aids are increasing steadily because of our
aging population and the better aesthetics
and quality of the devices.
Actually, once the digital technology
revolution was extended to the hearing aid
market, the devices became smaller and
nearly invisible, she says. Today’s hearing
aids also improve the user’s hearing better
than the old analog models that didn’t have
the pristine audio reception that digital
technology offers. “We can very precisely
set the output of the hearing aid across the
frequency spectrum to better fit the
hearing loss of a patient,” says Dr. Dean.
This is exciting news for anyone who needs
a hearing aid; in fact they’ve almost become
a trendy accessory! Certain models now
have Bluetooth capability, so that users can
hear their cell phone or television through
their hearing aid. “Research has shown that
you can hear the television better through
the Bluetooth adapter,” she says. There’s no
need to worry if your cell phone rings
while you’re watching TV because the
phone call would supersede the TV signal.
If a hearing aid fails to help patients,
the hearing team at Scott & White will
consider a cochlear implant, a device that
has helped patients with profound hearing
loss for more than two decades. “While
hearing aids work acoustically, amplifying
sound within the ear, cochlear implants
work electrically,” says Dr. Brammeier. “It
bypasses the outer ear, the middle ear, even
part of the inner ear and stimulates the
nerve directly. So it’s a different way of
hearing, but it’s extremely effective.”
Dr. Brammeier has performed more
than 300 cochlear implants since coming
to Scott & White in 1998. His oldest
patient was 84 years old and his youngest,
MUSIC TO A MOTHER’S EARS
Katie and Dave Hermann of Belton, Texas, knew they wanted to adopt a
child to make their family complete. Two-year-old Sarah would join the
Hermanns, including Luke, age 5, and 12-year-old twins Joseph and
David, last summer when she arrived from China. Sarah was deaf, and
so before bringing her home the Hermanns explored what they could do
to help their daughter. They learned about the expertise of Dr. Thomas
Brammeier from a member of their church congregation.
“He said, ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help make this a success,’“ Mrs.
Hermann recalls. Dr. Brammeier made good on his word. Sarah
received her first cochlear implant in July, and the second one to fit
her left ear in November. She’s now experiencing sound and forming
words. “We are so grateful to Dr. Brammeier,” says Mrs. Hermann.
“She’s our little miracle,” says her mother. “Sarah says