Listen and Learn - 9-7-24

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, welcome to listen and learn. This is the
show where we talk about your health and hearing, show
you how they're connected and how we keep both at
their very best. I'm Danny with me is hearing instrument
specialist from Concept by Iowa Hearing Centers. Kat Klour, Good morning, Kat, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good morning, Happy Saturday everyone, and thank you for listening.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Big day today, of course the weekend and talking about
your health and hearing, and of course this great promo
that you're going to receive today three hundred and fifty
dollars off per device on Concept's Best level package and
twenty four months no interest financing with approved credit if

(00:41):
you call and schedule that complimentary hearing evaluation with them
by one o'clock today. The number to call to schedule
that appointment is eight seven seven six three two thirty
six ninety. That's eight seven seven six three two thirty
six ninety, or you can go online do that same.
Iowa Hearing dot com is their website. That's Iowa Hearing

(01:05):
dot com. So Kat, let's get into our topic today.
And of course it's not an easy thing to get
our friends and family in to get their hearing tested.
What can we do to try to help out right.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
So sometimes you know, if we bring out that someone
we know may need a hearing test, we're noticing some
changes in their hearing, they get a little defensive. So
we kind of need to know how we can go
about that. And I think the most important thing is
be patient. Okay, so most people don't respond well to nagging,

(01:45):
So be patient, pick your moments wisely. And the other
thing that I would say is if you're the same
person who's always bringing up the hearing issue, but other people,
other friends or other family has noticed it, encourage them

(02:07):
to bring it up. That way. It just doesn't feel like,
you know, that same person is nagging me, they're just
disregarding what they have to say. But when sometimes you
hear it from another person, you think, oh, well, maybe
there is a problem and maybe there is something that

(02:27):
I need to address or something that I need to do.
And when being patient, remember to listen to their objections.
You know, you want to understand maybe why they're resisting
getting a hearing test. And we're going to go over
some benefits and risks of benefits of treating hearing loss

(02:51):
and risks of untreated hearing loss because research shows that
hearing aids can help with dementia, cognitive decline, line relationships,
earning power, decreasing social isolation, etc. Etc. So everyone listening,

(03:11):
kind of open your ears and I'm not expecting you
to remember all these facts, but if you even remember
one or two, then the next time the topic comes up,
you'll have a little fact you can throw out that
might be helpful and having someone decide whether or not
they're going to get their hearing checked. So let's start

(03:33):
with the easiest one. The recommendation is for men and
women starting at age forty to get a baseline hearing
test and every five years afterwards. And I know that
many people don't do this and have not done this,
so that's an easy one to kind of start with.

(03:55):
And if that is not enough to get the person
to decide to get their hearing checked, just remember some
of these facts. When hearing loss goes untreated, you become
two to five times more likely to develop dementia. Wearing

(04:15):
hearing devices can slow the symptoms of dementia by up
to seventy five percent. Untreated hearing loss triples your risks
for falling. So these three things I just rattled off
I just am thinking to myself, you know, as we age,
we want to age healthfully and have that quality of life,

(04:41):
and things like falls can really change a person's lifestyle,
and of course accelerated cognitive decline can really change your
lifestyle as well. So it's an easy way to kind
of try to mitigate those risks as we age. If

(05:01):
you have type one or type two diabetes, you are
twice as likely to develop hearing loss. So as you're
listening and you're thinking, hey, this person that I think
might need a test, they are a diabetic. Another reason
to come in for that person, the person who's diabetic,

(05:23):
to get routinely tested so that they catch those changes
when they occur. Workers with untreated hearing loss who are
regularly exposed to high noise levels are nearly four times
more likely to be hospitalized for work related accidents. If

(05:44):
you smoke or are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, you
are twenty one percent I think that's funny, not twenty percent,
twenty one percent more likely to have a hearing loss.
I always think to think, why don't we just round
that off? Well, it's more Yes, if you have a
boss mattic excuse me a BMI a body mass index

(06:10):
of twenty six or higher, it increases your risk of
hearing loss by twenty five percent, and osteoporosis risks increases
the risk of your hearing loss by up to forty percent.
So these are some quick back, some great reasons for yourself,
for someone you know to come in and get tested,

(06:31):
and just a reminder that full hearing evaluations are always
complementary at any one of our concept by Iowa Hearing Clinics.
And again a reminder. Our clinics are located throughout the state,
mainly Central Iowa over to the Mississippi River. We have

(06:52):
a clinic in Aims, Cedar, Rapids, Clinton, Corraville. Right here
in the Quad Cities, We're in Avenport. We're kind of
on that southwest corner of East fifty third Utica Ridge
Road by the movie Theater, Texas Roadhouse, Walgreens all right
in that area easy to find. We're located in Grinnell, Marshalltown, Oscaloosa, Pella,

(07:19):
Pleasant Hill, Waterloo and west of Moine. And you can
find any of one of these clinics the clinic hours,
book an online test right on our website Iowa Hearing
dot com. And remember, get on that website and book
or pick up the phone and call by one o'clock.

