The Hearing Center’s Statement on COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation, and it is difficult to predict what best practices will be looking days or weeks into the future, so we will be updating this policy page as needed going forward.

The Hearing Center will resume seeing patients beginning May 11, with a system revised for the safety of both patients and our staff. We will not be accepting any walk-in appointments during this time, and will schedule appointments with the intent to minimize any patient overlap in the waiting room. We will only have one provider on site for any given day.

We are currently working to reschedule the many patients on our waiting list from the lockdown, and may need to continue to reschedule appointments for patients through May to accommodate our providers’ more limited hours. If you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, please let our staff know in advance of your appointment, so that we can reschedule you for the safety of others.

If you have a true emergency requiring immediate attention, please call our office and we will do our best to accommodate you. We will be offering curbside care whenever possible, and our appointment hours will be limited, in an effort to maximize safety. Previously existing Emergency Service Hours are currently suspended.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we all weather this challenging time together.

Notice to patients using the LYRIC extended wear hearing aid:
Please continue wearing devices until there is a device failure or other problem. We will not be scheduling proactive device replacements at this time. If a device fails or other problem arises, please consider self-removal of the device by yourself or a companion. If you have access to healthcare in a residential setting, a nurse may be able to assist in device removal. If you need to review instructions for self-removal, you may do so below.

How to Protect Against Hearing Loss

Quick Read

Your lifestyle choices are one of the most significant factors in whether, and to what extent, you will ever experience diminished hearing. There are simple things you can do to protect yourself from hearing loss.

speaker issuing soundWhile genetics does play a role in hearing loss for many people, your lifestyle choices are one of the most significant factors in whether, and to what extent, you will ever experience diminished hearing. Many people are unaware that long term exposure to moderately high-volume noises can do as much or more damage to your hearing as sudden, extremely loud blasts. Here are a few things to be aware of when considering how to take care of your hearing for the long term:

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Looking for the Top 5 Hearing Aids? Look for Audiologist Reviews, Instead.

Quick Read

Individual experiences with any specific hearing aid will largely depend on how well they have been customized and tuned by an audiologist.

Top 5 reviews can be useful...just make sure you're getting reviews of the right thing.

You or someone you care about needs hearing aids, so you’re in the market to find the very best hearing aid you can get for your budget. Doing what many of us do when considering a significant purchase, you go online to investigate options. You browse lists of the highest-rated devices, comparisons of specific features, and even reviews from actual users. Unfortunately, while Top 5 lists can be very helpful when buying a dishwasher or toaster, they’re not so reliable when it comes to hearing aids. So before you spend your hard-earned dollars on something that someone else said worked great for them, let’s consider what question you really should be asking. (more…)

They’re coming: The Future of Over the Counter Hearing Aids

Quick Read

We don’t yet know what the FDA standards for over the counter hearing aids will be, but you will probably still want to consult an audiologist to determine the severity of your hearing loss before buying one.

shopping spreeIn August of 2017, the US government passed a law requiring the FDA to develop regulations for over the counter (OTC) hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. The mandate required that the FDA create a standard for these devices within three years, and publish a final ruleset after 180 days of comment. So while we’re not yet sure of exactly when the new standard for these aids will come into being, that doesn’t mean it’s too early to talk about it.

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Troubleshooting Your Hearing Aid

Quick Read

There are several simple things you should check on your hearing aid before assuming it’s broken. You can check both the battery and whether your hearing aid needs to be cleaned before calling your audiologist.

InformationWhile all hearing aids will need to be periodically serviced over time in order to maintain peak effectiveness, a sudden drop in the quality or volume delivered by your hearing aid can often be corrected with a few simple steps you can do at home. Try these troubleshooting tips if your hearing aid is not working as well as you expect it to be:

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I already have hearing aids, why do I need an audiologist?

Quick Read

Hearing needs change over time and regular checkups will ensure your heading aids are optimized for your needs. Also, hearing aids require regular maintenance to continue to function at their peak performance.

Hearing AidGetting hearing aids can be a life-changing experience, but the benefits can slowly diminish over time without regular maintenance. You may think your hearing has changed and/or your hearing aids need to be turned up, but most of the time they just need a tune-up to get your hearing back on track. Most people who haven’t had their hearing aids serviced in the last six to nine months find that having them serviced significantly improves their listening experience. Even hearing aids you think are broken can often be serviced and repaired right in our office (and yes, we can absolutely work on hearing aids you purchased elsewhere).

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What should I look for when choosing an audiologist?

Quick Read

A good audiologist will have a degree in audiology from a respectable university, take the time to work with you to evaluate your needs, and never attempt to pressure you into a purchase.

HearingJust like any doctor that you choose throughout your life, it’s worth spending some time doing your research and evaluating your options when you decide you need an audiologist. There are a wide range of services and products available, but to get the very best care it’s worth considering the following:

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Someone I Care About Says I Need Help

Quick Read

You may develop hearing loss gradually over time and not realize it, and it’s important to note that you may hear some things just fine while missing out completely on others.

Helping HandOne of the most common reasons new patients show up at our clinic is because “someone I care about said I need help.” Sometimes, the appointment was initially made to appease a partner or child or other loved one, and the person in awaiting their appointment may genuinely think they don’t need our care. And sometimes they don’t.

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Assistive Listening Devices ~ Public Venues

— Assistive Listening Devices & Community Venues — January 22, 2013

— We hope that your 2013 is off to a great start. As always, all of us at The Hearing Center of Asheville are looking forward to making the most of our relationship with our patients.

In keeping with that tradition, we are in the process of launching some additional resources on our website and would like your help. Many of you might be familiar with community venues that facilitate Assistive Listening Devices for those individuals with hearing loss. These might include Loop Systems and/or RF or IR headsets. We have begun making contact with churches, theaters and other public meeting spaces in order to provide a list of these resources to our patients and the community.

The following is a brief list that we have collected so far. If you have any information on additional locations that offer these resources, please let us know in the comment space below. We hope to keep an updated list on a new page on our website.

Fine Arts Theatre — IR headsets

Asheville Community Theatre — RF headsets

North Carolina Stage Company — ADA compliant seats, no devices

Diana Wortham — RF headsets

Central United Methodist of Asheville — RF headsets

Sound Health in 8 Steps

— Julian Treasure: Shh! Sound Health in 8 Steps — January 21, 2013

— Julian Treasure says our increasingly noisy world is gnawing away at our mental health — even costing lives. He lays out an 8-step plan to soften this sonic assault (starting with those cheap earbuds) and restore our relationship with sound.