Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textAbout the Hearing Matters Podcast The Hearing Matters Podcast discusses hearing technology (more commonly known as hearing aids), best practices, and a growing national epidemic - Hearing Loss. The show is hosted by father and son, Blaise Delfino, M.S. – HIS, and Dr. Gregory Delfino, Au.D., CCC-A, who treat patients at Audiology Services in Bethlehem and Nazareth, PA. Growing Up with Hearing LossOn this episode, Blaise Delfino interviewed Nolan Gardner. Nolan was born profoundly deaf with bilateral profound hearing loss. He was diagnosed at six months old, received hearing aids at seven months, and because the hearing aids provided little benefit in helping him develop speech, his mom opted for him to get a cochlear implant when he was three.Nolan competed on the hit show "American Ninja Warrior" in 2016. Connect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textWhat’s new in hearing aids? Which one is right for me? Can they relieve my tinnitus? And aren’t they all the same? Dave Fabry, Ph.D, Archelle Georgiou, MD, and Jamie Myers, Au.D. answer these questions and more in this special Better Hearing Month podcast. Connect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textAbout the Hearing Matters Podcast The Hearing Matters Podcast discusses hearing technology (more commonly known as hearing aids), best practices, and a growing national epidemic - Hearing Loss. The show is hosted by father and son, Blaise Delfino, M.S. – HIS, and Dr. Gregory Delfino, Au.D., CCC-A, who treat patients at Audiology Services in Bethlehem and Nazareth, PA. On this episode, Blaise Delfino interview Dr. Hannah Galloway and Dr. Natalie Phillips from Audiology Center of Northern Colorado. Connect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textMay is Better Hearing and Speech Month! Our team (and fellow audiologists/hearing care professionals) have the opportunity to GIVE the gift of hearing every day! On this episode, we celebrate Better Hearing and Speech Month with Bob Burg! For our fellow hearing care professionals and private practice owners, this episode is for you! Can a subtle shift in focus really make that big of a difference in your business? And, when combining this shift in focus with five proven Laws of Success, can your business really become a lot more fun; a lot less stressful; and much more beneficial to your clients?Our guest says, “Absolutely, yes!”Bob Burg is a sought-after speaker at company leadership and sales conferences sharing the platform with everyone from today’s business leaders and broadcast personalities to even a former U.S. President.Bob is the author of a number of books on sales, marketing and influence, with total book sales of well over a million copies. His book, The Go-Giver, coauthored with John David Mann, itself has sold over a million copies and it has been translated into 29 languages.His and John’s newest parable in the Go-Giver Series is The Go-Giver Influencer.Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve. He is also an unapologetic animal fanatic, and is a past member of the Board of Directors of Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch in his town of Jupiter, Florida. Connect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textConnect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textThe Hearing Matters Podcast discusses hearing technology (more commonly known as hearing aids), best practices, and a growing national epidemic - Hearing Loss. The show is hosted by Blaise Delfino, M.S., HIS, and his father, Dr. Gregory Delfino, Au.D., CCC-A. Blaise Delfino and Dr. Gregory Delfino treat patients with hearing loss at Audiology Services in Bethlehem and Nazareth, PA.On this episode, we interviewed Gail Ehrens, a first time hearing aid user and speech-language pathologist with 50+ years of working with patients! Connect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textConnect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textAbout the Hearing Matters Podcast The Hearing Matters Podcast discusses hearing technology (more commonly known as hearing aids), best practices, and a growing national epidemic - Hearing Loss. The show is hosted by Blaise Delfino, M.S., HIS, and his father, Dr. Gregory Delfino, Au.D., CCC-A. Blaise Delfino and Dr. Gregory Delfino treat patients with hearing loss at Audiology Services in Bethlehem and Nazareth, PA. In this episode, Blaise discusses a writer’s journey to better hearing with Audiology Services director of communications Merry Sue Baum, BA. The Journey BeginsMs. Baum started wearing hearing aids at age 50. The audiologist fitted her with only one hearing aid, which wasn’t very helpful. After her husband passed away, she thought that perhaps she could have his hearing aids refitted to her needs. She called a number of audiologists, but they all told her buy new ones. Audiology Services was the only audiology practice willing to refit the used hearing aids. They put new receivers on them and reprogrammed them to her specific hearing needs. An Expansive CareerAs a writer, Ms. Baum needed to be able to hear very well. Her career was mostly as a writer at a medical university. An interview with a physician would usually only last about 15-20 minutes, since doctors are busy, and being interviewed for an article is at the bottom of their list of priorities. You get on one chance to interview a physician, so you need to be able to hear. On the GoWhen she wore only one hearing aid and went to a concert, a play or out to dinner, Ms. Baum would take it out. “It only amplified the noise around me,” she says. “I could hear better without it. Basically it was useless in those situations,” she says. “Now with two hearing instruments that can be adjusted in various environments, my hearing is enhanced, and the background noise is reduced. It’s absolutely wonderful.” Moving Forward with Hearing TechnologyMs. Baum says she has always wanted to hear and was not concerned what others thought about her needing hearing instruments. She advises anyone who is suffering from a hearing loss to get hearing instruments. As an avid concert goer, she loves having her iPhone synched to her hearing aids. At a concert she can put the instruments on the music setting. That tells the microphones in the hearing aid to focus on everything around the user, which enhances the sounds of the music. Fitting Your Brain with Hearing TechnologyMost people don’t realize that we hear with our brains, not our ears. Without hearing aids, a person with hearing loss has to struggle to hear and to understand the sounds round him/her, which fatigues the brain. People with untreated hearing loss are also at higher risk for anxiety, depression, cardiac problems, diabetes, and a host of other chronic conditions. All About Comfort The first hearing aid Ms. Baum had was a custom in-the-ear model, which she didn’t like. “It felt like I had cotton in my ear,” she says. The behind-the-ear instruments she has now are so comfortable that she forgets they are in. She has gone in the shower or to bed with them still in her ears. There is a learning curve, however, Ms. Baum says it’s well wConnect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textAbout the Hearing Matters PodcastThe Hearing Matters Podcast discusses hearing technology (more commonly known as hearing aids), best practices, and a growing national epidemic of hearing loss. The show is hosted by father and son, Dr. Gregory Delfino, Au.D., CCC-A, and Blaise Delfino, MS, HIS. They treat patients with hearing loss at Audiology Services in Bethlehem and Nazareth, PA.In this episode, Blaise Delfino speaks with Dr. Achin Bhowmik, chief technology officer at Starkey Hearing Industries.  