(07:41):
If someone does not answer the phone, leave a message.
Those messages are timestamped and somebody will get back to you.
But you need to call by one o'clock today to
take advantage of the promotion. And again reminder, do it now,
do it early before the Iowa Iowa State game comes on,
because once that happens, you're gonna forget. Maybe you're getting

(08:04):
ready for the game, you're going to the game, you're tailgating.
Just pick up that ball and give us a call.

Speaker 1 (08:09):
Now, that's right. The number four Concept by Iowa Hearing
Centers eight seven seven six three two thirty six point
ninety again eight seven seven six three two thirty six ninety.
Their website, which you can also schedule that complimentary hearing
exam at is Iowa Hearing dot com. Again Iowa Hearing

(08:31):
dot com. Once you schedule by one o'clock today, you're
going to receive the promo or you're at least eligible
for that promo of three hundred and fifty dollars off
per device on Concept's best level package and twenty four
months no interest financing with approved credit. Again, that's by

(08:52):
one o'clock. You have to call by one o'clock and
get scheduled for that complimentary hearing exam to qualify for
that promo. Of course, Kat Klower with Concept by Iowa
Hearing Centers here, she's a hearing instrument specialist. I had
my hearing exam with Cat a couple of times, and
I'm telling you those are great exams. It's it's odd
to me now looking back as to why it took

(09:14):
me that long, you know, to actually come in and
getting an exam. So I think today's program is so
important about making sure you, you, yourself, your friends, and
your family understand about hearing loss so that they'll come
in for that hearing exam CAT.

Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, it's an easy process. When I think of other
health things that I even I myself go through, I'm like,
we don't dilate your eyes, You're able to drive home. Exam,
you don't you know, no one's going to poke you
with a needle. This is really very easy. You don't

(09:52):
have to step on a scale. Yes, this is one
of the less at least painful health screening things you'll
have to go through. And we make it easy on you.
We're welcoming and friendly. You know. We always got coffee
and water, uh and usually mentioned chocolate too, so left know. Okay,

(10:15):
So that's another thing you can mention when you talk
to a loved one about coming into getting their hearing
screened at a concept clinic. It's an easy process. And
you know, one of the other things that you can
do is offer to help. So how can you help.
You can offer to help by scheduling that appointment and

(10:38):
going with them and getting your hearing tests too. So
I kind of think of this as friends testing, couples testing,
family testing. So instead of trying to convince them that
they have a hearing issue, you can try scheduling a
hearing test for yourself and them, or for the members

(11:04):
of the family and just come in and get it
all done together. And I will tell you it is
much more impactful. If someone does have loss and you're
testing a friend or family member with them and they
say the other person does not have loss, they can

(11:26):
see the side by side and they can understand because
part of the Hearing Evaluation Act concept is we're going
to explain that loss to you. Explain what it is
you're missing what the guidelines are and what needs to
be done, and of course we're always there to make
the appropriate recommendation. Whether, hey, you don't really have hearing

(11:51):
loss at this point, everything is looking really good. We'd
like you to come back in four years, or maybe
we see an issue that could be related to your
middle ear, we're going to make that appropriate referral to
a local ear, nose and throat doctor, or if you
truly have sensio neural hearing loss, making the appropriate recommendation

(12:14):
on the best hearing device that's going to fit both
your hearing loss and your lifestyle. And I've got some
great news today because Concept's got some new product and
I kind of want to get into the ins and
out of that. But before we do, Danny, I'm going
to have you quick over that promo again and then

(12:36):
we're going to talk about Concepts new products.

Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yay, this was so cool to learn about last week.
If you missed it or you just want to recap,
this is going to be great. Now let's talk about
that promo that Cap mentioned. Yes, it's three hundred and
fifty dollars off per device on Concept's best level package
and twenty four months no interest financing with approved credit.

(13:00):
That's if you call or get online book that hearing
exam by one o'clock today. How do you do that? Well,
you can simply call Concept at eight seven seven six
three two thirty six ninety again eight seven seven six
three two thirty six ninety, or you can go to
their website which is Iowa Hearing dot com Again Iowa
Hearing dot com. Make sure you do all of this

(13:22):
by one o'clock so you're sure to qualify for that promo.
Of course, Kat Klower with Concept by Iowa Hearing Centers.
She's a hearing instrument specialist, and we've been talking about
how to get people in, making sure that we're you know,
not making them defensive and knowing the reasons why we
should come in. But I think one of the biggest
reasons right now people should come in to get that

(13:45):
free hearing exam is just to see the new products
you guys have.

