What
do you get when you combine:
-
An
acoustical engineer from MIT
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An audiologist with extensive
experience in pediatrics, otology,
hearing aids and industrial
audiology
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An "office manager ++" with
extensive experience in client
services and business management
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A state-of-the-art computer system that controls
the measurement of hearing and
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A wireless hearing aid fitting via NOAH System
3 and NOAHlink?
The
answer is the unique combination of expertise, modern
technology and hospitality that is the Hearing Care
Center of Sharon, Massachusetts.
"When I started this practice almost 15 years
ago, my goal was to utilize the technical knowledge
that I had to provide outstanding service. But technology
alone won't accomplish that goal. You need to add
really good people to the technology, and we've done
just that here at the Hearing Care Center, "
says owner and founder, Paul Milner, PhD.
Milner received a PhD in Speech
and Hearing Sciences from the City University of New
York Graduate School after a career in acoustical
research with CBS labs. He has over 30 years of experience
in teaching; in scientifi c and clinical research;
in applications relating to acoustics, sound, broadcast
and recording technologies; and
in hearing and hearing disorders. |
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Clinical
audiologist, Judy Learner Nichols, has extensive diagnostic and
rehabilitative experience, particularly with traditionally
"diffi cult to test" populations
such as young children and individuals with a variety
of cognitive and developmental
disabilities. She is an alumnus
of Northeastern University and the co-author of the juried
article "The effects of Presbycusis in the Down Syndrome
Population."
Office Manager, Phyllis Cohen,
brings years of business and customer service acumen to
bear during the initial intake process, and provides the
administrative glue that holds together the day-to-day
operations of the Hearing
Center.
If all that weren't enough, clients at the Hearing Care
Center will likely fi nd a cup of hot tea and a piece
of freshly baked Mandelbrot waiting for them, courtesy
of the resident grandmother Rose (Milner's mother).
"We make our clients feel comfortable to the point
that my mother offers them tea. In fact, she was the subject
of a newspaper article," says Milner.
"Phyllis is often the fi rst person the client meets,
and she does a great job at making them feel more at ease."
After the intake, clients are evaluated by Milner or Learner Nichols
using a completely computerized audiometer and middle
ear analysis system. |
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Next,
they move to a room that resembles a cross between an
up-scale movie theatre and a television production studio.
The heart of this room is a notebook computer with a Bluetooth
interface running Windows XP Professional and NOAH System
3.1. Connected to this computer are a HI-PRO and a NOAHlink.
"The NOAHlink is especially helpful when demonstrating
and evaluating the new advanced technology digital hearing
aids," says Milner. "Using the
wireless NOAHlink, the client can
move around the room allowing the advanced technology
noise suppression systems to work to their fullest."
After connecting the NOAHlink to the client's hearing
aids, the NOAH 3-compatible fitting software connects
to NOAHlink. The client's ability to recorded sentences
in quiet and in
background noise is tested. As the client moves around
the room, Milner and Learner Nichols make adjustments to the hearing
aids based on the client's verbal feedback in different
areas of
the surround sound environment.
Everyone at the Hearing Care Center agrees that the addition
of modern technology, including NOAH System 3 and NOAHlink,
allow them to bring their clients the best of both worlds.
Milner's father, the accountant, would probably have said
it as an equation: |
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