Hearing Informed

Check out this New York Times article on the Lyric.

The author of that article asked her readers about their hearing aids on her blog. There are a lot of insightful comments from hearing impaired people and those involved with the hearing health industry.

I’ve been interested in a new hearing aid concept through Insound Medical, called the Lyric. [I've written about them already] The hearing aid fits all the way inside the ear, 1/16th of an inch from the ear drum. This means the device is invisible but it also means the sound doesn’t have to be amplified as much. Theoretically, the sound should be more natural and less distorted. Its supposed to be quite comfortable with its soft and spongy exterior. The spongy material helps dispel moisture that would otherwise be trapped. You can keep the hearing aid in your ear when your sleeping, showering, or doing just about anything but constant swimming. The device provides pure analog sound as supposed to the now ubiquitous digitally processed sound. Analog sound might prove to have its advantages over digital when it comes to hearing aids. The 500 people or so who currently wear the device swear by it.

Cost? You wear the hearing aid up until the battery runs out - which can end up going about 120 days but that varies based on environmental factors and your hearing loss. They charge an annual subscription fee of $2,900 to $3,600 (less if the hearing loss is in one ear). That would add up to a little more than the $6,000 or so I would pay for BTE hearing aids that last me 3 or 4 years. It would be worth it if they prove themselves to be better than my BTE options. Check out this New York Times article on the Lyric.

I’ll be trying the Lyric out myself in the next couple months and I’ll let you know what I think. It probably won’t be a good long term fit for me because I’m in the water almost every single day surfing (and I won’t stop doing so). But I’m very curious- I might as well try something on a 30 day trial or your money back that many State Laws provide.

Their website for consumers has well made videos but they need to freaking add some captions to them if their consumers are hearing impaired.

Check out this screen shot from google trends for the search “hearing aids” (theres not a lot of specific numerical information here). Do your own search at www.google.com/trends. It would be interesting to see how this trend changes over the next couple years:

A while back I was listening to a BBC broadcast in which the Bush regime gave its spiel on their latest Islamic bogeyman and dark horse, Mahmud Ahmadinejad. I immediately struggled with the name and its pronunciation. Since the American Occupation in Iraq, there have been a swarm of foreign names for places and people that I can’t get a handle on. I know that people with normal hearing would struggle with these- but for me it was an extra challenge. What to do?

Turns out there are some outstanding sources for tracking down phonetic guides and audio clips that give the proper pronunciations of tricky names and words:

Voice of America’s Online Pronuncation Guide http://names.voa.gov :

Although originally intended solely as an internal tool for VOA’s broadcasters, this publicly accessible site has found a broader audience. In addition to news bureaus in the United States and abroad, it has won a following at think tanks, at corporations and in higher learning.

Merriam-Webster Online http://www.m-w.com/

Provides audio clips for famous names but it doesn’t cover lesser-known names and places.

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Ive recently tried a pair of Able Planet NC1000CH Clear Harmony headphones and here is my verdict: excellent noise reduction without excessively tainted sound, rich tones, comfortable, quite expensive.

I agree with CNETs review that there is no real incentive for customers to shell out 300 dollars for these headphones instead of the better known Bose Quiet Comfort Series. Bose has a longer track record that people are familiar with.

However, I will purchase the Able Planets headphones because I am familiar with their other products. I believe in their patented Linx technology. These headphones are incredible and in my opinion- slightly better than the Bose headphones.

Other Advantages to the Clear Harmony over Bose Quiet Comfort? :

1. Even with the noise cancellation switched off (or if the two AAA batteries that power it are removed), the Clear Harmony headphones still can be used to play music (unlike the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 and Quiet Comfort 3, which need to be powered to work).

2. Clear Harmony is built to work with hearing aids- not electromagnetic interference.

Bose has a longer running track record so it’s going to make sense for most people to buy those instead. But if you get a chance to try these- Do check them out and consider them against the Bose. Especially if you are hearing impaired and wear hearing aids.