A review of how the human ear works:

The human ear is an amazing mechanism, but not as efficient as those belonging to some of our friends in the animal kingdom. Some foxes, for example, have the ability to direct their outer ear to detect even ants moving underground. That would be dandy if ants happen to be a source of survival, but most humans would settle for hearing the news on TV, or a grandchild’s laughter.
To refresh what most of us learned in junior high school health class, the ear has three basic components: the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. The outer ear consists of the skin and cartilage that hangs on both sides of your head and the ear canal, which extends about an inch inside the head. This canal not only protects the delicate inner parts of the ear, but actually amplifies the resonance of certain pitches necessary for understanding speech.
The middle ear consists of the eardrum, the ossicles (tiny bones nicknamed the hammer, anvil and stirrup), and the Eustachian tube. The eardrum is highly sensitive to vibration which it passes along to the ossicles; they, in turn, compress it; focusing all the vibration onto the tiny footplate of the stirrup. Because sound is nothing more than a vibration in the air, the body’s internal amplifier needs air provided by the Eustachian tube. It has one open end in the middle ear and the other end in the back of the throat, and provides a way to equalize pressure.
The inner ear consists of the snail-like cochlea, the semicircular canals and the endings of the auditory nerve. The intensive vibration of the stirrup on the oval window that connects the middle and inner ear creates a wave in the fluid filling of the cochlea, setting in motion its tiny hairlike projections, which then contact the nerve endings. The nerve carries the signal to the brain for interpretation.
With all this delicate machinery, it is easy to see how something might go wrong along the way. Sometimes it is as simple as an accumulation of wax in the ear canal, which may only get packed deeper when you try to clean it out. In other cases, a perforated eardrum can result from an injury or an illness and cause temporary hearing loss. The fragile inner ear is subject to infection by a variety of viruses including mumps and measles and any illness accompanied by a very high fever.
In a conductive hearing loss, the outer or middle ear does not conduct sound as well as it should, primarily causing a loss of sensitivity for hearing soft sounds. When the problem is in the inner ear, stemming from disease, injury or age (where the transmitter is operating but the brain isn’t picking up the signal), this is misleadingly referred to as “nerve deafness.” With this sensorineural hearing loss, there is a reduced sensitivity to soft sounds as well as difficulty in clearly distinguishing one sound from another.

Signs of hearing loss

Do people seem to be mumbling more than they used to? Are your friends complaining because it takes you forever to answer the phone? Are you asking people to repeat themselves more frequently? Do you find it easier to let your spouse do all the talking at parties because all the noise runs together and prevents you from understanding conversations around you?
If you answer yes to more than one of these questions, you may be one of the approximately 30 million Americans who are considered to be hearing impaired. Age-related hearing loss will ultimately happen to everyone, it just affects some of us earlier than it does others. Ears have a tendency to be like the family car. Sometimes they just don’t work, they get damaged, or they simply wear out.
Statistics indicate that, for many people, the loss of hearing begins at about age 55. In medical terminology, age-related hearing loss is called presbycusis -- presby meaning elder and akousis or hearing. Generally, this kind of hearing loss affects both ears; it is permanent because there has been some degeneration of nerve cells; it gradually worsens with age, and is more pronounced for high-pitched sounds.
If one or both of your parents had hearing difficulties relatively early in life, the odds are pretty good that you will experience some hearing impairment by the time your middle 50’s roll around. Medical science now has evidence that Mom was right when she said to turn down the stereo; there is a whole generation of people today who have hearing problems that are traceable to teen years spent with the volume permanently set on “max.”

Poor quality of life for children with minor hearing loss

Children with mild hearing loss suffer a greater loss in their quality of life than children of the same age with greater hearing loss, or so their parents believe.



Australian researchers measured the physical and psychological quality of life among 83 7-8 year-old children with congenital hearing loss. Parents of the children responded to questions about the impact of their children’s hearing loss on the children’s daily life. The parents believed that the severity of the hearing loss was the greatest determinant of quality of life, but the study indicated that milder losses were associated with poorer parent-reported quality of life.

Effects of mild hearing loss often overlooked

The researchers believe that this apparent contradiction may be due to the perceptions and expectations among parents of mildly hearing impaired children. These parents may perceive their children’s behavioral, learning and other problems as greater than the problems of more severely hearing impaired children, as perceived by their respective parents. Parents of children with mild hearing loss often expect that their children will be able to get along just like normal hearing children, whereas parents of children with greater hearing loss are more inclined to accept that their children have problems and expect that they will be disadvantaged in comparison with normal hearing children. The researchers behind the study recommend that children with mild hearing loss receive the same level of attention as children with greater hearing loss. Lower priority attention results in the same quality of life decline for children with mild hearing loss as is usually associated with children with greater hearing loss.

Source: Parent-reported health-related quality of life in children with congenital hearing loss: a population study. Ambulatory Pediatrics

Important information for concerned parents:


Children with Hearing Loss

In addition to seeing a physician for a medical evaluation, a child with a hearing loss should be directed to an audiologist for evaluation and rehabilitation because hearing loss may cause problems with language development and the educational and social growth of the child. An audiologist is qualified by training and experience to assist in the evaluation and rehabilitation of a child with a hearing loss.

Aids purchased over the counter or online are not a suitable approach for treating children with hearing loss. It is very important that children see a specialist. The case for intervention with children is compelling…children who have never experienced normal hearing can benefit significantly from specialized hearing aids and counseling.

Welcome to the Nexear Blog. Nexear is a company dedicated to providing a low cost alternative to costly hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing impairment. Watch this Blog over the coming months as we intend to publish as a public service; articles of interest to the hearing impaired community.

Here is a little history on our company.
Nexear was started in 2005 by Jack Carlson and Bob Kidd. We formed the company in response to the following need which we identified and sought to satisfy.
We learned that the majority of people with hearing loss self diagnosed their problem but were reluctant to purchase an aid because of historically high costs. We started Earcon Technologies to develop Nexear hearing aids for those with mild to moderate hearing loss, and were lacking an affordable solution to their hearing problem. The average cost of a hearing aid is in excess of $2000, and the suggested retail price for many Over-The-Ear mini aids is in the $4000 -$5000 range per aid. As a result of this pricing structure many individuals have had to forgo the benefits of amplification because they found the price prohibitive. By comparison the suggested retail price of Nexear aids is in the $300-$500 range.

Nexear hearing aids have been developed so that they are "ready to wear" right out of the box. The aids are pre-programmed with standard response curves and they are delivered with tips and tubes so they can be self-fitted. With Nexear aids you need only to select a tip or tube, insert a battery and you are “good-to-hear”. Today, Nexear not only provides hearing aids for first time users, but additionally to people who seek high-quality replacement aids at an affordable cost.
We encourage you to visit our Web Site for more information at
www.nexear.com