Doors Opening or Closing?

January according to one source was named for the Roman god Janus- the protector of gates and doorways. When you see a door, do you think of it as a beginning or ending? For the team at Elkhart Audiology Rehab, it is both. We start January off with a planning session where we review what makes our relationship with you and others with hearing loss rewarding. We share the bright spots and where we could have done better. We talk about finding Joy every day in what we do and how we can better help each of you find better connection to the people and activities you love. Continuous improvement, growth and development is part of our culture.

Sometimes, to reach both personal and company goals changes in services and personnel occur. It is with both sorrow and joy that we share Stefanie has decided to step away from providing hearing care services and explore a new opportunity related to data entry with a local manufacture. Her wealth of knowledge and servant’s heart will be missed. We pray she will find many blessings as she walks through her next door on her life’s journey.

Jill will be the friendly face to greet you when you come through our door for your scheduled appointment. In light of our communities high covid numbers we are asking that you continue to wear a mask in our office and call when you arrive so we can be sure we are able to sanitize the areas before you enter. Deb continues to assist with phone calls, social media and trouble-shooting many hearing aid and smart phone compatibility issues. We are e-mailing more forms prior to your appointment so please be sure we do have the best email address to reach you.

Scheduling appointments with Sharon will be crucial to maintaining the level of care you deserve. We apologize if your wait time is longer than usual, but we sincerely believe the wait will be worth it rather than receiving an incomplete rush job. Our staff is committed to your hearing success but are mindful our energy levels need to be sustainable. We will run hard for you, but we also need to rest well. If you are feeling the need to renew your energy, we encourage you to check out the website www.runhardrestwell.org they are based in Albion, Indiana and get ready to be transformed!

Your Hearing Journey

The process of improving your hearing is a journey. It begins with awareness and identification of your communication difficulties and follows a customized path to obtain successful outcomes. This is one of the reasons you receive a “functional hearing assessment” at each of your office visits. The questions are designed to evaluate your success, struggles and perhaps identify changes in your needs. There may be adjustments, new assistive devices or treatment options which will help you interact and engage more easily and accurately.

We do our best to remind you when it is time to re-test your hearing, renew a warranty or consider new technology. You however are ultimately the one dealing with your hearing and health concerns on a regular basis.

So please request a new hearing test if has been more than two years.
Especially if you are:

• Diabetic
• Have chronic kidney disease
• Had Chemotherapy in the last 6 months or other ototoxic medications
• Heart condition, stroke/TIA
• Start experiencing dizziness, or falls
• Experience an increase in tinnitus

The Worlds First Intelligent Hearing Aid Receiver

The AcitiveVent is compatible with all Phonak Audeo Paradise rechargeable hearing aids. The feature is controlled by Auto Senes OS4.0 so you don’t need to make manual changes with a button or an app. Depending on the environment the vent will stay open to provide comfort and natural sound quality or close to reduce background sounds. The closed application has shown to increase speech understanding in noise by 10% (over a traditional fit), and better fidelity for music. If you are in the market for new hearing aids and would like a demonstration, call for an appointment and will be happy to let you hear the difference. This item can also be retro fit to any previous Audeo Paradise purchase for $125 per receiver.

Are you ready if you need to leave your home quickly? Do you have a “Go Bag”? What happens if you loose power for a few days? When you have hearing loss, there is an extra layer of things to consider to help you to feel safe and secure during a crisis. Some things to consider having handy include:

❖ Extra batteries or a “power bar” to charge your hearing devices and phone
❖ Speech to Text Apps or Captioned Phone Apps for your smart phone
❖ Portable, caption-enabled TV
❖ NOAA weather alert radio with text display
❖ Back up hearing aids
❖ Pen, Paper or White Board depending on the severity of your loss.
❖ Supplies for a service animal, including food, water and medical records

Balance, Falls and Hearing

Your “organ of hearing” also manages your balance. Research completed in 2012 found a very strong connection to falls and how poor your hearing might be…the worse your hearing, the more likely you are to fall. Falls are often associated with injuries which may require hospitalization, surgery, rehab and in general, put a cramp in your living arrangements! Wearing hearing aids help provide better balance, sound awareness of your environment, reduce your risk of falls as well as enhance your social and emotional wellbeing. The time is now to reduce the risk! Encourage your friend or family member to call to schedule an evaluation.

Hearing Options Abound…

We are here to help you sort through the noise and optimize a hearing treatment plan just for you. We are a local provider with a passion to solve communication concerns. We are out of network with most insurance plans and many plans also now require you to see a particular “third party provider” and will only pay/provide a specific brand/model. Please call your insurance to determine where they recommend you go in order to use the benefit they offer.

We understand the desire to use your insurance benefit. We also understand the product limitations and lack of reimbursement for services we deem best practice. If you choose the best (us!) you will have out of pocket or out of network expense. We will be as transparent in our explanation of our fees and your payment options so you can choose what is best for you and your hearing health care.

As 2022 begins, we will be walking through many doors… Simon Sinek has said, “Hearing is listening to what is said. Listening is hearing what isn’t said.” We are here to listen and be your partner in better hearing care. Best wishes in 2022!

Sharon, Deb and Jill