Hazel Shelton was born with bilateral Microtia and moderate mixed hearing loss. She was unaided until she was 18 months and adopted by the Shelton family. After trying a number of hearing devices and experiencing issues with feedback, her mother Jillian decided to conduct her own research and become an advocate for her daughter.
She began speaking to other bone anchored hearing system users online and in a number of Facebook groups which is where she learned about the Ponto 3 SuperPower.
“I watched a video of a daughter laying in her mother’s arms wearing the Ponto and there was no feedback. I started to look in the Facebook groups and hands down, Ponto won.”
Jillian traveled to California to attend the Earicles Los Angeles Microtia Atresia conference to take her research further. After meeting with a number of doctors and experts, she returned home and “kindly demanded” an upgrade for her daughter.
Hazel has now been using her Ponto 3 SuperPower on a softband for two weeks. In the video below, Jillian demonstrates just how big of a difference her Ponto is making in her life.
“My daughter’s sentences have exploded. Not just one or two words but sentences and she’s only had them on for two weeks! The feedback is not there – when she gives me a hug, sits in her car seat, or wears her hair down. She grabs the Ponto first thing in the morning and wears it until she falls asleep at night. Hands down, Ponto is the way to go.”
If you’d like to learn more about how the Ponto 3 SuperPower can provide early support for children and adults with hearing loss, click below to be connected to a representative from our team.
It’s everyone’s favorite time of year….back to school! It’s during this time that we begin to see questions surrounding FM systems such as…
“Does anyone have experience with the different FM systems especially in the classroomsetting?”
“I was wondering if anyone had instructions for their kid’s school made for them and the streamer/FM.”
Knowing how to educate not only children but teachers about hearing loss and the importance of using an FM system in the classroom is vital to helping start the school year right.
The importance of an FM System
Many who deal with hearing loss work to overcome three key obstacles: noise, distance, and reverberation. FM helps cut through noise and distance by delivering sound directly to the ear. Reverberation, one of the most common obstacles, usually happens in large spaces such as classrooms, lecture halls, places of worship and theaters. Again, when sound travels directly to the ear, it does not pick up reverberation in the room. Ponto sound processors can be used with FM systems so that the teacher’s voice can be transmitted directly to the sound processor.
“When you combine an FM system with a bone anchored hearing device and your child is being taught how to be a “visual” learner and be aware to always be looking, watching and reading lips, then together….all of these things help optimize your child’s maximum potential to hear his/her very best.” – Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community.
Connecting your FM System to your Ponto Sound Processor
For FM you need three parts:
Sound Processor
Transmitter
Receiver
Once those three pieces are in place, you then have to make sure the receiver is compatible with your sound processor and your transmitter. All of the working parts must go together.
The Amigo Family does a great job at demonstrating the variability in FM. The “Amigo R2 BA” was created specifically for the Ponto Pro family. It’s important to note that the “Amigo R2” doesn’t work with the Ponto Pro family, the product name must have “BA” included, which stands for bone anchored.
The Amigo T5, T10, T20, T21, T30 and T31 transmitters are all compatible with the Ponto Pro family. The Amigo Arc and Amigo R5 with induction loop will work with the Ponto with the telecoil in place.
Ear level FM Receivers compatible with Ponto processors include:
Oticon Amigo R2 BA
Phonak MLxS BAHA
Phonak MLxi BAHA
The Oticon Medical Streamer
The Ponto 3 and the Ponto Plus sound processors wirelessly connect to an FM system using the Oticon Medical Streamer. Users can listen to lectures and lessons at school without plugging any additional device into their sound processor. The Streamer has a built-in Europlug socket that enables an FM receiver to be attached.
Educating others on using an FM System
Educating teachers and children on the importance of using FM system in the classroom is vital to creating a positive learning experience. Below is a great video by St. John’s Medical Center that shows the difference an FM system can make for a child with hearing loss and the potential consequences of unmanaged hearing loss in the classroom.
Produced by St. John’s Medical Center’s Pediatric Audiology Project in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
We know you still might have questions. To help, we have a number of videos that walk through FM and connecting to other devices with the Oticon Medical Streamer. There are also numerous resources for parents in this Facebook group, including sample letters parents have used to explain their child’s bone anchored hearing device to teachers.
If you are interested in learning more about the Ponto device for your child, click below to be connected to a representative from our team.
Kavya Sharma is almost two years old and lives in New Delhi, India. She had a difficult start in life, being born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia as well as Hemifacial Microsomia and a hole in her heart. These conditions brought her to the hospital often for feeding tubes and oxygen therapy. Today, Kavya has recovered from many of her health related issues, except one – her ability to hear.
In the Spring of 2017, her mother Savita Sharma, reached out to Ear Community looking for help. With bilateral Microtia and Atresia, Kavya struggled with speech development and couldn’t hear her parents. They worried about her ability to make friends and how she would be able to learn and attend school. After consulting with a specialist in New Delhi, it was suggested that a bone conduction device could be the answer.
On June 5, 2017, Kavya received two brand new Ponto 3 SuperPowers from Oticon Medical that were donated through the Ear Community. With the help and donated time of Dr. Niraj Kumar at the AIMS hospital in Safdarjung, Delhi, India Kavya was fitted and now has the auditory tools she needs to move forward.
“This precious little girl has already struggled to get to where she is, and we are thrilled to be able to help her on her journey.” – Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community.
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Are you interested in learning more about the Ponto 3 SuperPower for yourself or your child? Click below to be connected to a representative from our team.
hearing devices and experiencing issues with feedback, her mother Jillian decided to conduct her own research and become an advocate for her daughter. 
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