EAR Magic!

Did you know individuals with hearing loss wait an average of SEVEN years before seeking treatment? Why? Because they don’t know what to expect. They are afraid to invest money and get poor results. In short, they are scared. You, our patients, are our best advocates. Your friends and family have faith in your recommendations. They trust you to provide them with realistic expectations and to guide them with what has worked for you. Who could you help on their journey to better hearing? Do you need to be brave and try something new? Artificial Intelligence, machine learning in hearing devices, provides better speech enhancements than ever before but while AI is intelligent, It cannot replace the human brain and that’s where your dedicated providers at EAR come into play.

The series of questionnaires and tests we incorporate are recommended best practices not the legal minimum to fit. Sensitivity to loud sounds and processing abilities in background noise are key pieces of data which allow us to present a treatment plan to address specific communication goals. It is our ability to identify needs and select options to provide solutions that is our “secret sauce” or “pixie dust” that provides the magic touch that gets the most out of residual hearing. Call today if you are ready for some extra magic before the holiday rush and we will get you or a loved one in for an evaluation and demonstration of the new circuits that have recently been released and are getting rave reviews.

Costco Hearing Aids and The EAR Difference

Did you know we are a preferred provider for the Costco hearing center? Costco often refers individuals to us when custom ear molds are needed for in-the-ear fittings or when custom molds are necessary with a RIC or BTE device when comfort or feedback are a problem. Why us? Because we are experts in impression taking and Costco doesn’t offer this service!

We can adjust Phonak, ReSound and Signia aids sold through Costco. The Kirkland brand software most often can’t be accessed. Why come to us for adjustments? Because we use real ear verification to insure optimal results.

Have you been told your Costo aid can’t be repaired once it is 3 years old? Although new technology is often beneficial, we know replacing them every 3 years can be a financial struggle. We can offer repair options for hearing aids up to 7 years of age. We are in your corner!

Medicare Replacement / Advantage Plans and Hearing

Just a quick reminder. We are out of network with all Medicare replacement plans offering hearing aid discounts. Why? They have a poor reimbursement rate for us as a private practice, limit the products we can offer (only certain models from certain manufacturers) and they don’t recognize many “best practice” services. Services like testing aids to determine if they meet ANSI standards when they are received or real ear verification that are part of our routine care. We find their benefits to be quite confusing as they talk about “coverage” yet what they are offering is a discount, as you are still making a payment to a “middleman” like Hearing Care Solutions, TruHearing or Nations Hearing, on top of the monthly fee going to the advantage plan.

The good news is you can choose to avoid the middleman and stay with our team! We have 3 manufacturers that offer “third party advantage” products to us now. We can provide you with best practice procedures, high-end products and our quality team here for a fee competitive with discounts offered through TruHearing. So, if you opted for a Medicare Replacement plan to help with your medical bills or prescription coverage, check your benefit book or call and get a quote from them for hearing devices. Hopefully we can offer something in a similar price range, and you will find it to your advantage to stay with us!

Building Renovations!

If you have not been to the office since August, you may have missed the story…but we continue to wait for the restoration crew to get to work on building repairs. They are telling us it should start any day now. We appreciate your patience as we move appointment times around to accommodate the days we need to close to keep everyone safe and meet noise standards necessary for proper testing. Hopefully we will be back to our regular schedule in December.

Team Transitions

As we move into 2025, some of our team members will be transitioning into new roles. Our customer solutions provider extraordinaire, Jill will be reducing her hours with us on Tuesdays to spend more time with her family. She is still your main go-to for any questions about the concierge experience in our office.

Barb, who has been training in the audiology assistant role will start completing regular clean and checks for those of you not requiring additional procedures like reprogramming or cerumen removal. Appointments with Sharon will be limited to diagnostic services, cerumen management, fitting and reprogramming hearing devices.

Chelsea will be transitioning full time to her audiology role at the non-profit in Goshen. We are sad to lose her expertise but understand her passion to help the low-income pediatric population on a routine basis.

Deb, who celebrated her 5th year anniversary with us in August will now be transitioning to The Puzzled Pup. Deb started the business last February to bring enrichment products to pets and it has taken off! We know you will miss her friendly voice as she contacted you about your appointments, but we also know you will join us in wishing her much success in her new venture!

Thank you for being a part of our story. We know connections in this world come and go for different reasons. There is a saying about people being on a journey with us for a season, a reason or a lifetime. No matter the basis of our connection, you are important to us! Please reach out with any concerns as we always want you to have a magical experience in our office and great success in your special moments with your friends and family.

We believe there is nothing better than a *hearing smile* and with each purchase, you help us provide this gift to others locally and globally through Hearing The Call. We fit 4 individuals locally; 529 in the US and 16,973 people worldwide in 2024. There are 15 trips planned across the globe in 2025. Thank you for supporting our small, locally owned business with the big-world resources. You can get updates or further support the hearing smile by visiting hearingthecall.org.

Kind regards and may the end of this year be a time filled with magical moments
-Sharon, Deb, Jill, Chelsea and Barb