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Autumn 2018

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Selma Becker, MD

Selma Becker, Managing Director and Senior Hearing Aid Audiologist

Welcome to our latest online newsletter

A very warm welcome to you all. How time flies – I cannot believe this is our Autumn edition and that we are featuring Christmas already!

We love hearing from you so don’t forget to send in any of your hearing stories and follow us on social media. You can find us on Twitter and Facebook.

We have lots of articles on news, events, advice and industry news, which you can access by clicking the tabs above. Click through the tabs to view all our articles and scroll up and down each page to read the articles that are there.

 

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Autumn Caption Competition

Thumbnail of photo for caption competition

In this Autumn Newsletter we are running a competition for all readers to win a £50 John Lewis voucher. It’s simple to enter: just look at the photo and think of a great caption! See small version above, then scroll down the page to see the enlarged version Then complete your contact details in the form below, write in your caption and we’ll pick the one we think is best. The winning caption will be published in our next edition. One lucky reader will win a £50 John Lewis voucher and every entrant will receive a Help in Hearing branded Cross pen.

This competition is now closed.

In this issue

The Help in Hearing team

It has been a busy few months for Help in Hearing and our team efforts will culminate in the launch of our new company brochure, the creation of a series of “How to Do” YouTube videos on how to look after your aids and Bluetooth pairing, and the planning of two technology events to be held at the end of November.

So many of the leading hearing aid manufacturers are launching new models and there is a big buzz in the industry about state-of-the-art technology. Could hearing aids even become multi-dimensional medical and lifestyle devices? Join us at our Technology Days to find out where the future is taking us. We have already started a waiting list for tickets for these free events which are to be held on Wednesday 28th November at the Harleyford Golf Club in Marlow and on Thursday 29th November at the South Buckinghamshire Golf Club in Stoke Poges. Read more about our technology days here.

Some of you will be pleased to hear that we will be sending out birthday cards again. Too many of you were disappointed when we announced we were stopping due to GDPR restrictions so we have decided to go ahead but we need you to tell us if don’t want to receive one! We have selected a new photo of the Austrian lakes so the new-design card should be ready to go very soon.

Talking Tinnitus Expo

 

The Tinnitus Support Group continues to go well. Gilly attended the BTA Tinnitus Expo in Birmingham which had over 400 visitors. She talked to other Support Group facilitators, experienced some alternative therapies such as Reiki and Mindfulness Meditation and listened to some lectures on Tinnitus management techniques. She will be incorporating her experience into future Group events. See future dates here.

I very much enjoyed the talk on vestibular disorders at our last support group by Guest Speaker Fiona Barker, a clinical scientist at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Windsor. This was followed by a ‘Defeat Dizziness’ coffee morning at Liston Hall which raised £100 during Balance Awareness Week, a key fundraising event for the Meniere’s Society.

Gilly is holding a ‘Paws for Christmas’ coffee morning at Farnham Common Library on Saturday 1st December for Hearing Dogs and we will also be holding mulled wine and mince pie events in the Marlow Practice on 11th December and Farnham Common on 12th December. Please do join us to celebrate the festive season. Read more about “Paws for Christmas”.

We hope you enjoy this newsletter. Please send us any feedback or requests you may have so we can ensure we’re providing the information you’d like to receive.

Caption Competition

This competition is now closed.

At our recent photo shoot this image somehow made its way into the portfolio, even though Kevin and Gilly had no idea it was being taken. We would like to invite you to write a caption for this photo. The winning caption will be published in our next edition. Every entrant will receive a Help in Hearing branded Cross Pen and the overall winner will win a £50 John Lewis voucher. The funnier the better………. we look forward to hearing from you!

Enter our caption competition

Come along to our technology days

Technology days in November

The future is now - technology days

Could hearing aids become a multi-dimensional medical and lifestyle device?

One day, they really could. As well as rechargeable, Bluetooth hearing aids you will be able to link your hearing devices to health and fitness apps and there is even talk about aids that will be able to translate for you when you are abroad. Imagine a hearing aid that becomes an “Alexa” style voice response facility – set your heating, turn on your coffee machine, record your shopping list, it may all be possible.

A new concept in hearing care is also being developed known as tele-audiology where adjustments to your hearing aids can be made via “Facetime” type technology.

We are holding two technology days to showcase the latest launches by all the leading hearing aid manufacturers. There will be a mini exhibition open to the public to show just how far technology has progressed. See and feel the latest models and find out how they can enhance your hearing better than ever. Combined with this, there will be a series of talks on each day which will give you an insight into future technology that is almost hard to believe.

For any new clients that attend the events we are offering a voucher for a complimentary hearing assessment worth £120 and there will also be exclusive offers on aids only available to visitors on the day.

