Important Reminders for At-Home Care

No matter what the conditions are like outside your home – it’s always important to have great home-care tools and practices to help maintain your hearing health. Here are some important reminders for your at-home care:

1 – Wear your hearing aids every day! Even if you are home alone, it is important for your brain to have consistent input. Regular hearing aid use can improve your brain function and cognitive abilities, and reduce your risk of depression.

2 – Clean them every day. Even if you didn’t leave the house – your hearing aids have been exposed to sweat, oil, wax guard.

Clean hearing aids are not only more sanitary, but they will also help keep your hearing aids working well.

3 – Hearing Aid Disinfection Machines. Speaking of cleaning your hearing aids…many people also like to use a hearing aid disinfection machine. These devices use UVC light to completely sterilize your hearing aids. Now is a great time to consider purchasing one due to the COVID crisis.

They are currently on sale to call today to get yours.

4 – General Maintenance. We have worked hard to set up on-line tutorials for at-home care of your devices. From changing the wax guards or domes, changing a battery, and even syncing up your devices with fantastic accessories – we’ve made it easier for you to get the most out of your hearing aids.

5 – Audiologist Assistance. We are very happy to be able to still help you during this difficult time. Our offices are open for essential appointments, we have curbside service available, and we can even offer tele-service if you need further help. You can also order supplies or connect directly with an audiologist if you have any questions or concerns.

6 – Be Careful with Face Mask Removal. We have noticed an uptick in the number of lost hearing aids in the last month as people inadvertently pull their hearing aid off when they remove their face covering. Please be careful when removing any face coverings. If you have hearing aids that have a Find My Lost Hearing Aid app feature, make sure you open the app every morning to ensure they are connected to and tracking your hearing aids. If you cannot find your lost hearing aid, please call us. Many hearing aids have a loss warranty and we can check that for you and help facilitate replacement.

Always remember…It’s good to hear!

HES Executive Director, Dr. Anne Orsene, Storms Capital Hill!

She is fighting for you! On November 14, 2019 our Executive Director, Dr. Anne Orsene, along with 175 other Audiologists from across the country, stormed Capitol Hill to gain support for the Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act of 2019 (H.R. 2276, S.2575).

This act, introduced by Rep. Tom Rice, [R-SC-7], would enhance the Medicare benefit by providing beneficiaries critical direct access to both diagnostic and rehabilitative services provided by an Audiologist. It would remove unnecessary barriers, allowing patients to receive appropriate, timely, and cost-effective care. The goal of Lobby Day was to secure co- sponsors to help push this act forward.

Dr. Orsene, along with several other Audiologists from New York, met with five legislators and their staff to educate them on how this act would benefit Medicare recipients. Our NY team was extremely proud to have secured a co-sponsor for the act, Rep.Max Rose ,of StatenIsland.

Passage of the Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act would dramatically improve audiology care for Medicare recipients.  It would enable them to have their choice of a qualified audiologist and would eliminate the need for a physician order to receive coverage of medically necessary audiology and vestibular services. It would also allow for Medicare coverage of treatment services such as vestibular rehabilitation, cerumen removal, and aural rehabilitation provided by audiologists.

Medicare’s archaic referral requirements must be modernized to allow seniors direct access to efficient, effective care.  All other federal programs as well as Medicare Advantage plans and most private health insurance plans already allow direct access to audiologists without first requiring a physician referral. Medicare patients should have the right to choose among all recognized providers for all Medicare-covered services as this comprises the majority of hearing health issues for the older adult population.

As a result of Lobby Day, 16 new co-sponsors were secured and the act now has 56 co-sponsors and has bipartisan support in the House and Senate.  Rest assured that HES will continue to fight for the rights of Medicare patients until this act is passed and will push forward to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries with a hearing or balance disorder receive timely treatment from an Audiologist.

 

 

DENT Dizziness, Balance and Tinnitus Center Celebrates 10 Years of Service

On September 19th, 2019 Hearing Evaluation Services of Buffalo celebrated the 10 year anniversary of our collaboration with Dr. Lixen Zhang’s Dizziness, Balance and Tinnitus Center at DENT Neurologic Institute. Since this partnership, DENT, Hearing Evaluation Services and Susan Bennett’s Rehabilitation Institute have helped thousands of patients receive treatment and solutions to help with these debilitating disorders.

We are proud to be part of this amazing interdisciplinary team that Dr. Zhang has assembled and look forward to working with DENT as their program continues to grow.

Happy Insurance Season!

With insurance renewal season underway, we want to remind you that we have an on-staff Insurance Specialist, Valerie Schmidt, available during office hours to answer any and all questions that you may have about your hearing health coverage. This is yet another unique service offered at Hearing Evaluation Services. Here are a few important reminders to consider when renewing your insurance:

Flex dollars can be used for hearing aids. Whether you have flex dollars to spend before the end of the year, or if you are factoring in flex dollars with your new program…consider using it for better hearing.

Discounted hearing aid programs through your insurance are not the same as an insurance benefit. We also have in-house programs that many find even better than what some third party companies offer.

Your Audiologists will review all of your options at your appointment. Insurance typically covers baseline hearing tests.

The level of coverage or benefits for hearing devices depend on the insurance company, and the specific levels of benefits within that company.

To connect with our Insurance Specialist, Valerie Schmidt, call (716) 544-6210 or visit our “Ask the Insurance Specialist” page through our website at hesofbuffalo.org.

New HES TV Campaign Launches this Fall

Last month, Hearing Evaluation Services of Buffalo launched three new patient stories for our ongoing television campaign. Additionally, we have a fourth commercial that will be launching later this month that highlights the opportunity to demo hearing devices before you commit to a purchase. We would like to thank Bruce, Gregg and Katie for sharing their stories of how it’s Good to Hear.

From the corporate world, to the joy of music and life as an athlete, each story brought a unique perspective on how hearing loss can affect any one at any time. The commercials also feature three Doctors of Audiology from our practice; Dr. Anne Orsene, Dr. Jill Bernstein, and Dr. Nicole Ball. Commercials can be seen locally on Channel 2 and Channel 7, as well as on our YouTube page and website.

If you are interested in participating in a future television commercial, and would love to share your success story, please let one of our Patient Care Coordinators or Audiologists know at your next appointment. You could be the next star!

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