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You’ve made your purchase, a pair of Widex’s Moment (Sheer) hearing aids, and you’re delighted with the improved hearing you now enjoy. However, you’re aware that follow-up care and attention will be necessary. You might be wondering what can be achieved without the need to visit the office as you want a remote visit. These days, with technology at our fingertips, you might be surprised at what’s possible from your own computer. You are thinking do my Widex hearing aids support this type of remote appointment?
Factors like the ongoing pandemic, harsh Minnesota winters, and transportation challenges, or living far away from any hearing clinic nearby make it increasingly appealing to handle as much as possible from the comfort of your living room. So, let’s explore the options available for remote care with Widex’s new technology, the Moment.
First and foremost, you’ll need a smartphone – either an iPhone or an Android device – along with the Remote Link package. There is a small fee associated with the remote link and the service. You can opt to purchase the Widex Remote link bundled with your hearing aids at Hears to U, Audiology, Hearing & Hearables or sold separately. If you didn’t purchase them from the clinic you are going to you can ask if they offer Widex Moment remote hearing aid fitting. At that point, you can buy the Remote link sold separately or bundled from that hearing clinic.
During a fitting or follow-up for your new Widex Moment hearing aids at Hears to U, Audiology, we’ll guide you through the process of registering the Remote Link, downloading the app, and pairing the app with the remote link to sync with your hearing aids. Once these steps are complete, you’ll be all set for your very first telehealth appointment!
Simply call your clinic or Hears to U, and let us know that you have a Widex Moment Sheer hearing aid. We can set you up with a Remote Link. If you live here in Minnesota we are happy to offer the service of programming and sending you the Link. If you live somewhere other than Minnesota, we will send the link to your provider.
The Hearing Health Professional will pair the Remote to your hearing chart. The remote Link can then be mailed to you. You will download the “remote Link” app of Widex’s and pair your Link with your Phone. You can always call for help. The Link does not need to be paired to your phone. The Link has a neck loop that is able to connect via a special connection.
When the day of your telehealth appointment arrives, you’ll want to ensure that your hearing aids, your smartphone, and your remote link are all fully charged and ready to go. Keep your remote link around your neck for the duration of the appointment. Open the app, select “Join Meeting,” and patiently await our connection from Hears to U, or your hearing provider in your state other than Minnesota.
Once connected, you’ll be able to hear and see us on your screen. Audiologists or Hearing Instrument Dispensers will have the ability to add, delete, or make adjustments to your hearing aid programs, even fine-tuning frequencies as needed – just as if you were physically in our clinic in Hopkins, Minnesota.
After all the necessary adjustments have been made, please allow us to end the call to ensure that all changes are saved. Then, you can simply close the app, stow away your remote Link, and relish in your improved soundscape. It’s as easy as 1-2-3!
What’s particularly convenient about the Widex Remote Care telehealth program is that it allows us at Hears to U, Audiology to not only address possible feedback issues but also monitor changes in your hearing. Additionally, there’s a service tracker that can alert us if your hearing aid requires repair. In today’s digital age, technology can indeed be your friend, especially when it comes to your hearing care.
We’re delighted to assist you in setting up for remote care.
For individuals who experience tinnitus, know someone who does, or have an interest in this topic, this article might pique your interest.. It is a pure scientific article about six possible tinnitus contributors. Defining each topic, summarizing ongoing research, and exploring potential new research directions for each topic is discussed. It is a summary of the questions and answers addressed by a panel of researchers that took place in February 2021, at the Annual Mid-Winter Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
People often define tinnitus as “ringing in the ear”. Tinnitus is actually any sound you hear in your ear, that does not have an external source. It could be ringing. It could also be buzzing, or pulsing, a high-pitched tone. Tinnitus could be in one ear or both; sound like it is close or far away. For some, it is life-altering, while others tolerate it easily. For instance, some people need treatment and feel like they can’t live with it, while others sleep like babies even though they have ringing in their ears. Its cause is unknown and a curative therapy for it does not exist. Let us look briefly at theories on tinnitus and each of the six topics and see where the potential blind spot of past research may lie.
