What could be better than being served good food at a nice restaurant while also being given the gift of better hearing? The other month, Ms. Meryl Epstein from Widex Hearing Instruments presented an educational seminar in a very comfortable and informal manner to REM clients over lunch. This was for anyone who, 3 years ago or more, had previously bought a hearing aid from REM Audiology. We called this meeting our “Lunch and Learn” meeting.
Understanding speech in noise is the most common problem people report while wearing hearing aids. But there are ways to combat this unintelligibilty. New technology consisting of inner-ear communication between aids, sophisticated directional microphones offering speech enhancement in difference channels, and algorithms that reduce the annoyance of sounds (such as clanking dishes and silverware) makes a HUGE difference in speech intelligibility and comfort in noise.
The best part about Lunch and Learn is that our clients experienced first hand the improvement offered by the technology Ms. Epstein described. Each client was fit with a new Widex aid for half of the luncheon. Then for the last half, they wore their old hearing aids. It was a hands on test to compare and contrast the differences.
As professionals of REM Audiology (Lisa Mancini, Kelli Byrne, and Liz Patterson), we enjoyed spending time with our clients. We learned more about them, and we hope they took something away from the Widex technology we showcased. With upgraded technology, people can hear clearer and they can hear better.