Hear In Private Practice

I’ve always been a bit of a salesman, as well as a computer geek. For me, they went hand-in-hand, one benefiting the other. I purchased my first computer at age 9 by selling stationery door-to-door, raising enough money to purchase a Commodore VIC 20. The 20 stood for 20k of memory, if you can imagine that. I did fantastically with

Name that disorder The first is an “attack” of burning pain and redness of the pinna of one ear and is made worse by a variety of common things: touch, neck movement, lying on affected ear, contact with hot or cold water (drinking or touch) or straining.  Depending on the person, it can go on from 15 min to a

Today is a Big Day for this section.  We’re welcoming the first post by the new co-editor of Hear in Private Practice:  Scot Frink, MS.  Thank you, Scot, and welcome to The Blogs @ Hearing Health Matters!   Audiology began decades ago with a primary focus on treating our veterans returning from World War II. But, as with many successful

Best practices and ethical guidelines in audiology support the use of real ear probe measurements.{{1}}[[1]]Much of this post was contributed by my colleague Jennifer T. Lamfers, AuD[[1]]  But, how many practitioners use it in their practices?  Some conduct real ear measures on every patient, using the measures to adjust hearing aids to reach target gain to ensure audibility. Dispensing audiologists

Today we will focus on a clinical component here, as it has sparked interest from our readers.   Preeclampsia and Hearing Loss   Preeclampsia is a condition that causes blood pressure to rise suddenly and can occur anytime during pregnancy, delivery, and up to six weeks after delivery.  It can result in a host of medical problems, including stroke or

Every year I like to take this week to look back on what I am thankful for since the US holiday of Thanksgiving encourages us to do this.   I am thankful for my office staff who work hard and keep a pleasant attitude.  I am thankful that my business has grown even in this challenging economy.  I have a

In the past month a business associate and I have experienced disappointing customer service.  A few examples have come from hearing aid manufacturers. In one instance the manufacturer sent hearing aids out, but did not “connect” the serial numbers in their system to a specific patient name. Instead of just fixing the error in their system the hearing aids had

There are so many matters to which small business owners must attend that at times there is a tendency to rely on the  “Ignorance is Bliss” adage.  But there are some things for which we must be prepared at all times.  We have a great resource for enumerating those items which must be readily available (e.g., like bank account numbers)

Most practitioners have had a client with various types of simple tinnitus (ringing, buzzing, chirping, etc.). Many others hear more complex sounds (music or voices), but do not report it  in their case history because they fear being diagnosed as “crazy”. The latter is known as Musical Ear Syndrome (MES), and includes hearing voices singing, bands or orchestras playing, or

This post continues last week’s post about online retailing of hearing devices.  Today’s post analyzes the current set up by United Health Care (UHC) which recently contracted with hi HealthInnovations to deliver devices.  At present a hearing exam can be taken on the website.  This hearing test consists of two tones (high/low) delivered to the right ear and the the left