Engineering BackgroundDr. Bhowmik earned a doctorate in engineering and served as vice president and general manager of the perceptual computing group at Intel Corporation. When Starkey’s president Bill Austin asked Dr. Bhowmik if he wanted to create technology that help make people’s lives healthier, he jumped at the chance. He moved to Starkey.Computers that Understand the WorldAt Intel, Dr. Bhowmik’s job was to create machines and computers that recognize a person’s face, his/her voice, the surrounding environment, people, and sounds and make sense of it all. Improving people’s hearing is and always will be the number one priority at Starkey. Improving people’s hearing is and always will be the number one priority at Starkey. He brough that technology and his expertise to Starkey to help people understand each other better and connect with the world. Starkey is tapping into the most advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to do a better job of amplifying sound. The newest hearing technology from Starkey makes 55 million adjustments every hour. The instruments decipher the cacophony of sound waves and turn them into what’s meaningful to the wearer. It also determines what should and shouldn’t be amplified. Keeping People Safe and HealthyIn addition to providing the best, most natural hearing possible, these new hearing aids act as a health monitor. Starkey’s newest hearing aids are the only ones that sense when a person falls and subsequently alerts his/her loved ones. It also tracks the wearer’s physical activity and his/her social engagement. Both of these activities help keep a person healthy and cognitive.  A World of InformationThe new hearing instruments can also translate between 27 languages and acts as a personal assistant. The wearer can ask the hearing aids questions and get answers spoken directly into his/her ears. It can also be set to remind the wearer that it’s time to take medication or other important tasks. Starkey is transforming hearing aids into multifunctional devices. Ears are the New Wrists With the increased awareness of the benefits of physical activity, many people are buying wrist watches that calculate the number of steps taken in a day. The new Starkey hearing instruments also tally the number of steps but there are no false positives. A person wearing a watch often moves his/her arm around and additional steps that weren’t really taken are added to the total. The Value of Hearing Healthcare ProfessionalsDr. Bhowmik says getting OTC hearing aids is not wise. It takes a trained professional to properly fit hearing instruments. Even the patient’s facial expressions and reactions are important to the professional doing the fitting. It’s also important the wearer learn to useConnect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

Send us a textIn this episode Blaise Delfino talks with Dr. Dave Fabry, Chief Innovation Officer at Starkey.His Journey to AudiologyDr. Fabry planned to be a veterinarian, however, he found his fellow students in the pre-vet curriculum to be extremely competitive. He learned of a discipline known as experimental psychology while doing the job of a chinchilla tester in college. The anatomy of the chinchilla’s ears is very similar to that of human ears. While he was a master’s student at Mayo Clinic, he worked with patients who had hearing and balance disorders. That’s when he decided to go into audiology. He wanted to help patients. He went on to get a PhD and became a researcher. Patient Driven FocusDr. Fabry says inventions only become innovations when they make an impact on the market. The features most people want from hearing aids is audibility for speech and sound quality, in quiet and listening environments; reduction in background noise, using noise suppression and directional microphones; and spatial awareness. Clinicians can test patients’ spatial awareness by having the patient close his/her eyes and move around quietly and ask the patient “Where am I?” For patients with low visibility, the inability to locate sound can be life threatening. Helping the WorldDr. Fabry is licensed in Minnesota, Florida and Rwanda. He has traveled to Rwanda to help people there by providing hearing instruments. Many people there get malaria and are treated with quinine. Quinine is ototoxic, so even many children have significant hearing loss. In addition to providing hearing aids, Starkey goes into countries and develops a community of support. Wearers have a place to go to learn how to change batteries and care for their aids. Nevertheless, in most countries, even if people have a hearing insurance benefit, only 50 percent of them wear hearing aids. There is still a stigma surrounding hearing loss.Speech in NoisePatients usually first notice they’re having a hearing problem when they are in noisy environments. Dr. Fabry says he advises all clinicians to do speech in noise testing. Many say they don’t have time; however, it is imperative to a proper fitting to do speech in noise testing, along with quiet testing.Automatic classification of noise by the hearing aids is only 80 percent effective. By giving the patient the ability to choose which sounds he wants to hear via an app, it closes the gap of the remaining 20 percent. The hearing instruments scan the environment for speech and noise at the rate of 55 adjustments every hour. During the pandemic, Starkey hearing instruments helped patients hear someone who was wearing a mask. Telehealth is BornIn the early ‘90s Mayo Clinic in Minnesota set up a secure teleconferencing system that allowed clinicians to speak to colleagues at their institutions in Florida and Arizona. During the pandemic, when audiologists were considered non-essential and were shuttered, many used telehealth to help their patients. Minor adjustments to hearing aids make up a third of patients in audiology practices. Telehealth appointments can take care of these. Patients on vacations or patients who don’t go out in bad weather can always use telehealth. Family members and caretakers can be present during a telehealth visit. During the pandemic patients with p Connect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast