Summary: A hearing clinic in Florida collaborated with Widex for their “Community Giveback Day,” providing a free pair of Widex hearing aids to a young patient with otosclerosis.
Key Takeaways:
- Empowering Communities: The collaboration between Citrus Hearing Clinic and Widex’s “Community Giveback Day” program enabled a local patient to receive advanced hearing aids, highlighting the clinic’s commitment to giving back to their community.
- Custom Fitting and Technology Upgrade: Through precise fitting techniques and the use of the latest Widex hearing aid technology, the clinic ensured the patient experienced a significant improvement in her hearing capabilities.
- Comprehensive Care and Education: The clinic provided extensive education and follow-up care, ensuring the patient could maximize the benefits of her new hearing aids, enhancing both her professional and personal life.
The Citrus Hearing Clinic in Clermont, Florida announced its collaboration with Widex for the company’s “Community Giveback Day”, a component of the Partners in Excellence for You program, that empowers hearing care professionals (HCPs) to gift a free pair of Widex hearing aids to a member of their local community who would otherwise not be able to afford them.
“Knowing our close relationship with Widex, our sales representative took time to detail the program and we’re so glad she did,” says audiologist Teresa Parsons, AuD, CCC-A, F-AAA, of the Citrus Hearing Clinic. “Just by fitting Widex hearing aids, something we do every day, we’re now able to give back to our community and that’s something we really hold true to our hearts here at Citrus Hearing Clinic. We change lives by equipping patients with the best possible hearing aid technology.”
Hearing Aid for Otosclerosis Patient
The chosen recipient for its part in the Widex Community Giveback Day was existing patient Sierra Janae. While still in her 20s, Janae is a long-time hearing aid wearer due to otosclerosis, a form of abnormal bone growth within the middle ear that causes progressive hearing loss. She was already wearing Widex hearing solutions, but the devices were nearly four years old and passed down from a family member who had worn them previously. She wanted to upgrade but lacked the funds as a young professional still building her career.
“When I received notification that I was the recipient of the donation, I had just started my career and was graduating from college. I was almost in tears out of pure gratefulness,” she says.
Parsons added: “Sierra is already a fan of the sound quality that Widex is known for, but she is at a point in her life where she wasn’t able to make a new purchase. While her older Widex hearing aids continued to be serviceable, we knew she would massively benefit from the technology upgrade.
A Custom Fitting Experience
Parsons leveraged a Sensogram to measure Janae’s hearing thresholds at different frequencies, ensuring a more precise fit and minimizing the need for fine-tuning. That was coupled with Real Ear Measurements (REM) that measure the sound pressure level that develops when a hearing aid is worn in the ear and verifies that the device has the right amount of amplification. Once complete, she also went over the education and resources available for Janae to get the most out of her Widex hearing aids.
“A lot of people think it’s just putting the devices on your ears, and you walk out the door,” says Parsons. “That’s actually less than the bare minimum of what you can do to have a patient be successful with hearing aids. So, for Sierra, like we do all our patients, we emphasized education, all the amazing features of the Widex app, the various cleaning requirements and so much more. We knew how life-changing this would be for Sierra, so we wanted to make sure she was equipped to have the best experience possible.”
A Full Hearing Test and Fitting
Citrus Hearing Clinic provided Janae with the full hearing test and fitting experience, as well as 45 days of follow-up appointments free of charge.
She says she immediately noticed an improvement with the Widex Moment hearing aids and Parsons considers herself lucky to have participated in such a gratifying opportunity.
“Sierra could tell a clear difference right away and she had dinner at a busy restaurant right after our appointment. It was amazing for us to see how excited she was to enter what could be a really challenging environment for people with hearing loss,” Parsons says.
Janae now wears her Widex Moment hearing aids every day, both at home and in the office. “They allow me to communicate effectively at work and at home without the frequent ‘huh?’, ‘can you repeat that?’, and ‘I’m sorry, say that again?’ that I was constantly asking of those around me,” Janae says. “Not to mention I love using the Zen mode when I am at work and need to focus without the constant ringing of tinnitus!”
About Widex Community Giveback Day
Community Giveback Day is made possible through the Widex Partners in Excellence for You program, which provides HCPs with access to a range of tools and resources that improve their efficiency, increase the impact they have in their communities, and accelerate growth for their practices. Interested HCPs can join the program to help gain the knowledge, confidence, and tools they need to thrive in the ever-evolving world of audiology, reinforcing the value of clinical expertise and outstanding care.
“At the end of the day, you go into audiology to help people – and participating in the Widex Community Giveback Day truly allows us to help those in need,” says Parsons. “Being able to make a difference and give back to the community is one of the pillars on which we run our practice, and it will continue to be for many more Community Giveback Days to come.”
Photo: Teresa Parsons, AuD, CCC-A, F-AAA, of the Citrus Hearing Clinic
