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From Us to You: A Warm Thank You

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We’re Celebrating National Gratitude Month With a Message of Thankfulness

Did you know? November is National Gratitude Month! We’re especially grateful to you, our valued patient. Without community members like you, helping people reconnect to a world of sound would be nothing more than a dream. Because of your loyalty, we’re able to change lives for the better every day.

Just as we treasure your support, our caring team is committed to making sure you can count on us too. Whether today, tomorrow, or in the exciting new year, it’s all about helping you hear to the fullest on your terms. Our commitment includes:

 

Having Your Back Through Life’s Twists and Turns

We know that hearing and hearing needs can change over time. Solutions that empower you today may need revisiting down the line. Helping you track your hearing wellness through periodic check-ins and follow-ups is just part of our commitment. One of the many ways we’re with you through every step of your better-hearing journey.

 

Keeping You Informed and Feeling Empowered

The old adage that “knowledge is power” couldn’t be more true. Having the right information makes a world of difference in deciding which route to take in managing your hearing health. As your partner in hearing wellness, we believe in patient education to help you make informed decisions. We’ll listen to your concerns, discuss potential options, answer your questions, and take next steps together.

 

Staying Atop the Latest Research and Technology

As one of the most fascinating and crucial senses, hearing gets a great deal of attention in the world of science and innovation — and we’re right there staying up on the latest and greatest. That includes working with the world’s best hearing technology manufacturers, helping ensure we’re able to provide the most advanced solutions for your communication needs.

 

Welcoming Your Input for Continuous Improvement

We love feedback, and who better to give it than the valued community members we serve? Whether it’s high praise or suggestions on ways to make your patient experience even more satisfying, your perspective matters. When you drop us a note, complete one of our surveys, write an online review, or even share a quick word in person or on the phone, you’re helping us deliver our best!

 

Gratitude: Pass It On!

With National Gratitude Month in November, it’s a perfect time to share the power of thankfulness. Here are three easy ways to pay it forward this season and beyond:

 

  1. Be specific — It’s one thing to offer the generic “Thanks for everything,” but even more refreshing to give details. For example, “I appreciated that you flew 3,000 miles just to cheer me on. It gave me an extra boost, and I’ll never forget it.” Genuinely conveying gratitude helps others feel recognized.
  2. Go old-school — There’s something special about sending a handwritten note of thanks through the mail. Maybe even embellish it with some personalized artwork. Imagine the recipient’s joy and surprise. A little effort can go a long way in communicating appreciation.
  3. Keep it going — Demonstrating thankfulness in everyday life can catch on. When others see you expressing gratitude, they’re more likely to follow suit — whether it’s showing appreciation to family, thanking colleagues for collaborating, or acknowledging the efforts of fellow community volunteers.

We’re honored to be your partner in total hearing health. As you think about how to strengthen connections this holiday season and into the new year, know that we’re HEAR for you in every aspect of your communication needs. So don’t wait. Contact us to take action on your better-hearing goals today!

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6 Hearing Trends for 2023

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Keep Your Eye on These in the New Year

As an exciting new year nears, what can you expect in the world of hearing wellness? We’re taking a look at six trends to keep your eye on for 2023 and beyond.

1. Rechargeables

Aah, the convenience of rechargeability:

  • Less waste
  • Easy charge-and-go convenience
  • No fussing with spent disposable batteries that require removal and replacement

With an increasing number of hearing aid manufacturers offering rechargeable options for devices, it’s just a matter of time before they become the default. True, the smallest hearing aids that fit completely in the ear may not yet be widely available in rechargeable styles, but stay tuned. A breakthrough could be just around the corner!

2. Telehealth

The unprecedented global public-health challenges over the last couple years have called for adaption and innovation. An example: The rise of telehealth or video-based patient-provider appointments. Though not unheard of before the pandemic, telehealth rose in prominence as digital companies and others stepped up with apps and improved platforms to help keep health care accessible amid lockdowns, quarantines, and distancing.

One federal study of Medicare health care access showed a significant increase in patient telehealth participation during the pandemic — from an estimated 840,000 in 2019 to over 52 million in 2020. Overall, telehealth use has jumped 38-fold from pre-COVID rates. And with consumers and the industry embracing it even more as an additional option for effective patient-provider engagement, it’s here to stay.

