Tinnitus Seminar November 15th 2011 in Lehi, UT

Timpanogos Hearing and Balance will hold an informational seminar on tinnitus Tuesday, Nov. 15, 6:30-8 p.m., at the Best Western Timpanogos Inn in Lehi.

Layne Garrett, Au.D., director of audiology at Timpanogos Hearing & Balance, will speak at the seminar. He will discuss living with tinnitus and developments in treatments for tinnitus, the widespread condition defined as the perception of sound when no external sound is present. Tinnitus affects more than 50 million people in the United States. The condition, usually brought on by exposure to loud noise, is especially significant in the military, with more than 34 percent of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from tinnitus.

The seminar will include discussion of the Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment (NTT), a particularly effective treatment protocol delivered through its easy-to-use Oasis device. The device is the only FDA-cleared, patented and clinically proven medical device with documented long-term relief of severe or chronic tinnitus. Timpanogos Hearing & Balance is one of only four providers in Utah to offer the NTT, which CNN recently featured in its profile on tinnitus.

 The Oasis device looks like a small consumer music player and works by desensitizing the patient’s tinnitus perception. The patient wears the device for a prescribed number of hours on a daily basis, listening to soothing music that audiologists customize to each person’s unique hearing profile. A recent independent study shows that more than 90 percent of patients who use the NTT experience a significant reduction in tinnitus.

 “The Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment has proven to be one of the most effective ways to treat tinnitus on a long-term basis,” says Garrett. “The Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment reduces hypersensitivity and annoying environmental sounds – all by allowing the user to enjoy music, without constant distraction of their tinnitus. In effect, the treatment enables the brain to create alternative pathways so tinnitus is no longer perceived.”

RSVP, More information

The seminar, free of charge, will be open to the public as well as medical providers and clinicians who find tinnitus a debilitating condition among their patients. Seating is limited; RSVP is required to Timpanogos Hearing and Balance at 801-770-4744 or info@utahhearingaids.com by Nov. 11. Light refreshments will be served at the event.

The Best Western Timpanogos Inn is located at 195 S 850 E in Lehi. For more information, contact the office or visit Timpanogos Hearing & Balance’s website at www.utahtinnitus.com 

Timpanogos Hearing & Balance (www.utahhearingaids.com)

With locations in American Fork and Spanish Fork, Timpanogos Hearing & Balance is an audiology practice that helps adults and children with hearing and balance challenges. The professional staff includes three audiologists and two audiology technicians in addition to professional office staff. The practice offers a complete assessment of tinnitus and treatments for tinnitus, ranging from hearing aids to the Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment.

New Study Shows That Musicians Hear Better

Parents are often told that having their children learn to play a musical instrument helps them to be better students.  However, recent studies indicate that learning to play a musical instrument helps you to hear better when you get older.

The study, published in Psychology and Aging, carried out hearing tests on 74 adult musicians and 89 non-musicians.  It found a 70-year-old musician's hearing was as good as that of a 50-year-old who did not play.

Hearing normally declines as people age. By 60, 10-30% of people have moderate hearing loss. By 80, that goes up to as many as 60%.  Problems are particularly seen in the central auditory processing system, which is associated with understanding speech, especially when there is background noise - often described as the "cocktail party problem".

Previous studies have shown musicians have better hearing than non-players.  But this research, by a team at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, looked at adults of all ages - from 18 to 91 - to see how people were affected as they aged.

They carried out hearing tests on 74 amateur and professional musicians (who had played since the age of 16, were still practising and had been given formal music lessons) and 89 non-musicians (who had never played an instrument).


Musicians were significantly better at picking out speech against noise.

The researchers suggest that lifelong musicianship mitigates age-related changes in the brain, probably due to musicians using their auditory systems at a high level on a regular basis.

Benjamin Zendel, who was part of the research team, said: "We found that being a musician may contribute to better hearing in old age by delaying some of the age-related changes in central auditory processing.

"This advantage widened considerably for musicians as they got older when compared to similar-aged non-musicians."

All people, whether musicians or not should protect their hearing and have annual hearing exams after age 60 to monitor their hearing.  You can call for a free hearing consultation at one of our two Utah County offices at 801-770-0801 or see http://www.utahhearingaids.com/ for more information about hearing and hearing protection.

“Use It or Lose It” – Why Your Brain Needs Hearing Aids

Many studies have shown that hearing better helps family relationships, helps people to increase their earning potential, and improves health and safety.  Recent studies, however, have shown that untreated hearing loss causes cognitive degeneration and early intervention considerably slows that decline. 

On average, people tend to wait five to seven years between first experiencing hearing loss symptoms and actually getting help for it. But research shows there are good reasons to seek hearing loss treatment sooner rather than later.

Early intervention prevents your brain from forgetting what to do

Over time, reduced stimulation to the ears and brain can actually impair the brain’s ability to process sound and recognize speech. Once speech recognition deteriorates, it is only partially recoverable with hearing aids in place.

Early intervention slows cognitive decline and communication problems

When you can’t hear what’s going on around you, it contributes to reduced mental sharpness and communication abilities.

Early intervention improves the use of hearing aids themselves

The earlier people begin to use hearing aids, the more comfortable they are with them, and the easier it is to learn to use them to greatest advantage. (If your world has been mostly silent, it can take longer to adapt to once again hearing all the little environmental sounds like fans, airplanes and footsteps.)

If you or someone you love is experiencing untreated hearing loss, realize that waiting longer is going to actually worsen your problem.  Taking action sooner rather than later will not only let you live a fuller life for a longer period of time, but will slow down the progression of the condition.

Timpanogos Hearing & Balance offers free hearing consultations with a Board Certified Audiologist.  They will examine your ears, test your hearing, and explain the results and their recommendations clearly.  If hearing devices are recommended, we will let you try them for free for a week to make sure that you can really see a difference.

Call and schedule your free consulation today at 801-770-0801 or go to http://www.utahhearingaids.com/news.php for free online offers!

One Patient's Lyric Hearing Success

If you have ever wondered about the completely invisible, hassle-free Lyric hearing aids, take a look at the success of one patient who has used hearing aids for years.  Thanks for the good words, Mr. Matson! 



You can find more information on our site at: http://www.utahhearingaids.com/lyric.php or call for a free demonstration and two week trial at 801-770-0801!

"Blindness Separates Us From Things, But Deafness Separates Us From People"

Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880. Contrary to popular belief, she was not born blind and deaf, but was left with those disabilities after a serious illness at the age of 19 months. In spite of her obvious physical limitations, Helen worked very hard to become and educated, contributing member of society and a hero to anyone who has a disability.

She had the following to say about her perceptions on being blind and deaf:

"I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus-- the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man. "

"Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people."

"Children who hear acquire language without any particular effort; the words that fall from others’ lips they catch on the wing, as it were, delightedly, while the little deaf child must trap them by a slow and often painful process. But whatever the process, the result is wonderful. Gradually from naming an object we advance step by step until we have traversed the vast distance between our first stammered syllable and the sweep of thought in a line of Shakespeare."

Those who live with hearing loss in any degree are missing part of that "most vital stimulus" talked about by Helen Keller. The good news is that of the 34 million people who have hearing loss in the United States, 95% of them can be helped.

If you or someone you love experiences the lonely effects of hearing loss, contact a hearing professional such as Timpanogos Hearing & Balance (801-770-0801) to begin the journey back to hearing today!