Download Hears to you! - Hearing Consultants

10766 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
Cincinnati, OH
Permit No. 5471
Return Address Correction Service
Hears to you!
In this Issue
Spring 2014
• Hearing Aids and Humidity
• Widex Cros – Hear Both Sides of
the Story
• Interacting in Group Settings with
Hearing Loss
• SoundScape
• Protect Your Investment
Hearing Aids and Humidity
Your hearing aids can be damaged
from high heat or cold; that may
adversely affect their performance.
Much of this damage is caused by
the changes in temperature, which
causes a condensation of moisture
within the aid, rather than the
temperature itself.
Please check out our new website at:
Anything wet, high humidity,
perspiration, condensation,
accidental immersion in a bath
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or pool can cause damage to a
hearing aid and prevent it from
functioning properly.
You should never leave your
hearing aid(s) near a radiator,
near an air conditioner, in a sunny
window, or in the glove box of a
hot car. Also do not try to dry the
hearing aid by using a hair dryer,
oven or any other external heat
source.
Continued on page 3
Protect Your Investment
When I purchase a new appliance or
electronic device I typically do not
purchase the extended warranty offered
by the sales associate, however:
Hearing aids are not equipped with GPS,
do not float, and do break if stepped
on. With insurance protection you are
pretty much wearing a loss-resistant,
waterproof, crush proof hearing device.
After the manufacturer’s warranty
expires, it’s up to you to pay for repairing
or replacing your hearing instruments.
If you invest in an insurance policy,
all these costs are covered for you, less
deductible.
Often people insure their hearing
devices through their homeowner’s
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policies, sometimes with an additional
rider, like artwork or jewelry. There are
two different types of insurance:
Accidental Loss and Damage Only
Coverage
With loss and damage you’re covered
against loss and accidental damage. If
you lose or accidentally damage your
hearing instrument, it will be replaced.
Accidental Loss, Damage and Repair
Coverage
This comprehensive coverage insures
your instruments against loss,
accidental damage, and normal wear
and tear repairs. Normal wear and tear
repairs include problems that happen
over time, like wax build up and
Widex Cros – Hear Both Sides of the Story
excessive battery drain.
Who can benefit from WIDEX
CROS?
If you are deaf in one ear and have
normal hearing in the other, WIDEX
CROS is for you. The solution can
also be used if you are deaf in one ear
and hearing impaired in the other.
This is known as a BiCROS solution.
My patients have shared with me
that: homeowner’s insurance typically
covers only loss and damage; not
repair to the instruments. The cost of
an additional rider to cover hearing
aids is typically $50 per ear/ per year
(depending on the insurance company
and deductible).
If you no longer carry homeowners
insurance or renters insurance we do
work with companies that will insure
your hearing devices for either loss and
damage or loss, damage and repair.
If you would like more information
please call Debbie or me at 489-3300.
Hearing Consultants
10766 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242
(513) 489-3300
WIDEX CROS helps people with
one-sided hearing loss or singlesided deafness (SSD). WIDEX CROS
uses the latest hearing aid technology
to transmit sound from your deaf ear
to the better ear.
Simple to use hearing solution
You wear WIDEX CROS on your
deaf ear like an ordinary Behindthe-ear hearing aid. It picks up
sound from your surroundings
and transmits it wirelessly over to a
hearing aid on your other ear. You
can choose from a range of models in
the DREAM hearing aid family.
Hear all sounds
Without two working ears, your brain
has difficulty working out the precise
origin of sounds. This means that
it can be difficult to locate sounds.
Imagine having to cross a busy street
uncertain about which direction
traffic is coming from.
Because it picks up sounds on your deaf
side, WIDEX CROS helps you hear all
the sounds around you. That means
that you can hear sounds from your
deaf side without turning your head.
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Continued on page 2
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Hears to you!
Hearing Consultants
Interacting in Group Settings with Hearing Loss
group settings:
If you have a friend or family member
with hearing loss, you’ve probably found
ways to adjust for improved one-on-one
communication. Your tactics for good
communication might differ depending
on whether the individual is open about
and/or aware of his or her hearing loss,
or if you’ve just recognized it yourself.
In group settings, such as at dinner or at
a holiday party, it can be a little trickier
for that person because he or she has
to navigate multiple people speaking,
sometimes at the same time, and
conversation can move pretty quickly.
