Get back to the Grind!

Posted on January 6, 2011 by AU Bankaitis

Getting back into the grind after the holidays may sometimes be challenging! When it comes to dispensing hearing instruments, getting back into the “grind” may be easily achieved with a few key tools.

A variety of blue and white grinding stones come in handy for hearing instrument or earmold repair and/or modification; the coarser blue stones are most suitable for modifying silicone earmolds whereas the white stones are designed for hearing instrument casing and earmold material made of a harder acrylic material.  If you are looking for something rougher than a blue stone, invest in grinding caps.  Available in two different grains (80 grain and 150 grain), the caps (page 44 of the new 2011 OTP catalog) are sold in packs of five for under $10. The caps slide onto a grinding cap holder (sold separately) which, in turn, interfaces with a Redwing or Dremel.

For more information on these and other tools for use in the dispensing clinic, contact Oaktree Products at 800.347.1960 and ask for customer service. Now, get back to work!

Posted in Tools & Accessories | Comments Off on Get back to the Grind!

Check your mail for the 2011 OTP Catalog!

Posted on January 4, 2011 by AU Bankaitis

The new 2011 Oaktree Products catalog just went to press and is scheduled for delivery starting around the second or third week of January! The impressive Angel Oak Tree of John’s Island (near Charleston), South Carolina graces the cover of this year’s catalog, a live oak tree estimated to be 1,500 years of age.  While placing an oak tree on the cover of the Oaktree Products catalog makes sense, be sure to read Bob and Margy Kemp’s letter located on the first page of the catalog; it provides a meaningful explanation as to the significance of choosing the Angel Oak for this year’s cover. 

With nearly 4,000 products listed, essentially all of your product and equipment needs may be found amongst the 120 catalog pages including about 100 or so new products.  If you still have the 2010 pink catalog, hold on to it just a little longer as the new 2011 catalog should arrive in late January. If you have a catalog that is any color other than pink, give Oaktree Products a call at 800.347.1960 and ask for customer service as they will make sure you receive a copy (or copies) of the most up-to-date 2011 catalog.

Posted in Audiology | Tagged , | 3 Comments

2010 in review

Posted on January 2, 2011 by AU Bankaitis

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,800 times in 2010. That’s about 9 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 37 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 292 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 50mb. That’s about 6 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was October 22nd with 242 views. The most popular post that day was Bright Idea for Cerumen Management.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were audiologyonline.com, facebook.com, mail.yahoo.com, twitter.com, and en.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for stethoscope, stethomate tips, how to recharge Welch Allyn otoscope batteries, au bankaitis blog, and infection control plan template.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Bright Idea for Cerumen Management September 2010

2

Amplified Stethoscopes & Hearing Instruments: What are the options? August 2010

3

My Personal Give Back Moment November 2010
1 comment

4

What I do at Oaktree Products (OTP) August 2010

5

Cool Tool for Audiologists to Have Handy November 2010
2 comments

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Signing off Until 2011!

Posted on December 21, 2010 by AU Bankaitis

Happiest of Holidays to My Blog Followers & All the Best in the 2011!

Taking some time off to spend the holidays with family and friends. To the left is a family Christmas picture taken in 1972 with my brothers and sisters.  I am the first one on the left in the front row in the yellow turtle-neck followed by my brothers Audrius (aka “Vince”), Saulius (Saul), and Jonas. The back row (L to R) includes my sister Mirga, brother Vytas, sister Danute (“Bunki”) who is holding Vince, sister Siga, and brother Raimis (Ray).  Looking forward to making some more “Kodak” moments with at least some of my family this year. I hope to see all of you in the blogosphere in 2011. All the best, a.u. bankaitis

Posted in About A.U. | 1 Comment

Do-It-Yourself CIC Drawstring Repair

Posted on December 16, 2010 by AU Bankaitis

Occasionally, the drawstring of your patient’s CIC may break, creating challenges in hearing instrument removal. Rather than automatically sending the device back to the manufacturer for repair, a handful of products, most of which you probably already have access to in your clinic, may be all you need for a relatively quick, in-house fix. 

Items needed include: 1) a twist drill (size 76, 0.5mm), 2) Trilene line (size 017), 3) cyanoacrylate glue such as Apollo 2002 or Loctite, and 4) polymer powder.   To repair the CIC drawstring, cut off any residual drawstring from the faceplate. Then, use a twist drill to drill into the pre-existing drawstring hole to remove residual material. Next, apply cyanoacrylate glue to the end of the Trilene and immediately insert the Trilene into the drilled hole on the CIC faceplate; it should bond quickly. Once set, cut the Trilene to an appropriate length. Dab some cyanoacrylate glue on the freshly cut end of the Trilene and then immediately roll the same end into polymer powder.  Continue to dab glue and roll the end into the polymer powder as needed until a ball forms at the end of the Trilene. Once a sufficiently sized ball is formed, it will take about 10-15 seconds for the ball to harden. To speed up this process, apply accelerator over cyanoacrylate glue to reduce the curing time to about 3 seconds. Once finished, allow the end to sit for a minute or so until it completely hardens.

Posted in Tools & Accessories | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Get LOOPED this Holiday Season & in the New Year!