3. OTCs

You may have heard about over-the-counter (OTC) hearing technology, a new class of devices in the U.S. regulated by the Federal Drug Administration and approved for those 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. OTCs are expected to soon join the market, representing a new option for some consumers exploring their hearing-health needs.

The good news? OTCs could spur more people to consider seeking help for hearing loss — a growing global problem expected to impact some 700 million children and adults by 2050. However, self-treating for hearing issues rather than seeking help from licensed hearing care professionals can lead to under- or overtreatment, making it important to get a comprehensive evaluation before deciding on solutions.

4. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Speaking of a growing global problem: Excess noise is one of the culprits behind an increasing risk of hearing loss among people ranging from preteens to mid-30s. Why? Popular activities such as using personal media players, hitting the club, enjoying a game at the sports arena, and rocking out at concerts can be lots of fun while also being hard on the ears — especially at noise levels beyond the danger threshold of 85 decibels.

Noise exposure is one of the most preventable causes of hearing loss. A few simple steps can help keep this harmful trend from gaining any more stream:

  • Limiting the amount of time exposed to loud sounds
  • Wearing quality hearing protection customized to your ears
  • Turning the volume down on personal audio devices
  • Staying atop your hearing health with annual evaluations

5. Connectivity

Whether streaming TV audio, jazz tunes, telephone calls, or your favorite morning-show radio duo, being able to channel sounds right to your hearing aids is pretty terrific. Essentially acting as headphones, the hearing devices make it easy to lean into the sounds you love — wirelessly. Plus, compatible apps make it a cinch to control your hearing technology right from your smartphone.

But let’s talk about the next level of connectivity. Imagine, for example, being able to directly surf the web, control access to your home, get instant ambient-temperature information, or turn off an appliance with your hearing device. Though these possibilities may not happen in the immediate future, the world of hearing-technology connectivity is always expanding to exciting new heights.

6. Artificial Intelligence

Netflix suggests movies you might love. Your household thermostat chooses a comfy temperature, without even needing to be programmed. Your smartphone accurately finishes your sentences before you’ve typed the words. Machine learning, a category of artificial intelligence (AI), is becoming the norm of everyday life, and we’re here for the ways it can support your health.

AI will increasingly play a role in hearing aid functionality, contributing to greater convenience and empowerment for users. One line of hearing aids already can track brain and body health, detect falls, and translate other languages in real time to help bust communication barriers. Look for even more AI capabilities as technology continues to evolve.

Hearing technology is always progressing to help you stay healthy, engaged, and connected with the people and activities that matter in your life. We’d love to show you the latest innovations, so don’t wait. Contact our caring team to schedule a test-drive today.

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Celebrating Black History Month: 10 Notables With Hearing Loss

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Time to Get Inspired

With more than 1.5 billion people touched by hearing loss – including some 3.6 million in Canada alone – many icons in pop culture, politics, academics, and beyond have experienced this issue in their own lives. For Black History Month, we’re showcasing 10 inspiring people with hearing loss.  

1. Nakia Smith

Every culture has language, and Canadian TikTok influencer Nakia Smith is helping ensure Black American Sign Language (BASL) is acknowledged and amplified. Developed during segregation when Black students were barred from attending the first U.S. school for deaf people, BASL is an expressive source of community and connection that Smith is working to share with more people in the world.  

2. Whoopi Goldberg

Oscar-winning actress, comedian, activist, producer, writer, and “The View” moderator, Goldberg cites longtime exposure to loud music as the reason for her hearing loss, according to published reports. The Sister Act and Ghost star, who has collaborated with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, wears hearing aids and has advised others to take care of their hearing health.  

3. Tamika Catchings

The four-time Olympic gold medalist and retired WNBA great of Indiana Fever fame was born with a hearing loss, using the experience to help fuel her drive to win. “In the classroom, kids could make fun of me for being different,” wrote Catchings in a 2011 ESPN profile. “On the soccer field (my first sport) and eventually the basketball court, they couldn’t. I outworked them, plain and simple.”  

4. Andrew Foster

Being the first African American to hold a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gallaudet University, the renowned school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, was one of many pioneering moments for Foster, who then earned two master’s degrees at other institutions and eventually launched more than 30 schools for the deaf in over a dozen African nations.  

