2020 AAA Conference April 1-4, New Orleans: REGISTRATION, HOTEL & STUDENT INFORMATION

Posted on November 7, 2019 by AU Bankaitis

REGISTRATION:

HOTEL:

STUDENTS

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New Case Gets Leg Up on Hearing Aid Protection

Posted on August 6, 2019 by AU Bankaitis

Hearing aid pouches made of soft material come in handy, but they offer limited protection to hearing instruments when not residing in the ears. Even plastic cases from hearing aid manufacturers, while durable, come short of what some patients want or need. This is where the new AidKeeper comes into play. It is a well-made, crush-resistant and waterproof hearing aid storage case made of floatable material. A foam insert adheres to the bottom to provide storage for spare batteries and cleaning brush (included). It also holds a small desiccant can (also included) although I already tossed mine out. The product includes a round, double-sided sticky insert designed to hold a wireless locator (not sold by manufacturer, sold separately) that works in an app to locate a misplaced case.

The diameter of the case measures 2.38″ easily accommodating two BTE hearing aids and large enough for at least one Baha or cochlear implant processor. Available in five different colors, it is a perfect for pediatric patients, teenagers, and any adult looking to protect their hearing instruments when not in their ears. For more information, contact Oaktree Products toll-free at 800.347.1960 and ask for customer service, or e-mail via otp@oaktreeproducts.com.

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Take Your Practice to the Next Level!

Posted on July 29, 2019 by AU Bankaitis

The best way to learn how to grow your private practice and take it to the next level is to learn from a someone who has built and sustained a successful private practice. Gyl Kaswurm has owned and operated Professional Hearing Services (PHS) in Saint Joseph, MI for over 30 years. She manages to generate 10X the revenue of an average practice, all while working in a small town of about 12,000 people. This October 17-18, she is offering a newly formatted Dr. Gyl’s Weekend in St. Joseph, MI with two new hands-on workshops: 1) how to create videos that will attract patients, and 2) designing a marketing plan and budget for your practice.

The entire atmosphere of this seminar facilitates some of the best dialogue and productive discussions, with attendees asking relevant, tough questions while getting honest, straight-forward answers. The ability to see her multi-million dollar practice in action is inspiring and amazing. Gyl’s unique office serves as a point of reference against which other clinical practices may be compared yet she passionately and freely shares practical information with fellow colleagues to help them grow their businesses in a profitable manner. And there is plenty of fun planned! To review the full program and purchase tickets, go to Dr. Gyl’s Weekend.

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Local Smoke Alarm Program Established by Pediatric Audiologists

Posted on July 16, 2019 by AU Bankaitis

“Hear the Beep Where you Sleep” is a national campaign by the National Fire Protection Association focusing on ensuring every room used for sleeping in a residential home has a working smoke alarm. The majority of residential fire fatalities occur between 11 pm and 7 am when most people are sleeping. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, most residential fire fatalities involve children and the elderly. Many local schools promote the “Hear the Beep Where you Sleep” campaign to educate children on the importance of fire prevention safety. The Red Cross partners with local fire departments across the country to provide and install smoke alarms for families when needed. Unfortunately, the 3000 Hz – 4000 Hz alarm generated by a typical residential smoke detector does not meet the needs of those with even a mild to moderate hearing loss (see 50% Chance of Sleeping Through Working Smoke Detector). Decades of research has shown that a low-frequency square wave signal in conjunction with a bed shaker is most effective in waking individuals with hearing loss from deep stages of sleep. These specialized smoke alarms are commercially available (i.e. Lifetone Bedside Fire Alarm) but at a cost of about $200 compared to $15-$20 for traditional residential smoke detectors.

