Mario says “They are the right people in town when it comes to dealing with hearing loss.”
Mario Camarri – Farmer
I first got my hearing loss from driving tractors and then from truck driving. Back in those days, we didn’t use ear muffs and we just drove and drove and drove for days and hours on end without any hearing protection. Not only that but I spend a lot of time on tractors and I hear that often you will have a left-sided hearing loss when you have done your time on the tractors because you often turn your left ear to the right leaving your left ear exposed to the exhaust.
I first had a hearing test when my family, my kids and wife were saying to me “Dad, Dad you are not hearing us. You’ve got a hearing problem”. It was shortly after that I investigated the hearing to find out I did have a hearing loss and that I needed to have hearing aids. That was a number of years ago.
I have now had many pairs of hearing aids since then and I wouldn’t be without them. They help me stay engaged with my family and my wife. They help to be able to hear when people are calling me from a distance or when we are in the car together. They help me stay connected when I am at work and when I go to the workshop and need to give directions to the workers in the shed. I am able to have those work meetings a lot easier with the hearing aids in.
I must say in all my experience in dealing with Audiologists, I must say Eimear at Advanced Hearing WA is ruthless in her pursuit of your good hearing. There does not appear to be too much that is too much beyond her effort. She will not stop until she gets to the bottom of your problem and I feel that I am in extremely safe hands with her. At Advanced Hearing they appear to be more results-driven than anything else so they all seem to want to get the best out of your hearing aids and they are not happy when you are not getting on well with your hearing aids. It doesn’t appear to be about the sales. It appears to be about the results and Eimear has indicated to me that she is here for the long haul, both herself and Kathy the other Audiologist that work there. They are not transient, they are both locals that are going to live in this area forever and be treating hearing loss forever. I feel that I will always get to see the same person when I go to Advanced Hearing and that there is a little bit of accountability for the work that they are doing.
You can tell that they are proud of their reputation and they are doing everything that they can to maintain their good reputation.
Everything about this clinic is exactly what you want from the medical specialists that you are dealing with. They are prompt and efficient when booking appointments and getting you in for various service sessions. They never forget. If they say they are going to look something up for you, you always find out and get the answer for what you need and I respect that. You don’t have to chase them up for the information.
I would trust Eimear at Advanced Hearing WA with anything to do with hearing loss. They are the right people in town when it comes to dealing with hearing loss. I am so glad that I have entrusted Eimear with my hearing aids.
Carol shares “you don’t know what you have missed”
I first started wearing Hearing aids when I was living in Tasmania approximately 10 years ago. I went and had my hearing tested and as you found I had a lack of hearing, predominantly there was a hole in one of my ear drums. I think a lot of the problem started when I was a child at school. I had a biro poked down my ear which perforated my ear drum. That didn’t help.
I had hearing aids that went inside my ear because I didn’t want anyone to know that I had hearing aids and because I wear glasses. That type of hearing aid, was very loud and I kept having to go and have them turned down or up. I could hear myself walking on carpet and it got to the stage where I found them very uncomfortable. I felt as if my ears were plugged up so I didn’t wear them for a long time.
I now have a behind the ear hearing aids and domes; these aids are much more comfortable. In terms of sound quality there is absolutely no comparison to my old aids, these aids are far superior. I am very impressed with that how the computer can work out how I am hearing including how much time I spend in background noise. That wasn’t applicable with my other aids. Sometimes I have to watch that because I wear glasses that I don’t knock the aids off which I did do once. I just wear my hair over them now, so people don’t know I have hearing aids.
I now wear my hearing aids several hours a day. If they do start to annoy me a little I just take them out and give myself a break. I mainly wear them for watching television and for socialising in group situations. It is far better than putting myself in a situation where I can’t hear everybody. I still use lip-reading. I have always been very good and lip-reading which I just naturally did because I didn’t realise I had such a hearing problem.
If you are concerned about getting Hearing aids because you are young or are worried about the look of the aids, just come and see Kathy Murray at Advanced Hearing. It is a personal decision that you have to make but it is amazing how you cope without hearing aids and then you get them and think wow everything is too loud…you don’t know what you have missed. Your equipment helped me correct any sounds that were just too loud.
