Tag Archives: Audiologist

Ask the Expert Series

Leave a reply

Audiologist Laura Rhee’s Insights on Fitting Children with Ponto Systems

We had the wonderful pleasure of talking with lead pediatric audiologist, Dr. Laura Rhee from Providence Speech and Hearing Center and CHOC of California, about her experience fitting Oticon Medical Ponto Systems.

Why do you choose to work with Oticon Medical’s Ponto family of bone conduction devices?

Dr. Rhee: “I recommend Oticon Medical bone conduction devices over other manufacturers because your devices tend to have far less feedback issues. I make very few adjustments during the fitting due to the lack of feedback. This gives my patients more access to sound without the annoyance of feedback or reduction in speech understanding.”

What do you like about the Oticon Medical Ponto fittings?

Dr. Rhee: “I really like how easy the Ponto devices are to fit. Typically, I don’t have to make many adjustments to programming. At my clinic, we pre-program sound processors to make fittings go smoothly. We counsel families about daily use, how to clean and handle the sound processor and accessories during a demonstration or consultation appointment. Pre-programming the sound processors frees up time for us to spend counseling the families, improving our clinical efficiency, and providing valuable information to the family without being rushed.”

What are some challenges you or your patients face with Oticon Medical Ponto fittings?

Dr. Rhee: “The hardest part of a new fitting is the softband. It’s important to have it (the softband) tight enough to get a good fitting but this can become uncomfortable or may need to be adjusted throughout the day. Very young children will often grab and pull the band off throughout the day requiring parents or caregivers to replace and reposition often I tell parents it’s important to maintain a consistent wearing schedule each day because it will help children adapt to the softband and provide consistent access to sound, which is crucial for developing language”.

What advice do you give parents that are just starting this journey with their child?

Dr. Rhee: “Use the processor all waking hours to stimulate auditory connections within the brain. If you don’t use the auditory nerve or pathway, your brain will reuse those neural connections for other senses. Keep your brain working using the processor consistently to help reduce listening fatigue and foster speech development.”

Final thoughts on reducing feedback in bone conduction hearing devices

One of the key takeaways from our discussion was the importance of reducing feedback (aka ‘whistling’ or ‘whining’ noise) that occurs when amplified sound is reflected from the head, reaches the microphone, and is re-amplified. If feedback is not eliminated by an anti-feedback system, it becomes audible to the user and others around them. With Oticon Medical’s OpenSound Optimizer™ (OSO), you aren’t compromising gain or volume due to feedback. This is especially important when working with pediatric patients, who are often in a car seat, highchair, or lying on their backs during playtime. And Oticon Medical’s OpenSound Optimizer does just that—prevents feedback and provides stable gain so that users can get the most out of their devices without compromising speech understanding.[1]

Helpful links for parents of Ponto wearers

Here are some links that may be helpful for parents who are in the process of getting their child an Oticon Medical bone anchored hearing system (BAHS) or families of children that are new to wearing a Ponto BAHS processor.

About our expert: Dr. Laura Rhee

Dr. Rhee obtained her audiology degree from San Diego State University and University of California San Diego and has been at Providence since 2014. She works with a wide variety of pediatric patients (zero to 21), including children with craniofacial disorders. She has treated children with atresia, Treacher Collins and other syndromes related to hearing loss.

[1] BC109 Study (Data on file)

‘We wanted the very best’ – a parent’s perspective on choosing the Ponto Bone Anchored Hearing System

Leave a reply

Zhou Yu (“Z”) was born with bilateral microtia and atresia. While living in China he was unaided until he was adopted almost 2 years ago by the Bullock family. His mother Erin began doing research regarding what the best hearing care options would be for Z, knowing he would have progress to make not only learning a new language but hearing for the first time.

“It was not a hard decision to make once we did all the research. The stories that adults and older children were telling were the stories we needed to here. When we demoed products, he even could tell the difference and he picked Ponto” – Erin

In the video below, Erin explains why her family chose Ponto and the difference it is making in her son Z’s life.

Interested in learning more about our newest Ponto – the Ponto 3 SuperPower? Click the button below to be connected to a representative from our team.

Learn More

FM Systems in the Classroom

1 Reply

Happy back to school season! This time of year, we see many questions about FM systems in the classroom. Recently, a Ponto user and advocate sent this question our way. So, we wanted to take the opportunity to share an answer from one of our top audiologists.

