Behind the Ear Hearing Aids Do the Job Right

When you start to look into what kind of hearing aid to get, you have a lot of choices. You can have a digital unit or an analog unit. Within each of those choices, you can also decide if you need a unit that is programmable to not only amplify sound as it comes to your ear but to manage that sound and the surface noise that would keep you from hearing good sounds well. Even within the programmable hearing aid category, there are levels of sophistication from those you program yourself to digital units that adjust to your environment on the fly.

Another big decision to be made has to do with the style of the hearing aid you finally decide to use in terms of how it is worn. The standard "image" of a hearing aid is the behind the ear model, which seems old fashioned compared to the kind that go inside the ear. In fact, some modern models of hearing aids can be implanted entirely within the ear through minor surgery so they are completely invisible to the outside world. Each of these styles comes with advantages and disadvantages.

The behind the ear style of hearing aid seems like it is the most conspicuous and clumsy approach and until you actually get to know the different advantages and disadvantages of each kind of hearing aid, you might think that wearing the unit behind your ear is not a great design. But there are some significant advantages to this approach to helping your hearing out that make the behind the ear approach a serious option for a lot of people.

One compelling advantage is cost. Since most behind the ear units are analog, the cost of getting set up with this kind of hearing aid is significantly less than going with a more sophisticated unit that goes inside the ear. When you wear a hearing aid behind your ear, all of the working unit lives in that small unit outside of the ear itself. That means that what goes into the ear is just a unit to channel the amplified sound. The magnifier, programming controls and the battery do not go in the ear. It is a simple and yet elegant approach.

Actually, the larger control box is an advantage to the behind the ear design. The batteries are easier to replace and the controls easier to manage which is a big advantage for senior citizens using this kind of unit. And because most of the hearing aid stays out of the ear, it is far easier to keep clean of earwax, which can really gum up a hearing aid that stays inside your ear.

The idea that having a hearing aid behind your ear will be uncomfortable is silly because they are customized to your head and the wearer gets used to having the unit there. They are no more uncomfortable than a pair of glasses and no more conspicuous to others. But because this kind of hearing aid is a lot cheaper to buy and to maintain and they do a good reliable job day after day, going with this older technology may be the right choice for many hearing aid users.

Are Digital Hearing Aids Worth the Money?

For decades, hearing aids used the same analog technology as radio and television. But when the digital revolution came along, it made sense that you would see a revolution in hearing aid technology in the form of new sophisticated hearing aids as well. The outcome is that when you are shopping for a new hearing aid, you now have a choice. Of course, the digital alterative might be more expensive. But at the same time, there are some real advantages to going digital in this area of your life like we all have in so many other ways.

One reason that new technology like modern hearing aids do come with a high price tag at first is that the research and development effort that goes on behind the scenes when a big breakthrough is brought to market is expensive. In some cases, new designs in hearing aid technology might take years to develop and test and all of that research has to be paid for. So when the hearing aid hits the market, much of that initial cost is there to pay off the tab from all the work it took to discover and test that technology.

For most of us, when we have made the change to digital technology in other areas of our lives, we are glad we did. That will be true when you make the switch to digital design in your hearing aid as the technology becomes more available to the rest of us. For one thing, a word that goes hand in hand with digital technology is miniaturization. So once we get used to hearing aids that take advantage of miniaturization, your hearing aid will get smaller so it is not as cumbersome to wear and not as noticeable as well.

Part of the big expense in developing and distributing these new designs in hearing aid research is that digital technology allows scientists to imbed computer chips right into your hearing aid. This will make your hearing aid a "smart hearing aid" that is able to make small adjustments and notice things about the atmosphere, noise level and other factors that can affect your ability to hear and it can make adjustments to the hearing aid settings to compensate for you.

In this way, the hearing aid of the future will be smart and do a much better job of working in any setting because of digital technology. And that technology isn’t centuries away, it is here right now and soon to become part of your life.

Of course, the price barrier in digital technology in the hearing aid industry will almost certainly come down. Just as has happened in every other area of technology, once competition gets into the market and what might be an "exotic" feature in hearing aids becomes more common, the price will come down and make it possible for everyone to afford all of these nice features. So it might just be a waiting game to let the market catch up with the technology before you make the transition to a digital answer to your hearing loss correction technology.

Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Allergic contact dermatitis is an inflammation resulting from exposure of the skin to a substance to which the individual is allergic. Irritant contact dermatitis, in contrast, is an irritation of the skin caused by a chemical, in which allergy is not a factor. The number and variety of chemicals that can cause allergic contact dermatitis is vast, ranging from the well-known plants of the poison ivy family to obscure chemicals of which the individual may be totally unaware. This problem is distinct from the problem of irritant contact dermatitis, though the rashes may be very similar in appearance.

Only a very small number of individuals are allergic to most chemicals, while as much as 50 percent of the population is allergic to poison ivy. After exposure to some chemicals (e.g. dinitrochlorobenzene), almost everyone will develop an allergy. Infants, children, and old people are generally less suscep­tible to the development of skin allergies.

After the allergenic substance comes in contact with the skin, the rash usually develops one or two days later. If the individual has never before been exposed to the chemical or to a similar sub­stance, it will take a week or more for him to become allergic to it and develop a rash. This is called the latent or incubation period.

