Advice to Audiology & Speech Language Pathology Students

Posted on April 17, 2013 by AU Bankaitis

UCThe following is an excerpt from my speech delivered on Friday, April 12, 2013 to nearly 400 audiology & speech pathology students, faculty, family and friends while accepting the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders at the University of Cincinnati during this year’s Spring Banquet.

career planningI don’t know about you, but when I hear of an individual receiving a Distinguished-Anything Award, I automatically assume this person had their professional life figured out from the beginning.  They knew exactly what they were doing, made all the right moves, all the right decisions.  To that I say, “Clap, clap! You deserve a plaque!” Now that I am on the receiving end of this kind of recognition, my immediate response is “This is career-pathcrazy!” You want to know why? You are looking at someone who in the month of May during her senior year of high school had not yet applied to any college because there was never the intention to attend. You are looking at someone who had a first job, second job, NO job, third job, then NO job again.  You are looking at someone who never really had her professional life figured out.

my-badIn reflecting on my career, I began to realize that I have been successful; and the one thing that I have probably been most successful at is making a lot of bad mistakes. Now, the difference between someone who makes a lot of bad mistakes versus someone who makes a lot of bad mistakes and is fortunate enough to potentially receive the type of recognition I am honored to receive this evening is that in the later situation, I not only made a lot of bad mistakes, I learned from them and moved forward.

Having said that, whether you are in Speech Pathology and/or Audiology, pursuing an undergraduate degree, Masters, AuD, or PhD, the following is some advice to the students in this room from someone who has made her fair share of mistakes.

1.   LIFE IS NOT FAIR

Unfair_opt-300x224As an undergraduate, I had to work 40-hours a week on campus at a coffee shop every morning before class, in-between classes, and after class while taking a full course load to pay for my tuition, books, and living expenses.  Many of my roommates had parents who paid for everything.  The fact that many of my roommates had everything paid for did not make them better than me and you know what?  The fact that I had to work to pay for my own education didn’t make be better than them either.  Those were our individual circumstances. It was what it was, it is what it is, life ain’t fair, get over it.

2.   STOP PLAYING THE BLAME GAME

business_blame_1“I didn’t know this was going to be on the test!”  “My program didn’t offer a course in that.”  “The teacher didn’t talk about that in class.” “I wasn’t  exposed to a patient with those symptoms so how am I supposed to know what to do?.”….blah, blah, blah.  Your college program and your teachers are tools to facilitate your learning.  You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for acquiring the knowledge an education is designed to expose you to so make sure you make the most of it.  Speaking of teachers….

3. (You think) FACULTY IS TOUGH & UNREASONABLE

Wait until you get a boss. And, for those of you chuckling because you are going to be your own boss, wait until you have your own established patient base (or people directly reporting to you).

4.   GET OVER THE NOTION THAT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO TAKE A TEST AGAIN

popquizPerhaps you will never have to take another formal examination once you graduate but expect at least one pop quiz at work every day.  Understand that your patients will not grade your performance on a curve and there is usually very little opportunity for extra credit. Stay current in reading professional journals, attend conferences, go to presentations to learn from those with first-hand experience, study, and continue to ask questions.  These are the things you minimally need to do to remain a good clinician.

5.   YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING

knowitallYou certainly know a lot but don’t lose site of the fact you don’t and won’t know everything, even when considered an expert in an area.  If you find yourself in a situation where you start to think you know everything, do me a favor and give the other person the benefit of the doubt rather than acting like a know-it-all or a bully.  Kids don’t like a know-it-all or bully, and guess what? Neither will your colleagues.

6.   LEARN TO LISTEN

There is a reason we have one mouth yet two ears.  Speak 50% less and listen 100% more.

7.   WEIGH EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS ON YOUR HAPPINESS SCALE RATHER THAN THE PAY SCALE

happyDo not use the pay scale as an indicator of your potential job satisfaction.  Salary is a form of instant gratification that wears off by the third paycheck.  Ignore the pay scale as much as you can and focus on your own happiness scale.  What is it that you need to be happy?  Do a better job interviewing a company to figure out if they are the right fit for you. When you choose the right work environment, you will be happier.  Happier people tend to be more productive and creative.  When you are in an environment where you thrive, often times the money will follow.  Be patient.

8.   YOU MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK

hardworkOther than the lottery and a few other life situations, you create your own opportunities through hard work and perseverance. When you work hard, more opportunities arise and good things tend to happen.  Other people misinterpret that as luck.

