S.K was seen in our Crystal River office as part of an open house. She had hearing tested several months back and results revealed an asymmetric hearing loss; a slight/mild high frequency sensorineural hearing loss in the right ear and a mild sloping to severe sensorineural hearing loss in the left ear. Following medial management and clearance, S.K decided she would like to try a hearing aid in the left ear.
We reviewed her options and she decided to try the Starkey X70 RIC hearing aid. She has a fairly active lifestyle and felt this was a good choice for her. She was fit one week later. Upon initial phone follow-up four days later, S.K. indicated that she was adjusting well and hearing better. She felt there was a slight “tininess” to the sound but wanted to wait until her follow-up as it was not a problem at that time. She also stated that her tinnitus was still noticeable, but muted.
At her first in office follow-up, S.K. indicated she was doing fine, but felt it could be better. She wanted to know if she could try the Starkey X110 for comparison. She was fit with the X110 the following week. Her immediate reaction was “wow, I can already here the difference.” S.K. was seen two weeks later due to family needs that occurred in the meantime. She states that she is hearing well in all situations, but concerned that she might be “over-buying”. I offered to let her try the X70 for one week, so she would feel she was making the best decision for her.
The day of her follow-up SK called to state she did not want to try the X70 again. She felt she was hearing better in every situation and felt this hearing aid was the reason why. Her tinnitus, while still noticeable is considerably less distracting. When S.K. arrived for her appointment, she again indicated how happy she was with this hearing aid and that she felt she was making the correct decision for her. She paid today and scheduled a future follow-up appointment.
