April saw Sheinman Opticians launch our very own Audiology service. We have now been joined by Pete Black – an audiologist with many years’ experience in both the NHS and private sector of hearing care. Pete is available in practice 5 days a week including early mornings, evenings and saturdays! Sheinman uses the latest equipment to provide outstanding ear and hearing care from our purpose built Audiology clinic.
With the average person waiting up to 10 years from the point at which they feel there could be an issue with their hearing to them taking the first step towards addressing the problem, we appreciate that it can be quite a daunting experience. As with our ophthalmic services, we strive to put you at ease during each step of the process and will ensure everything is comprehensively explained to you as the tests are carried out.
Avril from our Dispensing team shares her thoughts on the experience:
“When any new test is introduced to the practice, I always like to experience it first hand so as to better be able to explain what happens to anyone who asks, so I was very curious about what a hearing assessment actually involved. I didn’t have any major concerns about my hearing, although I have been conscious of having to ask people to repeat something they said to me on a few occasions having not quite caught what they said first time around! When I mentioned this to Pete, he reassured me that the tests would reveal if there was any issue with my hearing. He began by asking some general questions about my health, and matters pertaining to my ears as a whole. He then explained that the first part of the assessment would be look at the outer ears and my ear canals. This was conducted using an amazing microscope connected to a camera which enabled me to see my own ear canals on a screen on the wall opposite (I’ll spare you a picture of that particular view!) Happy that all looked normal here and there were no obstructions, Pete then moved on to checking that my eardrums were functioning normally. This was done by using a probe to send a wave of sound pressure down the ear canal to the eardrum and measuring the response, the results were again displayed on the screen and fully explained. The final part of the test was the bit that I think we all imagine when we think about having our hearing checked: The sound-proof booth! In I got with a set of headphones and a push button while Pete played varying frequencies of sound to me. He then also played me some recordings of someone talking against increasing levels of background noise to simulate more real life situations. The whole process was very relaxed and informative, and I will certainly be more pro-active when it comes to looking after my ear health from now on!”
For more info on our Audiology service, check our website here, or call our reception team on 01604 626161.
