Eye Surgeons Associates Hearing Services

Life’s greatest moments are filled with the wonders of sight and sound: whether it’s the performance and the beat of the Rolling Stones, the breadth and the roar of Niagra falls, or 50 candles and the off key singing of your family birthday party. 

Eye Surgeons Associates has spent 25 years helping you and your family see their best. Given that vision and hearing problems seem to frequently occur together, Eye Surgeons Associates has decided to add hearing services for our patients. We determined that we can provide you with the same level of quality, service, and value for hearing aids as we do for vision.  Just as reading glasses can help aging eyes see better, your ears can be helped to hear better.

Today over 30 million senior Americans (over the age of 60) and perhaps an equal number of Baby Boomers suffer from hearing loss. Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic health care problems facing older adults today. Recent studies have shown that up to 50% of the Baby Boomer population is experiencing significant hearing loss as much as 20 years earlier than previous generations.

Hearing loss can result from many different causes such as exposure to loud noise, an inherited condition, injury or infection and physical changes within the ear caused by aging. It usually develops slowly over many years, so you may not realize that your hearing has gotten worse.

You should have your hearing checked if you:

• Have to strain to hear normal conversation, or watch faces to follow what’s being said
• Frequently ask people to repeat what they’ve said
• Have difficulty understanding women or young children’s voices
• Hear ringing or other noises in your ear
• Turn up the TV or radio excessively to hear them
• Have trouble identifying where sounds are coming from

Eye Surgeons Associates hearing services include:

• Diagnostic testing
• Hearing aid evaluations and fittings
• State of the art digital hearing aids from Phonak, Unitron and Audina
• Competitively priced hearing aids – financing available
• Cleaning and repair of hearing aids purchased at Eye Surgeons
• Hearing aid batteries

Eye Surgeons Associates Hearing Specialists
To provide you with the best care possible, Eye Surgeons Associates has hired an Audiologist and a Hearing Instrument Specialist to meet your hearing healthcare needs.

Teri Towne, M.S., CCC-A, is a master level trained Audiologist who earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and earned her Master’s degree from Illinois State University. Ms. Towne is a member of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association and a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. 

Bud Towne is a graduate of Illinois Central College and holds National Certification as a Hearing Instrument Specialist. He has over 27 years of expertise within the hearing healthcare industry. His own experience with hearing loss as a young adult led him to begin a professional career in this business.

Both Bud and Teri have worked in and managed their own private practice and are experienced in the testing, fitting and servicing of hearing aids.

“We test your hearing, select and dispense the hearing instrument that best meets your needs, and provide support, counseling and service of the hearing system. Our goal is to make hearing solution recommendations to fit your lifestyle and personal needs.” Teri Towne.

The hearing evaluation
Utilizing state of the art technology, we systematically perform a series of painless tests designed to predict the body’s neurological and mechanical abilities to detect and amplify sound as well as determining your ability to interpret speech. The hearing test time is dependent on the amount of hearing loss and whether or not a hearing aid fitting needs to occur.  We allow 20 minutes for an informational consultation and 1 hour for the full hearing evaluation.

Untreated hearing loss is more noticeable than you might think. When you can’t hear and consistently misunderstand conversations, the changes in your behavior may be far more noticeable than wearing hearing aids. Many people with hearing loss discontinue social activities resulting in isolation and depression.

How do I make an appointment to have my hearing tested?
At times, we can perform your hearing test on the same day as your vision appointment, or you may schedule an appointment by calling Eye Surgeons Associates at (563) 323-2020 and ask for Hearing Services.

Hearing Aids
Digital hearing aids are available from a variety of manufacturers and in all sizes, from behind the ear to completely in-the-canal. We believe in providing the latest technology with personalized care.

In the Ear (ITE)
These hearing aids have all of their components in the outer ear. These are all custom shaped to the patients ear and can be used for mild to profound hearing loss.

• Full Shell: The most visible of the ITE, it also has the ability to provide the greatest amount of volume of any in the ear instrument for patients with severe hearing loss.


• Half Shell: This instrument, though half the size of the full shell, for mild to moderately severe hearing loss, is still visible.


• In the Canal: These models are used for mild to moderate hearing loss and are small and discreet.


• Completely in the Canal: This type of hearing aid is the least visible when worn, may be appropriate for mild to moderately severe hearing loss when seated deeply in the canal.

Behind the Ear (BTE)
The most widely used type of hearing aid, with the BTE the components are worn in a case behind the ear and sound is conducted to a custom ear mold through a plastic tube. Their controls are generally larger and easier to adjust.

Not Your Father’s (BTE) - Open Ear BTE’s
Unlike BTEs which utilize a custom molded earpiece, Open Ear BTEs are small, sleek hearing instruments that attach to ultra-thin, almost invisible tubing and soft, comfortable tips that are inserted into your ears. A common complaint of hearing instrument wearers is the feeling of their ears being plugged up. This is known as occlusion and is caused by the earmold or custom instruments being placed into the ear. By utilizing special tubing and tips, Open Ear BTEs dramatically reduce occlusion by creating a more comfortable listening experience.

Canal Receiver Technology (CRT)
An external receiver provides a smoother frequency response than can be obtained with an acoustic slim tube. Placement of the receiver in the ear canal, provides the fullest access to extended high frequencies. By taking the receiver out of the micro BTE housing and placing it in the ear canal, the Receiver in the Canal or RIC becomes unbelievably small, even with a 312 battery. The tiny case size and transparent wire combine to offer unrivalled cosmetic appeal.

After selecting your hearing aid, our specialists will fit and teach you about your hearing aid. You will know how it works, how to program it, daily cleaning and use, how to manage the batteries and use with a telephone.

Additional Resources

Phonak Corporate Website
www.hear-the-world.com

Hearing Loss Association of America
www.hearingloss.org

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
www.nidcd.nih.gov