Wednesday 28th November

Harleyford Golf Club
Harleyford Estate, Harleyford, Henley Rd, Marlow SL7 2SP
Exhibition: The Pavilion
Talks: The Clayton Room
Refreshments served all day

Thursday 29th November

South Buckinghamshire Golf Club
The South Buckinghamshire, Park Road, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire SL2 4PJ
Exhibition: The Oak Room
Talks: The Cedar Room
Refreshments served all day

Talks:

  • Consequences of Hearing Loss, Help in Hearing
  • Energy Cell Technology, Widex
  • The Flex Ecosystem, Unitron
  • The Future of Hearing Aids, Oticon
  • The Power & Convenience of Rechargeable Hearing Aids, Sivantos
  • A New Dimension in Hearing, Starkey
  • Remote Assist and Personalising Hearing Care, GN Resound
  • Future concepts for mobile phone conversations, Phonak

For further information & to reserve your place please call Gilly on 0345 2220579.

Costas Lambropoulos & Dr Charlotte Morris of Paron Mindfulness

Costas Lambropoulos and Dr Charlotte Morris from Paron Mindfulness

Mindfulness option for tinnitus sufferers

According to an article in the Guardian in July, cognitive therapy is becoming more effective in reducing stress and insomnia than some of the more traditional techniques.

The article goes on to say “A mindfulness-based approach can dramatically reduce the impact of tinnitus, according to a ground-breaking study that will offer hope to the one in 10 people who are affected by the condition at some time in their lives”.

While its cause is unknown, Tinnitus results from some type of change that can be either mental or physical and may be unrelated to hearing. There is currently no known cure but the study, published in the journals Ear and Hearing and Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, suggests the effects can be mitigated using psychological techniques.

The research, led by Dr Laurence McKenna from University College London Hospitals NHS foundation trust and Dr Liz Marks from the department of psychology at the University of Bath, found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) can help sufferers far more effectively than some of the relaxation-based treatments currently recommended, although a lot of people also benefit from a combination of relaxation therapies.

With this in mind we have invited local MBCT company Paron Mindfulness to run a workshop at our Marlow Tinnitus Support Group on October 15th. To give you an insight into the benefits of mindfulness Costas Lambropoulos and Dr Charlotte Morris have written this exclusive guest editorial especially for our newsletter. Please click to read the full article, “Can mindfulness help tinnitus?

 

Edwina Currie with the Help in Hearing team

Edwina Currie (2nd from left) and the Help in Hearing team

Edwina becomes an ambassador for hearing aids

On September 11th the Daily Mail Online featured Edwina Currie’s personal hearing loss story. We were lucky enough to hear Edwina giving a talk last year at an Oticon conference when she revealed how she had been relying on lipreading to keep up with conversations but realised how difficult it was becoming to respond to her audience questions when it came to the Q&A sessions.

71-year-old Edwina had considered reducing her workload because of her reduced hearing but she now relishes every opportunity in life to communicate and believes that no one should put off having hearing aids. At the Oticon talk she referred to hearing aids as consumer products that enhance your lifestyle. We were very honoured to meet her and delighted by her positive approach.

Turn hearing aids into jewellery

Debbie Perry turns her hearing aids into jewellery

Turn hearing aids into jewellery

One of our clients, Debbie Perry (pictured), likes her hearing aids to be noticed. As an art teacher she believes it is beneficial for her students to know she is hard of hearing. She wears her Phonak Bolero behind-the-ear devices which enhance her hearing tremendously. She likes to accessorise the tubing with coloured twists and sparkly charms. She buys her Tube Twists from Hayleighs Cherished Charms She has about 6 pairs of tubes at the moment but is planning to take the fashion statement a stage further next time, opting for aids in an eye-catching colour choice. She says: “I think Kevin thinks I am mad as most people seem to want to hide theirs!”

Cherished Charms was set up by a young girl called Hayleigh who attended a school for hard of hearing and deaf children. She noticed that a lot of youngsters tried to hide their hearing aids behind their hair but she wanted to make her hearing aids “shine and fancy” so she could be proud of wearing them. She has since designed a range of hearing aid scrunchies, tube twists, tube treasures and bling.

And with Christmas not so far away, they make great gifts!

Fiona Barker, Clinical Scientist, The Princess Margaret Hospital, Windsor

Fiona Barker, Clinical Scientist, The Princess Margaret Hospital, Windsor

Talk on vestibular disorders

A big thank you to Fiona Barker, a Clinical Scientist from the Princess Margaret Hospital for giving an excellent talk on vestibular disorders at our last Tinnitus support Group Meeting. Fiona talked about various inner ear conditions that lead to dizziness including BBPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) which causes brief periods of vertigo with movement; and Meniere’s Disease which results in pressure in the ear, Tinnitus, vertigo, dizziness and hearing loss.

