Hear, Here

I am asked this question several times a week. I think today's modern, digital, connected hearing aids are amazing. I have seen lives transformed by new hearing aids. But as far as deciding who needs Bluetooth enabled aids and who doesn't is not always so black and white. Some people don't even know what "Bluetooth" is, but when you explain it to them, they love the idea behind it. Here are some suggestions for whether or not Bluetooth technology in your hearing aids is "needed": Do you frequently talk on the phone, especially in the car? If so, Bluetooth technology can act as a "hands-free" system which, in some states, is required to legally talk on a cell phone while driving. Do you like to listen to music through an iPod or other MP3 player but don't because of your hearing aids or fear you won't be able to if you get hearing aids? Do you use Bluetooth technology with your other high-tech devices, such as l...

I have a big mouth. I'm often asked by my patients if I have a hearing loss and my response is always the same, "no, I just have a big mouth." Some laugh, some back-pedal saying, "no, that's not what I meant." but I'm not offended. If I didn't speak loudly and clearly, I would spend the better part of my day repeating myself. Most of my patients don't have a hard time hearing and understanding me. I'm blessed to have normal hearing and I do all I can to protect it. Despite my normal hearing, I've had the opportunity to experience hearing loss and though it was temporary and I knew it, it was an eye-opening experience. Back in 2000, I was a first-year grad student at the University of North Texas. That year was a huge year in my life and I went into that experience with a lot of mixed emotions: fear, gusto, excitement, pride. I can recall very clear, now eleven years ago, sitting in my very first graduate level class and seeing a note o...

In 2006, a patient came in and bought A hearing aid. He needed two, but thought he could 'get by' with one. It was a small, receiver-in-the-ear style, small and discreet for this attractive young business man. Within two months of fitting him, he called me, telling me his hearing aid had fallen off his ear and down a hole at a job site. He was upset, but paid his loss/damage deductible, was fit a few days later with the replacement aid and went on his merry way. Though I can't guarantee it, I'm fairly certain I encouraged him to purchase at least a supplemental loss/damage warranty through a company like ESCO or Discovery, as I do each time a patient has to use their loss/damage warranty. Since that time, our office contacted him several times regarding adding the second aid as well as updating his hearing test. We never heard from him, until today . He called to ask about 'insurance' on his hearing aid. I remembered this patient (I usually do) and relayed t...

Several years ago, we tried giving our patients a choice with respect to what services they purchased with their hearing aid purchase. They could purchase the traditional way, or with all their services bundled together, or unbundled, which they purchased just their devices and a few follow-up visits. While the unbundled approach wasn't un popular, it wasn't exactly popular. Recently, some well-respected national organizations have gotten behind the movement of unbundling hearing aid purchases to make hearing healthcare more affordable for everyone. This pleases me tremendously since earlier this summer, we began the arduous process of moving to an unbundled only approach to fitting hearing aids as opposed to giving patients the choice. This is such a foreign concept, but one I feel will ultimately only benefit patients as well as the profession. Patients will pay only for services they use, as they use them, which is fair. Why should someone who comes in 20 times a year pay ...