REVEREND MUHORO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF A successful

SPRING/SUMMER 2015
Distinctions
REVEREND MUHORO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
A successful return to assist the
students and local community
Last month saw a successful visit to the
Reverend Muhoro School for the Deaf, in
Mukrewe-Ini District, on the slopes of
Mount Kenya. This rural school has now
benefited from our partnership for the
past thirteen years and continues to grow
from strength to strength. For the last five
years we have also held a free ear clinic for
the local community with a full ENT team
joining us at the weekend. I am pleased
to report that the school now have a bus
to ferry the pupils around Kenya to attend
different functions, from workshops to
sports events and has been as far afield as
Mombasa and Nairobi. This is their pride
and joy and allows them to be far more
visible, developing partnerships with other
deaf schools and communities around the
country.
When we first became involved with the
school there were just over a hundred
students and this has gradually risen to
nearly three hundred boys and girls. What
makes it unique is the fact able hearing
children can attend from the local vicinity
and they are paired with a lot of the deaf
children, who are encouraged to maintain
their powers of speech if they have lost
their hearing post lingually. The able
hearing students also learn sign language
and engage with people with a disability,
improving their own social skills. Rural
Kenya is poor and with no welfare and
lack of resources, impacts heavily on an
already impoverished sector of society.
This is hugely compounded with a lack of
hearing and one certain way to level the
playing field is to correct hearing where
possible, to allow for an education. Even a
basic education arms the students with
the tools to help break their sycle of
poverty and in fact, in many cases the
deaf students out-perform the able
hearing!
This year saw us fit the largest number of
hearing aids and refit previous students
with new ear moulds. South East Hearing
Care centres are extremely grateful to
manufacturers and suppliers for their
generous donations, as without them the
support for the school would not be
possible. A special mention needs to go to
Phonak for donating hearing aids and a
refurbished laptop, Oto-tech for
disinfecting hand gel, Puretone for
impression material and sundry ear care
equipment and most notably Starkey,
Mabel
features again
Oticon does
it again
page 2
page 3
who once gain procured the ear moulds
free of charge and have done so every
year. Without them the correct fitting of
hearing aids would not happen and every
time we send them ear impressions they
make the ear moulds with no questions
asked. These little pieces of plastic are
truly life changing and contribute
enormously to the development of each
recipient, who themselves are eternally
grateful to Starkey. A final thank you to
many of our patients, friends and
colleagues for their donations of hearing
aids and sponsorship of students, and to
the Rotary club of Horsham and St
Andrew’s church Nuthurst for their kind
sponsorship of students. Please visit
www.hearingcarecentres.co.uk to see the
latest pictures.
Sharon Jeffries
page 4
SPRING/SUMMER 2015
MABEL FEATURES AGAIN
Those eagle eyed readers will notice
Mabel from an earlier edition of
Distinctions.
This time Mabel wanted everyone to
know about her most recent acquisition in
hearing aids. Mabel is a keen Cellist and
was fearful she was going to have to give
up playing the cello due to her
diminishing hearing. A favourite past time
is attending the Knit and Natter club and
as Mabel says, “It is pointless attending a
Knit and Natter club if all you can do is
knit!” Mabel has always been a
technophile and is usually one of the first
I know to have the latest Apple computer,
gadget or Iphone. Now, onto the hearing
aids, Mabel has the very latest and best
technology out there, from renowned
manufacturer Phonak. They are the
Venture Audeo Q90 RIC hearing aids
where the receiver (amplifier) sits inside
the ear canal and is attached by an
almost invisible wire to a processor sitting
on top of the ear. They are to date, the
most automatic hearing aids we have
ever seen and have a clever automatic
soundscape operating system. No need
for switching programmes for different
listening environments as they sense the
input signals and change accordingly for
each and every situation. In Mabel’s own
words, “these are simply the best hearing
aids I have ever had and would
recommend them to everybody.” We are
thrilled with these results, please pop in for
a free demonstration.
Free wax Check...Don’t put anything
smaller than your elbow in your ears!
Our wax removal service has grown
exponentially and even more so since
we all increased our skill set and can
offer micro-suction, as well as irrigation.
At four of our sites we use microscopes
and this ensures the safe removal of wax
and debris in the ear canal. With most
GP surgeries cutting back or cancelling
altogether of wax removal, we are able
to provide the local community with this
much needed service. You can pop in or
ask for an appointment for a free wax
check where we can advise on the state
of your ears and the necessary course of
action.
Tinnitus and hearing loss can sometimes
just be an accumulation of excessive
wax. You’d be wise to seek our advice
first. Note to self: throw away those
cotton buds, let the experts do it.
