PHOTO: YURI ARCURS /SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

LOVE YOUR SENSES Protect your family: Don’t take their precious senses

for granted, get them regularly tested

VISION AND HEARING

Wearing glasses Overcoming the transition to spectacles

Innovation Technology that helps deaf people to hear

SERGEJ KHAKIMULLIN ASSOCIATION OF OPTOMETRISTS

No.1/June ’11This paper is by Mediaplanet distributed within The Guardian

AN INDEPENDENT INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

2 · JUNE 2011 AN INDEPENDENT INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

Eye tests are essential for health

Lack of exercise and poor diets mean it is more essential than ever for people to heed the message of National Eye Health Week that regular eye tests are an essential health check

This week is National Eye Health Week — an event designed to educate about the importance of having regular sight tests.

A new study commissioned for the week reveals more than 40 per cent of us fail to go for regu-lar sight tests, despite eye exami-nations being an essential health check.

Not only can sight tests detect common eye conditions, such as glaucoma, before they cause irre-versible vision loss they can also uncover signs of general health problems including diabetes, hy-pertension, an overactive thyroid and even brain tumours.

Getting your sight tested is easy — there are qualified optometrists on almost every high street; the test takes around 30 minutes and for many it is free.

More than 30 million people in the UK are entitled to free sight tests and vision correction vouch-ers, paid for by the NHS, and mil-lions more are entitled to tests and prescription eyewear paid for by their employer.

Double the problemIt has never been more im-portant to have regular sight

tests, as unhealthy lifestyles and an ageing population fuel a dra-matic rise in the number of peo-ple living with sight loss – forecast-

ers predict numbers will double by 2030 to four million.

Half of this sight loss is avoidable and there are some easy ways that we can all give our vision a boost through exercise, a balanced diet and protecting eyes from the sun by using photochromic lenses or CE- marked sunglasses.

Watching your weight, lowering your alcohol consumption and not smoking can also make a signifi-cant difference to your eye health.

For those whose sight loss is una-voidable, there are some important medical advances on the horizon. Fight for Sight is funding research into stem cell therapy, that it hopes could ‘cure’ glaucoma and other dis-eases of the optic nerve whilst the London Project is leading the way in finding a remedy for AMD — the UK’s leading cause of blindness.

For more information about caring for your eyes go to www.visionmatters.org.uk or visit your local optician.

Dharmesh PatelChairman of the Eyecare Trust

“Losing my (driving)licence was the real life-changing development”

David HurstHis experience with glaucoma

PAGE 10

VISION AND HEARING, 1ST EDITION, JUNE 2011

Managing Director: Willem De GeerEditorial Manager: Katherine WoodleyBusiness Developer: Christopher Emberson

Responsible for this issueProject Manager: Oliver AmosPhone: 020 7665 4440E-mail: oliver.amos@mediaplanet.com

Distributed with: The Guardian, June 2011Print: The Guardian Print Centre

Mediaplanet contact information: Phone: 0207 665 4400Fax: 0207 665 4419E-mail: info.uk@mediaplanet.com

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4 · JUNE 2011 AN INDEPENDENT INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

Question: Kids can be a little insensitive when a friend turns up to school wearing glasses, but does that stop later on in adult life?Answer: Not necessarily so, there are many psychology issues surrounding wearing glasses, which are seen as a sign of the advancing years

For young people, the prospect of wear-ing glasses can evoke a fear of looking overly studious and not ‘cool’ and for adults it can lead to a feeling they are ageing.

Nevertheless, getting regular profes-sional eye care consultation is essential for eye health, as is picking the correct glasses or contact lenses and following an optician’s advice. Furthermore, chil-dren who are unaware they need glass-es, or do not wear them, tend to do less well at school.

Fiona Fylan, a Reader in Psychology at Leeds Metropolitan University, has stud-ied the impact on different age groups getting used to wearing glasses and be-lieves the young tend to cope best..

“You find that most kids get over their concerns and just get used to wearing glasses,” she says.

“However, if you’re middle aged and

you’re suddenly prescribed glasses you’re likely to feel that you’re now part of the older group at work or in your so-cial circle. Wearing glasses is seen as a sign of age and so people can have confi-dence issues. It’s so important that they get a pair they feel they look good in.”

Feel good factorThe factor which gets most people used to wearing glasses is a combination of the benefit they offer and a grow-ing feeling of confidence that they look good in their new frames.

“When I talk to opticians, I always point out the benefit of making a per-son feel good in their glasses by making them look good,” says Fylan.

