Bryan Kawer, a hearing instrument practitioner with Expert Hearing Solutions and office manager Diana Anderson were the special guests at a recent Rotary Club of Osoyoos luncheon. Kawer spoke about the importance of getting tested for hearing loss and the numerous hearing aids now available. Kawer and Anderson are seen with Rotary Club president Brian Rawlings. (Keith Lacey photo)
There are many people who refuse to make regular visits to the doctor and end up getting bad news about their health and it’s no different with people who are concerned about possible hearing loss, but don’t take the time to get tested.
That was one of the key messages from Bryan Kawer, a regional hearing instrument practitioner employed by Expert Hearing Solutions, which has an office here in Osoyoos, at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Osoyoos.
“It’s very important to get tested as a baseline test every couple of years,” Kawer told the Rotarians.
Kawer was joined at the Rotary luncheon by Diana Anderson, the office manager of the Expert Hearing Solutions clinic in Osoyoos.
Human beings hear with their brains, not their ears as the ears act as messengers for the brain by receiving sounds and transferring them along the hearing branch of the cranial nerve to the auditory cortex of the brain, said Kawer.
“Any sounds that are not picked up by your ears are also not sent to the brain,” he said.
A lack of sound stimulation to the brain results in an accelerated deterioration along the hearing nerve pathway, he said.
Depriving the brain of sound can permanently weaken the ability of the brain to understand speech, much like an unused muscle becomes weak over time, he said.
Hair cells located inside the human ear, which are often referred to as nerve endings, contains both inner and outer hair cells and these hair cells are responsible for sending information to the brain, he said.
Once your hair cells become damaged, speech becomes unclear and you will have more difficulty understanding speech, particularly in noisier situations and these hair cells of the cochlea can’t be repaired by medication or surgery, he said.
The good news is today’s sophisticated digital hearing aids provide auditory stimulation and help restore speech clarity, which not only significantly improves interaction with others, but may even contribute to delaying or preventing diseases like dementia, he said.
The goal of hearing aids and amplification is to find the proper balance between sufficiently high performance and the resulting cognitive impact on the brain, he said.
Hearing aids will receive the rate or stop nerve decline, help clients hear better within the limits of their existing hearing loss and nerve function, make soft sounds audible and improve speech clarity and generally help reduce the awareness of tinnitus, a very common disease caused by hearing loss, he said.
Expert Hearing Solutions offers a precision fitting process where hearing devices are programmed and the prescription is verified and the fit and sound are checked for comfort and performance, he said.
Clients are informed about proper care and use, goals and expectations are discussed and follow-up sessions are guaranteed to evaluate using the hearing aids, adjusting the sound and evaluate if new improvements can be achieved, he said.
Almost all hearing loss begins as a gradual progression and continues to worsen over “10, 20 and 30 years,” said Kawer.
The four main causes of hearing loss are illness, noise exposure over many years, natural aging and hereditary complications that are passed on through generations of the same family, he said.
If a hearing loss is diagnosed due to constant exposure to loud noise on the job, Expert Hearing Solutions will help clients work with the Workers Compensation Board, Veterans Affairs and First Nation communities to seek compensation and coverage for hearing programs, he said.
Hearing aids are not a cure for hearing loss, but they assist greatly in amplifying sound and speech and greatly improve the quality of life for most clients, he said.
There are different devices that can be used and which kind of hearing instrument a client uses is often based on how active a lifestyle they lead, he said.
The cost of hearing aids ranges from several hundred dollars to new “loop technology” that can run as high as $3,000 and $4,000, he said.
“How much they cost depends on the guts of the instrument,” he said. “The processor and microphones in some of them are very complicated.”
There is technology available that allows hearing practitioners like himself to take a mould of the ear so hearing aids will fit perfectly and comfortably around the ear, he said.
The warranty on most hearing aids runs from three to five years, he said.
Kawer ended his presentation saying hearing loss is a serious issue, especially among older adults, and he encouraged everyone to have a hearing test because most people don’t realize they have damaged their ears until it is too late.
Going to get tested may prevent someone from prematurely suffering irreversible hearing loss, he said.
Expert Hearing Solutions in Osoyoos is located at 8309 Main Street, Unit 105. The phone number is 250-495-7008.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
