Thursday, March 13, 2008

Eager Client with Needed Aid Adjustments

I observed a client who came in for a hearing evaluation and to pick up new domes that he had ordered. The clients primary concern was that he feels that his hearing had worsened and that his aids needed adjustments. It had been a year since his last hearing evaluation (audiogram).
Otoscopy was normal in the right ear. The left ear showed a significant amount of wax, but the tympanic membrane was visible. Also, both left and right immitance measures were within normal limits.
Unaided puretone results revealed a mild to moderate sloping sensorineural hearing loss bilaterally. As noted from the clients previous audiogram, thresholds had significantly increased in the higher frequencies. The right SRT was 50dB with word recognition at 100%. The left SRT was 30dB with word recognition at 92%.
The clinician used the NOAH software to turn up the clients aids. The clinician used normal conversational speech as an example for the client to listen to and judge if there was still adjustment needed.
The client also had a few concerns with how the aids fit. First, he felt as if his left aid wasn't fitting correctly. He complained of trouble with the tubing. The clinician tried a longer tube but this still did not work. Due to his aid being Oticon Delta BTEs (open fit), the receiver was in the tubing therefore he had to use the tubing he had. The following website has downloads which help consumers with the Oticon Deltas. http://www.oticon.com/com/OurProducts/ConsumerProducts/Delta/Downloads/index
He also requested some sort of connector between the aids that would be strapped across the back of his head. The clinician was not aware of this type of device being available. I did find a website with different accessories for hearing aids. I would not find a lot of accessories directly through hearing aid designer websites. The following site had some really creative accessories. Some had even been mentioned by professors like a dryer for the aids and even Otoclips. Check it out! http://www.adcohearing.com/haa_hear_aid_acc.html

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