..HH ,6G{HH d'`,<KTLLF`F` 33of  ~ ~(kqHHmd PR?<NT=@ md P md P!n0<nJ@VDH@.N^NuNVtook a brief solo career. His greatest hit was "So Wrong" in 1983. The group reformed in 1989. Their greatest hits included "Long Train Runnin'" (1974), "Black Wa Helvetica Helvetica 0d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,    D66@4'GLFOctober 1, 1997. Copyright, 1997, Graphic News. All rights reserved INVISIBLE HEARING AID OFFERS CD DIGITAL SOUND QUALITY Story by Julie Mullins LONDON, October 1, Graphic News- The trouble with hearing loss is that nobodo know. Unlike AIDS or cancer, it odd speech sounds from people affected since birth can be offputting and are often wrongly confused with mental handicap. Fifteen to 20 percent of the worlds population are hard of hearing. This translates to around eight million in Britain, 80 million in Europe and over a billion worldwide. Yet, while few people think twice about popping on a pair of glasses to improve sight, fewer than 20 percent who suffer from hearing loss use a hearing aid, because of the stigma attached to being seen to be deaf. y wants to know. Unlike AIDS or cancer, it is not life-threatening, yet it profoundly affects the lives of sufferers. Elderly people can retreat into a world of isolation when conversation becomes difficult, while. It is|SN%0dNill know the wearer has a hearing loss or notice the aid. Traditional hearing aids amplify all sounds equally. This means, for example, that a wearer in a crowded room will hear both amplified speech and background noise, effectively drowning nearbysh c conversations in extraneous noise. Danish company Widex, manufacturers of Senso CIC, introduced the first 100 percent digital hearing aid last year. It involved developing a completely new hearing computer, able to distinguish speech from noise, adjust sound volume automatically and control feedback whistle. The tiny microchip is encased in a transparent plastic covering, moulded to fit the ear of the wearer. The aid is powered by a tiny battery which gives around 100 hours of use roughly a week assuming the aid is worn 14-15 hours per day. Replacement batteries are available at high street chemists and are easy to fit. There is a drawback, of course. The Senso CIC will currently set you back 1,895. But, in the words of Robert Beiny, a obert Beiny, a hearing aid dispenser who has been fitting aids for 20 years, It is not a question of buying a hearing aid. It is buying hearing rehabilitation, of being able to improve quality of life. Sources: Widex, P.C. Werth Ltd The Senso CIC i The Senso CIC i i Now a tiny, near-invisible hearing aid, with CD digital sound quality, could improve life dramatically. The Senso CIC, so called because it is worn completely in the canal, is the smallest digital hearing computer in the world, so small that no one ww s available in UK from: P.C. Werth Ltd, Audiology House, 45 Nightingale Lane, London SW12, 8SP Tel: 0181 675 5151 Fax: 0181 675 7577675 5151 Fax: 0181 675 7577Ltd, Audiology House, 45 Nightingale Lane, London SW12, 8SP Tel: 0181 675 5151 Fax: 0181 675 7577N^Nu mHmLF`N$ 20mfLF`N$h. -4 nJngLF`0N$<@ F`N$ 20mfLF`N$h. -4 nJngLF