News
North East League Social and Information Day
Thursday 14th June from 10.30 a.m. – 3.30 p.m.  The morning session is an Age UK Healthy Lifestyles event with health checks, goody bag and seated exercises.
Buffet lunch.
The afternoon session is a presentation by Sarabec about products to help you to hear. There will be a loop system and live subtitles.  All are welcome to attend this event but you must book and pay for the buffet lunch by 1st June.  
The lunch costs £3 for NEL members and £5 for non members.  
Contact us by 30th May if you wish to attend, so we can arrange transport.
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Balance Information Day
Saturday 7th July 10 a.m. – 3.30 p.m. in the Education Centre  Rooms 137/138 at the Freeman Hospital.  The theme is " Balance Related Problems, what is available ? " Speakers include Professor Linda Luxon who is one of the top specialists in balance in the country.  
There will also be information stalls.  Contact us for further information about this event.
Programme
10.00 Stalls and coffee and cake 
11.00  Dr. Frances Watson ~ Freeman Hospital Balance Clinic 
11.30 Prof. Linda Luxon ~ Long-term Cases Of Uncompensated Labyrinthitis 
12.00 Karen Heslop ~ CBT and Dizziness   
1.30 – 2.30 Stalls and coffee and cake 
1.30 Martin Duddy ~ Vestibular Migraine 
2.00 Darren Whelan ~ Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo 
2.30 Emma Loader ~ A Balancing Act 
3.30 Finish
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North Tyneside General Hospital, Rake Lane, North Shields
The Audiology Department provides a hearing aid repair service
Monday to Friday 11 a.m. - 12 noon & 1.30 p.m. - 2.30 p.m.
The Department also provides a direct access hearing aid service in the outpatients for 
those patients referred by their GP.
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Library Services
If you have sight problems you can borrow large print books and talking books from
North Tyneside Libraries free of charge.  
If you have a hearing loss you can borrow DVDs with subtitles free of charge.  
You need to register for this.
Note :- Temporary move for Central Library. ( See plan below )
North Shields Central Library closed, for renovation, on the 26th November, 2011.
A temporary library is open in the former North Tyneside Business Centre, Saville Street. 

 
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Disabled Person’s Railcard
If you use a hearing aid or are registered as deaf you can get a Disabled Persons Railcard.  It costs £18 for one year or £48 for 3 years.  
The Railcard entitles you to one third off rail fares for you and a companion.  
For more information phone 0845 605 0525 or call in to Newcastle Central Station.
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Newsletter Articles Wanted
We would like to publish articles in our newsletter about personal experiences of hearing
loss, including funny incidents.  
If you would like to write a short article we would publish it with your photo.  
Three to five hundred word stories are ideal.  Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Articles of Interest Talk on 4th May, 2012 ~ Shiremoor Centre "Deaf Awareness Day" Val Tait, Hearing Therapist, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Subject - Hearing Aids Val gave an interesting presentation expounding the following headings Our Patch Newcastle upon Tyne North of the River Tyne to Berwick upon Tweed All of Northumberland Audiology is only part of the picture Otolaryngology, Head Neck and Max Fax Ear, Nose and Throat Medicine Speech Therapy Head & Neck Surgery Audiometry & Hearing Aid Services Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Audiology Staff 15 ENT Consultants Around 30 Audiology staff Receptionists Audiologists Ear Mould Technicians Audiological Scientists Hearing Therapists Where do we work ? Freeman Hospital - Monday to Friday North Tyneside General Hospital - Monday to Friday Wansbeck General Hospital - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday AInwick Infirmary - Tuesdays Hexham General Hospital - Thursdays Berwick Infirmary - Fridays Services we offer Diagnostic testing Fitting hearing aids, bone anchored hearing aids, cochlear implants Vestibular Rehabilitation Clinic (dizziness) Tinnitus Management (noises in the ears or head) Hearing Therapy  Equipment Specialised ear moulds - unusual shapes, comfort, allergies How many hearing aids do we fit in a year ? We fit and replace a minimum of 14,500 hearing aids a year We see 8,000 new patients a year  We issue 56,000 batteries a month Whom do we fit with hearing aids ? Adults and children All ages - cradle to grave Mild to profound hearing loss Beethoven's Ear Trumpets NHS hearing aids have moved on Modern NHS Hearing Aids Open fit ear moulds where possible We make our own ear moulds as well All fits, non-allergic etc. All aids are now digital (analogue aids are no longer manufactured) Behind the ear model Bone Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHA) - leading centre in Europe Cochlear Implants Bone Anchored Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Conductive hearing loss Sensorineural hearing loss Ear Moulds Open fit for mild to moderate hearing loss Conventional ear moulds for severe to profound hearing loss - for stability and to prevent whistling Batteries Hearing aids run on batteries The more powerful hearing aids need larger batteries Digital hearing aids Hearing aids vary as new hearing aids are coming out all the time  We keep up to date with new technology Hearing aids We fit many different kinds of hearing aids We fit many different makes of hearing aid The best hearing aid is selected that will suit you personally and your kind of hearing loss It is Individually tuned in by computer It is adjusted to suit your needs Programs are set to suit your requirements Hearing aid programs Individually tailored to your needs Some hearing aids have more programs than others Universal (everyday) Background noise Telecoil (loop system) Music Outdoor What hearing aids can do Hearing aids are aids to hearing Hear environmental sounds better Understand speech better Aid lipreading or BSL (British Sign Language) What hearing aids cannot do They are aids to hearing NOT new ears They cannot help you to hear everything They cannot help you to understand every word someone says You may still need to use communication tactics e.g. look at the speaker You may still need to lipread You may need equipment Why do hearing aids seem to vary so ? Hearing loss has many different causes - e.g. age, loud noise, virus These each have a different effect upon the hearing - e.g. quieter, muffled How much hearing you have lost - e.g. mild, moderate, severe, profound Best Friends Hearing aids can be our best friends Like our best friends they are not always perfect ! Time and patience It takes at least three months for the average person to get used to new hearing aids You need to wear them every day - try a short time at first Start wearing them in a quiet place  e.g. your sitting room rather than in a noisy place like shopping ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How the Ear Works Sounds reach our ears as sound waves. These move through the ear canal to the eardrum which vibrates. This in turn causes the three little bones of the middle ear to move backwards and forwards and amplify the vibrations as they pass them into the inner ear (or cochlea). Fluid in the cochlea is set in motion and the vibrations are picked up by special sensory cells known as hair cells, which send electrical signals through the hearing nerve to the brain, so that we can hear.