9.   PAY IT FORWARD

payitforwardGive back to your profession. Whether you donate time through volunteering, serving on a committee or writing out a check to support a professional cause, give back as often as you can and in a matter that is meaningful to you.

 10. FIND AND PRACTICE BALANCE IN YOUR LIFE

allworkWork is not everything.  Have you heard the phrase “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?”  It does. The word dull may be defined as “lacking interest or excitement“.  If work is all you talk about, people won’t want to hang around with you because you are boring. The word dull can also be defined as “sluggish” or “not sharp“.  If you work all the time, you will become ineffective.  Find things you enjoy doing outside of work and make time to enjoy them.

supportSo, some food for thought for the students out there.  Bare in mind, the take home message is not “Do Not Make Mistakes”.  It’s inevitable; we all make mistakes and trying to avoid them is in it of itself a mistake.  Learning from your mistakes is key to success. The best way to make sure you learn from your mistakes (beyond self-awareness) is to surround yourself with a network of good people who will not only support you, but will also keep you grounded.  I had that in my mentor Dr. Robert W. Keith (see below) who was my teacher, my boss, my colleague, my greatest cheerleader but also someone who gave me a kick in the ars when I needed one. I wish all of you the best as you move forward in establishing your very own happy, rewarding careers.

-A.U. Bankaitis, PhD, University of Cincinnati, 1991-1995

bankaits-keith2013

My mentor Dr. Robert W. Keith and I immediately prior to receiving the 2013 Distinguished Alumna Award from University of Cincinnati CSD Department

Posted in About A.U., Audiology | Tagged , , , , , | 27 Comments

Audiology ToTT: Video otoscope isn’t just for otoscopy!

Posted on April 10, 2013 by AU Bankaitis

tipsBased on feedback collected from subscribers and followers (YOUR Audiology Blog!), today’s post introduces the new blog  segment Audiology “ToTT“.  This feature is intended to provide Tips of The Trade (hence, “ToTT”) shared by Audiologists actively using products in their current practices.  As new  information is acquired,  additional Audiology ToTTs will be posted with the hope that other clinicians can apply these suggestions in their own clinic. For example, did you know that a video otoscope can be used in different ways others than performing otoscopy?

ff-de550An Audiologist visiting the Oaktree Products booth at AudiologyNOW 2013 in Anaheim mentioned using their Firefly Video Otoscope to examine hearing instruments. The receiver port of a hearing instrument occasionally gets clogged with cerumen and/or debris that may be difficult to see with the naked eye.  This Audiologists uses their Firefly Video Otoscope not only to perform otoscopy (see Firefly YouTube Video on Oaktree Products Channel), but to visually inspect hearing aid ports in a magnified fashion.  The larger image generated by the video otoscope assists in identifying cerumen located deeper down the port, providing the opportunity to manually remove the cerumen in the office rather than sending it off for repair.

wa-macroview1Not too long ago, a customer purchased several Welch Ally Digital Macroview Video Otoscopes for his practice and the staff started using the product in a unique way. When dispensing hearing instruments, the video otoscope is used to help the patient see their ear when practicing proper hearing instrument (or earmold) insertion.  With the computer monitor located in front of the patient, when the Audiologist directs the video otoscope at the side of the patient’s head, it provides the patient with a large and clear view of their ear.  This video otoscope application is far less cumbersome than using multiple mirrors. So, next time you use or consider investing in a video otoscope, remember:  it isn’t just for otoscopy! Look for future Audiology ToTTs and continue checking out the popular Guest Blog segment posted the first Wednesday of every new month.

Posted in Audiology ToTTs, Otoscopes, Headlamps & Earlights | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

New Tool for Treating Patients with CAPD – guest post by Gail Chermak, Frank Musiek & Jeffery Weihing

Posted on April 3, 2013 by AU Bankaitis

brain-620x360Based on a wealth of empirical evidence on the neuroscience, diagnosis and treatment of central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), Sound Auditory Training (SAT) is a soon-to-be-available new web-based program designed to train auditory processing skills in children, adults, and older adults with CAPD as well as other clinical populations, such as patients with cochlear implants.  Developed by Drs. Chermak, Musiek and Weihing, SAT makes available well controlled stimuli that can be customized to exercise a capd-1number of fundamental auditory skills. In addition to training, it provides clinicians with a tool-set to design one’s own training tasks and evaluate auditory skills, and provides clinical scientists with highly accessible stimuli to design psychoacoustic procedures. While the developers offer general guidelines for selecting specific tasks and setting parameters based on clinical profiles, SAT is not a program nor is it a test. Rather, SAT is a tool-set that includes adaptable auditory stimuli, a range of auditory tasks, and engaging graphic interfaces to meet the clinical or research needs of the professional.