Here are some tips for interacting
with individuals with hearing loss in
• Make sure not to talk over other
people. This tends to happen when
people get excited and, for the most
part, it’s not too much of a problem
for people with regular hearing. But
for people with hearing loss, whether
they wear hearing aids or not, hearing
often takes some level of focus. So
background noise, including multiple
conversations or voices, can make
hearing difficult.
• If your friend or family member is
comfortable talking about his or her
hearing loss, make sure to ask that
person what you can do to make
things easier.
• Speak clearly and naturally. Don’t
cover your mouth with your hands
and don’t eat while speaking - this can
interfere with lipreading.
• Make sure to first gain the individual’s
attention by saying his or her name.
Maintain eye contact while speaking.
I am here for you!
or her a heads up about the topic
of conversation. Fill your friend in
if he or she looks confused about
something that was said or asked, but
never answer for that person.
• Be patient. Since hearing takes a
bit of extra effort for people with
hearing loss, and can in fact be tiring
sometimes, be comfortable with
the silence so your friend or family
member has a turn to speak.
• If it’s OK with your friend or family
member, let others in the group know
in advance about some ways that they
can make hearing and communication
easier for the individual using some of
the above tips and tactics.
If you suspect your friend or loved
one is suffering from hearing loss,
consider helping them find and set up
an appointment with a local licensed
audiologist. Additionally, some people
feel comforted by having a loved one
accompany them to their appointment.
• If you’re having a group conversation,
stand by your friend and give him
HealthyHearing.com
Widex Cros - Hear Both Sides of the Story Cont...
to friends in a restaurant or at a party
for instance, you can enjoy, follow
and participate in the conversation regardless of on which side of you the
speaker is located.
Improved listening - conversations in
noisy places
Listening to and participating in
conversations is also made a lot easier
with WIDEX CROS. If you are talking
Designed to your specific needs
For your better ear, you can choose from
a range of models from our popular
DREAM family. Your hearing care
professional will take the degree of your
hearing loss into account and help you
find the model that suits you best. The
combination of WIDEX CROS and the
absolute latest in hearing aid technology
gives you superb sound quality. And with
Widex’ wireless technology you will not
experience any echoes or distortion when
WIDEX CROS is active.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to email me
directly at [email protected]. Whether you would like more
information on battery choices, would like to request a specific candy in the dish,
or just have a generic question, I am here for you and I am listening!
– Barb Rozzo, Audiologist & Owner
Barb Rozzo, M.A., FAAA
Audiologist
Widex
Thank You for
Your Referrals
Your recommendation of
our practice is the highest
compliment we can receive.
Hearing Aids and
Humidity Cont...
Some preventative measures:
If you live in an area subject
to high humidity or regularly
engage in perspiration-inducing
activities, consider buying
some sort of DRI-AID kit.
This is a small, inexpensive kit
consisting of silica (desiccating)
crystals in a jar. At night, after
removing the battery, place the
hearing aid in the jar.
Protecting your hearing aids
from moisture and humidity
will prolong the life of the
hearing aid and keep your
hearing aids out of the repair
shop and in your ears where
they can do their job.
HealthyHearing.com
Please know we will provide
your friends or family
members with the same
concern and attention to detail,
which we have provided to you.
SoundScape
Online interactive listening activities
SoundScape offers a variety of free,
interactive listening activities designed
to provide cochlear implant & hearing
aid users a fun and engaging way to
approach listening practice. The games
are accessible from the web site, www.
medel.com, where users can choose from
a variety of listening activities designed
for different age groups and different
experiences. From the home page search
for Soundscape then scroll down to adult
Sentence Matrix to find practice sets for
adults. Suggestions and materials relating
to each activity to enhance additional
listening activities are provided in a pdf
file for download.
Physicians refer to us…
Patients trust us.
(513) 489-3300
Now available... 48-pack from Rayovac Ultra
ProLine! The larger pack size means you get 48
fresh batteries at a better value per battery.
Available in size 10, 312 or 13
ON SALE NOW FOR $36/CARTON!
at time
of purchase.
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of purchase.
Not valid
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with any
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Outstanding battery life
WIDEX CROS has a long battery life,
which means that you spend less time
changing batteries and more time
actually listening.
Please call us today (513) 489-3300
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