5. Halle Berry

An alleged domestic violence incident led to Berry’s hearing loss, but the Oscar-winning actress, activist, beauty brand partner, and X-Men megastar didn’t let that setback torpedo her goals. Berry, also a producer, has around 60 movie and television acting roles under her belt and debuted as a director in 2021 with the film Bruised.  

6. will.i.am

This Emmy- and Grammy-winning recording artist, who is also a tech visionary, producer, DJ, designer, and education philanthropist, is best known for his Black Eyed Peas hits. Many people may not know that the global entertainer experiences tinnitus, which he has described as a constant ringing in his ears.  

7. Jenelle Rouse

A Canadian educator, applied linguistics researcher, consultant, and professional dancer, Dr. Jenelle Rouse brings a firsthand experience with deafness to her work. The sought-after speaker not only advocates for greater empowerment among deaf citizens but is also leading a team investigating the lack of documented information about the lives of Black Deaf Canadians.  

8. Claudia Gordon

After losing her hearing at age 8 and migrating to the United States from Jamaica with her mother at age 11, Gordon defied the naysayers to not only reportedly become the first Black and deaf female attorney in the U.S. but also to help enforce the rights of those with disabilities, as she worked as a lawyer in the executive branch under former President Barack Obama.  

9. Connie Briscoe

A New York Times bestselling author, Briscoe, who has a cochlear implant, was born with a hearing loss, but she never let it slow her down. The Money Can’t Buy Love and Big Girls Don’t Cry writer has sold more than 600,000 hardcover and paperback copies of her first novel, Sisters and Lovers, per an onlinebio, and credits tackling hearing loss with helping her grow “stronger, more resilient and more determined to reach [her] goals.”  

10. Tank

Grammy- and Soul Train Music-nominated R&B singer Tank, known for his solo work and acclaim in former supergroup TGT, announced in 2021 that he had hearing loss. The songwriter and producer with several acting credits under his name didn’t let that stop him. He crafted the 17-trackR&B Money, released in August 2022. Though Tank says it’s his final album as acting roles become more of a focus, don’t count this American Music Award nominee out. Don’t let hearing loss get in the way of reaching your dreams – not even a little bit! Be a hero to the people who count on you by keeping your hearing in top shape. Contact us to schedule a hearing exam or a clean and check of your hearing aids today.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • American Sign Language (ASL), widely used in Canada, is among the federally recognized primary languages in the country, along with Quebec Sign Language and Indigenous sign languages.
  • Though not federally recognized, Black American Sign Language – an ASL relative – is also used, and some citizens would like to see it further researched as well as officially acknowledged.
  • Advocates, such as Black Deaf Canada, are emerging to help foster community and close the representation gap experienced by Black, deaf citizens when it comes to accessibility.
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Four Animal Facts: Hearing Edition (Part 2)

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Tarantulas “Feel” Sounds

“If a tree falls in a forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

For tarantulas, this age-old philosophical question has an answer: Yes. While they do not possess ears or an auditory cortex, and therefore lack the ability to hear like we do, tarantulas use sound waves to navigate the world. They have extremely sensitive hairs on their legs that feel the displacement of air when a sound is emitted. Some smaller spiders, like jumping spiders and ogre-faced spiders, actually have special nerve cells on their forelegs that send signals to the brain when certain frequencies are detected. Studies have shown that the accuracy of this “hearing” is remarkably accurate. Sound waves can help the spiders pinpoint the location of prey up to six feet away.

Whales Can Communicate Long-Distance

For decades, the hearing capabilities of dolphins and whales mystified scientists. These animals could obviously hear very well underwater, but since they lack external ears, marine biologists wondered how. Now we know that whale skulls amplify sound through bone conduction. Even more amazing is the fact that baleen whales, such as humpbacks and blues, are capable of vocalizing over a distance of tens of thousands of miles. This means that a whale swimming in Ireland can have a conversation with another whale basking in the Caribbean!

Unfortunately, there is a growing body of research that suggests that human activities like oil drilling and commercial fishing have made our oceans so noisy that whales are having trouble hearing one another. Scientists aren’t yet sure what the consequences of these findings will be, but since sunlight does not penetrate water very well and whales must rely more on hearing than eyesight, it’s likely that their migration and mating patterns will be disrupted.

