Meet Dr. Steven Forsey!

We would like to introduce to you the newest member of our team, Dr. Steven Forsey!  Dr. Forsey will be mainly working in our NEW SPANISH FORK office, which will open in July 2011.  (More information coming soon!)

Dr. Steven Forsey was born and raised in Spanish Fork. He has strong roots in southern Utah County as his family owned and operated “Forsey’s Variety Store” in Spanish Fork, Payson, Nephi and Heber City. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders from Brigham Young University and his Doctorate of Audiology degree from Idaho State University.  Dr. Forsey specializes in hearing aid sales and service, balance and dizziness assessments of adults, diagnostic hearing and pediatric hearing assessments. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and is certified by the American Speech Language-Hearing Association.

 In his spare time he enjoys snowboarding, hiking, spending time with his family, and changing the air filter is his favorite way to pretend he is good with cars. He is married to Mandy Johnson also from Spanish Fork and has three children. 

Dr. Forsey will be wroking in the American Fork office until July--- stop by and say hello!

Check Out These Hearing Videos!

In an effort to promote more educated choices among our patients, we have been working on our website.   We now offer professionally produced video clips on our site on the following topics:

• Hearing Loss Overview 
•  Signs of Hearing Loss
• Hearing Technology Overview
• Choosing the Right Hearing Technology
• Tinnitus Overview
• Why Two Hearing Devices Are Better Than One

We hope that you enjoy these informative videos!

Calorie restriction may delay age-related hearing loss

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US have succeeded in delaying age-related hearing loss in mice by restricting their intake of calories.

Experiments with mice have shown that a 25% reduction in calories activated a single enzyme, Sirt3, which helped preserve hearing. The experiments are described by researches in the journal Cell.

"If we can find compounds that activate Sirt3 we may be able to obtain some of the benefits of caloric restriction without having to restrict our calories," said Tomas A. Prolla, a professor of genetics at University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US and senior author of the new paper.

Prolla and his colleagues carried out experiments with normal mice and mice deprived of the Sirt3 enzyme. In one experiment both groups were fed the 25%-reduced calorie diet for 10 months. The diet had the same weight loss effect on both groups.

Although the diet delayed hearing loss at various frequencies in the normal mice, it did not work at all in the mice lacking Sirt3.

Energy factories and free radicals

The experiments also suggested how the benefits of caloric restriction play out at the molecular level.

"What seems to happen that drives caloric restriction is that the organism senses it is under stress," Prolla explained. "There are then metabolic changes that favour self-preservation."

Under normal conditions, he said, levels of Sirt3 are low. Caloric restriction appears to boost levels of Sirt3 and the boost helps the cells' energy factories, called mitochondria.

The mitochondria produce not only the energy, but also atoms called free radicals, which damage cells and advance the effects of aging. When Sirt3 levels rise, however, they reduce production of the harmful free radicals. One result is less damage to cells, including the cells of the inner ear.

"We need to find out which are the main mediators of caloric restriction," Prolla said, explaining that the current study indicates Sirt3 is one of them. "Once we've identified them we can come up with interventions that mimic caloric restriction."

Click here for the full article from the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

A Couple of Random Items

We finally got a new sign for the front-- the old one faced West and was starting to melt.  Take a look when you are driving by on 300 North!

Secondly, as adults over 55 are the fastest growing group of technology users, we thought we'd pass along the following guide to texting abbreviations-- specifically for seniors.  Enjoy!

MIDDLE AGE TEXTING CODES:

• ATD -at the doctor.
• BFF -best friend fell.
• BTW -bring the wheelchair.
•  BYOT -bring your own teeth.
•  FWIW -forgot where I was.
•  GGPBL -gotta go, pacemaker battery low.
• GHA -got heartburn again.
•  IMHO -is my hearing aid on?
• LMDO -laughing my dentures out.
•  OMMR -on my massage recliner.
• ROFLACGU -rolling on floor laughing and can't get up.
• TTYL -talk to you louder

ConnectLine Microphone Helps In Difficult Communication Situations

At Timpanogos Hearing and Balance, we are constantly striving to provide the newest and best tools for our patients to communicate better with their loved ones.  Recently, Oticon has developed a new tool that has been very successful for some of our patients.

The Oticon ConnectLine system empowers users to take full advantage of their Oticon hearing instruments’ wireless connectivity by streaming audio from a variety of modern communication and entertainment devices. With ConnectLine Microphone, patients can capture audio from a much more personal source in even the most difficult listening situations. New ConnectLine Microphone is a discreet clip-on microphone designed to pick up a companion’s voice, filter out surrounding sound and transmit conversation wirelessly through the Streamer to the user’s hearing instruments. For users, the wireless transmission from the microphone to the hearing instruments means enhanced ability to engage in one-on-one conversations in environments that may have been difficult if not impossible before.

“There are listening environments that make it almost impossible for people with hearing loss to carry on one-on-one conversations,” says Oticon President Peer Lauritsen. “When driving in a car, face-to-face communication is not an option. Everyone is facing the same direction, eliminating the possibility of lip and facial expression reading. This scenario is exacerbated by sound bouncing off the windows and background road noise. Other noisy environments such as social gatherings or restaurants also reduce the likelihood that quiet conversation between two people can be understood and enjoyed. The ConnectLine Microphone can help to bridge those communication gaps, empowering people with hearing loss to stream their conversation partner’s voice wirelessly to their hearing instruments.”

The discreet ConnectLine Microphone is worn by the user’s companion and connects wirelessly to the Streamer, allowing the user to hear the other person’s voice directly through his/her hearing instruments. With ConnectLine Microphone and other Connectline solutions including the ConnectLine TV Adapter and Phone Adapter, hearing device users have the potential to participate more actively and interact more naturally in some of life’s most important situations.

Call our office at 801-770-0801 if you  are interested in trying out some of this fabulous new communication technology!

May is Better Hearing Month!

 Since 1927, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month each May. This month of awareness is a good time to analyze your own hearing and determine if you are one of the estimated 28 million Americans who have a hearing loss that can be treated. You may have a hearing loss if you:

• frequently ask people to repeat themselves

• often turn your ear toward a sound to hear it better

• understand people better when you wear your glasses or look directly at their faces

• lose your place in group conversations

• keep the volume on your radio or TV at a level that others say is too loud

• have pain or ringing in your ears

"People who see themselves in these statements should see an audiologist for a hearing test," said audiologist (your name).

"Even a very slight hearing loss can have an impact on your daily life," said Dr. Garrett.  "Hearing loss is treatable, and there is no reason for anyone to miss all the important sounds of life."

Annual hearing checkups is a good idea for people age 45 and up, according to audiologists, the professionals who specialize in preventing, identifying, assessing, and treating hearing disorders.

Audiologists can prescribe hearing aids and assistive listening devices, and they can teach people with hearing loss how to concentrate on hearing all sounds.  Call 801-770-0801 during the month of May to schedule your free hearing health check up!

Best of State!

Winners were just announced for Best of State 2011 and Timpanogos Hearing & Balance was named Best of State in Auditory Services!  We are so excited about this honor-- we are very proud of our staff and their never-ending care for our patients. 

If you haven't come into our office for a while, come in and say Hello and see the big improvements we've made in the last few months.  You'll be surprised!