Fiona covered aspects of how the ear works and how the crystals and hairs in the inner ear cause these problems and she also talked about the importance of rehabilitation and physio. She emphasised the importance of looking around at the countryside while out walking rather than focusing on one vista as this is good for our posture and vestibular conditioning. If anyone has any questions on dizziness and vestibular disorders, please do email or call and we will try and get some information for you.

For those that were unable to get to the event to listen to Fiona’s talk we have a video available below.

A small note, the video is an amateur video taken on an iPhone for internal use, but we had so many requests to share we posted here – but no awards for cinematography this time! 

In Other News

Defeat Dizziness Coffee Morning

Defeat dizziness coffee morning success

In September the Meniere’s Society held Balance Awareness Week as a focus for fundraising. We raised just over £100 by holding a “Help Defeat Dizziness” coffee morning to raise awareness of this debilitating vestibular disease on Sept 18th at Liston Hall, Marlow. The delicious cakes were baked by our talented Help in Hearing Receptionist Jan Gosling and we would like to say a big thank you to the ladies at the next-door Zumba class who joined us for a well-deserved indulgent treat at the end of their morning.

Winner of our Hypersound speaker competition

Newsletter competition winner

In our last issue we included a free to enter competition to win Hypersound Clear 500 directional speakers. We are very pleased to announce the winner is one of our Farnham Common clients, Emma Gardener. We were delighted to discover that this prize was also an extra wedding present for Emma who shared with us the news that she was getting married in September. Congratulations Emma!

Marlow FM Fundraising Event

Raise a glass to Marlow FM

On September 17th Selma and Gilly attended a business networking fundraising event for local radio station Marlow FM. It was good to talk to their team of presenters, representatives from the town council and other local businesses. The weather couldn’t have been better for this champagne reception held at the Compleat Angler on the beautiful lawns leading down to the river.  The champagne was sponsored by Laurent Perrier, with canapes provided by Atul Kochhar’s on-site Indian restaurant Sindhu. A perfect evening. Thank you, Marlow FM.

Alfie's antics

Alfie's antics

Alfie the Bichon (Gilly’s dog) is so fond of Kevin that he has even been on a sleepover. While Gilly was away one long weekend Alfie had a wonderful 4 night stay which featured lots of visits to Kevin’s friends, family and local pubs. He wasn’t too keen on his dog biscuits when he was reunited with Gilly. When she quizzed Kevin she discovered that Alfie now prefers bacon for breakfast and a roast for Sunday lunch! Alfie is such a part of the Help in Hearing family that he recently preened and posed for an official shot at our recent company photo shoot.

Hearing Dog Cooper

Hearing dog puppy, Cooper

Quiz night & hearing dog talk

Tuesday October 9th – 7:00pm – 10:00pm
The Oak Room, South Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Park Road, Stoke Poges SL2 4PJ

Win a luxury Fortnum & Mason hamper

Tickets for our Quiz Night on October 9th have been selling fast but if anyone still wants to put together a team, please do get in touch. We are delighted to have guest speaker volunteers Mike & Clare Coote from Hearing Dogs at the event who will be giving us an insight into the training and dedication of the dogs and the staff and bringing along their puppy Cooper (pictured).

The winning team will win a luxury hamper donated by Sivantos and raffle prizes include a round of golf for four at the South Bucks Golf Club.

Ticket price: £12 (teams of 6)
Call 0345 222 0579 to book
Fish & Chips or Halloumi supper
Drinks available at the bar

Paws for coffee this Christmas

Paws for Coffee this Christmas

Paws for Coffee

Saturday 1st December 10:00am – 12:00 midday
Farnham Common Library

In aid of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

Christmas shopping can be quite a stressful experience. That’s why Hearing Dogs for Deaf People are encouraging people to ‘Paws for coffee’ this Christmas and help raise funds so that the charity can provide the invaluable gift of independence, confidence and companionship to more deaf people.

Hearing Dogs receives no government funding and relies on the generosity of members of the public, trusts and companies to continue its important work. Please do join us at Farnham Common library.

Mulled wine and mince pies Christmas open days

Please join us for our Christmas open days

Mulled wine and mince pies Christmas open days

Join us for mulled wine and mince pies. Make sure your ears and your hearing are in tip top condition ready for the festive season. Call in for hearing aid cleaning and servicing, plus we will be taking micro-suction bookings for any clients that need wax removal.

Help in Hearing Marlow Practice

Tuesday 11th December 2:00pm – 6:00pm
Cedar House, Glade Road, Marlow SL7 1DQ

Help in Hearing Farnham Common Practice

Wednesday 12th December 2:00pm – 6:00pm
Southmead Clinic, Blackpond Lane, Farnham Common SL2 3ER

Tinnitus Support Group

If you’re affected by Tinnitus, come along to our regular Tinnitus Support Group events

Tinnitus Support Group Events

Whether you have Tinnitus or not, you are very welcome to join any of our events. Bring your friends and family – just contact us to let us know.