Posted on December 14, 2010 by AU Bankaitis

Imagine your patients being able to simply flip a switch and hear much better in difficult-to-hear situations. This scenario does not have to be a line item on your holiday wish list. Hearing loops turn any t-coil equipped hearing instrument into a personal listening system, providing hearing instrument wearers with a significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio for the specific purposes of maximizing speech understanding. The concept of a loop is not new nor is it rocket science; unfortunately, loop technology has not been widely embraced in America as compared to Europe and other regions.

There are a number of resources available to help audiologists advocate hearing loop technology. HearingLoop.org is a good resource for audiologists to learn more about how to start a hearing loop initiative. The Fox Valley Hearing Loop, LLC of Oshkosh, Wisconsin was established by Dr. Juliette Sterkens, AuD and her husband Max to promote affordable installation of hearing loops in area churches and public meeting places to enable hearing instrument wearers to hear clearly. The Fox Valley Hearing Loop website is a content-rich site that provides information for audiologists, businesses, and churches with links to useful resources and FAQs about loops. Check out Dr. Sterken’s most recent letter-to-the-editor appearing in The Hearing Journal (Dec 2010) on this topic and be sure to sign-up for her bi-monthly “Let’s Get Looped” newsletter by e-mailing her directly at juliette@foxvalleyhearingloop.com.

Actively engage in educating your patients about hearing loops by installing a hearing loop system in your waiting or counseling room. For example, the Field Teleloop System (pictured left) is an inexpensive TV/stereo amplifier system that transmits sound via a wire loop installed around the perimeter of the room directly to the t-coil of a hearing instrument. With the hearing instrument in the t-coil mode, the patient will hear the TV or stereo directly via their hearing instruments! If you prefer more flexibility in where and how to demonstrate hearing loops, consider investing ina portable system such as the Sound Shuttle (pictured right). It is a fully portable, rechargeable loop system equipped with a built-in microphone; when placed close to the user (within 2-3 feet), the Sound Shuttle will generate the necessary electromagnetic field  for the user’s t-coil to pick up the signal detected by the microphone. Unlike the Field Teleloop System, the Sound Shuttle can easily be transported from one room to another to effectively demonstrate the power of looping to patients. So, get LOOPED in December and throughout the new year! Your patients will thank you!

Posted in Hearing Assistance Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

No-BUZZ cell phone solutions!

Posted on December 9, 2010 by AU Bankaitis

Wearers of hearing instruments often experience interference in the form of buzzing that may preclude them from using their cell phone. While the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 required telephones manufactured in or imported into the U.S. to be hearing aid compatible, cell phones were exempt.  As analogue cell phones were replaced with digital technology, hearing instrument wearers began to experience interference in the form of a loud, audible buzz when using the cell phone while wearing their hearing instruments.

Several product solutions are available for wearers of t-coil equipped hearing instruments with the most viable option dictated by whether or not the cell phone is Bluetooth enabled. For non-Bluetooth cell phones equipped with a 2.5 or 3.5mm jack, the monaural or binarual NoiZfree Induction Earhook (shown at the right)  is the perfect solution. Just plug it into the jack of the cell phone, place the earhook behind the ear and turn the hearing instrument to the T or MT position.

For Bluetooth enabled cell phones, there are a couple of choices. First, the NoiZfree Beetle H2-ST (pictured left) is comprised of a clip-on “Beetle” transceiver (far left) and packaged with a monaural induction earhook (center) and neckloop (far right). Once the Beetle is paired to the Bluetooth cell phone, conversations are wirelessly transmitted between the Bluetooth cell phone and the Beetle, enabling the user to hear the conversations through the t-coil of their hearing instruments via the monaural earhook or the neckloop.  The Beetle H-3ST (pictured right) is also available and works in the same way with the exception that is it additionally equipped with a built-in radio.

Any Bluetooth neckloop equipped with a microphone such as the  ClearSounds Quatro (pictured left) may also serve as an option as long as the patient has t-coil equipped hearing instruments. Simply pair the Bluetooth neckloop with the Bluetooth enabled cell phone and have the user switch their hearing instruments to either the T or MT mode. Access the cell phone solution decision matrix created by Oaktree Products to help identify viable cell phone solutions for all your patients with hearing loss from the OTP microsite available at AudiologyOnline.  For more detailed information, check out Linda Kozma-Spytek’s free-to-view webinar on hearing aid compatibility for digital wireless phones or on the telecommunications accessibility update on cell phones and cordless phones.

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Do you see what I see?

Posted on December 7, 2010 by AU Bankaitis

Still looking for a headlamp with magnification that will let you see what you need to see? Beyond the Heine HR Loupe & 3S LED Headlight Set previously blogged about, check out the Seiler LED Loupe & Light Set.  Comprised of a binocular loupe (shown to the left) and LED light (shown to the right), it offers many of the same features as the Heine but at a more economical price. The Seiler LED Loupe is available in 2.5x, 3.5x, 4.0x, or 6.0x magnificaton with either the 2.5x or 3.5x loupe recommended for audiology applications since the associated working distances for these specific loupes are 10″ and 13″ respectively.  The eyepieces may be easily adjusted to accommodate differences in interocular distances. The LED light offers a very bright white and shadow-free illumination. A rechargeable battery pack offers seven illumination intensity settings, providing up to 15 hours of illumination when set at the highest setting.  If you are not sure you are seeing what you need to see, consider the Seiler LED Loupe & Light Set. That way, you will be able to see what I see!

Posted in Otoscopes, Headlamps & Earlights | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments