Tag Archives: Ponto 4

IFTTT: How Ponto Users Benefit from If This Then That

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When you see the acronym IFTTT, don’t be alarmed or intimidated. It stands for If This Then That. It is a great way to connect your apps and notifications in one spot, which is why Oticon Medical has joined the revolution and incorporated it into our Ponto™ bone anchored hearing systems, starting with the Ponto 4 and now the Ponto 5 Mini. This expanding internet-based cloud service enables you to link together a range of products and solutions that otherwise have nothing to do with each other.

Currently, there are between 400 and 500 products and services that have a channel on IFTTT. It is free to the user while companies pay to be part of the ecosystem. “Applets” are the key to making the connections happen and have been created to provide little pieces of automated instructions that both user and company can create. Not to worry—the app is designed to walk you through connecting your devices to the Oticon ON™ app and allows you to customize your Ponto notifications to your liking.

Why are we talking about IFTTT?

The IFTTT protocol allows notifications to be sent to your Ponto 4 or Ponto 5 Mini processor. However, there are some requirements. The first one we already mentioned—you need to have a Ponto 4 or Ponto 5 Mini processor that directly connects to the Oticon ON app with an internet connection. This of course requires you to have a smartphone with the Oticon ON app, which can be found in the Apple App Store® or Google Play™ Store. When you are connected with an Apple iPhone® 5 or newer model, the notification will be sent directly to your Ponto processor. This is considered the Play text to speech process in the applets. If you would like to connect with your Android™ device, you would need a ConnectClip™ in order for the notifications to be sent to your Ponto processor.

How to get started?

Once you have those connections established to the ON app, you will need to set up an IFTTT account. This can easily be done by downloading the app and following the prompts. You can use an email account or your AppleID® account to start. Again, the best part is that it is free!

What do you do once you have established the account?

An applet can be chosen on the app or created for an If This…Then That connection. This will allow you to receive notification from different internet-enabled devices. For instance, if you have a video doorbell, the process will work as follows:

  • Someone rings the internet-connected doorbell
  • A message to IFTTT is triggered via the internet
  • IFTTT sends a message to your Oticon ON app on the smartphone
  • The ON App triggers the voice message picked by the Ponto 4 or 5 Mini (in this case, “someone is at the front door”)

To set this up, you would begin by creating the “If This,” which would be your video doorbell. You may choose a trigger, such as motion or a new ring of the doorbell detected. Once selected, you would then select a “Then That,” which in this case would probably be the Oticon ON app’s Play text to speech (note: works with the direct streaming to iPhone, but Android users can also take advantage of this feature when using the ConnectClip.). Once finished, the notification would go directly to your Ponto 4 or 5 Mini processor.

Another great way to utilize this technology would be when the Oticon ON app detects your battery is low. This is especially helpful for parents of young wearers, because the app could have a preset instruction to ping the IFTTT network when your child has a low battery. The IFTTT network could then look at the created instruction or applet and automatically send you, a teacher, or a babysitter a text message wherever you or they might be.

What can IFTTT connect?

There are hundreds of app and smart devices for which you can create IFTTT applets—the possibilities are endless. For instance, having an internet-connected sound processor means being able to turn on a kitchen appliance when turning on your device (coffee, anyone?) in the morning or your house lights based on GPS information.

How will my information be used?

This process runs through your Oticon ON app; therefore, all the data is yours. IFTTT does not store or use your information. You will be asked to log into your internet-enabled device when creating the applets in IFTTT. However, there is no storage of data, because it is simply a messaging device connecting the system together.

For more privacy information, please refer to the Oticon ON app privacy policy (Oticon.com), Privacy policy – IFTTT, and Oticon Medical privacy-policy.

Now you are ready to connect your Ponto 4 or 5 Mini to any internet-enabled device with IFTTT and the Oticon ON app!