Here’s the question: 

“Does anyone have any experience with FM systems? My son is in the first grade, and he has bilateral BAHAs. The school ordered the Amigo for him over the summer, at that time he had the slightly older model Ponto (the Pro I believe). He had surgery to place abutments over the summer and to our surprise we received two new hearing aids with the surgery. I also got a Streamer. The Amigo isn’t wireless and doesn’t seem to be as compatible with the Ponto Plus as the Streamer.

Does anyone have experience with the different FM systems especially in the classroom setting? I have been told in the past that when FM is on, the hearing aid only picks up sound transmitted to microphone and blocks all other surrounding sound and I have been told that isn’t true. Neither of these people used the FM themselves. Can anyone who has a BAHA share?”

Enter one of Oticon Medical’s top Audiologists, Laura Phelps. Here’s Laura’s answer:

Ponto Plus and Ponto Streamer banner 1The Amigo is an FM system and is wireless. It’s likely that the Amigo FM receiver that would be used with the Ponto Pro (the older device) is the Amigo R2BA, which has 3 pins of same length, and plugs into the DAI port on the Ponto processor. This is probably what was ordered by the school over the summer.  With the new Ponto Plus processor and the Ponto Streamer, the receiver used would be the Amigo R2, which has a longer Europin-middle pin. It plugs into the Ponto Streamer, not the processor.

So there are two options: 

A. They can use the Amigo R2BA receiver, which is likely what was ordered over the summer, with the older Ponto Pro processors at school and use the new Ponto Plus processor and Ponto Streamer at home.

B. The school can purchase one Amigo R2 receiver which would plug into the Ponto Streamer and just one receiver would transmit to both Ponto Plus processors.

Regarding the question about what the Ponto is picking up, surrounding noise versus what is being transmitted from the teacher’s microphone: 

For scenario A (above), the audiologist typically programs “Program 2″ as FM+M, meaning that the R2BA receiver on the Ponto receives the signal from the teacher’s mic and the Ponto microphones pick up the surrounding sounds.

For scenario B above, the Ponto Streamer settings default to receiving both the FM and M.

For either scenario A or B, the relative inputs from the FM Signal and the Mic signal can be adjusted if you want to change the “mix”. This is helpful if student reports that he or she is getting too much surrounding noise relative to the teacher’s voice, or vice versa.

I would recommend that the school Audiologists contact one of the Clinical Specialists through customer service for guidance, and the child’s Clinical Audiologist might need to get involved as well.  It is often the case that the school Audiologist defers to the Clinical Audiologist to make programming changes since they are the ones that fit the instrument.

—

So, there it is! We hope this answer helps as your student heads back to school. Do you have other questions regarding FM systems? Please let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter. We’re always here to help!

 

The Mission of Providing Hopeful and Helpful Solutions for Hearing Loss

Leave a reply

This post is part of a clinic feature series, where we highlight doctors and clinics who offer the Oticon Medical Bone Anchored Hearing System, the Ponto.

Benecke_James 4x6

Dr. James Benecke, Chief of Otolaryngology at Missouri Baptist Medical Center

James E. Benecke, MD, FACS is an otologist/neurotologist with Midwest Ear Specialists, part of the BJC Medical Group of Missouri.  He is Chief of Otolaryngology at Missouri Baptist Medical Center and Adjunct Professor of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery at St. Louis University School of Medicine.

As a specialist in the ear, Dr. Benecke is consistently recognized on “The Best Doctors in America” list.  He and his team offer a full array of diagnostic evaluations for hearing and vestibular (balance) disorders.  They provide medical and surgical care of pediatric and adult patients with ear diseases, dizziness & balance disorders, as well as issues with the temporal bone, skull base, and related structures.

Continue reading →

Meet Dr. Lawrence Lustig, Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians

2 Replies

This post is part of a clinic feature series, where we highlight doctors and clinics who offer the Oticon Medical Bone Anchored Hearing System, the Ponto.

Dr. Lawrence Lustig, MD,  is one of the nation’s leading experts in hearing loss

Dr. Lawrence Lustig, Otolaryngologist-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

Dr. Lustig is the chair of the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and otolaryngologist-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Today, Dr. Lustig’s mission at New York City at Columbia University Medical Center & New York Presbyterian Hospital is to build a practice of the very best otolaryngology clinicians and research scientists.

