5 Steps Better Hearing Bklt

7/28/2019 5 Steps Better Hearing Bklt

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T H e 5 S T e p S T o

wiTH Hear ing a idS

Yu u t cs ust, c hss thuh th us f h s


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Patient's Name Your hearin aids make and mode name

Fittin Appointment Date Your riht hearin aids seria number is

Hearin Professiona's Name Your eft hearin aids seria number is

Offie Your hearin aid battery size is

This pre-deivery hek was performed by

Thank you for pain your onfidene in our

staff and faiity to are for your hearin. We are

providin you with this workin handbook so

that you an improve your ommuniation skis.

The foowin paes ontain the information and

exerises you wi need to beome aimated

to your new hearin aids. Our oa is to hepyou make this transition as quiky and as

peasanty as possibe. If you have questions,

or if there is anythin you need whie you o

throuh the proess of reearnin to hear, pease

ask us were here to hep.

Patientinformation

W

P


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5StePS

5Practice,

time and

Patience

3PerSonal

education,

learn all i

can about my

Hearing loSS

2make a

PerSonal

commitment

to Seek HelP

WitH a good

attitude

1deciding

to Seek

aSSiStance

for my

Hearing loSS

difficultieS

Set realiStic

exPectationS

4

You have made an important deision tobein the proess of usin hearin aids.

This workbook is the resut of a year-on study

to earn what auses the differene between a

person who uses their hearin aids a of their

wakin hours, versus a person who rarey or

asuay uses their hearin aids. From this study

we have isoated five prinipes whih are the

fators of suess. Eah fator is disussed in a

hapter of this workbook. Keep a pen or peni

handy and make notes as you use this book.

Review this text often to hep you understand

the 5 Steps and row to beome profiient at

usin your new hearin aids.

to better Hearing

WitH Hearing aidS

3


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SteP1

a h i hv p h ss.

Honest ritiism is hard to take, partiuary from a reative, a friend, an

aquaintane, or a stranger.

Frankin P. Jones


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More peope spend more

time and energy going

around their probems than

trying to sove them.

Henry Ford

AIM:

With a itte work andpatiene, hearing aids wi

hep to enhane your quaity

of ife.

APPlIcATION:

Think of the situations you

an reaim fu enjoyment in

with better hearing.

It's time I obtain the assistance I need with my hearing loss.

1 By now you have had your hearin professionay tested and have been todthe fat that you oud benefit from the use of hearin aids. You now have two

hoies:

(1) Denia or (2) Aeptane. It is norma for most peope to o throuh a period

of denia. However, most peope wait five-to-seven years before addressin their

hearin oss. Suh a typia thouht proess may be:

I hear fine, its just that peope mumbe; they dont speak eary anymore.

Its the noisy paes where I have troube hearin...I just avoid thosepaes and I be OK.

My hearin wi hea in time.

2 Tryin to hide or ompensate for your hearin oss an be more obvious thanany pair of hearin aids. Your assoiates, ients, friends and oved ones aready

know that you have it. You an push the fat out of your mind, but you are ony

fooin yoursef. You an deide to try and onea your probem, but the symptoms

have aready iven your seret away.

Answerin the wron questions.

confusin simiar words, ike bathroom and vauum, dime and time,

peah and teah. Turnin up the TV too oud for norma isteners.

3The first step to overomin your ommuniation probem is admittin toyoursef and your nearest oved one(s)...

That you have an irreversibe hearin oss.

That your hearin probem is affetin the quaity of your ife.

That mediation wi not open up your ears.


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SteP2

m ps h hv

h wh .

Positive anything is better than negative nothing.

Ebert Hubbard


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The abiity to hear again

an be reearned, not

purhased.

Thomas Jones

AIM:

The wearers persona

determination and wiing

attitude are neessary

for getting used to

hearing aids.

APPlIcATION:

Some peope seek hepfor their hearing oss just

beause of the insistene

of a famiy member, without

ever making a persona

ommitment to want

hep. Are you personay

interested in improving

your hearing?

Do you have a wiing

attitude to see your hearingprofessiona frequenty

enough to make the

transition into daiy

hearing aid use?

Here I am, ready to learn

how to hear better.

1It is not ony the purhase of a produt whih wi ive you better hearin.Ony about 20 perent of your suess to ahieve better hearin wi depend on

the performane of the hearin aid produts you purhased.

2The fundamenta requirement to overome your hearin probem is yourdeep, drivin desire to earn and a viorous determination to inrease yourabiity to hear. The six harateristis whih are present in a persons who

ompete the transition to hearin aids are:

Positive attitude.

Wiinness to earn.

Reentess ommitment.

Time spent pratiin the use of hearin aids.

Patiene whie your brain aimates to ambient sounds and noises.

3Hearin aids wi not brin you instant ratifiation. They are not ikeeyeasses whih by simpy puttin them on wi resut in ear vision. Hearin

aids are more ike skates; buyin a ood pair of them is ony the startin pae.A ood oah who knows how to teah skatin is the seond step. Time spent

in pratie, with a patient and wiin attitude by the student, is the third and

most important step.

4To ahieve better hearin, you must work at it daiy. The abiity to hearaain has to be reearnednot just purhased. The most suessfu hearin aid

users wi ady te you that their effort to earn, with their time spent pratiin

was the prie they paid for better hearin.

5The deision to have a ood attitude about oin throuh the proess toimprove your hearin must be yours, not that of your spouse, son or dauhter.

As a hearin professiona, we annot make this ommitment for you; it is your

hoie aone. Abe linon one remarked that most foks are about as happy

as they make up their minds to be. And as you embark on the proess of

better hearin, a heerfu attitude wi not ony affet your suess, but wi be

an enouraement to everyone you know.


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A whole lot has beenwritten about my type

of hearing loss

8

SteP 3Ps e: l i

h ss

learning is an ative proess. We earn by doing. So, if you desire to master the prinipes

you are studying...do something about them. Appy them at every opportunity.

Dae carnegie


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Personay Im aways ready

to earn, athough I do not

aways ike to be taught.

Winston churhi

Anyone who stops

earning is od, whetherat twenty or eighty.

Henry Ford

AIM:

The more the patient knows

about his/her partiuar

type of hearing disorder, the

better he/she wi be abe to

partiipate in the adjustmentto hearing aid use in various

istening environments.

APPlIcATION:

How muh time this week

wi you devote to earning

about your hearing oss by

review of this workbook and

other materias whih are

readiy avaiabe?

Are you abe to expain,

simpy but auratey, the

type of hearing oss you

have and the degree of oss

in your eft and right ears,

as assified by your hearing

professiona?

1The most effetive remedy for hearin oss is persona eduation. Youneed to earn a you an about your partiuar oss. To bein, you wi need

to know:

What is the type of hearin oss I have?

What is the deree of oss in my eft and riht ears?

How has my brain been affeted? How do hearin aids bride the ap?

What an I do to improve my hearin?

2 What type of hearin oss do I have? (Your hearing professional will providethis information as indicated by your hearing test.)

_____________________________ has a hearin oss of the foowin type(s).

condutive hearin oss: Sound isnt onduted propery from theouter or midde ear to the inner ear.

Sensorineura hearin oss: The inner ear is unabe to propery

transmit sound to the brain. The hair es inside the inner ear

(espeiay those for hih-frequeny hearin) have withered due to

ae, noise or mediations, and no oner pik up sounds propery.

Mixed oss: This is a ombination of a ondutive oss and a

sensorineura oss.

3The foowin are reommended web resoures for eduationainformation on hearin oss:

www.betterhearin.or (Better Hearin Institute)

www.heathyhearin.om (Heathy Hearin)

www.audiooy.or (Amerian Aademy of Audiooy)

Getting involved is my responsibility

and will help me improve.


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4 When you first bein usin hearin aids, your brain wi be started toreeive sinas it has been missin. Unti it beomes aimated to these

sounds, you wi think to yoursef...

Everyone's voies sound odd to me.

My own voie bothers me. It sounds ike I am speakin into a barre.

The hearin aids are noisy. Uness I o into a quiet

room, they pik up a sorts of distratin noises.

Wi this ondition improve with time?

5 Beause you havent heard norma sounds and noises for a ontime, wearin hearin aids wi be ike movin into a new house. At first, thesounds ampified by your hearin aids wi sound tinny, metai, artifiia

and unnatura. But, this is beause you are hearin the hih-frequeny

speeh sounds (ike /s/, /f/, /k/, et.) you have been missin, or have heard

differenty for years. This unnatura sound quaity wi atuay improve your

speeh omprehension--but ony if you stik with your new hearin aids

unti your brain has a hane to adjust. With pratie and time, your brain

wi adjust. Hearin and understandin invove more than the hearin oran.

Your hearin is a ompex funtion whih requires the ooperation of the

brain and your other senses.

your Pure tone

audiogram

To the riht is a raph of

your hearin showin the

deree of oss in your eft

and riht ears. Your hearin

abiity has thus been

assified in reationship

to norma hearin.

o symbo = riht ear

xsymbo = eft ear

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

500

Vowel Sounds Consonant Sounds

750 1000

Loudnessmeasuredind

ecibels

1500 2000 3000 4000

WITHOUT hearin aids, at norma speeh eve,

I was presented a ist of words and I missed ......................

Before I an detet speeh WITHOUT hearin aids,

speeh must be this oud .....................................................

My most omfortabe eve for hearin speeh is ...............

I find speeh to be unomfortaby oud at ..........................

lEFT RIgHT

dB dB

dB dB

dB dB

%


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6 Understandin ours in your brain, not in your ears. Re-aimatin your brain to true soundis a itte ike primin a pump; youve ot to stay with it on enouh for the water to fow. One it is

fowin and it wi fow the hardest part is over.

From eary hidhood the sounds of words and noises are onveyed to the brain to ather

visua imaes of thins. This information is stored in memory ompartments whih are your

sound voabuary. When you ose part of your hearin, the orrespondin part of your brain

whih now has no input from your ear vounteers that brain-part for another assinment.

After a time of not hearin, the brain wi need a period of time to beome famiiarized withthe hih-frequeny sounds of speeh and environmenta sounds. This is the hardest time for

a person who beins usin hearin aids. When you bein usin hearin aids, your brain wi

make itte use of the new sound information for five to six weeks, then raduay it wi start

to use it.

The abiity to make instant assoiation depends on repeatedy hearin a word. If you do not

hear a word for a on period of time, diffiuty onnetin the sound to its meanin ours.

7 Auditory confusion is aused by the food of authenti sounds, noises and voies whihsuddeny break into your onsiousness after not bein heard for years. These are sounds whih

wi aain beome a part of your subonsious one your brain hears them on a daiy basis throuh

hearin aids. For exampe:

The true pith of your teephone rin.

The sound of your othes rustin as you wak.

The woosh of your air onditionin vent or hum of your refrierator motor.

When the mirosopi stereoiia (hair es) in your ohea are damaed, they wi not send

ompete sinas to your brain, ausin you to be unabe to understand the onsonants within

words. For exampe, the word TOOTHBRUSH may sound ike OO--BRU.

damaged Hair cellS (h)

are imp, bown-out and wi no oner stand eret.

They are therefore unabe to detet sound waves or

send sound impuses to the brain.

HealtHy Hair cellS ()

stand eret, and are abe to auratey detet sound

waves and send sound impuses to the brain.

tootHbrusHThe

Externa

Ear

The

EardrumMidde Ear

Bones

The Ear cana

The

cohea

The

Auditory

Nerve

tootHbruSH

tootHbrusH?


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I set my sights onbetter hearing andunderstanding...

because to hopefor perfect hearingis to set myself upfor disappointment

SteP4

S rs eps.

If you sti an't hear your friend speak from aross the tabe at the restaurant on famiy night,

be enouraged a norma hearing person wi have troube under these irumstanes too.

Thomas Jones


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1 If your hearin was ost suddeny, or, has been ost over time, youwi not hear aain ike you one did with norma hearin. Fous on your

improvement, not on those neative times when your hearin aids dont et

you hear what you want to hear. Your hearin aids job is to hep you hear

better, not perfety.

2 If you purhase a ustom hearininstrument, desined to fit your ear, you

wi ikey need to have some adjustments

to make it a better fit.

3 The tinny or mehania soundsyou hear are norma. These are the soft,

hih-frequeny sounds you have been

missin. Your hearin aids are ivin these sounds bak to you. This may be

bothersome at first, but better understandin omes from ettin you hear

them. Be patient whie your brain ets reaquainted with these sounds.

4 At first your voie may sound strane to you. Some wearers saythat in the beinnin they sound ike they are in a barre. In time, it wi

sound natura.

5 Bakround noise is norma. Norma-hearin peope hear it too.Dont ive up on hearin aids beause noise bothers you. Better hearin

wi require you to put up with a few inonvenienes.

6 Buyin hearin aids wont ive instant ratifiation. There is a earninurve whih usuay takes from six weeks to six months. Suess omes

from pratie and a ommitment to wear them a your wakin hours. Stik

with it. You wi sueed.

7 Shoud your hearin aids ever stop workin, do not be aarmed. This isnorma. The inner ear ana is 100 perent humidity and remains a onstant

98 derees. Earwax is a ombination of sat and orrosive body aid.

These onditions are harmfu to eetronis. But it is in this environment

that hearin aids, must perform. You wi need to brin them in for routine

professiona are.

"If you set your mind on

goas, your mind wi figure

out a way to get them."

Jak Foster

AIM:

To understand that a hearing

aid is an instrument that

an provide a measurabe

improvement in the wearers

istening and understanding,

but that tehnoogy is not

a ompete substitute fornorma hearing.

APPlIcATION:

Wi you work with your

hearing professiona toward

a goa of better hearing, and

not expet miraes?

Are you wiing to earn ways

to enhane your istening

situations for best speehunderstanding?

As you go through

this proess, wi you

ommuniate any

frustrations you fee to your

hearing professiona?


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Some things are not

instant, and requiretime and patience...

SteP 5P, t a P: y ks Sss.

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1 There is a ommon disipine foowed by a men and women whosuessfuy make the transition to hearin aids. It is aed pratie. It is

an investment that wi ost you time and patiene. It is an investment that

usuay beins to pay dividends within 45 days. One you have oed the

suffiient number of hours for your brain to re-aimate to ambient sounds,

you wi be abe to o on with your ife without thinkin so muh about

your hearin.

2 Whie we enourae new users to start at a sow pae at home, yourutimate oa shoud be to use your hearin aids a day, every day. This

inudes times when it is quiet, times when it is noisy and times when

you may think you dont need to be wearin them. Uness your hearin

aids beome part of your habit throuh daiy use, your brain wi not be

stimuated on enouh to earn to interpret the true sounds of your word.

3 After you have ompeted your initia week to two weeks of raduahearin aid use, you shoud put your hearin aids on first thin when youwake up and take them out at bedtime. It is a mistake to ony wear them

when you o out to soia funtions beause your brain wi be fooded and

started by unfamiiar ambient sounds.

4 Be patient and dont ive up. Retreat temporariy if you beome tired,but dont quit. Keep workin it wi beome easy. ca us whenever you

need hep or enouraement.

5 Pease stay in ontat with us on any onern you have aboutexessive oudness or ak of pereived benefit. On averae, new hearinaid users shoud ome bak three or four times durin the first 30 days for

us to make adjustments, hek your proress, and hep you overome hard

istenin situations.

...the rewards for sticking with

the plan are truly worth the effort!

AIM:

It wi take up to four to six

weeks for hearing aids to

sound norma to you. This

wi require patiene whie

wearing them.

APPlIcATION:

How muh time per day do

you give to wearing your

hearing aids?

Have you determined to

foow the suggestions of

your hearing professiona,

starting at a sow pae and

buiding up to a-day use?

Have you deided that if you

beome frustrated you wi

a your hearing professiona

for hep?


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1choose a quiet environment to bein usin yourhearin aids. Do not wear your new hearin aids in rowded ornoisy environments unti you have adjusted to them in your

own home.

2listen arefuy to the many forotten sounds in yourhome. Wak from room to room. Identify the noises made byyour refrierator, air onditioner, omputer and oks. Pratieettin used to the sounds of stakin dishes and rakin andpoppin of the newspaper as you turn the paes. These soundsare a natura part of your environment. You wi et used tohearin them aain.

3Pratie havin a onversation with your spouse oroved one. Make sure your teevision and radio are turned off.Fain eah other, sit no more than seven feet apart. Pratieookin at the speakers mouth. Remember 20 perent ofommuniation is visua.

4listen to the sound of your voie. Pratie readin outoud. You wi sowy adjust to the oudness of your speeh whiewearin your hearin aids. It is norma at first for your voie tosound different. Dont worry, soon it wi sound famiiar aain.

