Autumn Edition - 2016

Head Office L5 ‘The Link’ Grafton Shopping World 50 Prince Street (PO Box 1500)

GRAFTON NSW 2460 Tel: (02) 6643 4044 Fax: (02) 6643 4033 Email: admin@accenthearing.com.au

The Listener

Grafton - Glen Innes - Inverell www.accenthearing.com.au

Welcome to the Autumn 2016 edition of The Listener. We explore helpful hearing tips on all hearing matters.

Are You Annoyed By The Sound Of Chewing? Apparently THIS Is The Reason Why!

The sound of chewing can be the most annoying sound on the planet, if you are the type of person who cannot naturally block it out, you know EXACTLY how horrible it can be. People who complain about others chewing are not merely being difficult to be around, the sound is liter-ally amplified in their brain to such a level that they can-not ignore it.

The same thing can happen with the sound of some-one cutting their nails or even tap-ping their feet. This sound is not only annoying, it can drive some people into an uncontrolla-ble rage. This neurological disorder is called “mysophonia” or the fear of sound. The condition comes from the central nervous system. It is hard wired to audi-tory stimuli in a negative way. This causes an individual suffering from the disorder to feel panic, disgust, or an-ger. They can even experience a “fight or flight” sensa-tion or an anxiety attack.

That might seem like bad news to some, but it might al-so say something about who one is as a person. This disorder may mean that the one suffering from it may be more creative than most. “Northwestern research pro-vides the first physiological evidence that real-world cre-ativity may be associated with a reduced ability to filter “irrelevant” sensory information.” Basically, those who are naturally creative have a harder time blocking out annoying sounds. And remember, chewers and chew-ies, it’s not anyone’s fault. It all has to do with the brain and their ability to be more logical.

Holy Headphones Batman!

BATBAND™ is an elegant piece of sound technolo-gy allowing you to listen to your private soundscape as well as the world that surrounds you. Human-centered design meets technology delivering a high fidelity acoustic experience via an innovative bone conduction system. BATBAND™ works via bone conduction, consisting of transducers that emit sound waves perceived by your "private" inner ear, thus freeing your "social" outer ear. Sound waves are transmitted at a frequency that can be conduct-ed through the bones of the skull. Your ears remain free, therefore you get to hear twice as much, with-out compromising on comfort, quality or style.

Simply place BATBAND™ around the back of your head, pair it to a mobile device through Bluetooth, control its features using the touch sensors and you are set to listen to your favourite tunes, or discreetly make and take calls. BATBAND™ is incredibly com-fortable as it has been conceived for daily use and fits your busy lifestyle: at work, in transit, with friends, whilst gaming, working out and all of these whilst keeping your ears free. Its outer frame is made of spring steel ensuring a good grip around the back of your head and the inner padded lining guarantees maximum comfort and minimum sound leakage. BATBAND™ is easily rechargeable via USB port and requires no software or update, so all you need to worry about is having your favourite playlists to hand. It is expected to available in Australia in April 2016. For more information see www.batband.com

Accent Hearing Pty Ltd | Telephone: (02) 6643 4044 Page 1 Autumn Edition 2016 – The Listener

5 things I wish everyone knew

about hearing loss…. It is hard to explain to others what it is like to have hearing loss, the lack of clarity in speech, the sensi-tivity to loud noise and the exhaustion that comes with heavy bursts of communication. It is an invisible disability so it is often misunder-stood, downplayed or even ignored—sometimes even by those closest to you. But it can have a huge impact on your life, and the lives of those who love you.

1. Hearing loss is exhausting. When you have hearing loss, hearing takes work. This is hard for those with normal hear-ing to understand since hearing is so automatic for them. The best way I know to explain it is

as a game board from Wheel of Fortune. Some of

the letters are filled in, others are blank. The con-testant (or listener in this case) is trying to make sense of the assorted and incomplete sounds he or she is hearing and turn these sounds into a word or phrase that makes sense in the context of the con-versation. Not easy, especially since the conversa-tion does not pause while you are doing this extra processing.

2. I am not stupid or rude. I might answer questions in-appropriately or miss the point of a conversation now and then, but I am not stu-pid. I just misheard what you said. And if I don't respond to your greeting or an "excuse me" at the store, it is not be-cause I am ignoring you. I just didn't hear it.

3. Hearing aids don't work like glasses. Glasses transform blurry imag-es into something crisp and clear restoring your vision to normal. With hearing aids, this is not the case. Hearing aids amplify sounds, but this only makes them louder, not neces-sarily crisper or clearer. Hear-ing aids also have a tough time

differentiating among sounds so that background noises like the hum of the refrigerator or the air con-ditioner are amplified in addition to the more im-portant sounds of conversation. This can actually make it harder to hear in certain situations!

4. I do not need you to speak for me. I am neither a child nor an invalid. If someone asks me a question and I don't hear it, please repeat it so I can answer for myself. Doing otherwise is insulting and demeaning.

5. A few simple tricks can help a lot. Face me when you speak to me and keep your lips visible. Don't try to talk to me from another room and be sure to get my at-tention first before speaking. Al-so try and reduce the back ground noise or move away from it. I want to hear you and am trying my best. Following these rules will let me know that you are too (by Shari Eberts, hearing health advocate taken from the Huffington Post).

Testimonial Corner…. After serving 25 years in the British Royal Artillery and 7 years in the Royal Australian Artillery was it any wonder that my hearing was shot to pieces (pardon the pun). Unfortunately I seemed to be the only one who thought that it was not a problem. My long suffering wife, family and friends have endured my requests that they repeat themselves and spoke louder. Having received countless threats of physical violence from them I decided to seek the help of Greg Butcher at Accent Hearing in Grafton. Over the years I have participated in many and varied different hear-ing tests from a tuning fork in the 1960’s to the computerised tests in soundproof cubicles that we use today.

After one session with Greg I came away with a full and detailed explanation of what had happened to my hearing, what could be done to assist with my hearing loss, how hearing aids worked and what to expect in terms of benefits from them. In less than two weeks I was fitted with a matched pair of hear-ing aids that had a startling and immediate effect on my life. I, my wife, family and friends owe Greg a debt of gratitude for the service that he provided to me in a calm, interesting and informative way and in a manner that speaks volumes for his knowledge and professionalism.

If anyone reading this testimonial is currently experiencing simi-lar symptoms to those above do yourself a favour and go and talk to Greg. I promise you will not regret it.

Bill Tooke, Lawrence

Accent Hearing Clinics - 1300 859 828

GRAFTON | L5 ‘The Link’ 50 Prince Street, Grafton Shopping World, Grafton NSW 2460

(PO Box 1500).

GLEN INNES | Glen Innes Chiropractic

INVERELL | Skybridge Financial Building,

129-135 Otho Street, Inverell NSW.

Accent Hearing Pty Ltd | Telephone: (02) 6643 4044 Page 2 Autumn Edition 2016 – The Listener