Hear In Private Practice

I wrote previously about combining the best of the retail and medical scheduling models to streamline our practices, yet still accommodate emergency appointments.  To help solve this problem, our appointment times tend to be longer than other practices and we know those specific patients who need more time.  With a simple email or phone call ahead, we are usually able

The Movie Theater business is exactly that….a business.  We go to be entertained but to the owner and employees, it’s a job: a business, a livelihood,  it’s how they pay their bills.  Theater owners face the same challenges that private-practice hearing care providers face, or any business, for that matter. They need to manage the P&L, hire and train employees,

This past week I had a patient who received a liver transplant over 3 years ago.  He went to a world-renowned clinic for the procedure and during his post-transplant follow up he took advantage of his location and obtained diagnostic evaluation and treatment of his perceived hearing loss.  As a clinician, I know what I say and what the patient understands

Like all of us, the question of “What do you do?” comes up regularly.  When I say, “I’m an audiologist,”  I often get blank looks.  As all audiologists know, there usually needs to be a tag line.  My tag line generally goes something like this, “I take care of people with hearing loss.”  It’s getting better…I had to bring out my

THE PLOT: Hollywood…..fame, fortune, bright lights, red carpets, beautiful people, grandiosity, power and influence.  The film industry has the ability to sway thought, fashion and culture.  Whether it be social issues, politics or how we look; Hollywood shapes our attitudes and behavior and they want us to go to the movies! Thirty-five million Americans are living with some degree of

This week I am writing about Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), which came to my attention when one of our patients reported that he  has been dealing with this for the past year. TEN is a potentially life-threatening dermatologic disorder characterized by widespread erythema, necrosis  and bullous (blisters or bullae on the skin), a detachment of the epidermis (skin) and mucous membranes

You’ve heard it said, “When you work for yourself, you work for a real tyrant.” A seasoned and successful businessman friend recently gave us another pearl: “If owning a business were easy, everyone would have one.” When you’re the boss, you get to make the rules.  You can close early; you can set policy, pricing and salaries.  Ah, the rewards

Speaking of batteries, they seem to be a huge part of the hearing care provider’s day, albeit not generally a huge part of revenue.  A study published by a hearing aid manufacturer in 2009 reported that when looking at total practice revenue, batteries constituted 7% on average.  While I can’t quantify, I feel like we spend more than 7% of

Continuing my series on health topics as they relate to hearing loss, we come to Cardiovascular Disease (CV).  Cardiovascular disease includes both Heart Disease and strokes which are the number one and two killers in our society today, accounting for 33.6% of all deaths in the US .This disease is also one of the most preventable.  Physicians feel that early

This week we welcome Ross Roeser as a guest with very useful information for those of us looking in ear canals every day. Ross Roeser, PhD, is Professor and Head of the Doctor of Audiology Program at the University of Texas at Dallas/Callier Center for Communication Disorders, and Executive Director Emeritus of the Callier Center. He is also Editor-in-Chief of