Alera TS Case Studies

Tinnitus complaints are on the increase and the impact that tinnitus has on lives is intense.  Here is a real life example of how ReSound Alera TS and the Unite Mini Microphone have been used to help relieve tinnitus and improve quality of life.

Case 1: The Teacher

An elementary school teacher with genetic hearing loss which is progressively worsening reports the following problems:

• Cannot hear students at the back of the classroom.
• Current amplification is not helping her distinguish her students especially during recess and in the cafeteria and gym.
• Cannot hear grandchildren talking in the backseat of the car.
• Difficulty hearing computer sounds and television sounds are fuzzy.
• Tinnitus sounds like “high pitch whining” during and after school and throughout the night.

Her tinnitus symptoms and her inability to understand her students has caused her sleepless nights and stress.  She was fitted for an Alera TS to take care of her genetic hearing loss first. Here were the settings:

Program 1:

• ND II
• HI Mic + TSG

TSG Settings:

• 33dB SPL A_d
• 38dB SPL A_s
• LC: 500 Hz
• HC: 6k Hz
• AM: OFF
• ES: ON

The patient was then paired with a Unite Mini Microphone to address some of her other daily living hearing issues such as being able to better hear students in the back of the room or grandchildren in the backseat.  The Unite Mini Mic was also used to help enhance sound from the patient’s computer and television.

Case 2: The Mayor

A mayor of a small community and painting contractor by trade had been previously fitted with a frequency shifting device, but still reported the following problems after one year:

• Tinnitus symptoms which sound like “cricket noises” are a constant presence in background on phone calls and at meetings and panel discussions.
• As mayor, communicating effectively in meetings has proved difficult with tinnitus noise.
• As a painting contractor, he handles 4 to 40 phone calls per day and cannot distinguish for example the street address or even the customer’s name.

The mayor was fitted for an Alera TS. Here are the settings:

Program 1:

• TSG
• ND II

TSG Settings:

• 74dB SPL A_d
• 77dB SPL A_s
• LC: 0.5 Hz
• HC: Max (8k Hz)
• AM: None
• ES: ON for RE – Uses LE on phone

The mayor was then paired with Unite wireless technology to allow him to feel confident about and engage in daily communication. For example, the Unite Phone Clip was paired with his smart phone to assist with customer phone conversations. The Unite Mini Mic and his hearing instrument’s Mic were used to help him discriminate people talking in meetings and from the back of a room.