About the author

Nicole Maxam, AuD, CCC-A serves as an Auditory Technical Specialist at Oticon Medical. She has been an audiologist for over 16 years with experience in implantable technologies.

Ponto 4 Wearer Shannon Shares the Joy of Discovering New Sounds

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New wearer Shannon Dakin recently shared her excitement about living life with Ponto 4 in a Facebook Group. The following is her experience with our most advanced bone anchored hearing system to date, in her own words.

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Basically, due to ear infections as a child, I’ve always had hearing loss. Through surgeries (about 13), I was able to hear, but I don’t think I had perfect hearing. About 20 years ago, I had another round of infections that took away my hearing. All the surgeries failed, and they were unable to do any more due to too much scar tissue.

Since then, I’ve lived life with no hearing in my right ear and some hearing loss in my left. I was unable to use conventional hearing aids as they would plug my ear canal and cause infections. In that 20 years, I could never get the bone anchored system due to the cost, and none of the medical insurance plans I had would ever cover it, until I started working where I am now.

With my Ponto 4, I’ve gone from 20 years with limited hearing to hearing everything. It has been overwhelming and fascinating at the same time. I don’t know how I accomplished so much with my limited hearing! I don’t have anything to compare the Ponto 4 with, but the sound is great, and I’ve adapted well to using it. This has been a life-changer for me and I’m very thankful!

I noticed yesterday that cardinals are the loudest birds. It amazes me that they are so noisy! We live in a very noisy world. The ice maker is my nemesis. I never knew it made so much sound all the time and when it dumps, I jump!

My husband and I are starting beekeeping this year. I was able to hear buzzing before the device, but I have a feeling this spring and summer are going to be filled with so much buzzing sound! He says I’m like a two-year-old sometimes, always saying, “What’s that?! What’s that?!”

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We appreciate Shannon allowing us to share her experience and are thrilled she is enjoying her new life filled with sounds—even if some are more enjoyable than others!

If you are considering whether to take the next step and getting a Ponto bone anchored hearing system, we can help:

Miss Lucy Brown — Still Tumbling with Ponto 4!

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Our favorite Ponto 4-wearing gymnast, Lucy Brown, is able to hear clearly despite the hustle and bustle surrounding her. Check out her moves in this short video, provided courtesy of her proud mom, Georgene Brown:

Hearing in noise is one of the most difficult challenges people with hearing loss face. Whether its other people’s conversations, background music, or other ambient noise, the strain to hear what you actually want to listen to all day can be frustrating and exhausting. As a competitive gymnast, Lucy cannot afford to let either get in her way. Fortunately, thanks to her Ponto 4 bone anchored hearing system, she is able to focus on her coach’s important directions and executing her challenging gymnastic routines.

Go, Lucy Brown, indeed!

Oticon Medical Insurance Support Helped Katie Upgrade to Ponto 4

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When Katie Maslar ran into difficulty with getting insurance coverage, Oticon Medical’s  Reimbursement Support Team helped her file the appropriate paperwork and get her upgraded device. In her own words, Katie shares her experience going through the insurance process and how she’s hearing better with her new Ponto 4.

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I had started hearing really good things about the Ponto 4 on social media, and I hadn’t upgraded in a few years, so I decided to look into an upgrade. I initially saw my audiologist and ENT to fill out the appropriate paperwork to submit to my insurance. After not hearing anything for a couple months, I reached out to Oticon Medical. Unfortunately, my doctor’s office never submitted the paperwork.

In the interim, my previous Ponto Plus Power got broken, so my need for a new processor was even greater. After going back and forth with my insurance for a few months, the Oticon Medical staff and I were able to sort it out. I cannot say enough good things about how easy Oticon Medical made the process for me. Once we determined that I would be able to get the new device, the upgrade process was very simple and quick! I had the new Ponto 4 in a matter of days.