Pigeons and Moths Have the Best Hearing in the Animal Kingdom

There’s a reason pigeons have long been renowned for their incredible navigational abilities: They have extraordinary hearing! Much of this ability is due to their detection of infrasound, which occurs in frequencies too low for the human ear to hear. Some of this infrasound even comes from the earth’s electromagnetic field, giving pigeons a 360-degree sonic view of their surroundings and allowing them to easily map the landscape.

And what about the best high-frequency hearing? That honor goes to certain moth species, which often detect sounds up to 300,000 Hz. For comparison, the upper range of human hearing extends only to about 20,000 Hz. These moths are locked in an evolutionary race with the bats that prey on them, with each species developing more acute hearing over the passing of time.

Pet Birds Enjoy Music

It’s commonly accepted wisdom that playing music for your parakeet, cockatoo, or finch will make your bird happy, but is it true? Turns out, it is! Bird brains process musical sounds in much the same way human brains do, and — just like us — birds are individuals, with their own likes and dislikes. Some parrot owners have discovered, much to their chagrin, that their feathered friends’ favorite tunes are in a genre they can’t stand. This can be especially frustrating with male birds, who often incorporate songs that they enjoy into their repertoire. Fortunately, most birds appreciate soft, relaxing music, such as classical and smooth jazz, regardless of their personal taste. If you share your home with one of these wonderful animals, try creating a playlist for the two of you to enjoy together.

If you loved this article, be sure to check out these four other amazing animal facts!

Contact us today if you need to schedule a hearing evaluation.

Sources:

Yong E. The Insect That Hears Like a Human, With Ears on Its Knees.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2012/11/15/the-insect-that-hears-like-a-human-with-ears-on-its-knees/. Accessed Nov. 22, 2019. DOSITS. Hearing in Cetaceans and Sirenians, the Fully Aquatic Ear. https://dosits.org/animals/sound-reception/marine-mammals-hear/hearing-in-cetaceans.  Accessed Nov. 22, 2019. St. Fleur N. An Elephant’s Silent Call. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2012/08/elephants-silent-call. Accessed Nov. 22, 2019. Snowden C, et al. Cats Prefer Species-Appropriate Music. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2015;166:106–111.

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Online Hearing Tests: Can They Help?

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The Era of DIY Health Screening

The do-it-yourself era of health screening is here, along with greater convenience and consumer empowerment. You can check your blood pressure from a pharmacy kiosk, test yourself at home for HIV or colon cancer, or even screen your hearing online.

But do online hearing tests work? Let’s take a closer look, including the pros, the cons, and the bottom line for keeping your hearing in top shape.

Some Pros

People wait an average of seven years before making an appointment with a hearing care provider once they suspect they might have a hearing loss. Imagine how much sooner they might seek professional help if that first step — a hearing test — could be taken at home.

In that respect, quality online hearing tests do offer some solid benefits. They’re:

  • Free
  • Discreet
  • Simple
  • Quick

Some might even provide a reasonable estimate of your current hearing ability. In studies of how several online or app-based home hearing tests measure up against the sound booth of a hearing care professional, though, results have varied.

Some Cons

No context

Even the most reliable online hearing test can be misinterpreted. If your results indicate a hearing loss, you need more context to understand the what and why.

For example, earwax buildup or debris in your ear canal could be the cause. It could be a symptom of issues in the sound-processing areas of your brain. But buying hearing aids online or at a big-box retailer won’t solve the problem — it will just mask the symptom.

Not Comprehensive

Many online hearing screenings are similar to the one you probably had in elementary school: You’re played a series of sounds through earphones, and you indicate whether you can hear a given tone. It’s called the pure-tone air-conduction threshold test, and it measures the quietest sound you can reliably hear at least 50% of the time.

This is important data, but it only scratches the surface. It doesn’t explain how well you hear speech, how well you understand it, or whether the hearing loss is due to an injury in your ear. Online testing doesn’t provide the comprehensive evaluation you need for a more complete look at your hearing wellness.

