Touma Audiology and Hearing Aid Centers, Inc

Unlike hearing aid dispensers, a team of certified audiologists, can thoroughly evaluate your hearing and recommend a customized solution, including digital, programmable, and sometimes nearly invisible hearing aids. Every patient is entitled to a two-month trial period.

Audiology Disorders & Treatments:

Medical Treatments Surgical Treatments
Hearing Aids  
 

Our Hearing & Balance Physicians

B. Joseph Touma, M.D. , River Cities Ear Nose & Throat, WV, KY

B. Joseph Touma, M.D.

Ear, Hearing & Balance Specialist
Neurotologist

Joseph B. Touma, M.D., F.A.C.S., River Cities Ear Nose & Throat WV, KY

Joseph B. Touma, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Ear, Hearing & Balance Specialist

Our Audiologists

Hearing Aids

What is a hearing aid?

A hearing aid is a small electronic device that you wear in or behind your ear. It is a device designed to help utilize the auditory system to its fullest. Essentially the function of a hearing aid is to make everything louder. When one loses their hearing, they lose their ability to detect soft sounds. The hearing aid just makes these soft sounds loud enough to be audible. It makes some sounds louder so that a person with hearing loss can listen, communicate, and participate more fully in daily activities. A hearing aid can help people hear more in both quiet and noisy situations. However, only about one out of five people who would benefit from a hearing aid actually uses one.

A hearing aid has three basic parts: a microphone, amplifier, and speaker. The hearing aid receives sound through a microphone, which converts the sound waves to electrical signals and sends them to an amplifier. The amplifier increases the power of the signals and then sends them to the ear through a speaker.

There is not a hearing aid that exists today that will "cut out" background sounds completely. However, utilizing the latest technology available we are able to maximize your hearing in difficult listening situations.

When you decide to purchase hearing aids, the audiologist will take impressions (or molds) of your ears, as the hearing aids are custom built to fit only your ears. The impression is then sent to the hearing aid manufacturer who will build the hearing aid.

How can hearing aids help?

Hearing aids are primarily useful in improving the hearing and speech comprehension of people who have hearing loss that results from damage to the small sensory cells in the inner ear, called hair cells. This type of hearing loss is called sensorineural hearing loss. The damage can occur as a result of disease, aging, or injury from noise or certain medicines.

A hearing aid magnifies sound vibrations entering the ear. Surviving hair cells detect the larger vibrations and convert them into neural signals that are passed along to the brain. The greater the damage to a person’s hair cells, the more severe the hearing loss, and the greater the hearing aid amplification needed to make up the difference. However, there are practical limits to the amount of amplification a hearing aid can provide. In addition, if the inner ear is too damaged, even large vibrations will not be converted into neural signals. In this situation, a hearing aid would be ineffective.

Are there different styles of hearing aids?

There are three basic styles of hearing aids. The styles differ by size, their placement on or inside the ear, and the degree to which they amplify sound

Some of the Companies we use are:

The Phonak Hearing Aid

Phonak is the trusted innovation leader, offering easy and intuitive solutions for every client – regardless of type of hearing loss, lifestyle, personal preferences, age or budget. Discover the benefits of the comprehensive Phonak portfolio of products and services. Share the superior quality and performance of Phonak technology with all of your customers! We are proud to present these exciting new products:

  • New Exélia Art – raises the industry benchmark once again. The Premium product family now features SoundRecover, DuoPhone, ZoomControl with DirectTouch and more.
  • New Audéo YES – the smallest, wireless hearing system in the world. Featuring SoundRecover, a wide fitting range with two external receivers and brilliant design.
  • New Naída IX – the Premium instrument in the PowerHearing segment. Now with ZoomControl with DirectTouch, DuoPhone and more.
  • New Nios micro – the CORE platform solution for children of all ages with mild to moderately-severe hearing loss. With SoundRecover, WhistleBlock Technology and more.
  • New phone and TV solutions – setting communication free.

Phonark Hearing Aids at River Cities Ear Nose & Throat WV, KY

SoundRecover compresses and shifts high frequencies, expanding audibility to include the full spectrum of sounds. This enables wearers to once again enjoy all the sounds of life: conversation in a restaurant, children singing and laughing, music, birdsong and the whisper of a loved one, to name but a few. 88% of users indicate that SoundRecover is the most important feature of their Phonak. This innovation is key to customer satisfaction.

Now a SoundRecover solution is available for all audiometric configurations.

Convenient and intuitive Phonak interface options provide customers unlimited access to the ever-expanding world of communication. It is now easy to enjoy a favorite TV program, the sounds of a loved one on the phone, a delightful song from an MP3 player and much more. With Phonak you can now offer the freedom of wireless connectivity to all clients, regardless of budget.

