Back in the days before electronic hearing aids or cochlear implants became effective the term "hearing loss" was used to described a condition caused either by genetics, disease or accident. It is a medical descriptive term just like "vision loss" that accurately describes the condition.
With the leap-frogging advances of hearing technology the concept of "Hearing Gain" takes on a more meaningful interpretation on what was once lost has now gained new sound and opportunities in the hearing world, yet people can still retain their identity as a person with a hearing loss or deaf. The term "Hearing Gain" has nothing to do with on becoming like a hearing person but rather the opportunity it gives and the opening of doors to a different world.
This is true of one deaf woman, Sarah Churman, who made a Hearing Gain when she was given the Envoy implantable hearing device. The device is not a hearing aid since it has no microphone but uses the ear drum as a natural microphone. Sarah experienced a Hearing Gain going from a world of muted and hushed sound that her old hearing aids could not fulfill to a rich, stereo-sound world with the two devices naturally amplifying the natural sound into her eardrums. This is probably the ultimate form of "Hearing Gain" so far (short of having stem cells restoring hearing loss naturally) that is done on gaining and using natural sound. This cannot be done with hearing aids since sound goes through a microphone and gets digitized and amplified at the end to the ear drum. The same for cochlear implants where sound is converted into digital form before reaching the cochlea in the ear.
If not that then hearing aids or cochlear implants people would give deaf and hard of hearing people their own kind of Hearing Gain experiences where sound and opportunities would open up for them. We saw the strong reaction of Sarah Churman who experienced a life-changing moment with such a new hearing technology it overwhelmed her expectations. Same for cochlear implants. And even hearing aids. Putting them on and realizing just how much sound they were missing and the connection with the hearing world.
True Hearing Gain would be the time when the restoration of hearing loss could be reversed and restored. In the mean time, Hearing Gain continues apace every day each time a hearing aid, cochlear implant or implantable hearing device gets turned on.
With the leap-frogging advances of hearing technology the concept of "Hearing Gain" takes on a more meaningful interpretation on what was once lost has now gained new sound and opportunities in the hearing world, yet people can still retain their identity as a person with a hearing loss or deaf. The term "Hearing Gain" has nothing to do with on becoming like a hearing person but rather the opportunity it gives and the opening of doors to a different world.
This is true of one deaf woman, Sarah Churman, who made a Hearing Gain when she was given the Envoy implantable hearing device. The device is not a hearing aid since it has no microphone but uses the ear drum as a natural microphone. Sarah experienced a Hearing Gain going from a world of muted and hushed sound that her old hearing aids could not fulfill to a rich, stereo-sound world with the two devices naturally amplifying the natural sound into her eardrums. This is probably the ultimate form of "Hearing Gain" so far (short of having stem cells restoring hearing loss naturally) that is done on gaining and using natural sound. This cannot be done with hearing aids since sound goes through a microphone and gets digitized and amplified at the end to the ear drum. The same for cochlear implants where sound is converted into digital form before reaching the cochlea in the ear.
If not that then hearing aids or cochlear implants people would give deaf and hard of hearing people their own kind of Hearing Gain experiences where sound and opportunities would open up for them. We saw the strong reaction of Sarah Churman who experienced a life-changing moment with such a new hearing technology it overwhelmed her expectations. Same for cochlear implants. And even hearing aids. Putting them on and realizing just how much sound they were missing and the connection with the hearing world.
True Hearing Gain would be the time when the restoration of hearing loss could be reversed and restored. In the mean time, Hearing Gain continues apace every day each time a hearing aid, cochlear implant or implantable hearing device gets turned on.