Irene says don’t wait, don’t put it off like I did
I decided just over a year ago that it was time to get hearing aids because I couldn’t hear the television plus I couldn’t hear my husband, my children or my grandchildren. I think I was just really putting it off. I had always thought hearing aids were for old people and I considered at 69 that I wasn’t old! Then I just made a decision that I couldn’t hear the grandchildren and that was really upsetting me that I couldn’t hear them. I thought that I have got to go and get some hearing aids. My husband shouting at me confirmed by decision too.
When I first got my hearing aids it did feel a bit strange having something in your ear. Having had them for 12 months now I don’t actually realise that they are there. I have gotten so used to them. It is a bit like when you first get glasses and you are quite self-conscious. They have become such a way of life with me now. I get up the morning and after my shower and breakfast I put my hearing aids straight in because I know that I can’t hear without them. I am really happy to put them in now.
If you are hesitating in getting hearing aids, I would say “don’t wait, don’t put it off like I did”. It is only pride and you think you are going to feel self-conscious with hearing aids in or you think what will other people think. Will they look at you as being an older person? But for me now, even with my short hair, I am quite happy for people to see my hearing aids because they know now that I can’t hear and I think it makes for a better conversation because they go “oh you have hearing aids and I reply with “yes they are great”. We then have a great conversation.
I would say come and get your hearing tested because you are putting off not being able to have a conversation and relationships with people because of your hearing. You try to wing it but by just saying yes or no, but it just doesn’t work.
Hearing aids have absolutely improved my lifestyle. I wouldn’t be without them now. They are such a joy to have because being able to talk with people and hear them is such a blessing.
I do volunteer work and to not be able to hear elderly people who talk quietly and to not to be able to hear them and help them that was really hard for me because I have always done a lot of work with people. That was hard for me to not be able to hear them but now that I have my hearing aids I can hear them and I am really happy. I can give them answers to the questions that they have. This has given me back my confidence which I had lost prior to getting my hearing aids. I didn’t feel confident at all in my life and was very unsure of myself prior to getting my hearing aids.
With my hearing aids I am confident, I can speak with people and I definitely feel much better. It has been life changing.
I decided just over a year ago that it was time to get hearing aids because I couldn’t hear the television plus I couldn’t hear my husband, my children or my grandchildren. I think I was just really putting it off. I had always thought hearing aids were for old people and I considered at 69 that I wasn’t old! Then I just made a decision that I couldn’t hear the grandchildren and that was really upsetting me that I couldn’t hear them. I thought that I have got to go and get some hearing aids. My husband shouting at me confirmed by decision too.
When I first got my hearing aids it did feel a bit strange having something in your ear. Having had them for 12 months now I don’t actually realise that they are there. I have gotten so used to them. It is a bit like when you first get glasses and you are quite self-conscious. They have become such a way of life with me now. I get up the morning and after my shower and breakfast I put my hearing aids straight in because I know that I can’t hear without them. I am really happy to put them in now.
If you are hesitating in getting hearing aids, I would say “don’t wait, don’t put it off like I did”. It is only pride and you think you are going to feel self-conscious with hearing aids in or you think what will other people think. Will they look at you as being an older person? But for me now, even with my short hair, I am quite happy for people to see my hearing aids because they know now that I can’t hear and I think it makes for a better conversation because they go “oh you have hearing aids and I reply with “yes they are great”. We then have a great conversation.
I would say come and get your hearing tested because you are putting off not being able to have a conversation and relationships with people because of your hearing. You try to wing it but by just saying yes or no, but it just doesn’t work.
Hearing aids have absolutely improved my lifestyle. I wouldn’t be without them now. They are such a joy to have because being able to talk with people and hear them is such a blessing.
I do volunteer work and to not be able to hear elderly people who talk quietly and to not to be able to hear them and help them that was really hard for me because I have always done a lot of work with people. That was hard for me to not be able to hear them but now that I have my hearing aids I can hear them and I am really happy. I can give them answers to the questions that they have. This has given me back my confidence which I had lost prior to getting my hearing aids. I didn’t feel confident at all in my life and was very unsure of myself prior to getting my hearing aids.
With my hearing aids I am confident, I can speak with people and I definitely feel much better. It has been life changing.