brain-waves-musicThe prevalence of CAPD is estimated at 5% of school-aged children and up to 70% of adults and older adults experiencing hearing and listening problems. The underlying impairments of individuals with CAPD are varied and not currently reducible to a single deficit.  Auditory processing deficits frequently are seen in a number of other disorders including learning disabilities, dyslexia, language impairment, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), and autism. In order to properly describe and treat basic auditory deficits that can affect listening, communication, and learning, one needs to have a flexible, but easy to use tool that spans temporal, spectral, and binaural processing.  The architecture of SAT incorporates the flexibility necessary to adapt stimuli for training regimens to meet the needs of particular individuals. The software provides the flexibility to train in either a game environment for children or a more standard psychophysical paradigm for adults.

directional_sound2Sound Auditory Training relies on adaptive algorithms (i.e., the program changes in response to the user’s performance), flexible feedback to the user (via animations or counters), and flexible parameter settings for the clinician/clinical scientist, parents, educators, and users. Tasks train intensity, frequency, and temporal detection, discrimination, and identification using a variety of non-verbal (e.g., tones, noise) and minimally loaded verbal stimuli (e.g., consonant-vowel syllables). Immediate feedback (error correction and reinforcement) is provided through animations within the game. Skills are practiced intensively until they become habitual and automatic. The exercises are sequenced to challenge but not overwhelm the participant. The clinician can use the software to obtain a more comprehensive profile of an individual’s skill strengths and skill deficits in order to more efficiently and effectively target and train deficit areas on a variety of auditory tasks.

guy-toolsIn addition to its usefulness to clinical professionals, SAT is designed to be accessible to parents and teachers so that the exercises can be administered in a non-clinical environment. It is also designed to meet the needs of researchers to serve as a tool for investigation of auditory psychophysics, especially with children.  The flexibility of the program allows updates based in research and thus promotes evidence-based practice. It provides auditory training exercises that encompass a wide range of auditory processing skills. Most important, SAT exercises auditory skills which are most likely to have a meaningful impact on a person’s listening, communication, and learning. Anticipated release date is August 2013 but you can contact Plural Publishing for more information and a web-based trial package.

Chermak photoDr. Gail D. Chermak is an internationally recognized authority on central auditory processing disorder (CAPD).  She has published extensively and lectured around the world on differential diagnosis and treatment of CAPD.  Her two-volume Handbook of (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder, edited with Frank Musiek and published in 2007, is considered the definitive text on CAPD.  Dr. Chermak is professor of audiology and chair of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Washington State University.  She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the American Academy of Audiology’s (AAA) Distinguished Achievement Award and the “Book of the Year Award” for the Handbook of Central Processing Disorder Vol. I and II.  She is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and she is included in several major American and international biographical listings. She has chaired and served on a number of national professional committees and task forces, including the 2010 AAA task force which published evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for CAPD.  She has authored over 100 articles and book chapters, and authored or edited 4 books.  She is an assistant editor for the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology and she serves as editorial consultant for several other professional and scientific journals.

Musiek Photo31Frank Musiek, PhD is Professor and Director of Auditory Research within the Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, and Professor of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, at the University of Connecticut. He is the 2007 AAA Recipient of the James Jerger Career Award for Research in Audiology, the 2010 recipient of The Honors of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association, and Recipient of Book of the Year Award for Handbook of Central Processing Disorder Vol. I and II (with Gail Chermak co-editor). He has published over 190 articles and book chapters in the areas of auditory evoked potentials, central auditory disorders, neuroaudiology and auditory neuroanatomy. He has authored or edited 9 books including his latest Disorders of the Auditory System.

Weihing photoDr. Jeffrey Weihing received his Masters and Doctorate degrees in Audiology from the University of Connecticut, where he specialized in electrophysiology and the diagnosis & treatment of (central) auditory processing disorder.  He currently provides clinical services and is an instructor in the AuD program at the University of Louisville.  His research interests include generation of more sensitive measures of hearing in noise ability, establishing efficacious treatments for auditory processing disorders, and using electrophysiological measures to predict outcomes in hearing aid fittings.