Speaker 2 (13:48):
Kat, Yes, it's it's I feel like it's groundbreaking. I
am very very excited about this, and I mean I'm
excited about the new product, but I'm also excited because
I really loved our last product, the Aqua, and it
is really kind of built on what I think of

(14:08):
it the Aqua foundation, which is a great foundation. So
I'm going to quick go over my favorite features at
the Aqua that they are moving forward into the new product,
and then I'm going to talk about what's new with
the new product. So some of my favorite features is
that with the best level you can enjoy the convenience

(14:31):
of a fully automated hearing aid, so it will automatically
adapt to sounds in your environment and as your environment changes.
So I always think of it very simply. If you
want a hearing device that is hands off and easy
to use, it's the best level device because it's going

(14:54):
to automatically adapt for you. You don't need to push
a button on the hearing aid, need to open an
app on your phone. It's just going to do it
on its own. The Bluetooth connectivity is fabulous. You compare
up to eight Bluetooth devices, which is a whole lot.
I don't know if I have anybody who's pared to

(15:16):
more than four or five, but if you want to,
you can, and you can be paired to two devices simultaneously.
So I do have quite a few patients who are
paired to both their iPad and their cell phone. You know,
they're using the bluetooth and the cell phone to take
their phone calls. But sometimes in the evening maybe they

(15:37):
like to play or look go down the rabbit hole
on their iPads and the sound is coming right into
their hearing devices. And what is nice. I know. I
have a number of couples like this. One partner of
the couple has the iPad paired to their devices and
the other one has their devices paired to the television.

(16:00):
So they're happily listening to their iPad listening to their television.
But neither one is disturbed because it's not this The
sound is not coming out in the room. It's going
directly to their devices. So and just remember the bluetooth technology.
If you're listening to me and you think, oh my gosh,
I don't know anything about that, that is okay. That's

(16:22):
what the experts that concept are there for. We're going
to help you true that, do it for you, explain
to you how to use it, and then you just
get to enjoy it. So we make it easy. And
you know, the groundbaate breaking thing with the Aqua that
they've kept I'm so happy about is the waterproof, dust
proof feature. It is truly waterproof. It can be submerged underwater.

(16:47):
It's dustproof. It's been tested in a dust chamber for
up to eight hours. So if you're a very active person,
you're outdoors a lot, you know, for your job or
just even for your hobbies, you don't have to worry.
I have patients who tell me they just they're sweaters,
you know, they just tend to sweat a lot, and

(17:10):
they don't have to worry about damaging the hearing device.
The chip is coated with perilene, which is the same
substance they used to coat pacemakers, so it gives you
an idea of the durability. The Best Level also has
speech enhancer, which I really like. It makes it easier
to hear soft speech, for example, someone leans over and

(17:34):
whispers to you, or even to hear speech and quiet
from a distance. You have a friend or family member
that's hanging out in the house with you and they're
not in the same room and they're trying to talk
to you, it makes it easier to hear their voice
from a distance. It also has motion sensor hearing, so

(17:55):
it can determine whether you're standing still or if you're walking,
and that really helps you to hear better when there's
other noises around. So, for example, imagine you're walking with
a friend, it's going to be looking for that speech
signal to the side rather than to the front because
you're in motion. It makes high pitch these sounds easier

(18:20):
to hear. So for those patients who maybe have been
told in the past that they're hearing couldn't be treated
they have an extreme high frequency hearing loss and or
they're actually missing high frequency hearing, we have the ability
with our Concept devices to shift those sounds that you're

(18:42):
missing into the regions of usable hearing. It's just such
a great feature. I need a break. I'm going to
go over the promo and then I'm going to get
into the new stuff.

Speaker 1 (18:56):
Wow, I mean already there's so great. So yes, you're
gonna want to find out more about them, even if
you're not totally absorbing everything we're talking about right here,
it would be great for you to go in and
have that complimentary hearing exam and see them up close
and personal, ask questions and really get a great feel

(19:18):
for this new product. That Concept by Iowah Hearing Centers
is putting out. So here's the number. It's eight seven
seven six three two thirty six ninety. That's eight seven
seven six three two thirty six ninety to call and
book your complementary hearing exam with Concept by Iowa Hearing Centers. Now,
you can do that online if you prefer. Their website

(19:40):
is Iowa Hearing dot com. Again, Iowahearing dot com. And
the promo we're referring to is three hundred and fifty
dollars off per device on their best level package, twenty
four months, no interest financing. And all you have to
do is make sure you call and schedule that exam