Monday October 15th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Doors open at 6:00pm for refreshments and chat with other support group members

Help in Hearing, Cedar House, Glade Road, Marlow SL7 1DQ

A workshop on mindfulness. A recent survey has shown how effective mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) can be.

Monday November 12th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Doors open at 6:00pm for refreshments and chat with other support group members

Help in Hearing, Cedar House, Glade Road, Marlow SL7 1DQ

A positive tinnitus story. A talk by Julian Cowan Hill, a Craniosacral Therapist, Psychotherapist, Tinnitus Counsellor and author of “A Positive Tinnitus Story”; “Tinnitus, From Tyrant to Friend”; and “The Long Tide to Silence”.

Tuesday December 11th, 6.00pm- 7.30pm

Help in Hearing, Cedar House, Glade Road, Marlow SL7 1DQ

Christmas Social

Mulled wine & Mince Pies

Please join us to celebrate the festive season and join us for a Christmas social with members of the group.

Book your place at any event: Call 0345 222 0579 or email Gilly.

Selma Becker

What our patients say about us

Read some recent feedback and reviews we’ve received from our patients. We’d love to hear your feedback too, so please email us if you’d like to provide feedback or a testimonial about our service.

GroHawk 10/10 review for Help in Hearing

10/10 for Help in Hearing

 

David Stanbury

“I have dealt with Help in Hearing for several years and have always found their service and back up excellent.”

Alan Tipper

“Pleasant and competent service and sound advice.”

Kenneth Malcolm

“10 out of 10 because since having my hearing aids a few years ago I have received excellent service for any problem I may have experienced, from making an adjustment to the aids to removing wax from my ears.”

Orlando Heron

“Selma is solely focused on offering exceptional service to her clients.”

Dating with hearing loss

Ideas for dating with hearing loss

Dating with hearing loss

Dating or having a romantic evening with your partner, husband or wife with hearing loss can be different than being in a fully “hearing” relationship – but there are some things that can make it so much easier. Directional microphones in the hearing aids we sell have become so much more sophisticated, offering amazing speech discrimination. But it is still important to choose the right places to go out on your date night. This article gives you our top 5 date ideas for couples with hearing loss.

If your partner has hearing loss, it is important that when choosing somewhere to go on a date, each person is comfortable in the location. There is no point in going somewhere too noisy, busy or complicated, as it brings many more challenges. A date night is meant to be precious time spent enjoying the other person’s company and having fun. With background noise, or too many people or distractions, your partner with hearing loss may have a more difficult time enjoying the experience.

So how do you pick somewhere to go on a date, where both of you are comfortable? Click the link to read our article “Top 5 dating ideas for couples with hearing loss” on our blog.

Signia Styletto Hearing Aids

Introducing the Signia Styletto

Not just a hearing aid – embracing life with stylish high-tech

Styletto is described by its launch company, Sivantos, as “high-tech hearwear.”

Styletto colour rangeThe world’s first SLIM-RIC hearing aid

As the world’s first SLIM-RIC, it is sleek and stylish and transforms the look of hearing aids. Styletto is available in three performance levels and three colour combinations: Dark Granite & Silver, Cosmic Blue & Rose Gold, and Snow White & Rose Gold.

Rechargeable hearing aids

Not only is it slim and smart, Styletto wearers can also enjoy a full day’s wear, enabled by unique lithium-ion batteries and charging-on-the-go via an ultra-slim portable charging case. This delivers an astounding four days of user autonomy, (based on 16 hours wearing a day) free from plugs or cables – perfect for a relaxing weekend getaway or an important business trip.

Own-voice processing

Whether it’s an intimate chat or a discussion with a group, with Styletto you can enjoy true fidelity in outstanding sound quality, including your own voice, thanks to Own Voice Processing (TM).

myHearing App

The myHearing App is your hearing care professional in your pocket. You can receive instant help and advice, including live remote tuning, to find the optimal settings for your hearing aids while you’re in real-world situations.

touchControl App™ and miniPocket™

Discreet and convenient, the touchControl App lets you change your hearing aids’ programs and settings remotely via your smartphone.

Or use miniPocket™; small enough to fit on a keyring, it’s the perfect companion for anyone without a smartphone.

Watch the video to see Styletto in action

Signia Styletto – where to find out more

The Signia Styletto hearing aid is now available at Help in Hearing. If you’d like to find out more, please give us a ring on 0345 222 0579 or fill in our contact form online.

Get in touch

If you’d like to know more about any of the stories or events in this newsletter, or if you have a story you think might be of interest to our readers, please click the button below to send us an email.

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