Posted in Guest Blog Posts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

YOUR Audiology Blog!

Posted on March 27, 2013 by AU Bankaitis

HopeAs an Audiology blogger, it is very easy to get into production mode and focus on ensuring weekly tidbits are posted in a timely manner, all the while assuming that the information is actually beneficial. My hope has always been to offer nuggets of useful information on various aspects of Audiology; inevitably, this is where I hear Morgan Freeman’s character from The Shawshank Redemption in my head: ‘Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.‘

au-box image cochleaThere are plenty of things on this earth that can potentially drive me insane; my blog should not be one of them. Obviously, one way to find out whether or not my blog provides useful information is to simply ask my followers and subscribers. Having said that, I certainly don’t want to drive any of you insane with long, time-consuming opinion appraisal! Instead, below is a link to a quick and easy 5-question survey that will take less than 1 minute to complete.  The information will help me recognize what YOU want from my blog.  The survey will close one week from today at 11:00 PM CST on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

Ready? Set. Go!  http://aubankaitis.polldaddy.com/s/what-you-want-from-a-u-s-audiology-blog

Posted in Audiology | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Show Specials for Audiology & AudPeeps!

Posted on March 20, 2013 by AU Bankaitis

PrintA new dri aid kit called the DRY-ALL AidDri (item #AIDDRI-78) dehumidifier will be on display at AudiologyNOW in Anaheim at the Oaktree Products booth (#1559).  It is comparable to the Super Dri Aid but costs much less.  This and other neat products will be on display so be sure to come by to au-blog button-webtake a peek, or to at least say hi to the OTP Crew of Bob Kemp, Alison, Michael, Dana, and me!  Want to be considered a cool “AuDpeep”? Sport your own “I’m an AuD to Be” pin in support of all future audiologists, including 2nd year AuD student and fellow blogger Lana Joseph by attending our presentation “Blogging – Nuts & Bolts” on Wednesday, April 3 from 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm in Room 206B. If you are really nice, you might score an “A.U. Blogged About Me” pin, too. Can’t make the presentation? Stop by the Oaktree Products booth and we will hook you up.

Twitter_iconFor those of you unable to attend AudiologyNOW, you still have ways to take advantage of some of the fun.  For example, start following or sign-up to follow @Oaktree_Alison and @Oaktree_Dana on Twitter between now and the end of AudiologyNOW to be  automatically be entered in a drawing to Special%20Offerwin an awesome Heine LED Fiber-Optic Pocket Otoscope, another cool new product that will be showcased at our booth.  Also, be sure to give Oaktree Products a call on Wednesday, April 3 – Friday, April 5 toll-free at  800.347.1960 to ask customer service what “show specials” we have to offer you too!  If you can, make plans to come to Orlando, Florida March 26-29 for AudiologyNOW in 2014!

Posted in Audiology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Show Specials for Audiology & AudPeeps!

Pay Way Less than Catalog Price for Audiology Products

Posted on March 13, 2013 by AU Bankaitis

4leafcloverWith St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, see if the luck of the Irish is on your side by checking out the product offerings listed on the Oaktree Products’ Outlet Store.  Purchase any product from the Outlet Store before St. Patrick’s Day, and your order will be shipped for free!

To qualify for free shipping, this is what you need to do:

1.  Log into your Oaktree Products account at www.oaktreeproducts.com*

2.  Browse the Outlet Store to check out mark-down special products by selecting OUTLET STORE from the blue menu bar located on the left hand side of the page

3.  Click on the item number you want to purchase from the Outlet Store and then select ADD TO CART

4.  During the checkout process, enter A.U. blogged about me in the comments section (screen shown below):

aubloggedaboutme

5.  Complete the check out process and simply wait for your awesome buy to arrive with no shipping charges!

*If you are not sure how to log into the Oaktree Products website, contact customer service via email at otp@oaktreeproducts.com or electronically request to ACTIVATE YOUR WEB ACCOUNT.   Happy Shopping!

