Can any hearing aid offer the ability to hear in background noise? Will I ever be able to hear in a restaurant or at the ball game with all that excess noise? These are questions asked by most every patient I have had the pleasure to help hear better” says Dr. Megan Nightingale of Peninsula Hearing Inc. “I have asked myself that question many times because I wear hearing aids too. Then, last April I tested out a pair of Oticon Agil Pros and the difference is astonishing. However, my experience with them started out a bit rocky.
My first experiences in background noise with the new devices on were very disappointing to say the least! My perception was that I was not hearing as well because I was not hearing all the sharp high frequency sounds that I heard with my existing hearing aids. Therefore it seemed that something was missing. I related this to a colleague of mine when I was at the Oticon presentation booth at the American Academy of Audiology convention in April of last year. He then told me that his wife had told him the same tale as she first started to wear the Agil Pros. However, he stated that while we were in a very noisy area (the middle of a convention center with thousands of other people around), I wasn’t missing a word of what he was saying and that it is the perception of hearing much more naturally without all the extra high frequency noise that I was missing. It was then that I began to understand how fundamentally different these devices were.
I continued to wear them and after two months I happened to be at one of Poulsbo’s noisiest restaurants with a group of seven, including children. It was one of those rare nice days and the place was packed! We were seated smack dab in the middle of the place with the noisy kitchen to my right. We had two tables put together to seat all of us. I did not think of this until after we got out of the restaurant, but I realized then that I hadn’t thought about my hearing the whole time we were there! I talked and listened to everyone with ease without having to ask for any repeats, even from the kids. A busboy dropped an entire tub of dishes and yes, it was loud and everybody turned their heads, the noise did not send me to the ceiling!
Needless to say, I am quite impressed and excited about this new technology, but is it for everyone? No. My initial impressions of the fittings I have gone through is that most tell me that they had to use the devices for a full two months to really hear the benefits of this technology especially in background noise.”
Can you catch my enthusiasm through this article? I love what I do and am so happy to share this exciting new way of helping you hear (almost) normally again!
Megan Nightingale Au.D has been in practice since 1990. Peninsula Hearing, Inc. has two offices, located at 19319 7th Avenue, Suite 102 in Poulsbo and at 1136 Water Street, Suite 103 in Port Townsend.
For more information or to demo the Agil Pros call (360) 697-3061 or (800) 540-8698.