Outer ear Sound enters via the pinna before being channelled down the ear canal to the eardrum. Pinna The pinna (or auricle) is the visible portion of the ear. It acts as a funnel, amplifying the sound and directing it to the ear canal. While passing through the pinna, sound also goes through a filtering process, which enhances sounds in the frequency range where human speech is normally found. It also adds directional information to the sound. Eardrum The eardrum (the tympanic membrane) is a thin, semi-transparent, oval-shaped membrane that separates the earcanal from the middle ear. It is about 1cm in diameter and is very thin and translucent. The eardrum vibrates when hit by sound waves that have travelled through the auditory canal, and then transfers these vibrations to the middle ear. Middle ear Behind the eardrum, the middle ear space connects the ear to the nose (via the Eustachian tube) and passes on sound to the inner ear via three tiny bones called the ossicles. Eustachian tube The Eustachian tube has two purposes: it lets fluid drain down the throat, and it equalizes pressure on either side of the eardrum. The tube is about 3.6cm long, made up of cartilage and bone, and lined with very tiny hairs (called cilia). It is connected to the cavity of the middle ear, and at the bottom opens into the nasopharynx located in the back of the mouth. If excess fluid builds up in the middle ear, it drains down the Eustachian tube into the throat. In order to equalize the pressure in the middle ear with the pressure of the outside air, the Eustachian tube opens to allow air to flow in or out of the tube about every three times we swallow, chew, or yawn. Ossicles The ossicles consist of a chain of three small bones (the anvil, hammer, and stirrup) that connect the eardrum with the inner ear via the oval window. The vibration of the eardrum causes each of these bones to move. The force exerted by the stirrup on the oval window is converted into hydraulic pressure waves. The whole ossicular chain is suspended by membranes and ligaments so that it transmits sound very efficiently. (The round window dissipates the pressure generated by the fluid vibrations, thus serves as the release valve: it can push out or expand as needed.) Inner ear The inner ear contains the cochlea, the organ of hearing, which is lined with 'hair' cells. The cochlea converts physical vibrations into electrical impulses. In its natural shape, the cochlea is coiled up, but when unravelled it measures 3.5cm. Inside the cochlea is the basilar membrane. Standing waves caused by the vibration of the fluid inside the cochlea (called perilymph) form on this membrane. Depending on the frequencies of the vibrations, the peaks of the standing waves will occur at different points along the membrane. Lower frequencies produce peaks near the end of the membrane far from the oval window, while higher frequencies produce peaks near the end of the membrane closer to the window. Over two million tiny hairs, called stereocilia, pick up the movement of the basilar membrane and cochlear fluid, and then convert the signals into electrical impulses to be transmitted through the auditory nerve to the brain. (The vestibular nerve carries information from the inner ear about head movement, to enable us to maintain our balance.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Types of Hearing Loss There are three main types of hearing loss. 1. Conductive hearing loss – where sounds are unable to pass from your outer ear to your inner ear, often as the result of a blockage such as earwax, glue ear or a build-up of fluid due to an ear infection, a perforated ear drum or a disorder of the hearing bones. 2. Sensorineural hearing loss – the sensitive hair cells either inside the cochlea or the auditory nerve are damaged, either naturally through ageing, or as a result of injury. 3. Mixed hearing loss – it is possible to get both types of hearing loss at the same time. Levels of Hearing Loss The level of hearing loss can be defined as mild, moderate, severe or profound. The level of hearing loss in an individual is determined by performing a hearing test to discover the quietest sound which that person can hear. Some ear problems may not necessarily cause hearing loss, such as tinnitus, which is the sensation of a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back to Top

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