He treats the full spectrum of ear disorders in adults and children, as well as skull base disease. His specialties include skull base surgery, Bone Anchored Hearing Systems (BAHS), cochlear implants, the genetics of hearing loss, cochlear gene therapy, surgery for chronic otitis media, balance disorders, and hair cell physiology.

Continue reading →

Find the Right Hearing Care Professional for You: Oticon Medical’s Customer Service Team Can Help

Leave a reply

You may have seen our new page where you can sign up to get help making an appointment with a hearing care professional in your area. We wanted to take a minute to explain why Oticon Medical offers this service, and what it can do for you or someone you know who’s on the journey of finding the best hearing solution possible.

TreatmentWhen most people start searching for hearing solutions, what they don’t realize is that all clinics don’t offer all of the available solutions. In fact, in some cases, people don’t even know what their options are. They only know what the clinic has offered them. From people who weren’t aware of bone anchored hearing solutions at all, to those who thought only one type of bone anchored hearing solution existed, we hear from a lot of people who have been in this situation. If this is your case, you’re not alone!

Continue reading →

Smiling Brighter Than Ever with Ponto Plus

Leave a reply

As a child, one of the most exciting parts of growing up is having every experience be a new experience. Your formative early childhood years are when you first make sense of your senses–learning different tastes, smelling different smells, seeing different sights, touching different textures, and hearing different sounds.

Born in the Philippines with Microtia and Atresia of her right ear, 4-and-a-half year old Annika Silang-Ferrer experienced the world, but she did so with moderate to severe hearing loss.

Continue reading →

Ear Aid Nepal, the British Society of Audiology & Oticon Medical Help Baby Asmita Hear

1 Reply

This is just the kind of story we love sharing. In Nepal, a young girl born to a single mother now has the chance to grow and develop with better hearing thanks to the generosity of others and her family’s efforts to give her the best life possible.

With no ear specialists in her entire region or the funds for proper care, Asmita, born in Western Nepal without properly formed ears, faced an uphill battle.

Ear Aid Nepal and the British Society of Audiology recently shared Asmita’s story. Thanks to the volunteered efforts of Ear Aid Nepal, the International Nepal Fellowship (INF) and volunteer audiologists from the UK, Asmita was able to receive care. We were thrilled to donate two Ponto softbands to aid their efforts.

Here’s Asmita’s story.

Continue reading →

Two Pontos Help 14-Year-Old Andrew Overcome Maximum Conductive Hearing Loss

Leave a reply

Being a teenager is a fun, but it can be hard work too. Andrew Perry, a 14-year-old born with Treacher Collins and Bilateral Microtia and Atresia, has maximum conductive hearing loss in both ears making participation, working in groups of students and hearing class lectures even more draining than it can already be.

“Straining to hear can make someone with a hearing loss tired throughout the day,” says Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community. The background noise common in rooms full of students made concentration difficult for Andrew. Clyde, Andrew’s father, said that Andrew’s academic performance had declined significantly, and he believed it was because of the difficulty of hearing and following instructions in the classroom.

Here’s how an Audiologist went the extra mile for Andrew, as first told on Ear Community. 

Continue reading →

The Most Important Questions to Ask When Considering a Bone Anchored Hearing System: Help Others Get BAHS Answers

2 Replies

A couple of months ago we held the first ever Oticon Medical Patient Advocacy Workshop. While events in the past have focused on gathering and getting to know each other, this event focused on bettering the experience for those who need or will need bone anchored hearing systems in the future.

Be the ChangeThe top concern included education for those who were experiencing the world of bone anchored hearing for the fist time. Ponto wearers and families shared that they felt frustrated at the beginning of their journey, because they didn’t get all of the information they needed outright— it took research, time and, in many cases, probing to get answers from professionals. The statement “I wish I would have known what questions to ask” is something that we heard from the group more than once. Kelley Dwyer, an Audiologist who joined our group along with her brother Derek, who got his Ponto Plus and the Ponto Streamer earlier this year, also mentioned that it’d be helpful for Audiologists if patients had more access to information and a set of questions too.

Many people in the group mentioned that they didn’t know that there were options when it came to choosing a bone anchored hearing device. For some, it took years to make the realization and in some cases, it lead to surgery for a new abutment to make a switch.

We’re working to fulfill the needs we uncovered and develop the ideas the group had from the workshop. Today, we’re asking for your help to bring one of those ideas to life.

Continue reading →