I’m very happy with the new features in Ponto 4. I honestly don’t mind not having onboard controls at all, since I really never need to manually tell the Ponto 4 what to do. I love that it’s smaller and more discreet. I was a little nervous, because I have an Android™ phone and wasn’t sure how easily they would work together, but I don’t find the need for the ConnectClip™ to really stop me from anything. It is much simpler to set and work, especially compared to using a streamer with my previous device.

It’s also really nice to be able to control the volume and check the battery level from my phone and not need the ConnectClip to do so. I am only deaf on my right side and have normal hearing in my left ear, but when listening to music and YouTube, I prefer to listen through my Ponto. The ease of connecting the ConnectClip with my tablet, and the sound quality it gives me, is great. I really do love it!

I can hear people in noisy environments easier now. The Ponto 4 makes a huge difference.

The biggest thing the Ponto 4 does for me is give me confidence. I’m no longer constantly straining to hear people and worried that if they speak, I will accidentally ignore them. I can hear people on my deaf side without even really thinking about it! I’m more confident and spend less time worrying about who’s speaking and whether I’ll hear them. I’m happy when I can pay attention to all the details and sound quality the Ponto 4 gives me, because that’s when I realize just how fantastic it is.

I liken the difference to this: My old processor was like writing with the blunt tip of a pencil, and the Ponto 4 is like writing with the tip of a sharp pencil.

Jay Wietecha is a Proud Ponto Advocate

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Jay hopes his journey to better hearing will inspire others

Jay Wietecha lost the hearing in his right ear at the end of July 2018 due to a 1.8cm acoustic neuroma that was surgically removed. Despite his surgeons’ best efforts to leave the hearing nerve intact, it still went out and he was left with single-sided deafness (SSD). He spoke to a treatment coordinator post-op who also happened to have SSD following removal of an acoustic neuroma, and was a Ponto user. She advised him that it was Jay’s best option and worth looking into. In October of 2018, Jay went through the minimally invasive Ponto surgery (MIPS) and had his first Ponto activated in November. In the following clip, he shares words of encouragement about the MIPS experience.

He was also better able to engage in conversations at busy restaurants and while driving in a car and enjoying background music. Without the Ponto, these situations were more challenging and less pleasurable. 

“I can comfortably say that the Ponto has made coping and living with SSD much easier and I enjoy a higher quality of life when using it,” Jay said.

Jay found he got the best results at home watching TV with background noise elsewhere in the house, and at work where he practices dentistry in noisy operatories with music playing in the background. He found he was better able to engage with patients and staff and didn’t have to work as hard to hear. He also became more aware of what was going on around him. Here’s what Jay wants you to know about the ease of holding conversations with a Ponto bone anchored hearing system.

Jay also played the drums for the first time since losing his hearing because he’d wanted to wait until he had the Ponto processor to see if it would sound the same as it has since he started playing a little over 30 years ago. The result? “It sounded perfect! I actually thought I might have to stop playing altogether when I lost my hearing, so of course I was filled with emotion over how great things sounded and I can continue playing,” said Jay.

Jay was excited to have the opportunity to try out Ponto 4 when he attended Oticon Medical’s annual New Advocates Meeting earlier this year. He was impressed by the smaller size and all its features.

Overall, Jay feels that wearing a Ponto increased the quality of his life and helped him move beyond the tragedy of losing half of his hearing. “There have actually been times when I feel as normal as I did before I lost my hearing,” he said.

Ready to try something new? Learn how to upgrade to a Ponto processor today!

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Michael Brown’s Advice: Don’t Hesitate – Get that Ponto Now

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We’re please to share a brand-new user story from Canadian advocate Michael Brown. He advises others with hearing loss to overcome their hesitation to undergo minimally-invasive Ponto surgery (MIPS) based on his experience living with untreated hearing loss for 35 years.

“The Ponto 4 is a close to natural hearing that I’ve ever come across,”  In this segment, Michael shares his thoughts on the Ponto 4, which he upgraded to earlier this year.

