• Hearing Aids
• Assistive Listening Devices (ALD’s)
• Hearing Protection Devices
• Communication Strategies
• Complete Hearing Health Care Guarantee
• Battery Club Plan
• Insurance coverage
• Payment Options

Hearing Aids We fit hearing aids as part of a total strategy to improve hearing and understanding. Decisions about styles, technology, and prices are based upon extensive history and lifestyle. There are behind-the-ear, in-the-ear, in-the-canal, and completely in-the-canal styles from which to choose. We have the expertise to determine which type of hearing aid is best for you and your lifestyle.

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Assistive Listening Devices (ALD’s) Assistive listening devices are often used to help you communicate better in your day-to-day communication situations. ALDs can be used with or without hearing aids to overcome the negative effects of background noise, distance or poor room acoustics. Such devices include amplified phones (corded and cordless), alarm clocks, signaling devices for telephones, smoke alarms, doorbells, loop systems for the TV, TV infrared systems, and FM systems.

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Hearing Protection Devices (HPD’s) We offer a variety of hearing protection devices for use when you anticipate exposure to occupational or recreational noise. Custom plugs, custom hands-free ear pieces for cell phones, swim plugs, foam plugs, earmuffs, and musician’s plugs are available to protect your hearing from further damage due to excessive noise exposure.

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Communication Strategies When difficulties are encountered with communication, there are strategies that can be used to help overcome these problems.

Ten Commandments of Communication with a Person with Hearing Impairment

1. Thou shalt not speak from another room.
2. Thou shalt not speak with your back toward the person with a hearing problem (or their back toward you).
3. Thou shalt not start speaking and walk away.
4. Thou shalt not start speaking and turn away from the person with a hearing problem.
5. Thou shalt not speak in competition with something else (turn off the water or turn down the radio, etc.)
6. Thou shalt get the attention of the person with the hearing problem (do not start speaking while they are reading or concentrating on tv).
7. Thou shalt try to speak face-to-face at all times.
8. Thou shalt try to remove obstructions while speaking (your hand from your face, the gum from your mouth, etc.).
9. Thou shalt try to speak distinctly.
10. Thou shalt try to be patient.

As you can see, good communication requires action! The following suggestions are taken from The Hearing Review(1996) and are not limited to the person with hearing impairment. If you have a family member or friend with hearing difficulties, you may find quite a few of these suggestions practical and helpful for everyday communication!

The Listener with hearing impairment can:

• Develop good listening skills: Concentrate on what is being said.
• Observe the talker: What you see supplements what you hear.
• Plan ahead: Think about and try to anticipate possible challenges you may face. Plan in advance what you will do if a listening challenge is encountered.
• Take breaks if needed: Listening with a hearing aid can be tiring, especially if you are a first-time user. You are better able to concentrate if you are rested.
• Make specific suggestions about how to talk to you: Rather than saying “What?,” suggest that the speaker rephrase the message or use different words.
• Double check details: Repeating what you understood someone say can prevent confusion later on—especially dates and times.
• Set realistic expectations: Even with the best hearing aids, some situations are too noise to expect to understand speech.
• Don’t bluff!: Pretending that you understand when you don’t helps no one.

The Talker can help by:

• Not shouting: Talking louder usually makes things worse!
• Getting closer: It is best to move close to the listener before talking. This saves your voice from shouting and makes you easier to understand.
• Speaking clearly: Don’t exaggerate pronunciation, but do finish all the sounds of one word prior to beginning the next.
• Rephrasing: If repeating one time does not help, it is better to use different words to express the same idea.
• Stating the topic: Tell the listener what topic you are about to discuss.
• Using gestures: These can help with understanding.
• Noticing background noise: Turn down the TVs/radios or move to a quieter place, if possible. Be extra careful in a noisy place since it interferes with understanding.
• Confirming details: Politely double-check that key details of a message have been understood accurately.

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Quarterly hearing aid cleanings and acoustic checks

Programming adjustments during the warranty period (up to three years)

Checking ears for wax (removal is an additional charge)

Batteries for five years