Hear In Private Practice

I don’t really mean that our patients are beasts, but let’s face it, buying hearing aids is about as much fun as replacing a transmission or a roof for most folks.  Especially the first timers!  They don’t want hearing aids, they don’t want to need hearing aids.  Really now, who can blame people for being a bit grumpy?  They haven’t

Hopes Dashed In my last post  I told the sad, sad story of how we thought we had a compelling business case for the creation of a hearing loop distribution company.  We had a “ringer” (in more ways than one!) for a partner and we were going to import and distribute home loop systems to hearing care professionals. Since we had

We reach out to physicians by sending monthly fax and email educational pieces.  Our Audiologist Diana Holan, MS, wrote this section for a recent physician outreach.  I wanted to pass it along in today’s post. Incidence of hearing loss as a side effect of chemotherapy (i.e. cisplatin and carboplatin) is well documented, although it usually is reported only for patients

In our practice, we have been including installed home loops with the purchase of T coil equipped hearing aids for 10 years. We find that our patients are happier with their devices since they can once again successfully hear and enjoy watching TV.   Our return rates are reduced and our patients are more likely to tell their friends about

For this series on pricing strategies, we have analyzed the historical perspective on the development of retail prices, finding your own “magic formula”, and looked at the individual considerations that should be a part of that formula (e.g., warranty, invoice cost, accessories, cost-of-living adjustments).  For the past few posts we have been discussing the ethical use of manufacturer loyalty programs

As clinicians, whether we are dispensers or audiologists, most of the people we come into contact with ask us about the effects of medication on hearing and balance.  We also query patients on their medications as part of the the history taking portion of diagnostic evaluations. But how many of us look up each medication?  We are familiar with some

So, here I am in Boston waiting for the 24th Annual AudiologyNow, doing my work sabbatical and catching up on old projects.  I discussed this concept a few weeks ago, a practice I started several years ago in order to actually complete the goals which never seems to happen when I’m in my office.  For me, this is a vacation

There are many ways I could go with a title. But this time it does not consist of a bug looking back at you, moving around in your ear canal, making it sound like there is a bass drum in your ear! As I continue with certain conditions we may encounter during the course of our practices, this week I

This series of articles on pricing strategies has analyzed the historical perspective on the development of retail prices, discussed finding your own “magic formula,” and looked at the individual considerations that should be a part of that formula (e.g., warranty, invoice cost, accessories, cost-of-living adjustments).  Two weeks ago, I began the topic of using manufacturer loyalty programs ethically, specifically for

Some of the patients you serve may have recurrent otitis externa for which no medication seems to help.  In this situation, the real culprit may be eczema in the external ear canal.  The medical term is chronic eczematous external otitis.  Sometimes the only symptom will be itching or pain in the ear canal, with no flaking or visible inflammation. It is