Posted in Audiology | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Can Hearing Aids Provide the Gentle Nudge Many Patients Need? – guest post by Brian Taylor

Posted on March 6, 2013 by AU Bankaitis

percent-signAll of us are all too-familiar with the math; in the United States, approximately one out of every three adults over the age of 60 has hearing loss, while more than 50% of individuals over the 85 have a hearing loss.1 Recent estimates indicate that 3.8 million or 14.2% of American 50-years of age and older with hearing loss down-arrowwear hearing aids. For patients 50 years and older in the United States with hearing loss, one  in seven individuals have obtained a hearing aid, and for adults of working age (ages 50-59), the rate of hearing aid acquisition declines to less than one in 20.2 There are thought to be several causes for this low rate of hearing aid acquisition among adults, including a lack of reimbursement, high prices and stigma.

change-simon-wordle-24Like many medical conditions, successful intervention requires adults with acquired hearing loss to change their thinking and behaviors with respect to their disability. This may involve taking the necessary steps to seek professional help for an evaluation, accepting the need and the use of amplification, and/or completing some type of rehabilitation program. Over the past several years, research has attempted to uncover the reason for a lack of hearing aid uptake among adult non-users. Various health behavior change (HBC) models  have been steps-to-cloud-successused to describe the process of coming to terms with an acquired hearing loss and taking the necessary steps to ameliorate it. Manchaiah3 provides an overview of many of these HBC models as they relate to hearing healthcare and the provision of hearing aids.  Recently, Laplante-Levesque, Hickson & Worrall4 conducted research on the validity of a well-known four-stage HBC model. Their recent work in this area suggests that hearing impaired adults can be reliably categorized into one of the four stages shown in the Figure 1 continuum.

Figure1

Figure 1: A simple four-stage health behavior change model

The Sudden Jolt

joltMotivational interviewing is a tool clinicians can use to evaluate the HBC stage an individual may be in during their consultation and spark behavior changes by tapping into their inner drives. Rather than relying on coercion, pressure and promises, effective motivational interviewing relies on thoughtful, irrational questions. According to Dr. Michael Pantalon5 at the Yale School of Medicine, who is a leading authority on motivational interviewing techniques, irrational questions are what seem to trigger meaningful dialogue that often results in behavior changes. If you are trying to jolt patients into action, try asking your patients these two questions during the initial hearing evaluation:

1.         “On a scale of 1 to 10, one being the worst and ten being the best, how would you rate your overall hearing ability?”

After you receive an answer to this question, the follow-up question you can ask is,

2.         “Why didn’t you choose a higher number?”

According to Dr. Pantalon, this second, irrational question often catches many people off guard.  The first question asks them to quantify their perception of the problem, while the second requires a more detailed explanation that is likely to take patients out of their comfort zone as they explain why a higher number was not chosen. It is during this process that patients can get on the path to behavior change.

Palmer and colleagues6 provide us with some insight on how question 1 above can be adapted in your clinic. Their results showed that 16% of study participants rated themselves an 8-10, 31% rated themselves between a 6-7, and 53% provided a rating between 1 and 5. Their result, moreover, showed approximately 80% of participants with a rating between 1 and 5 obtained amplification, while less than 20% of participants with a self-rating of 8 to 10 obtained hearing aids. The big opportunity, however, seems to rest with those that have a self-rating of 6 to 7, as about 50% of the time this group failed to obtain hearing aids at the time of the evaluation.

The Gentle Nudge

nudge2If the two questions listed above provide the sudden jolt that leads to behavior change, perhaps the gentle nudge to improved communication rests with Unitron’s Flex:trial instrument. Flex:trial is a tool, along with motivational interviewing techniques’ that may result in greater uptake of hearing aids for patients who are contemplating taking action for their hearing disability.

unitron flexUnitron’s Flex:trial program allows patients to try the level of amplification that is deemed most appropriate for them by their practitioner during the initial consultation.  By allowing a patient to use the Flex:trial devices for an extended period of time in the comforts of home (using the fitting software you can select a trial time between 1-day and 1-month), while they experience the benefits of a customized solution in real-world listening conditions. A customizable trial device is a convenient and risk-free way of helping the patient make an affirmative decision to obtain hearing aids. For patients that decide to obtain amplification after the trial, the Flex:trial device is swapped out for the exact model of instruments that are purchased by the patient.

combinationHere is how the combination of motivational interviewing and use of Unitron’s Flex:trial could work; during the routine evaluation you ask the first question.  Let’s say your patient responds to the first question with a response of 6 or 7. Patients that classify themselves in this range are likely to have a substantial hearing loss, but are still contemplating any behavior changes. These patients may be best described as “fence-sitters,” and need a gentle nudge into action. An extended at-home trial with Flex:trial may be in order.

