The implant requires a surgical procedure and then therapy to learn or relearn the sense of hearing with the device, and not everyone will have the same level of success. While cochlear implants have been considered extremely successful, advancements in technology and continued research is yielding better ways for even greater hearing efficiency and to help with expanded kinds of hearing loss.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders is supporting research to improve the benefits provided by cochlear implants. According to their website, it may be possible to use a shortened electrode array, inserted into a portion of the cochlea, for individuals whose hearing loss is limited to higher frequencies. Other studies are currently exploring ways to make an implant convey sounds of speech more clearly. In addition, research is being conducted to determine potential benefits of pairing a cochlear implant in one ear with another cochlear implant or a hearing aid in the other ear.

Give your hearing the best chance for overall continued wellness by taking the all-natural supplement PROHIERAN.

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Mapping uses the voices of a patient’s family member or friend or even of the clinician to gain real ear measurements. The mapping process places “real speech” with its continuously fluctuating amplitude and spectral characters in the patient’s preferred listening range. The Live Speech Map is displayed to the patient on a digital speech imaging computer through easily-understood graphics so that patients can actually see sounds that they are missing and be presented with a clear visual sense of hearing loss and aided benefits relating to actual speech.

Once patients view what they are missing, they’ll be able to listen through a digital hearing aid and tune their personal hearing aid until it restores the missing speech patterns and tones. So, not only will you hear the difference a hearing aid makes with your speech, you’ll be able to see the sounds being restored visually as well.

Audiologists have reported that Live Speech Mapping provides patients with an overall great sense of confidence in their hearing aid and in their hearing rehabilitation approach. In other words, when patients can actually see their hearing loss and then see how it is resolved, they are more apt to believe in the benefit of an aid, and as a result, use it as intended.

In addition, they also report a reduction in a reduction of follow-up visits required, lower practice costs, and lower costs for the patient because the Audiologist is able to “get it right the first time.”

Many audiologists offer Live Speech Mapping or Digital Speech Imaging processes. Ask whether it is done when considering a hearing wellness exam. Another way to promote overall hearing wellness is by taking the all-natural supplement, PROHIERAN.

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Athletes who are deaf or hard of hearing but didn’t let the disability get in the way of their love of sports are preparing to compete in the Summer Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan, Sept. 5-15. Events that 2009 Team USA athletes will be participating in include athletics (track and field), basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, cycling, martial arts, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. The USA Deaf Sports Federation is the only national athletic association in the United States that coordinates the participation of American deaf and hard of hearing individuals in international sports competitions. The Federation is affiliated with the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD).

All deaf and hard of hearing individuals with a hearing loss of 55dB or greater in the better ear (three frequency pure tone average at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz) are eligible. The use of hearing aids or cochlear implants are prohibited in competitions. U.S. team participants must be American citizens and members of the Federation in good standing. During the Deaflympics, deaf athletes compete against and interact with each other in sign language.

The International Olympic Committee officially recognizes ICSD as the sole organization responsible for the administration of all sporting events involving the deaf and hard of hearing. Conditions of competition in the Deaflympics are similar to those for the Olympic Games.

While the 2009 games have not yet gotten under way, plans are already in the works for the 2013 Summer Deaflympics, which will take place July 31-August 13, 2013, in Athens, Greece. These international events require tremendous effort and volunteer commitment to be successful. You can track details about the 2009 U.S. team’s success at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics from the website: http://www.usdeafsports.org.

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As written, the bill would:

• require that mobile and other Internet-based telecommunications devices and equipment be fully hearing aid compatible, have accessible user interfaces, and offer people with disabilities use of a full range of text messaging and other popular services that are currently largely inaccessible;
• provide people who are deaf-blind with vital but costly technologies they need to communicate electronically;
• establish a process and time table for the provision of real-time text capability;
• clarify existing relay-to-relay, Lifeline and Linkup service requirements to ensure their relevance to the real world communications needs of people with disabilities;
• restore the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) modest video description rules and unambiguously establish the FCC’s current and ongoing authority to expand such regulations;
• require emergency announcements and similar information to be accessible to people with disabilities through audible presentation of on-screen alerts;
• ensure that video programming offered via the Internet will be both captioned and described;
• call for all devices that receive and playback video programming to employ accessible user interfaces and allow ready access to captioning and description;
• strengthen consumers’ ability to enforce their rights to communications and video accessibility through the establishment of a clearinghouse of information about service and equipment accessibility and usability, a meaningful FCC complaint process that holds industry accountable for their accessibility obligations, and judicial review of FCC action to ensure FCC accountability.

What are your thoughts about the bill? Let us know the comments below.

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The most interesting feature of the application is that it continuously keeps a recorded buffer of what it hears, allowing you to quickly replay the last five to thirty seconds of a misheard conversation. So you can actually rewind whatever was just said the replay it. I can think of a lot of arguments that would have been quickly settled if I’d had this little app around.

The price is $9.99 and it currently has 16 ratings at an average rating of 3.5 stars. iTunes link.

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Actor Lou Ferrigno, the “Hulk” actor from the Incredible Hulk television series, has been in the news a lot lately because he was working out with pop star Michael Jackson before his untimely death last week. But long before he was a celebrity or hung out with celebrities, he was a champion for not letting hearing loss affect his life or success in body-building and in acting. Ferrigno suffered a 60-to-75 percent hearing loss at a very young age due to an infection. At age 4, he was fitted with his very first set of hearing aids. He has said that if he hadnít lost his hearing, he wouldn’t be where he is now because it forced him to maximize his potential and to become better than the average person to succeed.

Other celebrities are also coming forward with the need for hearing aids, hearing loss, and also to carry the message of protecting their overall hearing wellness. Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs serves as national spokesperson for the Better Hearing Institute on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of hearing loss, while countless other professional athletes, actors such as Marlee Matlin, entertainers, and executives are also thriving in spite of having a hearing impairment. The fact that you donít read much about their hearing loss serves as a testament of their not letting their disability in any way define who they are.

While persons with hearing impairments may come from assorted walks of life and have different talents and interests as adults, most have championed efforts to protect hearing in both children and adults. Their message includes getting hearing wellness checks regularly, to wear hearing protection as needed to protect health, and to maintain overall body fitness and hearing wellness as much as possible.

ProHieran is an all-natural supplement targeted toward maintaining hearing and overall cellular wellness. See if it is right for you!

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The captions were added due to a Hearing Loss Association of America convention that is planned this week. The association made the request of the 83-year-old country music program, which obliged to help attendees so they could better enjoy the renowned show.

While the captions at the Opry are considered an experiment, the addition of captions on large projection screens are already considered a success as a way to provide all participants with the best time possible.

As technological advancements in the areas of entertainment continue to be made, individuals with hearing loss should speak up and make their requests known. You might just be surprised at how quickly and easily captions and other enhancements can be made!

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