About Us

Hearing Care Excellence for Green Bay, WI

Values and Beliefs

1. We value you…the patient first and foremost.
There are many options to choose from including where you choose to go for treatment. We do not take that lightly. We are honored that you chose our company to treat your hearing needs and commit to living up to the expectations and care you deserve.

2. Integrity
Acting ethically and transparently in all business and personal dealings prioritizing doing the “right” thing versus personal gain.

3. Innovation
Embrace change, creativity, new technology, and investigative evidence- based research and doing things differently or better.

4. Accountability
Owning our mistakes we make and learning from them to provide better outcomes for the patient

5. Respect
Treat all staff, patients, and third- party associates with dignity and worth no matter what their walk of life, gender, color, religion, financial status, or situation.

6. Compassion
Actively understanding and empathizing with the experiences and challenges of others without passing judgement or assumption. Being a support system by offering services, resources, education, problem solving, or a listening ear.

7. Accessibility
Provide access to service, products, and treatment to all patients regardless of their financial, social, religious, sexual, cultural, or status.

8. Competence
To provide possession of required skills, licensure, knowledge, equipment, qualifications, and capacity to perform our job well and do it lawfully and ethically.

9. Service
Customer service isn’t a choice…It is an effortless fundamental principle that endorses the foundation of human etiquette.

International Hearing Society
Best Practices Recommendation for Fitting and Dispensing Hearing Aids

It is the position of the International Hearing Society that dispensing professionals adhere to Best Practice standards as outlined below to maximize patient/client and professional health and safety with adherence to Universal Precautions established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or equivalent. Pure tone thresholds in isolation do not determine the need for amplification; listening and communication assessments are a necessary part in determining the need for amplification.

1. INITIAL ASSESSMENT

A comprehensive case history quantifies and prioritizes the patient’s/client’s problems, handicap, disabilities, and/or expectations with regard to hearing, listening, and communication; otoscopy is performed to recognize the necessity for medical referral and/or cerumen management.
Recommended needs assessment tools include:

• Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI)
• International Outcome Inventory (IOI)
• Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA)
• Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE)
  Other listening and communication needs assessment tools may be appropriate.

2. EVALUATION

• Assessment of middle ear function through tympanometry
• Pure tone air and bone thresholds
• Speech reception thresholds (left and right) using recorded stimuli
• Word recognition scores (left and right) in quiet, using recorded stimuli
• Unaided and aided sound field Speech in Noise (SIN) test using recorded stimuli and
  speech babble as the noise source
• Loudness level measurements
  *Most Comfortable Level (MCL) using recorded speech
  *Uncomfortable Loudness Level (UCL) using recorded speech
  *Loudness Discomfort Levels (LDL) using pure tones
• Speech audiometry must be performed using the patient’s/client’s most familiar language

3. HEARING AID EVALUATION

A hearing aid evaluation includes but is not limited to:

• Establishing realistic expectations
• Determining hearing aid candidacy
• Selecting styles, couplers, and circuitry
• Selecting wireless streaming options such as Bluetooth®, FM and/or digital remote
  microphones (RM), telecoils (T-coil), assistive listening devices (ALD) and other
  accessories

4. HEARING AID FITTING AND DISPENSING

Protocols include but are not limited to the following:

• Confirm manufacturer’s hearing aid specifications in hearing aid test box
• Confirm physical fit and comfort
• Instruct and demonstrate
  *Use and care of the instruments and accessories
  *Telephone use
  *Use in challenging acoustic environments
  *Realistic expectations
• Verify electroacoustic characteristics using probe microphone measurements
• Schedule a post-fitting care visit

5. POST-FITTING CARE

To ensure the success of the hearing aid fitting, post-fitting care protocols include but are not limited to the following:

• Validate outcomes with respect to the initial needs assessment
• Counsel regarding realistic expectations and successful hearing aid use
• Make electroacoustic modifications as needed, followed by verification
• Review the following:
  *Daily care of the hearing aids
  *Maintenance schedule
  *Warranty
  *Battery options and use
• Follow-up visits

REFERENCES
Galster, J.A. (2018). Audiology Treatment. New York: Thieme Publishers.
Gelfand, S. (2016). Essentials of Audiology. New York: Thieme Publishers.
Hamill, T.A. and Prince, L.L. (2017). The Hearing Sciences, 3rd Edition. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing, Inc.
International Hearing Society. (2016). Professional Training Textbook in Hearing Health Sciences. Hayden-McNeil: Plymouth, MI.
International Hearing Society. (2016). Professional Training Workbook in Hearing Health Sciences. Hayden-McNeil: Plymouth, MI.
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