Starkey

Starkey hearing instruments create an unparalleled listening experience while eliminating some of the most frustrating characteristics of older hearing aids. For the first time ever, hearing aids are virtually feedback-free, so they don't whistle when you hug someone, touch your hair or put on a hat. In addition, our telephone response system automatically recognizes when you raise a phone to your ear and adjusts accordingly. These and other innovations are designed to provide you with the ultimate in performance, comfort and personalization to ensure the best hearing experience possible. From our custom hearing aids to our standard products, your hearing professional will prescribe to your unique hearing needs and lifestyle.

From our humble beginnings in hearing aid repair, Starkey has done things differently. Our focus is not just manufacturing hearing aids; it's improving the hearing lives of people around the world through technology and innovation. To this end, we have created the most-advanced Research and Development department in the industry and continue to make life-changing advances year after year — translating into hearing aids that deliver the best sound experience available.

Starkey hearing aids at River Cities ENT, WV, KY

Adjusting Your Hearing Aid

It will probably take you a while to get used to your new hearing aid. During this time, it is important to keep in mind that your aid will not make your hearing "normal" again, but it will make sounds clearer, enabling you to participate in conversations and hear sounds that you may have missed before.

The first week is often the most trying period. You may here strange "new" sounds, like the hissing of a radiator, and you may be distracted by an array of background noises, such as the hum of a refrigerator or the sound of a knife on a dinner plate. Some everyday sounds, like rustling the newspaper or running water, will sound different. Your own voice may seem loud or strange to you. Your hearing aid should fit comfortably. Report any discomfort, pain, or irritation to your audiologist as soon as possible.

By the second week, you should be more comfortable wearing your aid, and better at identifying sounds. After the third week, you may get the feeling that your hearing is worse when you remove the aid, but this is a sign that you are getting accustomed to hearing again!

Care of your Hearing Aid

Avoid situations where your hearing aid could fall any distance on to a hard surface. Be seated or hold the aid over a table rather than over the floor when changing the batteries, performing maintenance, or inserting it into the ear.

Keep the hearing aid dry. Remove the aid before swimming or taking a shower. Always store the aid in a dry place and keep it away from sources of dampness. Never attempt to dry it in any type of oven or with a blow dryer. Do not leave your aid in a pocket of clothing to be laundered.

Keep the hearing aid away from excessive heat or direct sunlight. Never leave it on a radiator, near a stove, in a sunny window, in a car glove box, or any other hot place. Do not wear the aid when using a hair dryer or near a sunlamp or heat lamp.

Remove the hearing aid before applying hair spray. It may damage the microphone. If you are often in dusty environments (wood shop, outdoors, etc.), your hearing aid may require more frequent cleaning and maintenance.

Store your hearing aid out of reach of youngsters or pets. It should be stored in its case when not in use. Open the battery door when not wearing the aid to prevent excessive battery drain.

Do not attempt to repair your own hearing aid. Never attempt to open its case. Do not wash or lubricate any part of the aid.

Cleaning: Keep the ear mold and tubing free of obstruction. Clean with a damp cloth and remove any accumulated wax with the provided wax removal tool. Clean the case of the aid by wiping carefully with a dry cloth or tissue. See your audiologist or hearing aid specialist twice a year for cleaning and maintenance.

Transear® Hearing Aid

TransEar is an elegant, affordable, and effective answer to SSD. It looks like a conventional BTE (Behind-the Ear) hearing aid, but instead of simply amplifying sound, it relies on bone conduction to transmit the sound to the better ear. TransEar is intended for individuals with single-sided deafness (SSD) or unaidable unilateral hearing loss.

TransEar is not the first bone conduction hearing aid, but it is the first to overcome Single Sided Deafness

  • without surgery;
  • without bulky headbands;
  • without having to wear another hearing aid in the "good" ear.

How it works:

Just like a conventional hearing aid, a custom shell is made to fit in the ear canal. However, unlike a conventional aid that would simply amplify the sound, TransEar has a miniature oscillator embedded in the shell. The oscillator is positioned in the shell in such a way that it makes contact with the bony portion of the ear canal. When sound is "received" on the side of the non-functioning ear, it's converted to mechanical energy that drives the oscillator. Those signals are then transferred via the bones of the skull to the cochlea in the opposite ear.

All of this happens nearly instantaneously, but your brain knows the difference. It learns to distinguish between sounds coming in on the side of the good ear versus sounds coming in from the opposite side.

The ability to determine the specific source of a sound - left side / right side, front / back, and everything in between - is called sound localization, and many TransEar users report that they have regained this ability with TransEar.

Will TransEar work for me?

TransEar's effectiveness depends on a specific threshold of hearing in the "better" ear, so your hearing healthcare professional will evaluate your hearing in both ears. Each patient's physiology and medical conditions may also be factors in the fitting.

Important note: Because there may be an underlying condition requiring medical treatment, it's important to report the onset of SSD to a medical professional such as an ENT doctor or otologist for a thorough examination. Your doctor may in turn work with a hearing healthcare professional to determine if TransEar is appropriate for your type of hearing loss and medical considerations.

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