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

Tenth Observation

Upon reading the Advance for Audiologist magazine given to us through our inboxes, I found a great little article about Oticon’s new guidelines for HA distribution. Oticon will no longer accept orders from HA dealers not dealing directly with the consumer. Dealers over the internet, by mail, and by catalogue will no longer be able to order HAs from Oticon. The article states other brands have similar policies regarding indirect sales. As we know, such sales have adverse effects on the impression of HAs many users get when dealing with such distributors. Restricting sales to such distributors is another step in the right direction to ensure all clients seeking help find it from qualified and professional people.Free online hearing test? http://lloydhearingaid.com/shopping/audiogram_steps.asp Come on now.

This article is from
(2008). Oticon sets new hearing aid distribution guidelines. Advance for Audiology, 10(1), 16.

Ninth Observation

I reviewed a product by Oticon called the Amigo. The Amigo is a FM system for inside the classroom and outside of the classroom. The Amigo set out to accomplish the downfalls of the older FM systems. Older systems couldn’t verify they were working properly and young users tend not to be good indications of the system working. Older systems were arduous to configure requiring additional hardware and cables lengthening the time to troubleshoot.
The Amigo stepped in to solve these problems. The Amigo is a body worn FM system allowing for the use of the system outside of the classroom. Though while in the classroom, the teacher can easily and visually see if the system is working as it should. LED lights built into the child’s receiver ensure the system is transmitting and the receiver is doing its part as well. The Amigo was built with children in mind too. The system is built to withstand accidental drops, moisture, and over/under charging. Furthermore, the cover over the LCD display is the same material as used for bulletproof glass. The Amigo has taken extra steps to ensure clarity too. Before transmission, the Amigo reduces the noise level and balances the voice level. If no speech is detected, the system goes into a mute mode. The configuration of the unit was design to be a breeze. All programming between receiver and transmitter is done wirelessly without any additional hardware, and of course wires. Oticon seems to have a pretty nice unit on their hands. The apparent ease of use should make this a popular piece.

http://www.oticonusa.com/Oticon/Consumers/Products/Amigo.html

Eighth Observation

My eighth session was another CAPD case. The young female was referred by disability services for a CAPD eval. The client has trouble focusing in external noise and usually needs more time take test.
The client’s video otoscopy was fine and tymps were Type A’s bilaterally. The puretone thresholds were within normal limits though the right ear was slightly lower. SRT was 10 db for the left ear and 20 db for the right ear. WR was 100% in both ears.
CAPD portion of the assessment included SCAN-A and the AFT-R tests. I had to leave at this time due to time running over into another class.

The link below is for the same website as the Scan-A test above, but for the AFT-R test. I discussed this test in my case presentation in Assessment.http://www.capdtest.com/aftr.cfm