Irene Fraser – Busselton
Mark shares his experience with hearing aids, implants and everything else to do with hearing
About ten years ago, I started to notice a change in my hearing. I didn’t do anything about it until two years ago. I did have a test about five years ago and there was a hearing loss, but I didn’t act on it. I have other siblings with hearing loss so I suspect my hearing loss is familial and I have also worked in a loud industrial environment for quite some years so perhaps that has contributed to it as well.
I currently work in a non-industrial workplace in human services where I need to communicate well and that is where I have noticed having a hearing loss is a disadvantage because it is much harder to understand people. I was not worried about what others would think of my hearing aids. I work among people who use all sorts of therapies and aids to communicate so when I first got my hearing aids it was an easy transition. I found the aids made a huge difference to my life for the better. I was able to hear, to communicate better and I didn’t have to look at people to hear them. I could hear what was going on. I could hear my family, my kids and my wife. The assistive technology that goes with it has also helped with my telephone communication, recreational activities and hearing the TV. Most importantly, it has been good for my work. The Bluetooth “streamer” allows me to operate hands-free and I can hear people speaking nice and clearly on the phone and listen to music. If I have a phone up to my ear, I don’t hear as well. When streaming, I can hear with both ears and can really understand what is going on. The streamer takes away all the extra noise and I can really concentrate on what is going on with the conversation.
If you are in your forties, get your hearing tested, use the trial hearing aids and give it a go. They are discreet. Most people don’t even notice that I am wearing them until I point it out. It makes a huge difference in my professional, social and family life. Definitely, go to an audiologist that is not affiliated with a particular hearing aid brand. There was no pressure to
buy and there was no cold calling. It was a really easy, friendly place to go and get my hearing checked and felt no obligation to buy anything. I’ve had experience with other providers who put on a bit of sales pressure, which I didn’t find appropriate. It actually made me not want to get a hearing device.
Audiologists help June with hearing aids, implants and everything else to do with hearing
“I started having trouble with my hearing when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I had a burst eardrum and from then my hearing never seemed to get any better.
Then one day and I saw Eimear’s sign. I had not made an appointment but I quickly ducked in, and she was there. I spoke to her about what she could do for me, and that was about six years ago now. I had hearing loss for a really long time before I made the step to get hearing aids. I wasn’t able to get them at first because I had quite a bit of surgery to go through on both ears and until that had healed I couldn’t even consider them. Both the surgery and the awaiting healing delayed me getting them. It was very difficult hearing people and communicating normally without any help.
Hearing aids have definitely improved my quality of life. Before I saw Eimear I was quite ready to start adopting a lifestyle as a person who didn’t go out very much and didn’t participate in things. I was really amazed at how much it had improved my quality of life. When I go out now I find I can hear people much better.
I recently had a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (which is where there is a screw in the skull and sound travels through vibration to the inner ear) which has worked well for me. It is implanted behind my ear and keeps my ear canal dry and accessible. It doesn’t give me better hearing than my hearing aids but does prevent me from having to wear aids all the time which can cause me to get infections.
In the five years, I have been dealing with Advanced Hearing I have found the service to be fabulous. They have persisted with me when I was about to throw the hearing aids out the window. We had to keep fine-tuning the hearing aids to where I found it quite usable. Now I can use either my hearing aid or the bone anchored hearing aid.
Kathy has been amazing and it has been great to have someone locally. Both Eimear and Kathy are highly skilled audiologists that not only tackle hearing loss with hearing aids, but have the knowledge in implants and other alternatives. Advanced Hearing is very welcoming and personalised. The girls are always ready to help me when they can and nothing seems like too much trouble for them.”
June Cunningam
Pat relaxes with hearing aids
I started wearing a hearing aid in the year 2000; I was just wearing one aid. In 2008, I got a pair of Hearing aids so it has now been 17 years since I started wearing them.
The cause of my hearing loss was Otosclerosis which as far as I know is the cementing of the bones so the sound is not sent on as it should be. I also have a family history of hearing loss. My father had hearing loss. I have worked in many noisy places and I consider that I would also have some sort of industrial deafness. My first husband and I had an engineering business so there was a lot of banging of steel going on and I have worked in factories with excessive noise. So the Otosclerosis, family history and noise exposure have all contributed to my hearing loss.
I have never had any issue with having to wear hearing aids at a young age because the advantage of being able to hear better far outweighed anything else, like being a fashion statement.