Is the problem in the peripheral auditory system (bottom-up) or is it a central cognitive (top-down) impairment? Does bottom-up from the peripheral neural activity trigger a top-down mechanism? Is it a two-step process? Future task: Could medications that address the bottom-up trigger, prevent the top-down impairment?
Numerous studies report impaired or altered executive attention, selective attention, and working memory in chronic tinnitus. The negative emotions experienced during tinnitus cause a consumption of cognitive resources: individuals increase vigilance towards the tinnitus tones. Future tasks: researchers may reconsider how individual environmental or hereditary differences in attentional/cognitive states could contribute to suffering more or less from tinnitus tones.
There is a growing list of studies that show a close relationship between distress and tinnitus. The presence of insomnia, hearing distress, and anxiety are the best predictors of tinnitus severity. It is important to distinguish between oxidative stress, stressful acoustic trauma, and mental stress, which has not been considered adequately. Future tasks: understand how bottom-up mechanisms may be linked to the role that distress plays in tinnitus.
Studies of patients with tinnitus with hyperacusis and patients with tinnitus but without hyperacusis, suggest that there may be sub-categories of tinnitus. You will recall that hyperacusis is an exaggerated reaction to some sounds. For instance, some individuals will hardly notice clanging silverware, while it will be irritating and even painful to others. Is it possible that for patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis, the enhanced distress level they exhibit affects wider frequency ranges? Future task: Consider that in patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis parallel bottom-up changes exists that differentially affect top-down circuits.
The brain is constantly trying to optimize information transmission from the periphery into the brain. Some believe that a brain is a prediction machine that informs its memory-based predictions through sensory updating. So, tinnitus is the result of a prediction error between the predicted and the actual auditory input. Future task: Could tinnitus be a side effect of the brain’s effort to improve hearing?
Deafferentation is the disruption of sensory nerve impulses by destroying or injuring the sensory nerve fibers. Is tinnitus caused by damage to the central auditory system, perhaps triggered by central deafferentation (probably mostly due to cochlear damage) or is it in the auditory cortex? Future tasks: The need to challenge the widely-held thought that the conscious percept of an auditory stimulus required a proper maturation of a baseline.
Look at cognitive behavioral therapy; a brainstem auditory implant; vagus nerve stimulation may have too many side effects; diet and physical activity, and acoustic stimulation are a few of the more promising areas of therapy development.
At Hears to U, we look at the big picture, and the whole body awareness, and try to find a type of therapy that works with your lifestyle, predicaments, and how tinnitus presents to you. If reading this paper or discussing therapy with us interests you, please feel free to schedule with us. We are happy to help and hear from you. Cheers,
Hears to U has previously covered theories on tinnitus, but research is continually underway worldwide, and we aim to keep you updated on the latest findings.
For those unfamiliar with tinnitus, it is the perception of sound (a ringing, buzzing, or another sound in one or both ears) in the absence of an external source. Sufferers “hear” the noise, but others do not. It can be acute or chronic and its severity can vary from mild to severely bothersome. That severity can change over time. Some individuals become accustomed to it and consequently report a reduction in symptoms. Others say the noise gets louder or more frequent over time. The cause remains unknown, and although there is no cure, it is possible to manage it.
The authors felt that a greater of understanding of the nerve, or neural, mechanisms underlying the disease was needed before more effective therapies could be developed. However, these changes experienced by the sufferers made it difficult to account for such variations in a research study. The various theories on tinnitus lead the authors in several directions. Changes in the peripheral and/or central nerve pathways for hearing have been attributed as one cause of tinnitus. Another theory blamed hearing loss for the development of tinnitus.
Tinnitus often occurs with other disease processes, like hearing loss. Tinnitus and hearing loss have complex relationships. A majority of tinnitus sufferers have decreased hearing sensitivity, but only about half of those with clinically diagnosed hearing loss also have tinnitus. Some believe that because hearing loss deprives a system used for stimulation (we constantly “hear” something), the tinnitus “sounds” fill that gap. However, that does not explain why about 20% of tinnitus sufferers have “normal” hearing and about 50% of those with hearing loss do not develop tinnitus. Complicated—to say the least.
