Hearing Aid Consultation

The Palais Garnier     Photograph: December, 2010

"Having problems with hearing, but also need to know more about hearing aids."　"If possible, would like to try one before deciding to purchase."  "Did buy a set, but it only annoys me with noise; I cannot understand what people are saying to me" --  these are some of the most common complaints I hear from patients. Unlike prescription glasses and contact lenses, Hearing Aids are often bought without adequate checkups and professional consultations.
Worse still, some people may go to a discount store for bargains. No wonder so many of the people end up not fully satisfied with their Hearing Aids despite the fact they pay a lot of money, more than \500,000 for a set.
In this section we will try to explain how this Clinic can help those who may need a Hearing Aid, who has one but does not know if it is the right type, or who may wish to try a set to eliminate their pending problems, like not being able to follow what are being spoken at a business meeting, etc. We will try to answer all questions related to Hearing Aids.

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The blind spot of a Hearing Aid
It may interest you to note that some, if not many of elderly people do not actually feel that much discomfort with their poor hearing.  

People with poor hearing, but without any ear ringing, actually live in a very quiet environment (because their hearing is poor, the world is peacefully quiet). That means that providing a hearing aid inadvertently pulls them back to the normal world, which to them, is full of noise. And the patient himself/herself is not that much in discomfort with poor hearing, but his/her family members are bothered having to face the dilemma. It is not the patient who gets tired of asking to repeat, but the family members who get tired of having to repeat the same sentence over and over again. Thus, often times, the family members are those who suggest getting a hearing aid. The patient may think it is a bother and can quickly decide to discontinue its use,  chucking the set straight into a drawer.

Selection of the Hearing Aid
If you make a mistake in this, no matter how much you adjust it, you will not succeed.

With recent developments in digital technologies, various gadgets have been developed including an effective Hearing Aid. Unfortunately, not all products are capable of withstanding daily use nor prove to be completely dependable. There are about 500 products in various styles and brands being sold in Japan today.
In 1993 I have tested 460 of them (from 25 different manufacturers), but could only approve about 10% of them to be effective and acceptable. Most of them were very poor in quality simply capable of magnifying sounds, including bad noise. Advertising in mass media also mislead the consumer by their propaganda that "anything digital sounded good" This pathetic situation continued for a while. In the meantime I was instrumental in making approaches to manufacturers, stressing the vital need for a good hearing aid. I even ventured to create a prototype myself that proved to be good enough for anyone to enjoy a good concert.
By 1998, more acceptable quality digital hearing aids started to hit the market. In my last survey and experiment in January of 2001, 18 out of 45 products (digital hearing aids) have passed our rigorous tests. What is the key difference between a digital and an analog ?  I believe the difference is merely the sound processing system itself, and not necessarily that of sound quality. To conclude that digital is always better is biased and those who profess this should rethink their understanding and judgment. 
　

Director: Yoshihiro Koseki

Medical Specialist of Otolaryngology, recognized by the Japanese Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Japanese Board of Cardiovascular Surgery  (from 1989)
Executive Doctor of Law for the Welfare of Physically Disabled Persons  (from 1988)
Executive Doctor for Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, recognized by the Japanese Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery  (from 1991)
Teacher and practical instruction of workshop for hearing aid consultant doctors by Japanese Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery  (from 2005)