There have been many advances in Hearing Aid technology. With my new recently fitted Hearing Aids I am hearing very well. I heard a mosquito buzzing and I haven’t that for many years. Apart from a recent unrelated ear infection, my hearing is brilliant. I have noticed an improvement in my hearing especially at a recent 60th Birthday Party Reunion. I hardly had any issues whatsoever. There were about 40 people there and I enjoyed being able to hear.
My husband and I own the Busselton Central Bakery so there is a lot of background noise to cope with. I can hear customers over the counter easier even with the fans and ovens on. I have book club tonight as well which is going to be another test. I think book club will be great since I was able to hear at a party with 40 people.
You can relax when you can hear as you don’t have to concentrate so hard. The hearing aids definitely take the effort out of hearing. When you are listening to someone, you are not concentrating so hard to make sure you hear.
I would suggest anyone who is having issues with their hearing to get some hearing help. It makes such a difference. I cannot believe the difference it has made for me.
Pat
Doris delights in hearing again
I first noticed I had hearing loss in my early 60s in my left ear. I saw an Audiologist at the time that used to come to Dunsborough and he gave me a Hearing aid for my left ear and he said “eventually you are going to need two aids”, which of course did happen.
About six years ago I had a stroke in my left ear and I lost my hearing even more. I was fitted with a Bi-Cros Aid which I thought was good at the time because it really helped me hear from the side that was totally deaf. Its so clever, it picked up talking from one ear and sent it over to the other side wirelessly so that I could essentially hear from both sides.
Unfortunately those devices eventually died. When it came time to get new ones the original audiologist that used to come down here had stopped visiting and I would have to go to Mandurah. When my BiCros died and they said it couldn’t be repaired I was without aids all together, it was very hard. I had to talk to the company over the phone which was difficult without my aid, and to get a loaner I would have to travel a long way to pick it up, and then again when I got the new aids more travel to get them.
It was at that time that I thought I would like to use a local company. I like to use local businesses where possible. It is so much easier for me. I then found out about Advanced Hearing WA, and I am so thankful I did. Prior to receiving my new aids which I ordered with Advanced Hearing, Advanced Hearing gave me a loaner hearing aid to use. This was wonderful. When I needed to get in to see Kathy in the first instance, I only had to wait 4 days. It was very quick. Another company I phoned told me I would have to wait 6 weeks. That is no good if you can’t hear. I have severe to profound hearing loss so I simply cannot be without my hearing aids.
I can now hear when someone is behind me but before I could not do this. The first day when I got these new hearing aids I was at one door and my husband was in the kitchen behind me and he said something to me and I could actually hear him. They are so sharp I can hear people talking miles away. They are very good and I can hear tiny little sounds that I couldn’t hear before. I am very happy with my aids and they are easy to use and they are very light and they look better. My friends from Mah-jong have remarked that I am hearing better.
I was very happy to change over to Advanced Hearing and I think that they are very good. I like the “all girl” factor. They are very efficient, very kind and caring know what they are doing, are quick and the hearing aid that was suggested was just perfect. I sometimes don’t realise I even have my hearing aids on, except for when I step into the shower.
Doris
Pat gets a new lease on life
I started wearing a hearing aid in the year 2000; I was just wearing one aid. In 2008, I got a pair of Hearing aids so it has now been 17 years since I started wearing them.
The cause of my hearing loss was Otosclerosis which as far as I know is the cementing of the bones so the sound is not sent on as it should be. I also have a family history of hearing loss. My father had hearing loss. I have worked in many noisy places and I consider that I would also have some sort of industrial deafness. My first husband and I had an engineering business so there was a lot of banging of steel going on and I have worked in factories with excessive noise. So the Otosclerosis, family history and noise exposure have all contributed to my hearing loss.
I have never had any issue with having to wear hearing aids at a young age because the advantage of being able to hear better far outweighed anything else, like being a fashion statement.
There have been many advances in Hearing Aid technology. With my new recently fitted Hearing Aids I am hearing very well. I heard a mosquito buzzing and I haven’t that for many years. Apart from a recent unrelated ear infection, my hearing is brilliant. I have noticed an improvement in my hearing especially at a recent 60th Birthday Party Reunion. I hardly had any issues whatsoever. There were about 40 people there and I enjoyed being able to hear.
