For years Bob Friedler had problems hearing. The 61-year old busy sales rep, police reserve lieutenant and motorcycle safety coach had to turn the volume up on the TV to hear and asked others to repeat themselves on the telephone and in person. Too proud to wear hearing aids, he began reading lips.
Friedler is among the 20-30 million Americans who suffers from significant hearing loss – a treatable disabling condition more common than arthritis and hypertension. But his life changed just a month ago when he was fitted with a digital hearing devise. “It’s incredible,” he says. “I’m hearing things that I haven’t heard in years – and the device is so small and sleek that no one knows I’m wearing a hearing aid,” he says.
If you are concerned about losing your hearing and want to learn about the latest advances in digital hearing aids, you won’t want to miss an open house hosted by The Oregon Clinic, Westside ENT division as it introduces the most technologically advanced hearing device available, Oticon’s “Dual”.
The open house will be held from 9 am-5 pm, Aug. 26-28, at Westside ENT, 9155 SW Barnes Road, Suite 831, on the St. Vincent Medical Center campus medical building, East Pavilion, in Portland. Please RSVP at 503-935-8100. Evening appointments are available by request.
Westside ENT has teamed up with Oticon, a manufacturer of the most up to date hearing instruments available, to inform the public about advances and benefits in digital hearing devices. The open house will feature a complimentary hearing screening given by audiologist, Jennifer Brannon, M.A., CCC-A. She will also be on hand to answer questions and to demonstrate the newest and sleekest 100 percent digital instruments.
Oticon’s Digital Dual
The Oregon Clinic, Westside ENT division is among the first in the Portland area to offer a hearing device with wireless connectivity to phones, televisions, GPS systems and more.
Dual helps individuals with hearing loss to hear better and understand more spoken words, even in challenging listening environments like restaurants and social gatherings. Brannon explains: “Two Dual hearing devices actually ‘talk’ to each other, simulating the way the brain naturally processes sounds coming from different directions. By operating as a virtual ‘sound compass,’ Dual enables wearers to more easily identify who is talking, especially when voices or sounds come from different areas of the room.”
The hearing device also allows easy use of both landline and cellular phones. “Dual makes it possible to have a normal conversation on the phone – something that is difficult for people with hearing loss,” says Brannon. “Dual’s comfortable open fit design eliminates feedback and whistling and the annoying “plugged up” feeling many experience with traditional hearing aids. Enjoying television once again as a group activity is another benefit of Dual. Now my patients can understand television audio from anywhere in the room at a volume that won’t disturb others,” she states.
With Dual, people with hearing loss also have the option of using a companion device called Streamer that enables Dual users to wirelessly connect to landline and cell phones, TV systems and other popular personal entertainment systems. Patients simply press a button on the Streamer to receive phone calls in both ears — digitally processed to accommodate the user’s individual hearing loss.