Spring Cleaning

03/15/2012 By Leave a Comment

White Elephant courtesy Newton grafitti

A 'White Elephant' can make quite a mess in a room if it's not pointed out. I intend to start spring cleaning by pointing at it.

Traditionally, hearing aids are high maintenance devices. The rate of mechanical failure is stunning to people who are unfamiliar with them. Manufacturers and fitters spend a disproportionate amount of time in the process of repairing hearing instruments. Patients spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to figure out why they've spent so much money on a medical device that doesn't last forever.

The process of extending the life and reducing the malfunction of hearing aids has been a chief goal of this industry for over 40 years but that's a drop in the bucket considering that from the beginning of time the human ear has been evolving to destroy them. Our ears are quite effective at the job of repelling all foreign objects…including the ones you spent so much money on.

How many times have you heard the old adage: “Never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow.”? Now, take your hearing aid out and hold it near your elbow. See? You've heard that saying a thousand times, yet when you come into our office we say: “Here, stick this in your ear.”

The day you were fit with those shiny-new, expensive medical devices, your ears went to work at ruining them. Silently, yet very effectively, your ears were protesting the insertion of that piece of technology housed in acrylic. The offense of inserting it was only part of the problem. The hearing aid generates vibration (sound) and heat (it's a battery powered computer) and your ear begins to believe there is a living organism invading, not just an inanimate object.

So the war begins. Extra wax (cerumen) is produced and forced at the offender. Extra oils are thrown at it too. Hair growth rates in the ear canal change. While you may only wear your hearing aids a few hours a day, the ear is working 24/7 at repelling the constant invasion it perceives.

You diligently clean the hearing aids according to our exacting instructions. You wipe the hearing aid down and remove the wax from the tip every day. You open the battery door and carefully place the aid in the special box every night. Yet still, here you are in the hearing aid office with a dead hearing aid!

So what's the solution? There is no single solution. Mother-nature is a much better soldier in this war. Still I think that we can make a significant dent in hearing aid malfunctions if we attack it on three fronts.

  1. The manufacturer can make a better hearing aid

  2. The fitter can educate the hearing aid wearing population better on the process of reducing failures

  3. The user of hearing aids can better understand how to maintain the devices

NuEar and it's parent company Starkey are leading the way in making better hearing aids. All new devices are treated with Advanced Hydra-Shield a nano-coating that virtually eliminates the moisture and oils that attack the device. Since it's release, we are seeing significantly lower failure rates due to moisture.

We are continuing to upgrade our knowledge base to share with our our clients. Sandia is releasing a comprehensive pamphlet on cleaning of hearing aids in May that will be a great guide for hearing aid maintenance.

Continue to wipe, brush and dry your hearing aids every day. Make (and keep) regular appointments for professional deep cleaning of your hearing aids at one of our offices.

If you have trouble with a fouled or dead hearing aid please contact one of our locations today so we can help you. As always there's no charge for a consultation or evaluation of hearing or hearing aids.

I Learned Social Media from My Grandfather

01/31/2012 By Leave a Comment

I was talking with Margaret McDonald, Marketing Director for NuEar yesterday about social media and the need for small businesses to use it. We agreed that something is happening and one has to be prepared. We agreed that companies like hers need to support their customers transition.

Her difficulty in encouraging her customers to participate in SM (socialmedia) seems to be rooted in this simple question: “How many hearing aids have you sold from your Facebook page?” For clarity, I’ll translate that for the MBAs: “What’s your generated revenue and ROI on your social media campaign?”

The quick answer, regardless of phrasing is “precisely…none”. The MBA’s can stop reading at this point if they wish. The small business owners should keep going…they are the ones that will understand the rest of the story.

After talking to Margaret I took a few minutes and thought about why I spend time on SM and why a small business should make it a marketing priority. My right-brain got trapped in the whirlpool of ‘why do this in addition to or instead of traditional marketing?’ Thankfully my left-brain threw me a lifeline. I remembered where I learned social media.

I learned social media from my 19th century great-grandfather, the barbershop owner/insurance man in a small North Texas town. I learned social media from my grandfather the heating and air conditioner salesman. I learned it from my uncle the auto-parts store owner. I learned it from my father the business-form designer/printer.

They were all experts in their field in small towns. I imagine they all advertised in the newspaper or used direct mail or something to that effect although there is no extant evidence to prove it. What does remain is that they were all known as active participants in their respective communities. The local Chambers of Commerce, United Ways, Lions, Rotarians, Masons, Optimists, Churchs, book clubs, study groups, investment clubs, baseball leagues or any combination of the organizations that make being a businessman in a small town easier. (for clarity I point out that none participated in all of them)

Participation in the community was the aether that bound all the hard work and advertising they put into their business. They didn’t do it as a measurable metric in their advertising campaigns so calling it a catalyst would be misleading. Blatant self-promotion was rightfully discouraged and even punished in some of those organizations. It was seen as an obvious attempt to trade participation for money. Still, they became known in their communities and their businesses thrived.

There it is: They were active participants in their community. What I am doing with SM and what Margaret is trying to convey to her customers is: Participate.

I submit that the internet is not a game changer, the game has just been moved to a larger stadium. Geographically I live in a small town, virtually, I live on the web with you. The rules are the same as they’ve ever been:

Do…

1. Provide Value

2. Be honest

3. Be sincere

4. Treat people the way you want to be treated

5. Leave the world a little better than you found it

6. Share.

Don’t:

1. Trade every interaction for a dollar.

Deliver the message that you are the ‘go-to’ in your field by being genuinely active in our community. Come on in, take to the field and participate.

On your mark….Get set….BANG!

Two to Tango

01/23/2012 By Leave a Comment
Tango1

 The question about why hearing aids are so expensive comes up in our offices every day. Every engineer/techie type arrives with the proverbial chip on their shoulder. (if you didn’t see that pun, you’re probably not one of them) From a strictly technical point of view, I can’t argue much. Believe me, I’ve tried. But [...]

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Hearing Loss and Dementia

01/16/2012 By Leave a Comment
Whisper

Every year as the Holidays wind down I begin to hear the stories of poor success in communicating during those hectic family gatherings. Unfortunately many times the difficulties are misunderstood by well meaning family members. I hear: “Mom’s just getting old” or “Dad is getting senile”. It turns out that many of the symptoms of [...]

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My Hearing Aids Don’t Work

01/12/2012 By Leave a Comment

  Almost every day I get a phone call or visit from a patient stating that they bought hearing aids but they still aren’t hearing perfectly.  They tell me that they continue to have difficulty understanding speech in groups, at a distance and on television.     Wearing hearing aids is usually the first, best step to improving [...]

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