A professional evaluation includes an inspection of your ears to rule out physical causes of your hearing loss, such as earwax buildup, blockage by debris, or damage to your ear. Then a battery of important tests measures things such as:

  • How well sound moves through the air in your ear canal
  • How well sound is transferred elsewhere in your skull by your bones
  • Speech and word recognition
  • How well your eardrum moves
  • Whether there is a problem in your middle ear
  • How your middle ear responds to sudden loud sounds
  • Comfortable listening levels
  • And more

The Bottom Line

A reliable home hearing test can be an important hearing-health wake-up call, especially if you or a loved one is on the fence about seeing a professional.

But remember, it’s only showing you a symptom — it doesn’t pinpoint the underlying problem or provide solutions for your unique needs. Only an audiologic evaluation gathers nuanced data about your auditory system and offers ways to improve your specific hearing difficulties.

Are you noticing difficulty communicating in your everyday activities? Did you take an online test that indicated potential hearing loss? Don’t wait — contact our caring team for a comprehensive evaluation today!

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The Best Hearing Summer Reading/Watch/Listen List You Need

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The Summer Reading/Watch/Listen List You Need

No summer’s complete without a good reading list, so we’re hooking you up.

From books to films to podcasts, we’ve put together some inspiring, entertaining, or though-provoking options that have some connection to hearing loss or sound. Take a listen, watch, or read, and let us know what you think!

  • The Way I Hear It: A Life With Hearing Loss (Book)

    Humorist, actress, public speaker, and hearing loss advocate Gael Hannan takes readers on a journey of life lessons and more in this 2015 book. Her insights offer advice and inspiration not only for those with hearing loss but for their loved ones, too.

  • Sound of Metal* (Film)

    Imagine being a musician on tour when suddenly confronted with profound hearing loss. It’s the challenge of a lifetime for heavy-metal drummer Ruben, who’s also in recovery. The deep-diving movie has garnered praise in the Deaf community and generated exciting Oscar 2021 buzz.

  • The Hear Me Out! [CC] Podcast (Podcast)

    Everyone has a story worth hearing, and host Ahmed Khalifa sees to it. Whether talking deaf representation in pop culture, censorship in captions, or success at audiology appointments, Khalifa — a host with firsthand hearing loss experience — offers interviews and more in this candid series.

  • The Walking Dead* (TV series)

    You’ve probably heard of this juggernaut zombie series whose upcoming 11th season will be its last. But did you know recent seasons include two amazing actors — Angel Theory and Lauren Ridloff — who use American Sign Language on the show and have hearing loss in real life? Check it out!

  • Impossible Music (Book)

    This young-adult novel follows two Australian teens navigating deafness after having been able to hear most of their lives. The coming-of-age story about change, identity, belonging, relationships, adaptation, and resilience offers another perspective on life’s twists, turns, and blessings.

  • See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary* (Film)

    What’s it like as an entertainer with hearing loss to follow your professional dreams? This award-winning 2009 documentary offers an unflinching up-close look through the ups, downs, adventures, and triumphs of drummer Bob, comic CJ, actor and educator Robert, and singer TL.

  • My Deaf Friend Can Do Anything You Can Do (Book)

    Misconceptions and stereotypes can get in the way of building better understanding. This children’s book offers an opportunity for the whole family to explore the experiences of those with hearing loss and gain greater appreciation for what everyone brings to the table.

  • Twenty Thousand Hertz (Podcast)

    Cool title, right? This podcast is all about sound — as in, what it is, how it works, how beings can hear, and so on. It breaks down interesting topics such as synesthesia — dig into the January 13, 2021, episode to learn more — and serves up backstories on well-known sounds you might recognize.

We hope you enjoy this summer list. You might come up with a few entries of your own, too! And remember, we’re here to help you get the most out of the season by hearing your best. Schedule a hearing evaluation with our caring team today.

*Viewer discretion advised for language or visuals.

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Could Healthy Hearing Help People With Movement Disorders?

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Could Healthy Hearing Help People With Movement Disorders?

Your ears and your brain are fast friends. In fact, it seems like a new connection is reported every few months. There’s even a growing body of research showing that untreated hearing loss is linked to dementia.

That’s why we encourage annual hearing checkups. Catching changes in hearing early keeps a host of other issues at bay. And we’re just scratching the surface of what we know about the ear-brain connection.

Your ears and brain are so well connected, in fact, that one recent study in Scientific Reports is based on a link the researchers discovered on accident. It’s a link that could improve the assistive devices used by people with movement disorders or limb loss.