“If someone has the glasses that make them feel confident they are more likely to wear them. The crucial factor is gen-erally that they actually need the spec-tacles and so the use outweighs any im-age concerns.”

Fashion itemThe good news for those prescribed spec-tacles over the past few years is that fash-ion brands have seen a huge opportunity in eye wear and the frames available today are well designed and colourful.

“When you look back at the frames chil-dren used to be offered there’s just no comparison,” she says.

“Now, you’ve got a huge range of different looks and colours. Spectacles have become really trendy high street fashion items. At the same time, lenses have got a lot thinner so they look a lot better and they’re more comfortable and lighter to wear.”

This can help people feel more attrac-tive, a vital component for boosting self-condience. Also, today, there have been ad-vances in contact lens technology which give glass wearers a better range of choic-es than before.

Being seen by the world differently

SEAN HARGRAVE

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

LEADER TO LEADER

“If someone has the glasses that make them feel confident, they are more likely to wear them”Fiona Fylan, a Reader in Psychology, Leeds Metropolitan University

The need for skin protection is well understood but many overlook the dangers of ultraviolet light to our

eyes. Just as UV rays play a part in aging our skin, so too do they to our eyes.

Good UV protecting sunglasses stop UV rays in their tracks, reducing hazardous glare, especially when

driving or sailing. Polarising filters can be the secret to good vision while you are by the water, but even

inland, the eyes need to be shielded.

Opticians are warning against non-CE marked sunglasses which can do more harm that good. They have

been found to encourage the pupil to dilate to let in more light, thereby allowing more UV to reach the

delicate cells which enable us to see.

Suncream packed – what about

For the right choice of sun protection for your eyes, with or without prescription lenses, visit www.hoya.co.uk to find your nearest Optician offering Hoya lenses

INSPIRATION

JUNE 2011 · 5AN INDEPENDENT INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

your eyes?

Leaders in advanced lens technology

GETTING TESTEDIt’s vital that children have their eyes tested and follow the advice given by their opticansPHOTO: ASSOCIATION OF

OPTOMETRISTS

1Laser eye surgery is suitable for almost anyone over the

age of 21 with a stable, distance prescription (subject to health conditions). For those eligible, it could be more convenient than glasses or lenses; giving the po-tential freedom to enjoy the ex-periences and sights of life more spontaneously.

2Before considering surgery, research various providers

and seek out those who are trans-parent about the risks/advantag-es of the treatment. Check that your surgeon has adequate quali-fications, such as certification from the Royal College of Oph-thalmologists.

3Once you have chosen a pro-vider, make sure you have an

in-depth consultation. This should be a two-way conversation outlining exactly what the treat-ment involves and the results you can expect from surgery.

4After your treatment you should receive a detailed af-

tercare programme. Follow this to make your recovery process as smooth as possible.

TOP TIPS

4Tony VeverkaChief Executive at a leading eye care correction company

6 · JUNE 2011 AN INDEPENDENT INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

For a year or so, Dav-id Hurst had noticed an odd corona around headlights on the mo-torway as he drove home to Sussex from London each evening.

He knew he ought to go to the op-ticians for an eye test or mention it to his doctor but, as he says, “When you’re busy working you put things off and tell yourself you’re far too busy to take time off for a check up”.

When he did eventually book an appointment with his optician, glaucoma was not mentioned but instead the problem was assumed to be hard contact lenses. After a cou-ple of months trying out soft contact lenses led to no improvement, a fol-low-up trip to the opticians revealed it might be glaucoma. The suspicion was soon confi rmed at the Brighton Eye hospital.

“To be honest, it didn’t really im-pact my life at fi rst, I just took the eye drops I was given and made sure I kept to regular appointments with the specialists,” he says.

“The real impahappened when I

lost the sight in one eye. I’d switched jobs to running a farm and it made routine tasks, like bailing hay, park-ing a car or pouring a glass of wine really diffi cult.”

Licence lossNevertheless, life went on pretty much as normal until David need-ed to fi nd his driving licence. When it appeared to be lost, he applied for a new one and fi lled in the forms very honestly. That led to the DVLA asking for a routine eye check before it could reissue a licence. However, the check revealed the fi eld of vision in his good eye was a fraction too narrow and he could no longer hold a licence.

“Losing my licence was the re-al life-changing development,” he says.“I sought some second opin-ions to see if it was worth challeng-ing but apparently my fi eld of vision was just one per cent too narrow, it was a real borderline case.