The study hoped to identify objective biomarkers for tinnitus and to investigate anatomical connectivity changes within the white matter of the brain (where the nerve fibers are located) that may be associated with tinnitus. The study authors believed that they would be able to detect distinct pattern changes in the nerve pathways attributable to either tinnitus or hearing or both (if both conditions were present). This turned out to be true. The study suggests the possible existence of tinnitus-specific neural networks.
It supported the findings of other studies while adding new findings. The study was able to propose a possible mechanism to describe how tinnitus persists, involving areas of the brain playing a large role than previously discussed. It is important to note that this proposed mechanism applies only to people with both tinnitus and hearing loss. It is unclear what trauma or plasticity (pattern change) would induce the onset of tinnitus alone with no hearing loss.
For those who are suffering right now, this study, unfortunately, does not point to a pill or a therapy to make it all go away. To be fair, that was not the point of the study. The study added to our understanding of the condition, and the more that is known, the greater the likelihood of a “cure” or a therapy. If you are interested in reading the full article, contact us at Hears to U. And we are happy to work with you and your tinnitus.
Cheers, Karen M.
Tinnitus is a condition where individuals perceive sound without an external source.Managing tinnitus is difficult because it has no medical cause and it is highly individual. Each person with tinnitus has a different experience. It is estimated that around 10% of Americans live with tinnitus, and a portion of this group experiences burdensome or chronic tinnitus. Meaning that tinnitus causes various functional impairments in sleep, concentration, cognitive performance, and thought processing. It is also associated with an increased risk of psychological difficulties, including anxiety, depression, and reduced quality of life.
CBT is a psychological intervention that addresses unhelpful thought patterns and emotional reactions caused by tinnitus. The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the intervention with the strongest research evidence is CBT. Despite the evidence, accessibility to CBT is limited because few healthcare providers have the knowledge and expertise to provide this therapy.
To overcome this barrier, an internet-based CBT was developed; initially in Swedish and later translated into German and English. The efficacy of internet-based CBT has been indicated in 9 clinical trials across Europe and the UK. However, no clinical trials had been done in the US. To address this, an internet-based CBT was adapted for the US to improve cultural and linguistic suitability. It was also translated into Spanish to serve the large Spanish-speaking population.
158 participants were recruited with 79 in the experimental group (these would receive CBT intervention) and 79 in the control group (who were monitored weekly). Each person participated for 8 weeks and then had a follow-up visit after two months. The study participants were randomly assigned to one of the two groups. Over the eight weeks, each participant’s tinnitus was measured weekly using the TFI (tinnitus functional index), while secondary outcomes (anxiety, depression, insomnia, tinnitus cognitions, and general quality of life) were measured using standardized questionnaires.
Participating in internet-based CBT led those with tinnitus to significantly greater improvements in tinnitus distress compared to weekly monitoring. This adds to the body of evidence regarding the feasibility of audiologist-guided internet-based CBT. The maintenance of these results was observed during the 2-month follow-up visit . Those in the experimental group, (undergoing CBT) resulted in a significantly greater reduction in negative tinnitus cognitions and insomnia.
There was not a significant reduction in anxiety or depression (this had been the case in other studies). This may be related to the exclusion of persons with severe mental health conditions, possibly reducing the ability to see an intervention effect.
Compounding the debilitating nature of severe tinnitus, accessible, evidence-based interventions are still lacking. The COVID pandemic highlighted the need for eHealth approaches to overcome the limited in-person contact and support available for people with tinnitus. These results have been encouraging and further work is indicated in view of making such an intervention applicable to a wider, more diverse population.
This is certainly encouraging news for those who suffer from tinnitus. If you have questions or wish to read the article, please contact us at Hears to U, Audiology.
Karen M.
