RG came to the Zephyrhills office of Gardner Audiology in response to an invitation to participate in a Field Study of new technology hearing aids. He was particularly interested in trying the new Starkey hearing aids because he had been successfully wearing Starkey Destiny 1200 behind the ear hearing aids for 7+ years. One of the aids had stopped working and he knew it was time to replace them.
RG was fitted with Starkey Z Series i110 receiver in the canal hearing aids and had an immediate reaction to the improved sound quality. Due to his steep sloping hearing loss, he was benefitting from Starkey’s Spectral IQ frequency lowering technology. He is a retired professional who teaches clay shooting at an outdoor range. He was anxious to see how well he would hear his students. While the class is a distance from the shooting range and not at a loudness level of concern, there is still the background noise of the shooting interfering with speech understanding. One week later he returned to report significant improvement in that situation. He was also thrilled with how well he could understand both speech and music while riding in his convertible with the top down. His old hearing aids failed in that environment.
The final WOW factor in this fitting was taking the SurfLink Mobile 2 home for trial. This device works as a remote control for the hearing aids, a remote microphone, and connects to Bluetooth devices. He returned one week later thrilled with Bluetooth connection to his cell phone and computer and said it was better than the Bluetooth in his car when he was driving. He loves using the remote microphone for improving television enjoyment. He was impressed with the developments in technology that occurred since purchasing his last hearing aids and was happy to find solutions for each area he previously struggled in.
When seeking solutions to the communication difficulties you are having, it is important to find an audiologist who will take the time to find options that will work for you. You should describe the environments you are having difficulty in and listen to suggestions to improve each one. Sometimes hearing aids alone will not be the best solution. Working together as a team is important for success. This gentleman said he was happy to drive three times as far for more personal service.