(20:01):
by one o'clock today. And again it is a complimentary exam.
You and your insurance company will not be charged anything.
It's something that Concept does courtesy to make sure you
know that you're at your best health and where that
untreated hearing loss is so you can treat it and
conquer it and of course find out more about Concepts
brand new product. This stuff is amazing, Cat. I mean,

(20:24):
as much as I try to sometimes go oh technology,
oh it's too much, Oh, when I see things like this,
I'm like, oh, my goodness, thank you so much. Kat,
Klower of course hearing instrument specialist with concept by IWA
Hearing Centers. So I'm dying to know what's new about
the product now, CAT.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yes, So what is really new with our new product
is that it has two sound processing chips. So the
first chip is a chip that is improved over the
Aqua chip and the fact that it has seventy four
percent more RAM for faster processing compared to the previous chip.

(21:04):
It also has improved Bluetooth connectivity, so you can stream
from your device at a greater distance. So imagine you
set your phone down outside and you go out in
the yard garden. You're not going to lose that bluetooth connectivity.
If you're listening to the iHeartRadio app, you're going to

(21:27):
get that in at a longer distance. And it provides
seamless transition between Bluetooth streaming and regular listening mode. There
won't be any leg or a few second delay. It's
more seamless. And the most important thing is this second chip.

(21:49):
So our new product is called sphere sp h E
r E. So think of around object a sphere and
this sound processing chip, this extra one in the hearing
aid is groundbreaking because it's the first AI chip dedicated

(22:13):
solely to separating speech from noise. So up until this
point in time, all manufacturers of hearing aids try to
deal with speech and noise by creating directional microphones or

(22:35):
being forming to try and hone in on the speech
and then dampen noise in restaurants and things like that,
But often that directionality or that being forming is happening
towards the front. With this AI chip dedicated solely to

(22:56):
separating speech from noise, you can hear speech to noise
from any direction, and that's why it's called the Sphere.
I have been busy doing in office demos with this,
and it is amazing using people's previous hearing devices and

(23:19):
then comparing it with the new sphere. When we run
noisy restaurant files and I walk around the patient with
their older devices, they may or may not know that
I'm talking, but they can't really hear or understand what
I'm saying. But with the Sphere, they're able to hear

(23:42):
me and specifically answer and repeat what I've said. And
for me this is huge, and for our patients it's
been huge too. I've been enjoying the follow up appointments
hearing what they have to say. You know, I had
a patient specifically call me and tell me that in church.

(24:05):
Previously he caught about twenty percent of what was being said,
and now he feels like he's up to about eighty
five percent. And this is a person who has a
severe hearing loss in full years. This is huge, This
is groundbreaking, and I'm really excited. And you're not going

(24:26):
to find another product like this for probably the next
three years. It's going to take the other manufacturers a
long time to develop something close to this. So again,
it's a deep neural network sound processing chip that has
fifty three times more processing power and it was trained

(24:48):
with twenty two million sound samples for nuanced recognition, and
it gives it that ability to separate speech from noise.
For people who are new to hearing devices, what a
great time to get started and have great products. And
for people who have been wearing hearing aids previously, it's

(25:11):
a great opportunity to come in, get an in office
demo and see how this is so much different and
better than previous devices. Just pick up the phone, give
us a call by one o'clock and get that on
the schedule.

Speaker 1 (25:28):
Oh wow, I don't know how you wouldn't want to.
This is so exciting. Eight seven seven six three two
thirty six ninety. That's the number four Concept by Iowa
Hearing Centers to schedule your complimentary hearing exam eight seven
seven six three two thirty six ninety. Their website which
you can also use to schedule that exam Iowa Hearing

(25:49):
dot com. It's also a great resource for what we
talk about here and listen and learn. That's Iowa Hearing
dot com. You will want to call and get that scheduled,
that implementary hearing exam by one o'clock today because that
promo's fantastic. Three hundred and fifty dollars off per device
on their best level package and twenty four months no

(26:12):
interest financing with approved credit if you get it on
the schedule, well, yes, call and get it done by
one o'clock today. Don't wait, do it now. Of course.
Kat Klower, our hearing instrument specialist from Concept by Iowa
Hearing Centers, thank you so much for talking about the
new sphere. I am impressed every time you talk about it.

(26:32):
It makes me excited about where the technology is headed.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
Yeah, it is amazing where it's headed, and it's exciting
to be part of this kind of new change and
hearing aids, and it's a good thing. Everyone. Enjoy your Saturday.

Speaker 1 (26:49):
Go Hawks, Yes, go Hawks. Listen and Learn is brought
to you by Concept by Iowa Hearing Centers on WOC