HEARHERE EVENTS
In our last edition of distinctions we
mentioned our inaugural HearHere
events aimed at raising awareness
about all things audiological, not
just hearing solutions but more
importantly hearing protection. The
popularity of these events has
convinced us to make them an
annual occurrence so please check
your local press and our website for
forthcoming events in your area. We
feel privileged to have the
opportunity
to
impart
our
knowledge and assist people to
protect, preserve and also correct
their hearing. In this rapidly
changing, digital technology driven
world, it is good to showcase what
is available and how best to use it.
Phonak Venture
Communicate
easily, anywhere,
with everyone
Phonak Venture hearing aids not only
provide
exceptional
speech
understanding and comfort but also
appeal to your individual style and
preferences.
Unique
to
Phonak,
Binaural
VoiceStream Technology™ enables two
Phonak Venture hearing aids to send
speech from one ear to the other – as if
your hearing aids were talking to each
other. This leading-edge technology
provides better speech understanding in
even the most challenging listening
environments. Be it in a noisy restaurant,
or taking a stroll outdoors.
Music is like a world of its own. It speaks
a universal language that touches your
emotions. Audéo V gives you back the
pleasure of music to enjoy the now, or
reminisce about past experiences and
special occasions.
Thanks to its automatic capabilities,
Phonak Venture hearing aids deliver
unmatched sound quality with minimal
interaction. Phonak Venture will also
recognize and immediately eliminate
annoying whistling sounds known as
feedback. The less you fiddle with them
and the better the sound performance,
the more easily you will forget that you
are wearing a hearing aid, building the
confidence to be yourself.
www.hearingcarecentres.co.uk
WHICH REPORT INTO THE BEST PLACE TO
GO FOR YOUR HEARING CARE PROVISION
A recent Which report into hearing aids,
their prices, quality of service and
knowledge base of providers, came up
with a very interesting conclusion. They
suggested the best place to acquire
good quality, value for money and
excellent service was from an
independent supplier, like South East
Hearing Care Centres. The national
chains of Hidden hearing, Specsavers,
Amplifon and including Boots, didn’t cut
the mustard! It was pointed out that
hearing aids are sophisticated devices
and as such need to be fitted properly
and be correctly programmed and in all
their research, the independent providers
came out on top. An estimated 4 million
people in the UK need a hearing aid but
Testimonial
My name is Mat and I served with the Army
before I was medically discharged following
a bomb blast in 2007. I lost a large
proportion of hearing in my left ear and
some in my right. My hearing loss was
immediate. Only the previous day I heard
perfectly and was able to listen to my music,
television, hear whispers and pick up on the
smallest sounds. Suddenly these all
sounded muffled and many sounds I was
unable to hear or identify their point of
origin. I also found I struggled to hear
people, unable to pick out what they were
saying if they were talking in certain tones
and everything sounded softer or often
inaudible.
In addition to having lost my career, I found
out many job opportunities I was interested
in were closed to me due to this hearing
loss. I had to find a new career, establish a
way to negotiate communication with the
deficit and redefine many everyday tasks
which involved hearing. My whole life was
turned upside down.
Help for Heroes advised I contact the
Chichester Hearing Centre. Here I met the
audiologist Ken Fairley, who made me feel
comfortable, listened to my difficulties and
thoroughly tested my hearing using state
of the art equipment. He discussed all the
options available to me and advised the
Phonak Virto Q series, which fulfilled all my
requirements and hearing needs.
OTICON DOES IT AGAIN.
That is two Distinctions running that
we have featured Oticon as they have
released another improved hearing aid
range.
BrainHearingTM technology enables
them to be minutely tuned to match
your unique hearing profile and
personal sound preferences.
Oticon Alta2
Then deliver sound with the clearest,
purest signal possible in the way your
brain is best able to understand it. So
you hear better, with less effort.
Anywhere. Anytime.
We understand how your ears and your
brain work together as a system, with
your brain doing the heavy lifting.
Oticon hearing instruments with
technology
are
BrainHearingTM
designed for your brain, supporting the
hard work it does. Super small, they fit
invisibly in your ear canal or tuck
discreetly behind your ear.
don’t know it - and those who are aware
can wait up to ten years before seeking
help. Which says however, if you do need
a hearing aid , it’s important to get one
sooner rather than later and that is why
they carried out the first ever hearing aid
satisfaction survey. Aren’t you pleased
you came to an independent for expert
advice and aftercare.
Mr Fairley made an imprint of my inner ear
to enable a customary fit and within a few
days I was fitted my new hearing aid. The
experience was unbelievable- I was
immediately able to heard sounds I have
not heard for years. Now I was able to hear
crisp clear sounds when people talked as
well as more subtle tones in their voices,
things I had almost forgotten about. I can
distinguish clearly between different
musical instruments and the lyrics. I can
comfortably hear and distinguish different
sounds, as well as where these are coming
from.