Pediatric audiologist at The ENT Center at Akron Children’s Hospital recognized the need to better serve their patients by offering families access to suitable residential smoke detector technology. A grant through Akron Children’s Hospital’s Kids are #1 Fun Run helped establish the smoke alarm program. For the past year, the pediatric audiology team worked to raise additional funds to provide product at no charge and partnered with Oaktree Products for product fulfillment. On June 10, 2019, the ENT Center’s smoke alarm program officially rolled out. Within the first two weeks, 18 families received a Lifetone Bedside Fire Alarm & Clock with Bed Shaker. “The families have been so grateful,” said Kristen Santelmann, AuD. According to Shelley Duncan, AuD, they anticipate supplementing this project in future years with other grants, possibly partnering with outreach through Akron Children’s Burn Center. “Children deserve the right to safety in their home,” said Duncan, “and we enjoy being able to help make this possible with this local program”.

“The families are so grateful!” – Kristen Santelmann, AuD

For more information on how to create a similar smoke alarm program for families in your area, contact Shelley Duncan (SDuncan2@akronchildrens.org), Kristen Santelmann (KSantelmann@akronchildrens.org) or A.U. Bankaitis Smith (au@oaktreeproducts.com). Be sure to access smoke detector and hearing loss resource information from the Oaktree Products website including:

Read up on what you need to know and tell patients about hearing loss and smoke detectors:

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Most Important Action Once Hearing Instruments Dispensed

Posted on July 9, 2019 by AU Bankaitis

While many of today’s hearing instruments have been designed for water resistance, moisture is not your friend. It remains difficult to protect hearing devices from moisture build-up without routine care. The most important action once hearing instruments are dispensed is to educate patients on the daily use of an effective dehumidifier to protect their investment. Specifically, the PerfectDry Lux is the way to go. Why? Because this device is:

  • POPULAR: based on annual unit sales, the PerfectDry Lux is the most popular electronic dehumidifier sold by Oaktree Products. Last year, more dispensing audiologists invested in the PerfectDry Lux than the Dry & Store Zephyr by a ratio of 2:1.
  • RELIABLE & EFFECTIVE: the return rate on this product has been about 1%. In addition, our customers appreciate that the PerfectDry Lux effectively pulls moisture without the need for desiccants and offers a 30-minute drying cycle.
  • SLEEK: from the Apple-esque packaging and design, it looks and feels like a product that was designed in the past five years (versus something from the 1950’s).
  • EASY TO USE: plug it in, close the lid, press a button. That’s it.
  • AFFORDABLE: price point has allowed many dispensing professionals to include a unit when hearing instruments are dispensed. The $80 retail value also makes it an affordable option for hearing instrument wearers to purchase. For the rest of July, Oaktree Products is running a Buy 6 Get 1 Free promotion. Use the special item code of SPEC-000016 through the end of this month and stock up!

For more information, contact Oaktree Products toll free at 800.347.1960 or via email at otp@oaktreeproducts.com

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Work Practice Controls At Your Fingertips

Posted on July 3, 2019 by AU Bankaitis

I receive at least a couple of inquiries per week from audiology colleagues, asking how to “clean” something before re-using it in the clinic. These are appropriate and relevant questions as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires facilities providing patient care to not only have a written infection control plan, but to include written protocols as to how procedures will be performed for the specific purposes of minimizing cross-contamination. These protocols are referred to as work practice controls.

To assist in creating or updating your own clinic’s infection control plan, sample protocols have been created for the the most common tools used in the audiology clinic. The dozen or so sample work practice controls are available through the Infection Control Resource page of the Oaktree Products website. Simply click Sample Work Practice Controls and select the clinical item or tool of interest. A quick rationale based on infection control principles and guidelines is provided, followed by bullet points outlining a sample work practice control. For more information, check out Additional Resources in the form of AudiologyOnline free-to-view webinars and infection control books and brochures.

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Advanced Ear Protection for Little Ears that “Grow”

Posted on June 25, 2019 by AU Bankaitis

HearMuffs are noise cancelling headphones specifically designed to accommodate a wide range of infant and toddler head sizes via the patented GrowBand. Reversible and machine washable, the GrowBand enables HearMuffs to grow with the child, providing a secure fit from birth to 4 years of age. The GrowBand is made of soft materials and comfortably protects the child’s head.

FOR INFANTS & TODDLERS: HearMuffs for Infants and Toddlers come in four colors including pastel blue, pink, spa green, and white. Made of non-toxic materials, the product offers a noise reduction rating (NRR) of 22 dB. The GrowBand (sold separately) is an accessory designed to work with HearMuffs for Infant and Toddlers. It is reversible, machine washable, and available in three color combinations: spa green & white, pink & white, and blue & white. This product provides passive protection by keeping ambient sound out and is ideal for nap time or avoiding sensory overload.

FOR KIDS (5 to 10 years of age): HearMuffs for Kids come in a variety of colors including white, red, orange, green, and blue. The headset is adjustable. Also made of non-toxic materials, the product offers a NRR of 22 dB. NOTE: the GrowBand is NOT designed for HearMuffs for Kids and will only work with HearMuffs for infants and toddlers.

HEARMUFFS ACTIVE SOUNDS FOR INFANTS & TODDLERS:

The HearMuffs for Infants and Toddlers is also available in an active version, offering three unique listening modes. The first mode offers the same passive protection described above. The second mode (active protection) allows the child to hear close sounds (e.g. parent’s voice) while protecting ears from harmful sounds. This mode is activated by pressing and holding down the power button. The last mode is soothing sounds, offering four sounds for infant and toddlers to enjoy (lullaby, white noise, creek, heartbeat). Press the volume wheel to scroll through the different soothing sound options. For both the active protection and soothing sound modes, the volume can be adjusted up to 60 dB using the digital rocker wheel located on the left side of the HearMuffs. This product is only available in white, designed for children birth to 4 years of age, and GrowBand compatible.

Even if you are not a pediatric audiologist, many of your patients are most likely grandparents who would certainly be interested in offering this to their grandchildren. For more information, contact Oaktree Products at 800.347.1960 and ask for customer service or via email at otp@oaktreeproducts.com.

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BeHear NOW: new ALD worth a look and listen

Posted on April 23, 2019 by AU Bankaitis

BeHear NOW is a neck loop style headset designed to rest on the back of your neck (or under your collar). It utilizes voice processing technologies, offering adults with normal hearing, as well as those with mild (and perhaps moderate) hearing loss, the functionality of three devices, operating as a(n):

  1. Bluetooth stereo headset
  2. assistive listening device
  3. OTC alternative for adults looking for options

Bluetooth stereo headset

BeHear NOW can be used for wireless mobile phone calls and music/audio streaming. It supports two simultaneous Bluetooth connections, remembering and automatically connecting with the last two connected devices. The device is also equipped with the EasyListen function, a feature that slows down incoming live speech during mobile phone calls.

Assistive Listening Device (Personal listener and TV listening)

BeHear NOW may be used as a personal listening device. Out-of-the-box, the BeHear NOW is optimized for individuals with normal hearing, however, it has a built-in Hearing Assessment feature that allows users to adjust amplification across frequencies via a self-administered hearing assessment using the mobile app. When the assessment is completed, the headset can now operate as a personal sound amplifier. The headset itself includes a variety of controls to manage device settings, offering four “out-of-the-box” profiles including indoor, outdoor, crowd and live music. In addition, the profiles may be managed in real-time based on the environment and user’s preferences using the W&H BeHear mobile app.

When used with the HearLink bluetooth transmitter (companion product sold separately), TV audio wirelessly transmits to the BeHear NOW headset. As previously mentioned, since this product can manage two Bluetooth connections simultaneously, a user connected to their mobile phone and their TV can receive calls and listen to audio from both the mobile phone and the TV without having to disconnect and reconnect.

OTC Alternative

The customization offered by BeHear NOW may be appealing to adults pursuing an alternative to traditional OTC devices. The established retail price of $249 is very reasonable given the functionality offered by the device.

For more information, check out the 13th episode of Oaktree TV (Season 2) discussing the BeHear Now contact customer service at Oaktree Products toll free 800.347.1960 or via email at otp@oaktreeproducts.com.

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