Audioprosthesis
The hearing aids intended to compensate for hearing loss by appropriate apparatus.
The apparatus includes: selecting, adapting, issuing, control efficiency immediate and permanent hearing aids and prosthetic education of hearing impaired sailed. In France, the issue of each device is subjected to compulsory medical prescription.
Models
There are three different models: the intra-atrial, mini open contour and the earloop.
* The intra ear hearing aid is the most discreet, all electronics contained in a molded shell to stay entirely in the ear canal. In turn, this model is recognized as the least effective and least reliable. Moreover, it is stated in the cons of deafness than 50 dB of loss, or in the case of driving too close. However, today the technology evolves and what kind of hearing aid is more reliable.
* The BTE is the most famous and best-selling (7 to 8 hearing aid 10). One can distinguish two parts: the outline and the earmold. The outline is the electronic part of the hearing aid, she stands behind the flag. The earmold is a cast acrylic or silicone adapted to the morphology of the ear canal. It helps to maintain the contour and the transmission of sound through the duct. The two parts are connected through a tube sound. Currently, this model remains the most efficient and most reliable.
* The mini is an open contour model appeared in 2004. The principle is similar to the BTE. The electronic part is always behind the flag, but its size is much smaller and therefore more discreet. Similarly, the earmold is replaced either by a corolla (a plastic dome very airy) a Flexvent (acryl end caps very discreet), allowing greater aeration of the ear canal. This form is particularly suitable for small deafness. This model tends to replace more and more forms intra fibrillation. Finally, a new development of mini stroke occurred, the listener-deported. As its name implies, the listener is positioned directly in the ear of the patient. This provides a more discreet device that corrects edges but hearing loss over 80 dB.
For significant sensorineural hearing loss, cochlear implants directly sends the pulse in the auditory nerve (or nerve Vestibulocochlear) bypassing the mechanical part of the ear.
Recent advances are important, especially with the miniaturization of electronics, which allows more aesthetic and digitization of sound to select the voice frequencies, to detach the word of the noise.
However, the equipment will be little or not effective if the hearing impaired has great difficulty understanding speech. This is called a lack of intelligibility. People who wear hearing aids do not hear sounds natural, but artificial, is an electronic sound.
Funding
The main problem of hearing aids is related to cost and poor care by social security: it takes between 2000 and 3500 euros for a digital equipment in both ears, including monitoring prosthetic made by the audiologist during entire lifetime of the device (5-6 years). However, part of the cost of the equipment is covered by Social Security and Mutual. TIPS (Interministerial Price of health services) adults (> 20 years) is 199.71 euros per ear regardless of the type of device chosen. TIPS children (<20 years) is 1400 euro per ear for the most efficient appliances.
An official journal of the Competition, Consumption and Fraud published in March 2000 showed that in France, prices of equipment are lower than in most industrialized countries, but their support by agencies social is not up to requirements.
A report by the DGCCRF (Directorate General for Consumer, Competition and Repression of Fraud) calls for a decoupling of the cost benefits of hearing aid cost of the device.
To mark the passing of the Finance Act on Social Security, Senators Monique Papon, Adeline and Gousseau Hermange filed an amendment to that effect.
In Switzerland, the price of equipment is determined by the BSV (Federal Office for Social Insurances). The price includes the cost of hearing aids and a package of adjustment corresponding to the various benefits which the patient will receive during the life of her hearing aids (adjustments, cleaning, tips, etc..).
Ear implants
In some cases of deafness, it is advisable to go through an implantable device instead of hearing aids:
* BAHA for cases of deafness called transmission or for patients with chronic otitis. This prosthesis is actually a pillar titanium fixed surgically (under local anesthesia in most cases) to the outer cortex of the skull and which binds an external box containing the microprocessor and the micro. The sounds picked up by the microphone are transmitted through the pillar titanium osseointegration, bone directly through the inner ears, thus bypassing the middle ear pathology.
* Middle ear implants indicated mainly in case of insufficient results or intolerant of conventional hearing aids, these prostheses can REHABILITATION deafness sensorineural or mixed. The fundamental difference with conventional hearing aids is the need for a surgical procedure to connect the prosthesis directly into the middle ear ossicles (incus or stapes) or on the oval or round windows. These prostheses are either semi-implantable (omnidirectional external microphone) is totally implantable.
* Cochlear Implant in deafness of perception say and when the inner ear is too impaired (eg due to meningitis).
* Prosthetics
Read also Dyslexia
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