If you say huh then you can hear. If you have difficulty with understanding speech, you may have sensori-neural hearing loss (nerve damage in the cochlea). Part of the hearing test involves scoring your ability to repeat one syllable phonetically balanced words at a comfortably amplified level with no background noise. While many score in the 80% and 90% range, others score below 50%. Imagine trying to understand speech when you have less than half the information to work with. This can explain why some people do very well with hearing aids and others still struggle. Much of our counseling centers around your speech discrimination score, realistic expectations, and the latest technological advances to maximize your understanding capability.
I had the pleasure of creating another WOW moment today with a gentleman who scored 60% on his word list with both ears. I put ReSound Alera hearing instruments on him and gave his wife the wireless mini-mic. He heard and understood beautifully with the hearing aids, and when she used the mini-mic he was beside himself at how much better it sounded. The right tools for the job make such a huge difference.
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