What Does a Zephyr Have to Do with Audiology?

The word “zephyr” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  There is a city north of Toronto called Zephyr in the province of Ontario. Zephyr is also a name of a rock band, a hit song (The Zephyr Song) by Red Hot Chilli Peppers, a computer game developed by New World Computing, and the code word for lung cancer first used in 1957 by British American Tobacco in internal documents.  There is a AAA Pacific Coast League minor league baseball team called the New Orleans Zephyrs. In addition, the beloved elephant Babar has a monkey friend whose name is Zephir, although spelled a little differently but you get the gist. So what does the Zephyr mean to audiologists?

Within the hearing industry, the Zephyr is a popular and effective electric hearing aid dehumidifier integrating three key elements for removing moisture from hearing instruments: 1) moving air, 2) heated air, and 3) a desiccant. It is equipped with an electrical fan that not only moves the air around within its closed compartment, but also heats up the air, making the air molecules more susceptible to adsorption. The desiccant (Dry-Brik II) used by the Zephyr pulls moisture from the warm, circulating air during an 8-hour operating cycle. It is a smaller, less expensive model than the Dry & Store Global II but works the same way with the exception that the Zephyr does not have a germicidal UV lamp whereas the Global II does. The Zephyr is perfect for travel not only because of its smaller size but because it is equipped with a universal AC adapter that can be used anywhere in the world (100-240 volts) with the appropriate plug adapter.  So, if you have a patient whose hearing instrument is plagued with moisture retention issues, try using the Zephyr by Dry & Store (available from Oaktree Products). If have never seen the Zephyr and you are an audiologist, click here!