All so effortless and seamless. Thanks to Audiology Trio for such superb professional service, enhanced by a smile

The Background:

Surely those actors on TV do not enunciate clearly. Surely my husband is mumbling. Surely that person did not ring the front door bell loudly enough. Surely it could not possibly be me who is deaf/ hard of hearing/hearing impaired/ about to join the community of the D and HH. Maybe, just maybe, it is time to face reality.

The Quest:

The quest began for an honest, professional opinion. But which of the myriad hearing services to select. There was a bewildering array of providers. Fortuitously a group named Audiology Trio just happened to offer their services at the medical practice I attend in Auchenflower, Brisbane. Good timing.

The Test:

This was professionally and ably administered by Sharyn Lim from above mentioned Audiology Trio. Surely this will be a “piece of cake”. And surely I am only a tad hearing impaired. My little fingers diligently, vigorously and furiously  pressed the button and responded  to all of those little beeps … distant, not so distant, receding, sounding closer. Well done I thought. Not so. Sharyn kindly, and with great empathy, informed me that I had missed a significant number altogether and had probably only responded to others because the sound had been amply turned up.

The Verdict:

I required hearing aids to be able to participate adequately in conversations and fully comprehend what is going on around  me. Who would have thought so !

The Choice:

Expertly guided by my advisor, Sharyn, I was able to make an informed choice from the wide range of hearing aids on offer. Oh dear, choices, choices !  I chose the Number One, “you beaut” Bernafon Chronos 5 Nano Rite.  According to the Bernafon booklet, and in golfing parlance, “a set a golf clubs is as important to a golfer as the right choice of hearing solutions is to you”.  So , once again according to the booklet, I was able to “get into the right swing”.

Bingo.

I did not pick the top of the range set with all “bells and whistles”, but instead chose one that would be beneficial for my lifestyle and within my financial means. So enamoured am I with my new hearing devices, that it has become  routine to pop them in first thing in the morning and remove them last thing at night. I just have to remember to remove them before hair washing !

The Result:

No longer do I have the TV/radio up full-bore. No longer do I have to ask my husband to repeat conversations ad nauseum. No longer is it difficult to hear work colleagues. Life is far more pleasant. I am not even physically aware of the aids themselves. Perfect fit, perfect hearing.

The Maintenance and Service:

Sharyn spent an inordinate amount of time at my first anniversary checkup, re-testing my hearing and adjusting/tweaking my aids based on the new test. When I run out of batteries/speakers I merely phone, a friendly voice (Janelle ) responds to my request  and, voila, they appear, via mail, the next day Magic !

Happy endings :

All so effortless and seamless.  Thanks to Audiology Trio for such superb professional service, enhanced  by a smile and the fact that the client is put at ease. Why didn’t I respond earlier to the fact that I was experiencing hearing problems. Human nature I guess !

My advice to those who have a problem with others “mumbling” all of the time is to take the “bull by the horns”

Why was there a stigma attached to hearing aids?  Note the past tense here, because the unwieldy, cumbersome hearing aids of the past are just that – PAST!

Now, we have choices.  For the uninitiated, that means design, colour, size, price, and a huge variety of functions.  It’s equivalent to buying spectacles, although admittedly a great deal more expensive, because of the tremendous amount of technology involved. The fact remains though that people who opt to make sure that they function well in their daily interaction with others and that they can hear their television or radio without sharing their programmes of choice with the whole neighborhood can now rest assured that there are a myriad of options out there.

My advice to those who have a problem with others “mumbling” all of the time is to take the “bull by the horns” so to speak and get their hearing tested immediately.  The younger you are when you accept that the problem is with you instead of the rest of the world, the sooner you will benefit from the miracle that is the modern hearing aid.

“This device has made my life better in that I can use it in the car taking phone calls without distracting from my driving.”

For several years now I have had to use hearing aids in both ears but have had to remove one of them to be able to use a mobile phone.  This meant I was constantly taking it in and out, so it came to the stage when I left one out altogether.

Then Greg from Audiology Trio told me about Bluetooth compatible hearing aids.  I wear a small and comfortable “Streaming” device around my neck to enable me to hear my mobile phone through my hearing aids.

This device has made my life better in that I can use it in the car taking phone calls without distracting from my driving.

Better still I can now hear in both ears again clearly without background noise at functions and the shopping centres.

The only side effect is people sometimes look at me because they think I am talking to myself!

Thank you again Greg for this product and service and a better life style.

“Thank you again for all the time and effort you put in to making my hearing normal again.”

I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful attention you gave me when you fitted me with my first hearing aids. As most people do, I had put off getting a hearing aid for some time and now wonder why I did not do it sooner. Where I often felt left out of a conversation (or couldn’t hear the television) I now can join in and am my old self again.

Ellen you spent so much time with me explaining what I should expect – the loud rustle of paper etc which is quite daunting when you have had limited hearing for some time.  I think that is so important as it is quite disturbing to be faced with loud noise if you are not expecting it.  This helped tremendously with my transition to wearing aids – I love them!

Thank you again for all the time and effort you put in to making my hearing normal again.

Kind Regards,