Cresswell Audiology

Adult & Pediatric Hearing Evaluations

We are excited to offer the Oticon Opn S rechargable ​hearing aid with all day power.

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We now offer the Oticon Opn S. Powered by the new advanced Velox S™ platform, Opn S takes the open sound experience to the next level in delivering speech understanding on par with normal hearing.

A full day’s power. Every day.

The discreet miniRITE R style comes with an easy-to-use, stylish and reliable charger. Simply recharge at night for a full day of use.

Speech understanding on par with normal hearing

Opn S breaks the limits of what has previously been possible with hearing aids. Take a more active part in difficult listening situations, and get better speech understanding with less effort. You can thrive in noisy environments, just like people with normal hearing.

Oticon Opn S gives you a 360° sound experience

The groundbreaking technology in Oticon Opn S gives you a 360° hearing experience that opens up your world. It allows you to hear more than one person speaking at a time, while the advanced noise reduction system helps reduce listening effort.

Annoying whistling is a thing of the past

Oticon Opn S features breakthrough technology that stops whistling before it even occurs. Now, you can feel confident giving someone a hug or putting your phone to your ear without having to worry about whistling.

Easy connection to your phone and other devices

Oticon Opn S is more than a hearing aid. It’s wearable technology that makes it easy to connect to your favorite devices. It’s a wearable technology that makes it possible to connect to your favorite devices. Take hands-free calls, stream music, connect to smart devices, and more.

Call us at 845.226.2638 to learn more or schedule an appointment!

The Effects of Hearing Loss on Intimate Relationships

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A number of studies have found that, “intimate relationships are very vulnerable to the effects of hearing impairment.”  This finding is not surprising.  Communication is an interactive experience, one that must be shared with others.  Conclusions of the studies also include:

  • The closer the relationship, the greater the impact on the relationship.
  • Both intimate partners may experience severe consequences if one has hearing impairment.
  • The closer the relationship, the stronger the impact of hearing difficulties in the relationship.
  • Acceptance of the hearing loss reduces its impact.

Although acceptance has a positive effect, several factors interfere with accepting and adjusting to hearing loss:

Lack of internal reference.  Since hearing loss usually develops very gradually, there is no clear internal reference to judge that one is not hearing as well as previously:  we don’t know when an individual finally accepts that he or she may have a hearing loss, it is almost always due to the encouragement or complaints of others (usually family members).

Blame.  The person with a hearing loss may talk too loudly, turn TV volume too loud or complain about people not speaking clearly. When people complain or blame (“Are you deaf?”), this may trigger a defensive reaction which makes it more difficult to accept the possibility of hearing loss.

Stigma.  The greatest obstacle to successful effective hearing care is the stigma attached to hearing loss. Hearing loss often threatens the individual’s self-image and creates fears of inadequacy and of being prematurely old.

Because of these obstacles, both partners engage in coping strategies before the hearing loss is acknowledged. Television is made louder; the partner may complain or choose another room for television viewing. The person may ask for frequent repetitions; the partner may cooperate until he or she becomes frustrated and refuses to cooperate.

The Partner

A number of studies have shown that the unimpaired partner also experiences stress, tension, and irritation. The irritation of loud television is compounded by the frustration caused by the hearing impaired partner’s unwillingness to take steps to deal with the hearing loss. The annoyances experienced by the partner can lead to resentment and anger, along with feelings of guilt for having such feelings.

Conclusion

The partner’s relationship is as much an issue as the actual hearing difficulties caused by hearing loss. Moving past “denial” to acceptance is the first step to reducing the negative effects untreated hearing loss can have on an intimate relationship.

Research Links Diabetes and Hearing Loss

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Researchers at the State University of New York reviewed research on diabetes and concluded that Type 2 diabetes increases the likelihood of hearing loss.

Diabetes is a disease characterized by elevated blood glucose levels. People with diabetes often develop hypertension, high cholesterol and other cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes is also the leading cause of blindness and kidney failure in the United States.

Diabetes is becoming more common and today effects 10% of adults. About 40% of these cases are undiagnosed.

For many years, the relationship between diabetes and hearing loss was unclear. In recent years, several large-scale studies have confirmed that diabetes is indeed a significant risk factor for hearing loss. Individuals with diabetes are 30% more likely to have hearing loss. The trend is more noticeable in young adults. Also, the severity of hearing loss may be related to the severity of diabetes.

Among diabetic adults between the ages of 50 and 69 years, about 70% have high frequency hearing loss. It also appears that persons with diabetes develop hearing loss at earlier ages.
The researchers recommended that anyone with diabetes should be screened for hearing loss. Treating and controlling diabetes may also reduce the likelihood or severity of hearing loss.

We hear with our brains

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Both of your ears work together to pick up sounds occurring around you. Your brain then makes sense of the sounds by matching them to sounds stored in your memory. Your ears convert sounds into nerve impulses that travel to your brain, and your brain needs as much sound detail as possible to turn these sounds into meaning.

If you have hearing loss, it disrupts the normal relationship between your ears and your brain. With hearing loss, your brain receives less sound information. This makes it harder for your brain to recognize sounds. Not recognizing sounds forces you to have to guess what people are saying, forcing you to concentrate harder during conversation. The extra effort necessary to understand speech leaves less mental capacity for remembering conversations. The extra effort also leaves you feeling tired after conversations. It isn’t hard to believe that all this extra work will lead people with hearing loss to withdraw from social interaction.

Hearing devices replenish the brain with the sound information that it has been lacking for people with hearing loss. Thus, improving hearing with the use of hearing devices is healthier for the brain, restores interpersonal relationship success, reduces listening effort and increases a person’s capacity to remember conversations.