Unitron_Logo_no-tag_RGBGiven the relatively poor acceptance of hearing aids by the millions of Americans who could benefit from them, the combination of motivational interviewing techniques and an in-home trial of a fully customizable device (Unitron’s Flex:trial) offer the ambivalent non-user the best avenue to improved communication and a higher quality of life. For the clinician this combination of technology and thoughtful questioning is likely to translate into a more efficient and productive business. The Flex:trial business solution program will be launched at the upcoming AudiologyNOW event in Anaheim, California. To learn more visit the Unitron booth at the AudiologyNOW expo or contact me at brian.taylor@unitron.com

briantaylor-unitron1[1]Brian Taylor, Au.D. is the Director of Practice Development & Clinical Affairs for Unitron and the Editor of Audiology Practices, the quarterly publication of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology. Brian also serves on the advisory board for the Better Hearing Institute and is a frequent contributor to Audiology Online. During the first decade of his career, he practiced clinical audiology in both medical and retail settings. Since 2004, Dr. Taylor has held a variety of management positions within the industry in both the United States and Europe. He has published over 30 articles and book chapters on topics related to hearing aids, diagnostic audiology and business management. Brian has authored two text books Fitting and Dispensing Hearing Aids and Consultative Selling Skills for Audiologists, both published by Plural, Inc.

References

  1. www.hearingloss.org Downloaded February 27, 2013
  2. Chien, W. & Lin, F, (2013). Prevalence of hearing aid use among older adults in the United States. Arch Intern Med. 172, 3, 292-293.
  3. Manchaiah, V.K. (2012). Health behaviour change in hearing healthcare: A discussion paper. Audiological Research. 2, e4, 12-16
  4. Laplante-Levasque, A., Kickson, L., Worrall, L. (2013). Stages of change in adults with acquired hearing impairment seeking help for the first time: Application of the transtheoretical model in audiologic rehabilitation. Ear and Hearing. (published-ahead-of-print).
  5. Pantalon. M. (2011). Instant Influence. Little, Brown Co. New York.
  6. Palmer, C. et al. (2009). Relationship between self-perception of hearing ability and hearing aid purchase. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology. 20, 6, 341-348.
Posted in Guest Blog Posts, Hearing Instrument Technology, Tools & Accessories | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Upgraded Oaktree Products Website!

Posted on February 27, 2013 by AU Bankaitis

searchThe Oaktree Products (OTP) website underwent an upgrade this past Friday, providing new and/or improved features to make finding and ordering products that much easier!  First, the SEARCH function has been optimized, removing many of the unrelated items that used to pop-up when searching for a specific product on our website.  Second, some of the landing pages have been reconfigured to segregate miscellaneous parts and accessories from core product searches.  For example, when you click on ALARM CLOCKS in the Assistive Devices page, the page will populate all the alarm clocks currently offered by Oaktree Products rather than listing alarm clocks and associated parts and accessories.

empty cartThe check-out process has also been significantly revamped; rather than needing to click-through multiple pages to actually place an order, the process has been streamlined to a one-page check-out procedure.  In addition, the OTP website is now designed to accept promotional codes for some really awesome “web-only” specials.  To take advantage of these eblast%20imagefuture promotions, be sure to sign up for our e-blasts by sending a quick email request to otp@oaktreeproducts.com or by accessing the OTP home page and entering your e-mail address in the white box labeled SUBSCRIBE TO OAKTREE PRODUCTS eBLAST located in the lower right hand corner of the page.

24-7If you have never placed on order on-line, go to www.oaktreeproducts.com; if you know your OTP account number, click the ACTIVATE MY WEB ACCOUNT button located in center, lower-portion of the page, submit your request, and your will receive log-in instructions.  If you are new to OTP and need to set up a new account, click the SET UP NEW ACCOUNT button located in the lower right hand corner, submit your request, and we will send you your account number and log-in instructions for placing an order on the web. You can order online 24-hours a day, 7 days a week! We hope you enjoy the improved site! Keep in mind, with any upgrade, some weird bugs may pop-up; be sure to let us know of anything that you feel needs to be addressed.  Also, any feedback on your experience using the updgraded website is appreciated!  Happy shopping!

Posted in Audiology | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments