Products & Gadgets for the Hearing Impaired

Overcoming Hearing Aid Fears The Road to Better Hearing

Approximately 10 percent of Americans (and nearly one-third of people age seventy and older) have some degree of hearing loss that, if left untreated, causes frustration, isolation, and depression. A hearing aid is a simple tool to improve careers, relationships, and self-esteem, and to provide independence and security. Yet of the nearly thirty million people with a hearing impairment, only about 20 percent choose to use one. This is true despite the fact that technological advances have enabled hearing aids to address a greater range of hearing losses, while making them smaller, better designed, and easier to use than those of the past.

Overcoming Hearing Aid Fears can help readers take that first step to a better life. Audiologist John M. Burkey addresses common fears, concerns, and misconceptions about this topic. He provides practical information about hearing aid styles, options, and costs. His experience in caring for more than 50,000 patients will help people with hearing loss address their concerns. The book also helps family and friends understand why a loved one might resist getting a hearing aid, and offers tips on counseling. Audiologists will find this text an important educational tool in advising their own patients.

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Sahara DryEar SAH 007 Portable Rechargeable Ear Dryer

The Sahara DryEar SAH-007C is a portable, rechargeable ear-drying device. The DryEar safely dries all ear canal moisture in about 80 seconds or less with a gentle, soothing flow of warm air. The durable, compact, folding design is perfect for travel, and even conceals the ear piece to help keep it free of dust and debris. This device was designed with water sports in mind, but it is also a great gift for hearing aid wearers or anyone else who is bothered by moisture in their ear canal. Designed and tested by an ear, nose, and throat doctor, the DryEar SAH-007C is renowned as a safe way to keep your ear canals dry — use it anywhere, anytime.

DryEar safely dries all ear canal moisture in about 80 seconds. View larger.

Designed and tested by an ear, nose, and throat doctor, DryEar has a physician’s seal of approval.

The foldable, portable ear drying device includes five color-coded reusable ear pieces.

The Importance of Dry Ear Canals
Keeping the ear canal dry will help prevent outer ear infections like swimmers ear or Otitis Externa by eliminating the moisture where bacteria and fungi like to grow. For hearing aid wearers, a dry ear canal improves the fit and performance of the hearing aid, and even helps eliminate moisture migration that can damage the hearing aid’s delicate circuits. The appeal of this handy little device lies in its simplicity, portability, and effectiveness.

How It Works
DryEar is a highly sophisticated device equipped with a computer chip, heater, and fan that work together to automatically regulate airflow. The airflow runs for approximately one minute at a comfortable temperature, resulting in a dry outer ear canal. Once you have fully dried your ears with a towel and inserted a personal color-coded earpiece, you’re ready to use the DryEar device. Operation is simple: push the power button, place the earpiece gently in your ear, and let the airflow work its magic. After the drying cycle is complete, DryEar shuts off on its own. You can tell it is working as you feel the cooling, evaporative effect. If you feel your ears are dry before the cycle ends, you can turn the device off manually.

The Sahara DryEar emits air that is regulated close to your body temperature. This is important because your ears are the balance center of your body. DryEar uses body-temperature air to ensure a comfortable and effective drying experience. Other methods — such as a hair dryer or similar blowing device — are not custom-made to the sensitive requirements of your ear canals. On average, the DryEar can be used for over 50 cycles before requiring a charge, and a full charge of a completely dead battery will require five hours of recharging time.

DryEar Warnings
If you are experiencing any pain in your ears and you use the Sahara DryEar, be sure to thoroughly clean the earpiece with hot, soapy water and rubbing alcohol before using it in your other ear. This will reduce the chance of infection. Also, keep this device out of the reach of children. In particular, keep out of reach of children under three years of age because the small, colored ear pieces are considered a choking hazard. Consult your doctor before using DryEar, especially if you have ear drainage, pain, irritation or rash in the ear, dizziness, or have ever had head surgery. This product is not designed or intended to treat middle or inner ear infections.

What’s in the Box
Sahara DryEar SAH-007C ear dryer, lithium ion rechargeable battery, lightweight battery charger, five color-coded reusable ear pieces, and instructions.

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Artone Bluetooth Neckloop for Hearing Aids Alternative to Headsets

The Artone Bluetooth LoopSet enables hearing aid users to avoid the interference from the mobile phone by removing the phone to safe distance from the hearing aid.

In a time of a call a signal from the mobile phone is wirelessly sent to the Bluetooth LoopSet, it gets processed, cleared and amplified and then send to the users hearing aid.

