drum activate its tiny hair cells. These then excite the nerves of hearing that carry sound to the brain.
As complex as the process sounds, Lyric hearing aids make natural sound simple by working with the ear’s own anatomy to amplify sound instead of mimic it—while eliminating the need for complicated programming.
View real Lyric wearer testimonials about Lyric hearing aids’ natural sound quality or learn how to try Lyric risk-free by requesting more information about Lyric hearing aids.
Since our last update on the rollout of the smaller Lyric hearing aid we have been actively working to make the smaller Lyric sizes available at even more providers. Now, the smaller Lyric hearing aids are available at 400 Certified Lyric Providers nationwide! See the full list of Lyric Providers that have the smaller Lyric hearing aid.
Lyric, the world’s first 100% invisible, 24/7 wearable, sweat-proof, shower-proof, for-months-at-a-time hearing aid now fits more people more comfortably than ever before. So, if you have been waiting for the smaller Lyric hearing aids to try Lyric Hearing, call 1-866-964-8450 to make an appointment today. Or, search online for a Lyric Provider in your area.
We will continue to provide updates as the device becomes available at more providers. Stay tuned on this and other Lyric Hearing news by “liking” the Lyric Hearing Facebook page!