My husband and I own the Busselton Central Bakery so there is a lot of background noise to cope with. I can hear customers over the counter easier even with the fans and ovens on. I have book club tonight as well which is going to be another test. I think book club will be great since I was able to hear at a party with 40 people.
You can relax when you can hear as you don’t have to concentrate so hard. The hearing aids definitely take the effort out of hearing. When you are listening to someone, you are not concentrating so hard to make sure you hear.
I would suggest anyone who is having issues with their hearing to get some hearing help. It makes such a difference. I cannot believe the difference it has made for me.
Businessman regains his hearing after a lifetime of hearing loss
I’m from Scotland and I was very sick in my younger years. I contracted Tuberculosis which was treated with the antibiotic Streptomycin. The Streptomycin and the tuberculosis caused me to be tone deaf and I also have nerve damage.
I first realised I was having hearing loss when I was at High School. When I went to Bunbury High School, because I wasn’t a local, the teachers put me at the back of the class and I wasn’t able to understand what they were saying and I couldn’t get to grips with some of the school work. It wasn’t until the science teacher put me at the front of the class that I started to understand what they were saying and also what he had been telling me became clear.
I first gave hearing aids a try when I was in my early thirties when my wife talked me into getting them and I went to the local clinic in Bunbury. I was given little tiny hearing aids that go right in the ear but they did not help me at all. When I went back to the clinic later I was told these aids were not suitable for me and I needed stronger hearing aids. The next lot of hearing aids I got, the dog ate one of them so that didn’t help.
Then I went off hearing aids for a long time and many years went by but my daughter gently suggested I return to see someone about my hearing so I said “alright I will give them another go”. After a hearing test with Kathy at Advanced Hearing WA, I could see how much hearing I had lost so I decided to give it one last try.
The results were impressive. As an Officer of the Masonic Lodge I used to sit at one end of the room and I could not hear what they were talking about down the other end and so my hearing aids now help me understand what is going on over that distance. When the Secretary is reading out things I was always asking for clarification on what was said but now I can hear 75% of what is being said. I can now try my Bluetooth streamer and remote microphone to see if that helps me even more.
When I’m at a busy restaurant with my son and using the hearing aids and using the Bluetooth streamer with the microphone I can now hear just about everything, about 90% of what he was saying, and I don’t have to ask him to repeat what he was saying even when there is quite a lot of background noise. With my business dealings I’m finding communicating with people so much easier and effortless with my new hearing aids.
I recommend that if someone like Kathy from Advanced Hearing WA suggests you try hearing aids then give it a go even if you tried them 20 years ago. Hearing aids can help many people and at the same time they are not for everyone. Kathy would be the best to judge and only recommended what was suitable to you and I don’t believe she would recommend something if it wasn’t likely to work for you. She is not pushy and she sets you up for realistic expectations.
From my recent experience at Advanced Hearing WA I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t want to try a hearing aid! This experience has been very pleasing. Now I have 90% hearing all the time, and if I had known they were so good I would have had hearing aids long ago.
Ross Porter
Local green thumb recommends early intervention
I first noticed that I had problems with my hearing about ten years ago. It wasn’t until I started getting pressure from my family that I decided that it was time to come and get my hearing checked. Actually I think I came here because I was referred to Advanced Hearing through my work with the Government. It was then confirmed that I was actually Deaf or didn’t hear very well. I am thankful my wife and kids made me do something about my hearing.
It was just fantastic the difference hearing aids made. I remember when we first decided to give them a go and I put them in, I could not believe actually how much I could not hear prior to being fitted with them. I loved it.
I had a couple of weeks demo aid trial. This was a really good thing to do. I think I still would have got aids but they do cost money and it was nice to be really sure about the decision I was making. The Demo Aid Trial makes a lot of sense to get an idea of what you really want to do (to spend that money).
Even though I find it difficult to hear in crowds and aids are not perfect for every situation, talking one on one and everyday things like listening to the radio and watching TV that you do most of the time, the aids are brilliant for.
There is a massive difference.
With my work at school, once again I still have to manipulate the situation, but I have noticed this last week not having the aids that even if I get one on one I still can’t hear them properly. If I have my aids in, I can definitely hear the children perfectly one on one.
My peers have been very interested in my hearing aids and people have in fact be quite curious has to how I came about getting my aids and there has been no stigma at all.
Do not wait until you are in your forties or fifties to do something about your hearing. It is just brilliant.