The hearing aid processes the signal once again and adjusts it to the users personal level. In output: signal is captured by the Bluetooth LoopSet microphone, it gets processed cleared by cutting the unnecessary background noises it is amplified and then the signal sent to the users handset.

That process enables both parties of the conversation to hear and comprehend each other with out unnecessary struggle and problems.

Benefits of the Artone Bluetooth Neckloop:

Clear handsfree communication with your cell phone

Wireless connection to the phone. No cable to get caught, tangled, or broken!

Handsfree convenience while driving, walking, or working!

You can even use voice tags to make a call with the neckloop multifunction button if your cell phone supports this feature, no need to dial from the phone keypad

Answer and end call without needing to reach for your cell

Works with Bluetooth cell phones

Does NOT require Bluetooth hearing aids, works with all hearing aids with t-coil switch

Talking time: up to 8 hr, Standby time: up to 10 days

CE and FCC approved

Includes:

Rechargeable Bluetooth neckloop

Wall charger

Car charger

USB computer port charger

Instruction manual

The Artone Bluetooth Neckloop supports the following profiles: 2.0 +EDR; handsfree and headset with Bluetooth technology V1.0 & V1.2. Charge in a standard A/C electrical outlet, using your computers USB port, or in the car lighter. All chargers are included. Comes with a black face in place plus extra faceplates in red, blue and silver. Just insert your favorite color and swap them in and out as the mood strikes you!

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Listen Up

Ever wonder what people are talking about across the room? With Listen Up, you can discreetly listen in. It’s so powerful, you can hear even the softest whispers loud and clear. The amazing Listen Up is smaller than a credit card, so it fits easily in your pocket or clips to your belt. To use it, simply insert the earphones and adjust the volume to the desired level. It’s that easy! Now you can turn a TV or radio down to low volume for other people in the room, and turn your Listen Up to high volume for yourself!

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Raising and Educating a Deaf Child A Comprehensive Guide to the Choices Controversies and Decisions Faced by Parents and Educators

The second edition of this guide offers a readable, comprehensive summary of everything a parent or teacher would want to know about raising and educating a deaf child. It covers topics ranging from what it means to be deaf to the many ways that the environments of home and school can influence a deaf child’s chances for success in academic and social circles. The new edition provides expanded coverage of cochlear implants, spoken language, mental health, and educational issues relating to deaf children enrolled in integrated and separate settings. Marschark makes sense of the most current educational and scientific literature, and also talks to deaf children, their parents, and deaf adults about what is important to them.
Raising and Educating a Deaf Child is not a “how to” book or one with all the “right” answers for raising a deaf child; rather, it is a guide through the conflicting suggestions and programs for raising deaf children, as well as the likely implications of taking one direction or the other.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Raising and Educating A Deaf child
This is a most practical, sensitive book that is appealing for educators as well as families of deaf children. The author is renowned for his work in cognition and psychology, but demonstrates a wonderful understanding of deaf children through the eyes of an individual who seems to know their needs first hand. Any parent or teacher reading this book will get a sense of the complexities involved in raising a deaf child, but will also get a sense of hope and support for developing appropriate
guidance and nurturing. The author makes sure to speak to his audience as one among them and offers a wealth of advice regarding educational possibilities to audiological support to socio-emotional growth.

This is an unassuming book that provides light at the end of the tunnel. Honest and sincere.

3 Stars Some interesting tidbits
This book gave me some good perspective on working with my deaf students. It did gives many opinions that I disagree with in the course of my own studies.

5 Stars Great book!
This is the book you are looking for if you are the parent of a Deaf child. Tons of good information that is based on fact and not prejudice. The only negative thing I can say is the book was designed for the educated professional type of parent and includes advanced vocabulary and smallish print. You won’t find illustrations, checklists or simplified information. Very excellent material that should help parents make informed decisions rearing their Deaf child. This is the kind of information that helped me to raise my own Deaf son who is now a happy and successful adult.

1 Star Shoud be titled “Why you should use ASL for your child”
This book claims to be a resource on the choises for educating your deaf child. It is not. The entire book focuses on using ASL as the means of communicating with your child. That would not be bad- if it didn’t present itself as an unbiased book. After it says that ASL should be used, it then makes you feel worse by saying that if you are a hearing parent with a deaf child, you probably won’t become that fluent in it anyway. There aren’t references either- so I am not sure where the author gets his information. It may be true, but there should footnotes on many of the claims. If you do choose to read this book, don’t make it the first book you read after you find out your child is deaf. That is what I did and all it did was depress me. In truth, I haven’t finished it and probably will leave it on the shelf to pick up after I finish a few others.

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