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Robert J. Mahoney, M.D., CCS-P

Dr. Mahoney, a specialist in hospital medicine, works in partnership with a patient's primary physician to diagnoses and treat patients who are admitted to hospitals.

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Persistent Reflux Disease

My husband has gastric reflux disease. He has changed his diet and takes medication, but his heartburn and regurgitation remain. What are his options?

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Getting A Leg Up On Peripheral Arterial Disease

The pain in your leg has now become more severe, and is accompanied with weakness and fatigue. Your doctor suspects you might have peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

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The Sounds of Silence

Baby boomers who rocked out at concerts, long before anyone knew that listening to loud music could result in long-term hearing damage, are now finding themselves shopping for hearing aids. There is no need to suffer in silence.

Just like eyeglasses, hearing aids require a prescription that is unique to each person and to each ear. A hearing aid can only be as good as the type of testing protocols used and the experience of the person administering the test. Often, it’s not always the brand or model of hearing aid that make a difference but rather, the manner in which the hearing aid is fitted.

According to Michael Valente, PhD, director of adult audiology at Washington University, “It is very important that the audiologist perform Real Ear Measures (REM) testing. This will verify that the amplification received matches a prescriptive target.

Unfortunately, hearing aids are often fit using First Fit software, which was written by a manufacturer and automatically programs the hearing aid based on a computer formula that evaluates hearing test results.

Because many of these First Fit formulas reduce the gain in the frequencies, which are most important for understanding speech, people find themselves saying ‘these darn hearing aids don’t help’.”

All manufacturers provide the same styles of hearing aids. These include custom products that fit directly into the ear canal or behind-the-ear models that hang over the ear.

Each style, however, is available with different levels of features and as you add more features, both the benefit and the cost increase. Examples include hearing aids that are virtually automatic -- to hearing aids that require some manual manipulation.

Some hearing aids use Bluetooth technology to connect wirelessly to telephones, MP3 players, TVs or radios. Other hearing aids can adjust for different listening situations (quiet, noise, TV, music, telephone) or use remote controls to change programs or change volume.

Digital technology gives the audiologist greater ability to fine tune the hearing aid so it sounds as natural as possible. As the level of sophistication increases, the cost of the hearing aids increase.

Please call 314-362-7489 for an appointment.

Patients are seen at:

Center for Advance Medicine
Ear Nose and Throat Center
4921 Parkview Place
11th Floor, Suite A
St. Louis, MO 63110

Center for Advanced Medicine
Vision and Hearing Center
4921 Parkview Place,
3rd Floor, Suite A
St. Louis, MO 63110

Michael Valente, PhD

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The Sounds of Silence

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