Our Audiologists Hanneke Rabe and Anne Caine, write about one of their patients who loves her hearing aids
She needed an UPGRADE and it changed her listening experience!
Our patient was previously fitted with completely-in-the-canal hearing aids (CICs). Her hearing had changed and the devices could no longer meet her needs. She lives a very active and social lifestyle with two lovely children. We tested her, showed her all of the results and explained them in a way that made sense to her- finally she understood why she could no longer hear in all of the complex environments of her life.
Informed decisions lead to better choices. Our information-sharing helped our patient to feel empowered about her own decision. She had a chance to compare hearing aids from different companies, explaining the important features that would make a real difference to her listening ability and effort. In this case, she upgraded to a newer microchip, housed in a different style- ‘receiver-in-the-ear’ (RITE) hearing aids. These have dual microphones. Coupled with the more advanced microchips, the extra microphones enabled the hearing aids to adapt automatically to a variety of environments and to focus more easily on sounds that she wanted to hear from a particular direction.
Her hearing experiences became more comfortable, enjoyable and less tiring.
“I got so excited, I could hear the water boil for the first time in years!” These hearing aids did not only amplify sounds but made them crystal clear. She could not believe the difference between her old and new hearing aids. She had become so accustomed to what her old hearing aids and what they were able to provide her, but these new hearing aids exceeded all expectations.
The cherry on the top for her is that she enjoys the comparability with her iPhone as she enjoys listening to podcasts and music as she goes for her morning walks. She finds it much easier on the cell phone having her calls directly stream into the hearing aids which provide her with a clear signal. She can even decide to block out surrounding sounds which allow her to hear her podcast more clearly without the disruption of people talking past her.
She told us that loves hearing all the sounds the world has to offer: clear and crisp.
What a difference! What a thrill for all of us!