Brain-Computer Interfaces

A research team called BrainGate develops brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). These are implants that use nerve signals in the brain to manipulate assistive devices such as prosthetic limbs.
Most BCI implants are put in a part of the brain that controls planning to act called the motor cortex. The BrainGate team wondered how workable it was to gather nerve signals earlier than that, though.

Could they use nerve signals from an area of the brain responsible for the simple urge to act — before the planning-to-act brain region gets involved? If so, they might be able to speed up BCI response times.

An Accidental Discovery

One clinical trial participant, because of a spinal cord injury, no longer had the use of his arms and legs. During a simple movement exercise that involved visual cues, his brain was monitored by fMRI. It showed activity in a certain area of this urge-to-act region of his brain.

They repeated the experiment with the BCI implant, instead of fMRI. To their surprise, the implant didn’t register activity in that same area.
But while reviewing data from a related research session, they found something equally surprising. During the movement exercise, when they used verbal — not visual — cues, the implant picked up strong signals from that same urge-to-act area.

A Study With Only One Participant

To the BrainGate team, it seemed like this urge-to-act area didn’t care at all about visual cues, only sound-based cues. They designed a new study using the BCI implant to test their hypothesis. It had a sample size of only one — that same spinal-cord-injury participant mentioned above — and the research alternated between visual-only and sound-based-only cues.
They found that the urge-to-act area responded to sound-based cues, but not to visual cues. They also found that the planning-to-act area responded to both, had no preference either way.
The results were published in Scientific Reports in the article “Auditory cues reveal intended movement information in middle frontal gyrus neuronal ensemble activity of a person with tetraplegia.”

Why It Matters

The BrainGate team has some successes under their belt. People with spinal cord injury, brainstem stroke, and ALS have managed to control a computer cursor simply by thinking about the corresponding limb movement. In clinical research, they’ve managed intuitive control over advanced prosthetic limbs. Plus, people with paralysis have enjoyed easy control over powerful external devices.

By discovering that this urge-to-act area responds to sound cues, they can use it as a complement to the planning-to-act area and BCI implants can gather movement data from two different regions of the brain. The researchers hope to one day use BCIs to enable reliable, intuitive, naturally controlled movement of paralyzed limbs.

And healthy hearing could be an important piece of this exciting puzzle.

8 Back-to-School Communication Tips

8 Back-to-School Communication Tips

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8 Back-to-School Communication Tips

Make Hitting the Books Even Easier With These Helpful Tricks

It’s practically back-to-school time! Whether the students in your life are heading back to class in person or online, keep these helpful tips in mind.

  1. Maximize lipreading. Hearing and lipreading work together to enhance communication, making clear masks an important tool for teachers if using protective equipment for in-person learning. It also helps for speakers to appear on camera during virtual classes so that participants can see their lips.
  2. Turn on live captioning during virtual lessons, or ask the host — if applicable — to activate the option. Free apps and web-based services are also available for live transcribing of speech.
  3. Curb background noise. Learning from home can be challenging amid the everyday sounds of household life, but setting up in a quieter room, wearing connected headphones, and closing the door to shut out distracting background noise can help facilitate speech understanding.
  4. Use the chat function — if available when using an online virtual platform — to help clarify any missed points. And remember: There’s a good chance others may need clarification, too, and will appreciate the request.
  5. Pair a compatible wireless multimicrophone with your hearing device to enhance hearing in one-on-one and group environments.
  6. Stream audio directly to your hearing technology. Modern hearing aids can receive audio directly from sources such as smartphones, computers, stereos, and more — depending on compatibility — and make it easy to personalize sound for specific listening and learning needs.
  7. Help your hearing aids and mask coexist. If wearing hearing aids, help keep them undisturbed and working their best by choosing masks that wrap around the head rather than the ears.
  8. Choose the mask setting on your hearing aids — if the option is available — to help clearly and confidently communicate with others who are wearing face coverings.

 

How’s Their Hearing?