Is MIPS right for you or your loved one? How about the Ponto 4? Start here to learn all about Ponto and the MIPS procedure.

No Regrets: Kevin Chooses Ponto 4

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Kevin Hotaling and his father Timothy spoke to us during an event earlier this year about Kevin’s experience using Ponto 4. In the first segment of this video, Kevin shares which Ponto 4 feature has been “a dream” of his for a long time.

Both Kevin and his father were impressed by Kevin’s ability to hear more clearly despite background noise with Ponto 4. “You could see, it was just making such a difference,” Timothy notes.

Superior quality, confidence boosting. That’s Ponto 4!

Are YOU ready to upgrade your hearing device? Click to learn how!

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Lori Novara Sings the Praises of Ponto 4

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Lori Novara missed out on a lot in school because her bilateral hearing loss wasn’t identified until she was a pre-teen. It turned out traditional hearing aids couldn’t help, because wearing them caused her to develop ear infections.

Lori discovered the Oticon Medical bone anchored hearing system and got her first Ponto devices in 2003. She has been so happy with her Pontos ever since that she became one of top our patient Ambassadors.

Today, Lori regularly talks to people about the hearing challenges she faced and how getting a BAHS changed her life for the better. In this video, she shares her thoughts on upgrading to Ponto 4 and her experiences with her new devices. 

Lori was impressed by everything her new Ponto 4s were able to do, especially when it comes to holding conversations in noisy environments. 

Lori enjoys the boost to her confidence provided by her Ponto 4s. She told us she feels safer now that she can not only hear sound all around her, but is better able to identify the correct direction from which the sound is coming. This helps her feel better about going out into different environments alone.

One anecdote Lori shared that didn’t make it into this video drives home how powerful Ponto 4 really is.

One morning, while staying at a hotel, Lori heard a “dinging” noise in her room. She searched everything trying to figure out what it was but couldn’t find the source. She opened her hotel door and realized she could hear the “ding” outside even louder than in her room.

She walked down the hallway until she was in front of another room’s closed door. It was then she realized, “Oh my gosh, that’s an alarm clock!” She was amazed that Ponto 4 allowed her to hear an alarm clock going off in a room three doors down the hall through closed doors.

That’s the power of Ponto 4!

Ready to upgrade to Ponto 4? Click the button and we’ll tell you how!

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Lucy Brown Loves Ponto 4!

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Part 3: Heading in the right direction

In Part 2 of this story, Lucy and her mom Georgene shared how Ponto 4 has helped Lucy leave the shadows and feel like a full participant in whatever environment she finds herself in. This week, in the third and final segment of their Ponto 4 testimonial, Lucy and Georgene explain the importance of knowing from which direction a sound is coming and how Ponto 4 has made that easier than ever before.

How is Georgene dealing with giving Lucy more independence now that she’s growing up? Having Ponto 4 certainly is helping ease her concerns with regards to Lucy’s safety.

Thank you, Lucy and Georgene, for sharing your experience with the Ponto 4! We’re so fortunate to have you as valued members of our Oticon Medical bone anchored hearing system family.

Viewers: do you have a Ponto 4 story you’d like to share with others who might be considering an upgrade? Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] and let us know!

Ready to upgrade your processor? Click to learn how!

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Lucy Brown Loves Ponto 4!

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Part 2: Joining the crowd

 

Last week, we premiered Part 2 of a new Ponto 4 video story from Lucy Brown. In Part 2, Lucy and her mother, Georgene, share even more reasons why they’re glad Lucy upgraded her bone anchored hearing system! 

Lucy first tried out Ponto 4 during a visit to Nashville, where she had the opportunity to wear it in some pretty loud and crowded environments. In this video, Georgene shares: “Yesterday, we sure put Ponto 4 to the test.”

Did it pass? Watch and find out!

Tune in next week for the third and final installment of Lucy’s Ponto 4 user story.

Ready to upgrade your processor? Click to learn how!

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