I feel like I have my life back, and I want to
thank Phonak for this brilliant little piece of
technology. I also want to thank Ken Fairley
and the staff at the Chichester Hearing
Centre for their friendly and professional
service, and Help for Heroes making it all
possible. It has made all the difference.
Read the full testimonial from Mat Ellis, on
our website.
SPRING/SUMMER 2015
Rob’s
COLUMN
Excuse the pun but we have waxed lyrical
about the invisible Lyric hearing aid that
can be worn for months at a time with no
need to change batteries. It rightly gets
another mention here thanks to some
interesting research and studies by Dr
Jacob Jackson who is very much involved
with the development of Lyric. His study
was published in the November/December
2014 issue of ENT and audiology news.
Research suggests that patients with
chronic tinnitus can experience relief when
provided with increased input into the
auditory pathway with a hearing aid.
However, traditional hearing aids can limit
the benefit. First, these devices usually
require a few months of wear before
www.hearingcarecentres.co.uk
adjustment to amplification. Second,
traditional hearing aids have low
adherence in many patients and must be
removed throughout the day for a variety
of common activities like, showering,
exercising and especially sleeping. The
result is the increased auditory input is not
consistently present and is conspicuously
absent when tinnitus is most bothersome
during quiet night time hours. A pilot study
used 15 participants fitted with Lyrics with
an average age of 62 both male and
female. They were evaluated at 2 weeks
and 3 months and on average patients
experienced a decrease in tinnitus impact
at all 8 domains measured and the
greatest improvements were measured in
auditory, intrusive, sleep and quality of life
subscales. Armed with these findings we
can now offer Lyrics as part of an approach
to managing tinnitus and what is most
pleasing is the highest score in the study
was improved quality of life. We are
currently offering risk free one month Lyric
trials to test their efficacy and suitability for
individual wearers. Please contact us for a
Lyric sizing and fitting appointment.
You will find the same high
standards of professional care,
personal attention and
continued aftercare in each of
our partner practices across
Kent and Sussex.
BROMLEY
Bromley Hearing Care Centre
4 East Street, Bromley BR1 1QX
Tel: 020 8460 8954
CHICHESTER
Chichester Hearing Care Centre
6 Baffins Court, Baffins Lane,
Chichester PO19 1UA
Tel: 01243 774 536
HORSHAM
South East Hearing Care Centre
20-22 Bishopric, Horsham
RH12 1QN
Tel: 01403 218 863
SEAFORD
Seaford Hearing Care Centre
4 Dane Road, Seaford BN25 1LL
Tel: 01323 899 655
Sharon Jefferies
I had been getting by with an NHS
hearing aid but I knew there must be more
opportunities on the market. I am
completely deaf in my right ear and
moderately deaf in my left. Matt
suggested a bi-cross aid which would place
a wireless microphone on my right ear to
give surround sound. The aids are tiny and
powerful – nothing to be seen at all. Being
REGULAR VISITS
A bit like an apple a day, regular visits to
have your ears and hearing aids checked
are always encouraged. The more times
we see you, the better the aftercare you
receive and we can help pre-empt
difficulties down the road giving you a
trouble free experience and prolong the
life of your precious hearing aids.
profoundly deaf I never
thought I would be
able to avoid an
obvious full shell ear
mould – I wasn’t even
that bothered about
aesthetics but these
tiny in-the-ear shells are
so much more comfortable. Matt has
worked with my audiogram to amplify
higher (speech) tones and set a program
for bad days when my hearing fluctuates.
My “pilot” remote gives greater control
over volume in meeting and one-on-one
situations.
I half-joked that Matt’s remit was to get
me confident enough in the
workplace/social situations to leave my
current miserable job. Four months on
and I’ve got my dream job at Goldman
Sachs Investment Bank…
THE END OF AN ERA
We have decided to suspend services
at Mark Soper opticians in Hailsham
as we can no longer do justice to the
highly technical modern hearing aids
we now fit. There just isn’t enough
space in the car for all the equipment
required to effectively fit and monitor
these specialised devices. It is also
conducive to our premium aftercare
that we operate from fully equipped
centres. We are happy to still service
our patients at our Seaford centre.
SEVENOAKS
Sevenoaks Hearing Care Centre
13 London Road, Sevenoaks
TN13 1AH
Tel: 01732 741 486
BEXLEYHEATH
Bexleyheath Hearing Care Centre
187 Broadway
Bexleyheath
DA6 7ER
Tel: 020 8304 1389
Services also available at
East Grinstead McIndoe Surgical
Centre, Holtye Road
Tel: 01403 218863
Goring-by-Sea Vision Express,
48 Goring Road
Tel: 01903 247042