Cattails

Hearing the world again, thanks to digital hearing aids

After being fit with new, behind-the-ear, digital hearing aids, Peter Whitis, M.D., re-discovered it’s “a noisy world out there.”

Now, he can hear the furnace turn on, the washing machine spin, the toast pop up and the coffee pot gurgle. “Best of all, I can now talk to people and understand what they are saying better,” he said.

Dr. Whitis, who practiced child psychiatry in Dubuque, Iowa, said he might not have retired had the digital hearing aids fit for him at Marshfield Clinic Eau Claire Center been available in 1997. “In my practice, I saw a lot of children whose voices were high pitch and out of my range. That’s one of the reasons I retired.”

Peter Whitis of Eau Claire.

Dr. Whitis and his wife, Martha, moved to Eau Claire in 2005 to be near their son, Benjamin Whitis, M.D., a Sacred Heart Hospital radiologist. Thinking wax buildup in his ears was affecting his hearing, he went to Marshfield Clinic Eau Claire Center’s Otolaryngology Department.

“The ENT (ears, nose and throat) doctor said I did not have a wax problem, but my hearing aids were pretty old. So he suggested I see an audiologist,” he said.

Audiologist Rebecca Bredl, AuD., suggested Dr. Whitis try digital hearing aids, which can be computer-programmed for different situations. She had already tried them with some of her more experienced hearing aid wearers who were very pleased with them. “They were doing better with noise. Nine out of 10 said they wanted to use the digital hearing aids. I thought that was great, that this is truly beneficial,” Bredl said.

Like many people, Dr. Whitis lost his hearing so gradually that he barely noticed it. “My wife, whose hearing is so exquisite she can hear the conversation at a table 20 feet away in a noisy restaurant, learned to repeat herself rather frequently in our conversations, for now going past 50 years,” he said.

Losing his hearing not only led to his retirement, he began avoiding many social situations because he had so much trouble hearing family members at the dinner table, in church, and lectures. “With all these limitations, I lost contact with people. Increasingly, my life was dominated by reading, closed-captioned TV, and solitary pursuits like bird watching, the Internet, long-distance running and biking,” he said. “Tennis, my passion, continued to be fun but my partners knew I couldn’t hear let calls or they had to come to the net to talk with me.”

It is because of the detrimental impact that hearing loss can have on a patient’s lifestyle that Bredl recommends hearing tests as soon as a loss is noticed. “It is extremely important, as important as taking care of a vision loss,” she said.

The sooner older adults recognize a loss and are fit with hearing aids, the greater likelihood they will successfully adjust to them. People generally may refer themselves for a hearing test, although some insurance may require a medical referral.

Patients do not have to see an ENT specialist unless a medical condition is suspected as the cause of the hearing loss.

Hearing losses are more common with age because the hair cells of the inner ear break down much like other parts of the body. Also, repeated noise exposure damages hearing, something that is of concern with young people constantly listening to loud music through electronic devices such as iPods. While older adults who work in noisy situations seem more willing to wear ear protection, she finds young people are less likely to do so.

Hearing aid technology clearly has improved, both in terms of their size and capability. Dr. Whitis’ digital hearing aids are programmed to automatically change with his activities, such as listening to music, telephone conversation, television and conversation in noisy environments. Also, they have a volume and mute button. “By hooking them up to her computer, my audiologist can tell how much volume I have increased in different listening situations, how much time I’ve spent in voice-noisy or voice-quiet situations. She can reprogram them individually depending on my needs and comfort level,” Dr. Whitis said.

While the digital hearing aids have been great help to him, he said, “It is not all peachy” and at times he does hit the mute button to drown out noises he does not want to hear. “But playing tennis was a totally new experience,” Dr. Whitis said. “Now I could hear the ball being hit, with an exhilarating sound like chopping wood.”

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