5Pratie istenin to the different speeh patterns ofdifferent peope. The oa is to find a omfortabe voume evefor istenin, not to try and understand everythin that is beinsaid. Hearin and understandin improves with time. This isike a tourist visitin a different area of the ountry where theanuae is the same, but the aent or diaet is different. AWesterner wi speak somewhat differenty from a Southerneror New Enander. However, after istenin to the diaet overa period of time, the istener wi beome famiiar with the oaspeeh patterns.

6If hearin environmenta sounds auses you disomfort,or if you beome fatiued or unomfortabe, take a break. Putyour hearin aids bak on a oupe of hours ater. Simiar toettin used to ontat enses, a radua period of adjustmentis norma for everyone who first uses hearin aids.

7Pratie ettin used to your new hearin aids a itteevery day. Be patient. Do not wear your hearin aids a dayon durin this period. Your proress wi depend on yourommitment to hear better.

aSSignmentS


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firSt aSSignmentE A S Y l I S T E N I N g S I T U A T I O N S

W h s hs .

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Second aSSignmentD I F F I c U l T l I S T E N I N g S I T U A T I O N S

W h s hs .

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1 Bein wearin your hearin aids in sma roups and outof your home into more diffiut hearin environments. Beforeattemptin this eve, you shoud be wearin your hearin aidat east four hours a day in your home and have reahed aeve of onfidene istenin to individua speakers.

2Pratie inreasin the spae between you and thespeaker. Do not adjust the voume of your hearin aids.

As distane inreases it beomes more diffiut to hear.With pratie, you wi earn tehniques for hearin andunderstandin at your benefit eve.

3 Partiipate in onversations with two other peopeat a time in quiet surroundins. Dont worry if you antunderstand both of them, try fousin on one at a time.Remember, even a norma-hearin person has troubeunderstandin when severa peope are takin at thesame time.

4 As you embark on more diffiut istenin environments,it is OK to oasionay say, I didnt ath what you said.Pratie ookin at the speakers fae. Your brain wi bein toreearn the sounds you have been missin. Sounds wi seemodd at first. With pratie, they wi beome famiiar.

5 graduay inrease the time you spend wearin yourhearin aids by wearin them in your ar, at the roery storeand when you run errands. Trae the new sounds you hearto their soure. By earnin to wear your hearin aids in your

daiy routine, your brain wi soon tune out the norma noiseyou initiay wi find irritatin. As you et used to wearin youhearin aids, you soon be abe to wear them a day and wino oner fee the need to adjust their voumes.

6 Bein istenin to the news on teevision. Ask your spousor a friend with norma hearin to set your teevisions voumeFous your attention on the person speakin. Ask others inthe room not to tak durin the proram. Fous on the totastory, not on speifi words.

7 listenin to the teevision is more diffiut than isteninto a speaker in the same room. Pratiin wathin teevisionwi make other diffiut istenin situations easier.

8Wear your hearin aids for extended periods of time.Dont overdo it. If you beome fatiued, take them out fora whie, but aways put them bak in. Do not ive up. likeearnin a sport or payin a musia instrument to beomeprofiient wi require daiy pratie.


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1 Bein wearin your hearin aids in pubipaes. Wear them to work, hurh, parties, meetins,sportin events and restaurants. These are diffiutenvironments, so you wi need to be patient and beinearnin some skis to improve your istenin situation.

2 Bein inreasin the distane between youand the speaker. In istenin environments withbakround noise, pratie fousin on one speakersvoie and wathin their faia expressions and ipmovements. You wi hear other noises, but onentrateon the speaker. Over time, your brain wi subonsiousyateorize sounds and wi tune out bakround noiseand fous on the speaker.

3 If neessary, turn your head sihty towardthe speaker. Dont fee sef onsious. Whie notieabeto you, these movements wi o unnotied by those

around you.

4 Better hearin wi depend on (a) yourommitment to make your hearin aids work in youreveryday routine, (b) time spent wearin your hearinaids to beome omfortabe usin them in differentenvironments, () your patiene whie your brain adjuststo unfamiiar sounds.

5 ca us with any questions you have durin thisproess. We understand the diffiuties you fae deainwith your hearin probem. We are here to hep.

RemembeR, thejobofyouRheaRing

aidistochangeyouRbRain's

listeninglevelandthatjust

takes PRactice, timeand Patience.


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tHird aSSignmentVERY DIFFIcUlT lISTENINg SITUATIONSW h s hs .

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noteS


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Documents

5 Steps Better Hearing Bklt