Once an allergy of this type is established it tends to persist for many years. If one area of the skin, no matter how small, becomes allergic to a substance, the skin of the entire body will also be allergic to it.

Exposure to the offending chemical or plant may be brief and casual, but all that is required for a rash to develop is that some of the chemical penetrate the superficial layers of the skin. (This takes only about ten minutes in the case of poison ivy oils.) Many people with allergic contact dermatitis have no idea what caused their rash, because of the brevity of exposure and the delay in the development of the rash. Frequently, they fail to notice or iden­tify the substance at the time of exposure.

In milder cases of allergic contact dermatitis, the rash may consist only of redness, bumps, and mild to moderate itching. Severe cases develop swelling, blisters, oozing and crusts, and severe itching. The rash often appears as a haphazard distribution of streaks and patches, especially with plant allergies. In later stages of the rash, the skin becomes thickened, dry, and scaly; cracking and chapping may occur. The rash of allergic contact dermatitis usually lasts about ten to fifteen days, but may last longer if the dermatitis is severe or secondary infection develops.

A common fallacy is that the rash "spreads" via" the fluid that drains from the blisters. Other areas may develop the dermatitis over a period of several days, but this is caused by varying amounts of the chemical on skin sites that have different degrees of sensitivity. For example, bits of the plant or its sap under the nails can spread the rash. The skin around the eyes and the skin of the neck, groin, and genitalia is the most sensitive, while the scalp, palms, and soles are the most resistant to contact derma­titis, whether irritant or allergic.

PITTED KERATOLYSIS

Pitted keratolysis is a mild bacterial infection of the skin of the soles, the balls of the feet, heels or toes, and is seen most often in young, active individuals. Small crater-like pits appear, initially tiny. These may coalesce to form large, irregularly shaped erosions. The pits are superficial, do not produce bleeding or tenderness, and have a punched-out appearance with neat, distinct borders. The skin of the pits may be discolored and appear dirty, with in­creased sweating and odor sometimes associated.

This condition is not bothersome unless it is severe and may be present, unnoticed, for some time. Pitted keratolysis is caused by footwear that does not allow air to reach the feet, thus keeping the feet damp.

PITTED KERATOLYSIS Treatment and Prevention

Pitted keratolysis can be controlled by eliminating local moisture. Cotton socks, powder and less occlusive shoes are help­ful. Whitfield's Ointment, available without a prescription, can be applied 2 to 3 times daily, to eliminate the infection.

BLACK HEELS (Tennis Heel, Basketball Heel, Talon Noir)

Tennis heel, although harmless and unnecessary to treat, is mentioned because its characteristic brown-to-black discoloration has been mistaken for a malignant mole. This "disease" is caused by shear forces which produce tiny hemorrhages into the skin, and is normally found at the edge of the heel. The hemorrhages account for the distinct dots or irregular patch that is seen, but the condition resolves by itself and is painless.

TENNIS TOE Treatment

Tennis toe is caused by friction between the nail and shoe, and is the result of bleeding under the toenails. When blood is trapped beneath the nail, pressure on nerve endings results, causing a blue­-black discoloration and potentially severe pain. Repeated abrupt stops which force the toenail against the end of the shoe can precipitate bleeding.

TENNIS TOE Treatment

Treatment is unnecessary except to control pain. Hot soaks and rest are helpful, but relief is dramatic when the pressure under the nail is released by draining the blood. This can be done by heating the end of a paper clip until it is red hot, then inserting it through the surface of the nail into the collection of blood. The paper clip melts its way through the nail plate. This procedure is not as pain­ful as it sounds because the clip passes through the nail into the blood-filled space, and neither the nail nor the blood contain nerve endings. The same result may be obtained by drilling a hole through the nail with a hypodermic needle.

TENNIS TOE Prevention

Again, well-fitting shoes and properly trimmed toenails are the best defense against the shearing forces that cause bleeding from the nail bed.

How to Get Rid of WARTS ?

Warts can be found anywhere on the feet and are often con­fused with corns and calluses. Single warts on the soles are usually surrounded by large masses of callus, and may be quite tender. Mosaic warts, often seen on the heels, are large, flat, diffuse warts that do not become very thick. Warts, like corns, interrupt the normal ridges of the skin. The wart itself contains fine capillaries or blood vessels, which appear on the surface as black or dark brown spots, often referred to as "seeds". When the wart is shaved down, these seeds may exude tiny droplets of blood, revealing their origin from blood vessels.

Warts and corns are usually quite tender when direct pressure is applied to them. On the other hand, pain produced by pinching an area from the sides, between thumb and forefinger, indicates the probable presence of a wart.

You should not hesitate to seek the services of a podiatrist, dermatologist, or orthopedic surgeon for the correction of under­ lying structural or functional imbalances, perhaps through well ­designed inserts or orthotics, or surgery to correct stubborn lesions.

It is reasonable to leave warts untreated if they are not painful and not increasing in number or size. Physicians and podiatrists treat warts with surgery, electro-surgery, freezing, strong acids, and other chemicals.

WARTS Prevention:

The importance of shoes that fit properly and the elimination of areas that produce friction has been emphasized.