5 Ways to help your Hearing Needs through the Pandemic

  1. Make sure you have plenty of hearing aid batteries on hand to keep your device functioning for at least 8 weeks. Replenish your stock of aids by calling the office and having batteries sent to you or by having someone pick them up at a pharmacy or store for you.  Some pharmacies and stores have home delivery.
  2. Utilize curbside, contact-less services – We are practicing social distancing by having you call into our office when you are in the parking lot and we will come out to your car and get your hearing aids for cleaning.  We ask that you place your aids in a small plastic bag.  They will be cleaned and returned to you in your car within a reasonable amount of time.  We are taking a limited amount of patients at this time in the office.
  3. Speak to someone by phone or video chat to stay connected to friends and family. Speaking on the phone can be challenging for people with hearing loss, but many captioned phone options exist.
  4. Should your hearing aids stop working, and you are unable to have them repaired, try a smartphone amplifier such as Ear Machine. This and similar apps allow you to use your smartphone and a pair of headphones to amplify sound in real-time.  You could also consider an over-the-counter personal sound amplifier product (PSAP) or a pocket talker.  These are not hearing aids but might get you through a crisis.  These work best for people who have mild to moderate hearing loss and need a little hearing enhancement in specific situations.
  5. If you need to seek additional medical attention, call ahead first. If you are able to visit the doctor, bring your hearing aids, extra batteries, charger and any additional communication devices you may have discovered from your experimentation activities.  Create signs which can be displayed in your hospital room to remind medical personnel about your hearing loss.  If allowed, bring a friend or loved one to assist you.

The COVID-19 pandemic is making life challenging for us all.

Prioritize your hearing health by staying in touch with your audiologist and other hearing health professionals. We can protect our health without neglecting our hearing with creativity, flexibility and a willingness to try new communication technology.

Please note: Parts of this information was taken from Shari Eberts site Living with Hearing Loss.