“You never think about driving until you can’t. I lived a mile away from a bus stop in rural West Sus-sex up a tiny country lane, so it was a mile walk to get a bus that only

Eye checks spot glaucoma

David Hurst was 47 when he was diagnosed with glaucoma, a condition in which the optic nerve suff ers damage through a build up of pressure behind the eye. He had put off having an eye check for a few years and still wonders if the subsequent loss of vision in one eye could have been avoided or delayed by earlier treatment

went every hour or so.“So I ended up moving to a busier

town where I’d have shops around me and a railway station as well as buses. The diagnosis of glaucoma it-self didn’t really impact my life and neither did losing sight in one eye, it was losing my driving licence which made all the diff erence.”

Get testedThe question that has dogged Dav-id for nearly 20 years is what would have happened had he sought earli-er treatment. Having unwittingly ig-nored an early sign of glaucoma, he is now a self confessed ‘nag’ when it comes to advising others to get regu-lar eye checks.

“There’s not a great deal they can do with glaucoma other than the drops, which halt or slow down its progression,” he says.

“So, I warn people that they could have glaucoma and not be aware of it and so they should always get their eyes tested. The sooner you get diag-nosed, the sooner you can get the eye drops that will stop the condition getting worse.”

“So, I warn people that they could have glaucoma and not be aware of it and so they should always get their eyes tested”

EYE CARE

David HurstLiving with glaucoma

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8 · JUNE 2011 AN INDEPENDENT INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

If somebody is profoundly deaf, at birth or through a later disease or accident, or if their hearing has deteriorated below a certain level, hearing aids can offer little help. Simply amplifying sound, in such cases, gives the ear louder noises it cannot interpret.

This is why Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeons, such as David Sel-vadurai at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, are so excited by the continued promise of cochlear implants.

Cochlear by-passUnlike a hearing aid, an implant involves a two-hour operation on each ear to install a device which directly stimulates the auditory nerve, by-passing the patient’s ineffective cochlear. Rather than amplify sound the person can-

not hear well, an implant takes the sound information direct to the nerve and the results can be amazing.

“It’s so exciting, if we can put a pair of implants in an infant under two years old, you’d never know in later life they were born profound-ly deaf,” he says.

“This technology is allowing children to hear properly and, if we get them young enough, they can talk perfectly normally too. It’s also changing the lives of peo-ple at other ages who have lost

their hearing progressively or through a sudden accident or ill-ness. After hearing virtually noth-ing for quite some time, we can transform their lives by giving them their hearing back. As with a lady I operated on very recent-ly, it can mean the difference be-tween living an independent life or no longer being able to live on your own.”

UK leadingSelvadurai believes the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) deserves recog-nition for a ‘brave’ decision to ap-prove cochlear implants.

“The UK is becoming a world leader in cochlear implants and it’s largely down to NICE putting out guidelines two years ago to ensure young children get an im-

plant in each ear,” he says.“It’s not a cheap procedure, even

though most will only need to stay in hospital overnight, so it’s won-derful it’s available on the NHS. The guidelines also mean a lot of adults with severe hearing loss can get an implant in one ear.

“In a first world healthcare sys-tem, we should have virtually no people who are profoundly deaf because we have the technology to restore their hearing in the vast majority of cases.”

Even for the tiny proportion of people who have no audito-ry nerve for an implant to stimu-late, work is progressing in plac-ing electrodes in the brain to offer some hearing function.

SEAN HARGRAVE

info.uk@mediaplanet.com

Question:What can be done for the profoundly deaf and for people who are not given satisfactory hearing by a hearing aid? Answer: Cochlear implants are so far advanced that only a very small minority should now expect to remain deaf

PROFOUNDLY DEAF ABLE TO HEAR WITH IMPLANTS

David SelvaduraiSt George’s Hospital in Tooting, London

NEWS

JUNE 2011 · 9AN INDEPENDENT INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

LEADING A HAPPY LIFEInnovations in implant technology mean that a baby born deaf could have the chance of hearingPHOTO: SERGEJ KHAKIMULLIN/

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

What are cochlear implants and how do they differ from hearing aids?

!Hearing aids offer improved hearing for many people but

there are many for whom they will have little effect. If there is damage to the cochlear inside the ear it doesn’t matter how loud you amplify sound, it can’t hear it properly. Cochlear implants can work around this by directly stimulating the auditory nerve.

What does it sound like for wearers?

!The market leader offers an implant with 22 electrodes

to carry different frequencies to mimic natural sound. Many peo-ple claim it is pretty close, though at first some people say the sound can be a bit robotic like or car-toonish but then over time it sounds more natural. The good things of course is that there are many recipients today who are benefitting from this technology and the surgery has become min-imally invasive through a small incision behind the ear.

QUESTION & ANSWER

Stuart Thomas,Cochlear implant team manager

10 · JUNE 2011 AN INDEPENDENT INSERT BY MEDIAPLANET

Digital filtering helps hearingQuestion: Do you

find people mumble and conversations are hard to follow? Or do people complain how loud you have the television?

Answer: If so, you should get a hearing test to see if a hearing aid could offer an improvement

It is a sign of modern life that noise exposure through leisure pursuits is as much of a risk to hearing loss as industrial settings.

The charity Action on Hearing Loss (formerly the Royal Nation-al Institute for the Deaf, RNID) has found that as jobs have moved away from heavy industry, today’s main risks can come through repeated exposure to loud music and noisy clubbing environments.

“People are not always aware of the damage they can do to their hearing through loud gigs and club-bing nights,” says Angela King, sen-

ior audiology specialist at Action on Hearing Loss.

“We hand out ear plugs at some events and people think we’re a bit odd, but you can still hear the mu-sic perfectly well through ear plugs but at a reduced level. If you come away from a gig and your ears are ringing, it’s a sign you’ve done some damage. This will soon wear off but if you keep on exposing your hear-ing to loud noises, you run the risk of doing some permanent damage.”

Digital aidsPeople who have suffered some hearing loss can get modern, digit-al hearing aids on the NHS which are far more sophisticated and un-obtrusive than the analogue aids they would have grown up with.

“The advances in hearing aids are fantastic and you can get very small digital aids on the NHS, I don’t think people always realise that,” says King.

“They are basically a microphone

that amplifies the incoming sound to make it easier for the wearer to hear in that ear. However, they al-so now have some very sophisticat-ed processors which offer different listening modes. It can allow the wearer to turn down background noise or if they see the sign for an induction loop at a bank counter or a theatre, they can select that mode and have the distant speech re-layed into their ear as if they were really close.”

Good hearing aids can make a huge difference to a person’s life, King maintains. Normally people have lived with poor hearing for quite some time and tend to with-draw from social situations. How-ever, if they can follow conversa-tions better they can join in family events more.

ANGELA KINGSenior audiology specialist, Action on Hearing Loss

NEWS

Visit www.HearingDirect.com or call 0800 032 1301 to speak to a member of the HearingDirect.com team

With more than eight million people in the UK suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss, getting a good hearing aid has never been more important. But many of us continue to suffer in silence, and, faced with a long wait on the NHS or an average cost of £1,100 for a hearing aid from a high street shop, go without. Now, a new British online company is revolutionising the way we choose hearing aids, by allowing customers to choose quality digital hearing aids at a fraction of the price from the comfort of their own home.

Launched in January 2010, HearingDirect.com offers digital hearing aids from £99, and a vast range of accessories for the hard of hearing, including amplifi ed phones and devices which help to ease the symptoms of tinnitus.

Customers can check if they could benefi t from a hearing aid by taking a quick online hearing check, but can get further help and advice over the phone or via email from the HearingDirect.com qualifi ed audiologist every step of the way.

Following on from his success in setting up online spectacle retailer Glasses Direct in 2004, young entrepreneur Jamie Murray Wells decided it was time to blow the cobwebs off the outdated industry and sell hearing aids

online at fair prices, and set up HearingDirect.com last year. His timing couldn’t have been better. Research by the Offi ce for National Statistics reveals that in 2010, 31 million adults in the UK bought or ordered goods or services online within the last 12 months.

Jamie Murray Wells said: “Because we are an online company we don’t have expensive overheads, meaning we can pass savings of up to £1,000 directly to our customers.

“Customers are in safe hands with our team as they have more than 30 years experience in the hearing aid industry and our products are sourced from the world’s leading hearing aid manufacturers.”

“Customers can choose a hearing aid within their budget with no pressure to buy or upgrade”Jamie Murray Wells

Chairman – HearingDirect.com

The company also offers a 30-day money

back guarantee and free delivery on

orders over £20

DIGITAL HEARING AIDSONLINE FOR JUST £99

According to Action on Hearing

Loss, more than 10 million people in

the UK – one in six of the population

– are affected by hearing loss. With

an ageing population, this will reach

14.5 million by 2031

The charity’s research estimates

only one in three people who could

benefit from hearing aids is current-

ly using them, leaving four million

people living in the UK with an unad-

dressed hearing loss

A free hearing test is available

on Action on Hearing Loss website

www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk

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