Hear The Music

So…. when is a hearing aid prescription a hearing aid prescription? Hearing aid prescription is a regulated act in many jurisdictions around the world. Regulation is not an issue unto itself- the important issue is why did local jurisdictions want hearing aid prescriptions to be regulated in the first place.  Yes, regulations can change, but the reasons behind them generally

The most important element in a hearing aid fitting is the OSPL90. This, according to ANSI 3.22, is the maximum sound that can be transduced with a 90 dB SPL input.  The OSPL90 is a well-defined measure that provides information on the maximum output, and when combined with other measuring tools such as the Real Ear Coupler Difference (RECD) can

In part 1 of this blog series, several general issues were touched on regarding the simplistic nature of the first and second PCAST recommendations. In summary, both were predicated on referring to a “basic” hearing aid as one that is of a mild to moderate degree and one that could equally (or almost equally in the eyes of the PCAST

Most of my blog entries are not particularly political. They can, and do touch on certain advocacy items if I feel that it may affect the accessibility of services or products, but by in large, I have situated my blog entries in more of a technical and clinical framework. The recommendations of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and

From time to time we see clients clinically who have very significant sensory, and possibly neural, damage. The question always arises in my mind whether to amplify the sound reaching that ear, or to remove the ear from the auditory environment.  There is no clear test for this.  In some cases it can be the result of end-stage Meniere’s disease,

Last week’s blog was about acoustic tractor beams and even though only a measly 9 watts was required, it did use a 40,000 Hz signal at very high sound levels. A stimulus such as 40,000 Hz (40 kHz) is considered an ultrasonic sound because it exceeds the hearing threshold of normal hearing young people. Unfortunately I can only hear up

What consumes only 9 watts of power and is at 40 kHz? Well, I think we would all agree that this sounds just like an acoustic tractor beam. Unfortunately it can’t grab onto Romulan battle cruisers or interstellar Ferengi cargo ships because it is acoustic, and other than Battle Star Galactica, there is no sound in space.  (The producers of

The last thing that one would expect a goldfish to ask is something about the water. Fish are surrounded by water, are born in water, live their lives in water and, in short, know nothing about water. Fish take water for granted because that is all they know. You will never find a course on water in any fish school

Steven Foster died on January 13 in 1864 at the age of 37 (1826-1864). Reports are inconsistent; some say that he was a godly man who never drank while other reports said he was an alcoholic and died from complications.  What is known is that his brother Morrison sought to white-wash Steven’s reputation after his death to protect the family

In part 1 of this blog series, the use of 80 Hz was discussed as an important part of the force in Star Wars. Even Darth Vader knew that an 80 Hz rumble would enhance his control over the dark side but in 1977 (Episode IV) this would have been difficult.  If Darth Vader had survived episode VI and was back