What are /r/audiology's favorite Products & Services?

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I wrote a paper on this topic a few years back. I am assuming it is still largely relevant. Here is a link to the paper and accompanying powerpoint. I hope this helps your patient.

For anyone without access to Google Drive, I will post the contents of the paper below. This should also help for anyone searching for Google for Ménière's.

Schaette et al. (2009) noted that use of amplification via hearing aids had varying levels of success in tinnitus treatment. Specifically, they concluded that for effective relief, the frequency of a patient’s tinnitus must fall within the frequency range of a hearing aid. To clarify, if the tinnitus was perceived at a frequency that was not addressed by the hearing aid, the patient’s tinnitus was not affected by hearing aid use. This offers some predictive value that hearing aid use alone will benefit the patient twofold: improved hearing through compensation for hearing loss, and tinnitus suppression. Adding the tinnitus management feature/circuitry may be even more effective.

That logic makes sense to me, given that we use the Stenger Effect to test for people faking asymmetrical hearing loss. It makes sense to me that whatever amount of bone conduction could occur from a significantly intense sound would be "tuned out" by the brain anyway given that it would be more intense on one side.

If you're really interested in getting some values for interaural attenuation, you're going to have to do some frequency-specific research using the gaming headphones you expect the user to wear to play the game. We audiologists all use the same model of equipment because they've been thoroughly researched for ANSI/ISO. If you wanted a quick reference, you could look at some of the peer reviewed research for those values with headphones commonly used by audiologists.

Thank you for such a detailed response.

I am already using an app which does a good job as is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.appyhapps.tinnitusmassage

What above this in hearing aid options are effective?. I am mindful of paying for a very expensive just to be told to use an app I am already using.

Quiet rest periods do help. But the best way to tell if an individual's situation is potentially harmful is to get and wear a dosimeter, but they're fairly expensive. You may be able to call around to audiologists or maybe have a friend who works in a factory to see if you could borrow one for a night.

However, there are now smart phone dosimeter apps. I wouldn't use it professionally, but I've used it as a teaching tool. Instruct students to download it and try it out at the clubs etc. I'm an Android guy and I use Noise Dosimeter. I think it's a reasonable start.

I posted an answer a while ago for someone who was asking about tinnitus after microsuction and so far the answers here seem like good ones. I just wanted to add my two cents to the hat.

I saw you said you were going to a concert soon and were thinking about earplugs in another comment. Hearing protection will definitely make a big difference in feeling like you're keeping your hearing safe - especially if this recent event with microsuction is concerning. And not only will it feel like you're making a difference - you will be!

My recommendation is usually Etymotic ER-20s because they're cheap, easy to insert, hide well, and keep music sounding balanced. That said, don't be too worried about them being discrete! It's pretty cool, in my opinion, to take care of your hearing and yourself but still want to experience a good time enjoying yourself with live music!

Mack's foam ear plugs claim 32db NRR. do you think these would be good? thanks for your help on this

Khan Academy probably has some good stuff for acoustics.

I have the old version of this book which I used to teach myself the basics (and anatomy) of neuroscience.

If you're starting an AuD program you'll absolutely cover what you need to know from a human bioacoustics perspective.

I came across this the other day and thought it useful.

Things like MIT Open Courseware are probably good but I haven't taken any myself.

Are the custom molded ones that much more effective than foam in ear plugs? My current combo is:

Earplugs: https://www.amazon.com/HEAROS-Ultimate-Softness-Plugs-Beige/dp/B00WOQSKMS

Earmuffs: https://www.walmart.com/ip/HOWARD-LEIGHT-IMPACT-PRO-EARMUFF-ADJUSTABLE-30DB-BLK/27954606?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0

I also don’t know how to stack those NRRs, do they add up to 60ish, or do they stack by adding six to 39ish?

Have they helped you set up the MyPhonak app yet? That allows you to do on-the-fly adjustments of your aids (bass, middle, treble, noise cancelling, mic direction, etc) so you could do those adjustments yourself to see what works best for you, then you can show them the adjustments you made and they can implement this.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sonova.phonak.dsapp&hl=en_CA

https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/myphonak/id1332662924

HOWEVER

Dong the REM could get all this sorted. They shouldn't charge you more... but your American service model sounds totally different than Canadian.

I loved these two books for practicing (especially Magoosh!! I bought them on Amazon, but look around--you may find a better price), but I'll admit I really focused on the math part since that's what I needed the most practice on. The Magoosh book really breaks down the math section into the different concepts you need to know, a lot of which I hadn't talked about in school for a long time, haha. I also recommend taking practice tests in the same setup/format as you're going to take the real test.

well micophone cant capture those vibrations,i want to do what bone conduction headphones do but in reverse,i want to know if its pragmatic with buying this,its for an experiment https://www.amazon.com/Generic-Surface-Conductor-Transducer-Exciter/dp/B00Y8ISYHG theoretically it should do,but i want to ask if someone has done before or have any particular idea

I believe Oscillopsia my have the right of it. However if you are in doubt, in addition to the suggested Hall book, you might want to consider investigating research performed by one of my advisors (Dr. Frank Musiek) who has been on the forefront of evoked potentials since their inception. Here's a link to the recently released textbooks. He has recently relocated to Arizona, but may be up for a chat or an email if you have a particular situation in mind you'd like to learn from.

http://smile.amazon.com/Handbook-Central-Auditory-Processing-Disorder/dp/159756561X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442030112&sr=1-1&keywords=Musiek

http://smile.amazon.com/Handbook-Central-Auditory-Processing-Disorder/dp/1597565628/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442030112&sr=1-4&keywords=Musiek

I think Aage Moller's book on IONM is pretty good for the ABR. I have the old version and I think there are 2 chapters on ABR in IONM. http://www.amazon.com/Intraoperative-Neurophysiological-Monitoring-Aage-M%C3%B8ller/dp/1441974350

I might recommend something that goes around your ear to seal out background noise, like the Howard Leight Sync earphones or similar.

More importantly, though, is that you get dizzy with loud sounds. This is not "normal" at any age. I would strongly recommend that you see an otologist (ear specialist physician), as this can be a sign of several physical abnormalities of the ear that can somestimets be corrected. You may also find benefit from talking to a Doctor of Audiology who is well versed in tinnitus and hyperacusis. I'm happy to provide suggestions if you tell me your location.

here they are on amazon, this is a specific size for my audiotechnica headphones though so you might need a different T-xxx