Schedule regular hearing checkups for the schoolkids in your household — just as you would for their eyes and teeth — and recognize some of the signs of potential hearing loss:

  • Struggling to understand people speaking through masks
  • Trouble following lessons or instructions from teachers
  • Frequent responses of “Huh?” or “What?”
  • Complaints of noise or earaches
  • Turning up the television volume
  • Failing grades or reports that your child doesn’t respond in class
  • A gut feeling that something’s off with your child’s hearing

Improved hearing can play a big role in helping students perform their best in class. So don’t wait. Schedule back-to-school hearing evaluations for the whole family today!

Are You Making the Most of Your Hearing Benefits?

Are You Making the Most of Your Hearing Benefits?

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As we approach the end of the year, we recommend you check with your insurance company today to ensure you optimize any hearing benefits you might have. Many plans and policies, as well as Flexible Spending Accounts, come to an end on December 31 and don’t roll over into the next year — you use it or lose it!

As we approach 2022, we want to say thank you for being a member of our family. Contact us today to schedule your appointment in time for New Year’s Eve — we hope to hear from you soon!

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Hearing Tech Roundup: 4 Gadgets We’re Giddy About

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We’re always on the lookout for ways to meet your needs even better than we already do. These days, the world of technology seems to most often fit the bill. And we’re excited about these boundary-pushing devices that provide effortless, clear connection.

ReSound ONE

“Breakthrough” and “groundbreaking” are tossed around a lot these days. Especially when talking technology. The ReSound ONE, though, earns its accolades and then some.

Today’s hearing aids help a lot. In fact, they’re amazing mini-supercomputers. But the microphones sit just outside or behind your ear — not in your ear canal — so your hearing isn’t as natural.

Until now. This one-of-a-kind hearing aid uses an extra microphone inside your ear canal. With your ear’s unique shape, it collects and funnels sound organically – as only your ear can. You hear the way you’re used to hearing.

With this technological breakthrough, only available in the ReSound ONE, you can:

  • Hear effortlessly anywhere, even grocery stores and windy walks
  • Stay connected no matter what on video calls with family and providers
  • Enjoy a sound ecosystem using wireless streaming accessories
  • Recharge-and-go hearing aids last all day on one charge

Contact us to learn more about this groundbreaking organic hearing solution.

ReSound Key

ReSound Key features technology that allows your hearing aids to work together more efficiently, so you can focus on the sounds you want without losing touch with the sounds around you. And, with a full family of hearing aid models, there is a solution for virtually every lifestyle, preference, and budget.

With ReSound Key, you can also look forward to:

  • Hearing sounds clearly with less effort
  • Access to rechargeable hearing aid technology – no more tiny batteries
  • Direct streaming from compatible mobile devices
  • One easy-to-use app to individualize your sound experience
  • Optional wireless accessories to extend your hearing in any environment
  • Access to remote hearing care from the comfort and safety of your home

Whichever model you choose, ReSound always gives you a natural, individualized, and premium hearing experience, intuitively adapting to you and the environments in which you spend your time.

Oticon More

Oticon just introduced a brand-new hearing device that gives the brain more of what it needs to make better sense of sound, so you can get more out of life.

Oticon More hearing devices were developed to work more like how your brain works — they learn through experience. This is because Oticon More has the world’s first Deep Neural Network embedded on the chip.
As a result, Oticon More:

  • Delivers more sound to the brain
  • Increases speech understanding
  • Reduces listening effort so that you remember more of what is being said

With these devices, you can easily connect to your TV and catch a sporting event, show, or movie with your friends and family again. Plus, it’s powered by a rechargeable battery that lasts all day so you can talk on the phone or listen to music with confidence that your hearing device will keep up with you, even on the busiest days.

OrCam Hear

Recently OrCam, a company that develops assistive devices, showed off the OrCam Hear at CES 2021 in Las Vegas. So far they’ve focused on products for vision and dyslexia that use artificial intelligence and machine learning. Now they’ve entered the hearing space.

OrCam is a small wireless device that drapes around your neck on a string, and you pair it to your Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids. It lip-reads and analyzes body gestures to determine which person you’re trying to hear, isolates their voice, and streams their speech to your hearing aids. It intuitively switches when it determines there’s a new speaker.

It comes out later this year, and a price isn’t determined yet. You can sign up to receive updates about the product launch.

Ready to take the next step towards better hearing?
Contact us to book an appointment.

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(289) 963-1512

Salus Hearing And Tinnitus Centre

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2200 Rutherford Rd #202, Concord, ON L4K 5V2