Eleventh Observation

An older lady came into the clinic because her HA was “not as good as it used to be.” She has had her HA for about four years now. The client had been to the clinic before, but her HA is from a private dealer from the area and brand was a company only allowing a single dealer in a certain area. Our clinic does not have the cables, due to the circumstances, so we could not manipulate the settings. As stated above, nor did we have the previous audiograms.
The visit began with a case history. The Hx revealed the client is on several meds. It also revealed two close relatives have hearing loss, her late father and sister. The losses thought to be due to aging rather than genetics. The client was a school teacher, so a NIHL would not be as expected if her occupation was more industrial.
The next step was video otoscopy, both EACs were clear of debris. Tymps revealed Ad bilaterally. Next, SRTs and WRs were recorded. SRT was 55 dB for the right ear and 65 dB for the left ear. WR was 80 dB in the right ear and 85 dB in the left ear but the % was calculated later. PT result was a generally flat, moderate to severe SNHL bilaterally.
Due to the age of the old HA, the clinician and supervisor recommended two HAs. The supervisor made known the client has the option of going back to the private dealer or ordering new HAs from our clinic. The client decided to get them through our clinic. Due to the clinic closing over break, the client is going to wait for it to reopen. While the client was in the clinic, I cleaned the client’s husband’s HAs. The cleaning removed cerumen from the outer shell as well as from the vent.

I selected a link to different cleaning options/tools to be used at home rather than having to visit a clinic. At the clients’ age, it may be just as well to visit the clinic for a good cleaning.
http://www.adcohearing.com/haa_hear_aid_acc.html