Scott Weidemeyer's Blog

Soundrecover! A new WOW, Game-Changing technology

2010-06-21T10:42:00.004-05:00

Right now is a fun time to be in the hearing healthcare business. Hearing aid technology is advancing at a rapid pace, enabling us to provide better results and higher patient satisfaction ratings than ever before.

Every 2-4 months, one of our manufacturers launches a new product or product line with some sort of improvement. Much of the time, the improvements are important, but incremental improvements or upgrades of previous features on the latest, fastest microchip technology platform.

Less frequently, we see new “game changing” technology. In the 11 years I’ve been in this business, I’ve seen a handful of truly game-changing improvements.

Phonak recently introduced a new game changing technology that is not yet commonly available from other manufacturers. Phonak calls it SoundRecover.

SoundRecover shifts or converts high frequencies that you can’t hear to a different frequency where you can hear the sound. I’m aware of other manufacturers that have deployed frequency shifting technology in the past, but the technology had limitations that caused it to only be beneficial in a relatively small percentage of patients, preventing its broad application and acceptance.

Phonak’s proprietary approach not only shifts the frequency into your audible zone, but it also compresses those frequencies with a proprietary algorithm, preserving the audibility and integrity of the sounds that have been “relocated” to YOUR audible zone.

If you have high frequency hearing loss (which is typical of most hearing losses), other hearing aid brands merely amplify those high frequencies in an attempt to make them loud enough for you to hear. With many high frequency losses, the loss is too significant for other hearing aid brands to adequately stimulate your residual ability to hear those high frequencies. With Phonak’s SoundRecover, these sounds are shifted to frequencies that are more audible for you, thereby improving audibility and speech intelligibility.

This revolutionary, game-changing technology is available from Hometown Hearing & Audiology. If you’re interested in learning more about SoundRecover, these links may be helpful.

http://www.hometown-hearing.com/soundrecover.asp

http://www.phonak.com/us/b2b/en/library/features/soundrecover.html

FREE 7-day trial – what it is and why we’re doing it?

2009-08-20T11:40:00.001-05:00

In previous posts, I’ve explained our multiple product line philosophy and Hometown’s professional staff requirements. In short, I believe our combination of PEOPLE, PRODUCTS and GREAT PRICES make us the best choice for your hearing care needs. The 7-day trial is my way of “putting my money where my mouth is”.

Hearing care companies have offered trial periods and return privileges for years. Typically, these require you to pay for the products up-front and then to later return the products and obtain a refund. While we still provide this 30 day return privilege, we also offer a FREE 7-day trial on most non-custom instruments that does not require you to first purchase and pay for the instruments.

At Hometown, my focus is for us to provide the best, most innovative products at the best prices possible, dispensed by the best professionals in the business. I’m so confident that you’ll choose us over the competition, that I’m willing to provide a set of instruments, specially programmed for your hearing and lifestyle needs, FREE for one week.

Hiring the best possible hearing care providers...

2009-08-06T08:57:00.002-05:00

In my previous post on the advantages of multiple product lines, I address why I believe Hometown offers superior product choices. BUT, products are only part of the equation in our quest to be the best in the business.

Our PEOPLE make all the difference in the world. Having been in this business for almost 10 years, it took me a couple of years to fully appreciate what constitutes a really good professional. We recruit and hire only the best of the best and we work hard to provide an enjoyable and rewarding environment so you have the stability of seeing the same great professional for your future hearing needs.

What constitutes a great Hometown provider?

• Passion and patience for helping - Hearing loss can be frustrating and hearing aids, while very beneficial, are an imperfect solution that does not restore your hearing. Getting the most out of your remaining ability to hear is not a one time event, but rather a process that takes time and effort. Better hearing requires 2-way commitment. It requires your commitment to hear better, but it also requires professional commitment and patience to identify the best possible solution and to work with you throughout your better hearing journey.

• A thirst for learning and adopting new technology – Hearing aid technology is undergoing revolutionary change with major new advances every few months. Office diagnostics have changed with new verification technology and new evaluation techniques to measure your ability to hear in noise. Our providers love to learn and enjoy using the industry’s latest innovations to help you hear to the best of your ability.

• Good people skills – If you’re like me, you’ve probably had the experience of going to a doctor or other professional that had all the credentials, but you just didn’t like or connect with them. Better hearing is a process that typically takes several visits and annual hearing checks to monitor your loss and performance with instruments. Select a professional that you like and trust to help you throughout your journey to better hearing.

• Experience and education – We only hire professionals that meet our strict experience and education requirements and have a demonstrated track record of success treating the hearing impaired. All of our professionals are either audiologists or board certified hearing instrument specialists. Our providers average over 10 years of clinical experience.

While there are excellent providers that work for our competitors, I’m confident that we have one of the best teams of hearing care professionals in the market. Whether you’re considering instruments for the first time or looking to replace your existing instruments, come see us and give us the opportunity to earn your trust and business.

Multiple product line advantages…better, quicker access to the latest innovations for our customers.

2009-08-05T11:10:00.002-05:00

At Hometown Hearing, we focus on products from 4 different manufacturers. This can be contrasted with Miracle-Ear, Beltone, HearUSA, Echo Hearing and Southwestern Hearing that carry products primarily or exclusively from one manufacturer.

Right now is a fun time to be in the hearing care business. The technology is advancing at a rapid pace, enabling us to achieve better outcomes (i.e. results) and increase satisfaction for you, our customers.

Most innovations are initially introduced by one manufacturer and then subsequently adopted in the following months and years by other companies. Single product line companies must wait, sometimes 2-3 years, for the latest, most popular innovations to be added to their product lines.

By carrying multiple product lines, we can provide the industry’s latest innovations to our customers sooner that our competition.

Since some of our manufacturers are related divisions of the single-line companies, we offer products similar or identical to many of our single-line competitors. For example:

- Our Micro-Tech products are identical or nearly identical to Audibel and Nu-Ear products offered by competitors Echo Hearing and Southwestern Hearing Centers.
- We offer the same Siemens products as our competitor, HearUSA.
- Because Siemens manufactures all Miracle-Ear products, our Siemens product offerings are very similar to the Miracle-Ear products.