Kia ora to all new and existing customers of Hobsonville Hearing. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle and the devastating effects it has had across many communities in the North Island. 

Our clinic remained open throughout this period, serving our community for all ear-related services, although some of you may have noticed a few water leaks at reception that are undergoing repair.

In this newsletter, we bring you:

• February's Spotlight Patient - Jules Wyatt
• Summerset Wellness Event Presentation
• Female Buddy Needed at Summerset Retirement Village
• Brown Noise - What is it?
• University Study (Still) in Need of Participants

Tell us about yourself 

I am a 63-year-old adrenaline junkie with an adventurous job in the New Zealand Air Force working as a senior aircraft engineer. My time in the military has been interspersed with work in the civilian sector in the snow industry; working, driving, and maintaining PistenBully snowcats and aircraft engineering contracting. I spent my downtime travelling and diving around the world. (Jules is also a musician who plays the flute and guitar!)
 
Tell us about your hearing loss and when you first noticed it
I first noticed my hearing loss when socialising in company around a dinner table and couldn’t hear people through the crosstalk. I tried filling in the gaps when listening to people or lip-reading but realised that it wasn’t working and it was socially isolating me.
   
Prior to getting a hearing aid, how did your hearing loss impact your life?
My hearing loss manifested itself over a lifetime exposure to the military workplace, working on fast jets, large cargo aircraft and deploying overseas in conflict areas being subject to gunfire and loud bangs. Being adventurous and young at heart, I found it hard to admit I was losing my hearing and it was starting to cause problems. Suddenly I could no longer be a military parachutist as I couldn’t pass the hearing test. Finally, it became hard to hear in classroom situations.
 
At what point did you realise you needed to do something about your hearing?
I realised I needed to do something about my hearing loss when I kept failing my workplace hearing tests. There are only so many excuses you can use before the Occupational Health Nurse tells you to stop telling lies and do something about it. “I have had the flu, and my ears are still blocked” works for a while though.
 
Did you do any research about hearing solutions before coming to Hobsonville Hearing?
I talked to three of my military friends who had sought hearing aids and they researched Specsavers, and others, and recommended Hobsonville Hearing. I made my own enquires and found them positive, friendly and really easy to deal with. I felt embarrassed becoming deaf in my work and social environment and didn’t want to admit to myself that I was getting old. I certainly didn’t what to have BIG SKIN COLOURED hearing attachments sticking out my ears for all to see.
 
Tell us about your hearing aid journey and how it has impacted your day-to-day life.
The hardest thing I found about the whole hearing aid journey is admitting to myself that I needed them and making a choice on which one suited my needs. There are many different types, models, sizes, and colours to suit all needs. I can now walk into meetings and sit at the back of the room and hear the speaker with ease. When I tune my guitar or play the flute I can define the pitch with accuracy and ease. One of the best features I found with my hearing aids is when the office gets noisy I can Bluetooth ocean sounds into my head to block other distractions out. On flying or diving days they get left at home in the charger, and I enjoy the peace of flying and being underwater.

Just a little advice, do not go paragliding in them - the wind noise through the rigging lines and the canopy is amplified and it sounds like you have your head out the window of a car at 80km. 

Earlier this month, we attended the Summerset at Monterey Park Retirement Village for a Wellness Event. Abby was invited to speak at the event itself, as well as the residents meeting where over 80 people were present! We met so many lovely Summerset residents, and hope to meet many more in the coming weeks as word of mouth spreads.

We have also been invited to present at another local retirement village, Waterford on Hobsonville Point. This will take place on Wednesday 15th March. If you are a resident of Waterford, we hope you can be there to support Abby's presentation.

We have a patient at Summerset who needs a "buddy" to help her insert her hearing aids. This patient has a medical issue that sometimes prevents her from being able to insert them. I know we have seen lots of residents from Summerset through our doors, many of whom have hearing aids themselves. If there are any female residents there who would be willing to lend a hand, please reply to this email.

The buddy system is something we have been thinking about for some time. We endeavour to establish a network of volunteer "buddies" at each of the local retirement villages to lend a hand and share their own hearing aid knowledge with others in need.

You've heard of white noise and maybe even pink noise, but have you ever heard of brown noise?

Masking sounds, such as white noise, can be an effective way to provide relief from tinnitus (ringing/sounds inside the ears or head) and if you are a tinnitus sufferer, Abby may have pointed you in the direction of various tinnitus masking sounds on YouTube.

Masking noises can also provide a better sleeping environment by blocking out other, interfering sounds (such as spouses who snore!) without the need for uncomfortable and sometimes unhygienic ear plugs.

What is the difference between the colours of sound? Well, the human ear can hear from 20 Hertz (Hz) up to 20,000 Hz - if you've had a hearing test at Hobsonville Hearing, you will usually see hearing thresholds from 125 Hz up to 8000 Hz. This is where the sounds of speech are most important, and generally where hearing aids can amplify sound.

Masking sounds play sound across the whole audible spectrum. For white noise, higher frequencies are played louder, and the output is a "hissing" type sound. For pink noise, low-frequencies are slightly louder than for white noise and the output is more like rain falling. For brown noise, the low frequencies are played louder, making the output more like the sound of a river flowing, which can be a more relaxing sound for people.

We asked Dr. David Welch, associate professor at the University of Auckland, his thoughts on brown noise, which he says "is effective at masking the background sounds around us because of its spectral shape. This means it tends to block sounds that would capture our attention or awaken us when we are asleep. There is nothing magic about how it works, and many people find it helps them.” - Dr David Welch, Associate Professor UoA

What is the best way to play brown noise? Abby thinks investing in a Google Home device - sort of like a smart alarm clock with lots of extra features, is a great option. You can set up "routines" which activate certain actions at certain times. For example, a bedtime routine may turn off your smart light, set a 7am alarm and play "sleep sounds" in the form of brown noise. You can also play it from your smartphone directly from YouTube or, download the Starkey Relax app for free from the App Store or Play Store and make your own masking sound by editing one of the nature sounds. Have a listen to an example of brown noise below.

As mentioned in our January newsletter, we are helping to recruit participants on behalf of audiology student, Advaita, for her Masters's Thesis. Advaita was on placement with us last year and is recruiting people who have been fitted with hearing aids in the last 6-months to participate by completing a short questionnaire. If you would be interested in taking part, please reply to this newsletter and we will forward the information to you.

As always, we are here to help you with all of your ear-related needs:

• Visit our website at www.hobsonvillehearing.co.nz
• Email us on [email protected]
• Call us on 09-930-9880

Or visit our clinic during our opening hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5pm.

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