What’s that You Say?

by Alex Kent

The receptionist kindly repeated her question.

“Yes, I would like a cookie, but no ointment, thank you.”

She smiles and asks again. “Have you booked an appointment?”

All joking aside, hearing loss is an embarrassment that many of us live with. An educator once said, “When one person in the family has a hearing loss, the entire family has a hearing problem.” Diminished hearing leads to stress and unhappiness for everyone, and there are many types of hearing loss, ranging from mild to severe. I and was surprised to learn that some people even experience sudden hearing loss in one ear.

It is a commonly held belief that ‘old-age’ is the cause of deafness, but it turns out that 50-65% of people with hearing loss are under the age of 65 and still working. Poor hearing at work causes miscommunications and can eventually lead to lower income. Unaddressed hearing loss can erode relationships, and in severe cases, untreated hearing loss can mimic Dementia or Alzheimer’s, leading to feelings of isolation and social withdrawal, yet studies show that most people with a hearing problem delay doing anything about it for an average of seven years!

Sunni McBride, resident of Valmonte for twenty-five years and owner of the South Bay Hearing and Balance Center, explained to me why waiting can make the problem worse. When the hearing center of the brain is ‘starved’ of stimulation, it atrophies. If this specialized area of the brain has been denied sound for too long, it may have atrophied beyond its ability to be retrained. On the other end of the scale, new sounds can be ‘too much’ for an individual that has gotten used to their compromised hearing.

“In deciding which hearing device to recommend, it’s my job to consider hearing loss as well as social needs, manual dexterity, lifestyle and the patient’s pocket book,” Dr. McBride explains. For example, arthritis could make it difficult or even impossible to change the small battery in a hearing device.

I originally met Sunni McBride when I accompanied a patient to be tested to the South Bay Hearing & Balance Center. I was concerned that my friend might be nervous, but the elegant waiting room and the friendly staff made it quite pleasant. We did not feel rushed or coddled. Everyone was very professional and everything was well explained. They even put a hearing aid on the patient so she would be sure to hear all the options.

The clinic can provide custom ear molds as well as hearing aids from the top manufacturers in the world, including ReSound, Oticon, Phonak, Siemens, Widex, Starkey, and Lyric. Lyric was my friend’s choice… with a long term payment plan. In a category by itself, the Lyric, though slightly more expensive, runs on special batteries that last for months instead of weeks. The hearing device can be worn in water, during sleep and while on the phone. It’s the only extended wear hearing device available today. Since it is installed into the ear canal close to the eardrum, it is virtually undetectable and produces a very clear sound. This experience has made both of us appreciate the science and art of fitting hearing devices that allow people with hearing loss to reconnect with the outside world. Modern hearing aids can even connect with electronic things like TVs, phones, computers and Bluetooth technology. These days, someone with a hearing aid is almost ‘bionic’!

I asked Dr. McBride what interested her in audiology. She said her father was a physician who actually took a lot of time to educate his patients. She started working for him when she was thirteen years old; first with files, then as receptionist and finally assisting in the ‘back office’ during minor procedures. She wanted to go to med school and follow in his footsteps. She got her BA & MS from Brigham Young University. As fate would have it, though, instead of medical school, she fell in love and raised five kids in the Valmonte area of Palos Verdes. She stayed connected to the community by being a volunteer ‘par excellence’, participating in all the PV school affairs, scouts, sports and getting all the children graduated from college (every one of them went to BYU).

With her kids in college and beyond, Sunni returned to her first love – medicine. She earned her Doctorate of Audiology from the University of Florida, and practiced with a large audiology center in Torrance for ten years. Three and a half years ago, she opened the South Bay Hearing & Balance Center on Sepulveda. She and her team have won awards and have received recognition from the community and world renowned manufacturers of hearing devices. Consequently the business has rapidly increased more than threefold.

But hearing aids may not be for everybody. If the cause of one’s hearing loss is discovered to be calcification of the bones in the inner ear, a tumor or infection, a qualified audiologist, like Dr. McBride and her staff, can refer the patient to an appropriate physician for the medical attention needed.

Even though becoming hard of hearing may not be life threatening, it is important to seek medical advice if there is a problem. Hearing loss is often treatable, improving the quality of life for everyone.

The South Bay Hearing & Balance Center is located at 3734 Sepulveda Blvd, near the corner of Hawthorne Blvd. Their phone number is 310.375.6161.

They probably won’t even mind if you just dropped by for a cookie.

 

 

 

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