Clinic - Week 9

Today a male came for his hearing aid orientation. He was receiving a Unitron BiCross Amplification system with a WiFi Mic and a Unison 6 behind-the-ear hearing aid.

Background Information: The client had severe dizziness and vertigo about five years ago. His symptoms got so bad that he was afraid to drive. He was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease and had surgery on his left ear in which his 8th nerve was severed. His symptoms have almost entirely disappeared. He is a hunter and also has some hearing loss is in right ear. He was seen in our clinic in February 2008 in which amplification was discussed. He had researched on his own and knew what type of system he wanted.

Hearing Aid Orientation: A Unitron BiCross Amplification system with Wifi Mic and a Unison 6 BTE hearing aid was programmed in NOAH. He was instructed on the use and care of his hearing aid. He was also shown how to change the battery and clean out the microphones if they get blocked. A DryAid kit to store his hearing aids in overnight to help prevent moisture problems. The warranty and 30 day trial period was explained to him and he was encouraged to return before the 30 day trial period ended if he wanted to exchange or return the hearing aids. Three programs were made. Program 1 was set for normal everyday conversation (Quiet/Match Target), Program 2 was used for noisy situations (Group/Party Noise), and Program 3 was set for telephone use (Acoustic Telephone).

He was encouraged to wear his new hearing aids in all different situations. He was encouraged to return at any time if he noticed any problems or felt that his hearing aid needed further adjustment.

This article assesed 91 people with severe to profound asymmetrical hearing loss to assess their satisfaction using CROS or BiCROS. There were 43 men and 48 men. There age ranged from 41 to 89. At the end of 30 day trial period 66 patients elected to keep their hearing aids and 25 people returned them. Acceptance were high for both the CROS and the BiCROS. SOme reasons that people returned their hearing aid was that it was not better than their previous hearing aid, the device was too complicated, it was too expensive, use of device was hindered by otorrhea or otalgia, and the cord was bothersome.

Check it out!!!
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=109&sid=580dcd59-3911-4528-a598-a28f1bae81dc%40sessionmgr109