Can You Hear What I Hear?

Audiologists, Jody Pianin, Au.D, and Alyson Hoffman, Sc.D., CCC-A, understand these negative impacts, and they are devoted to restoring quality of life through better hearing for their patients. As Doctors of Audiology, Dr. Pianin and Dr. Hoffman are experts in the diagnosis and management of hearing problems. They begin by performing comprehensive hearing testing with state-of-the-art equipment in both their Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills offices, all in a warm and caring environment.

After proper testing, they will decide what route to take next. Sometimes the hearing loss is medically treatable, and if so, they will make the appropriate referral for treatment. But if the hearing loss is permanent, they use their expertise to find a solution that is individualized for each patient. “We have hearing aids to fulfill every hearing loss, lifestyle and budget,” Dr. Pianin said. “We don’t want people to be limited on the options they have.”

Dr. Pianin and Dr. Hoffman will not settle for anything but a patient’s complete satisfaction, so all new hearing aid fittings have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. Many of the hearing aids available have a 4-year repair warranty, so patients can be reassured of their quality. They also offer hearing aid repair service for all makes and models, regardless of where the hearing aid was purchased, as well as hearing aid accessories like batteries, drying units, cleaning sprays and battery testers. In addition, they provide some hearing loss preventatives such as custom hearing protection, swim plugs, musician’s earplugs, hunter’s plugs and other specialty molds.

They have ear equipment for just about any scenario. “We even offer products from Westone including musicians' custom in-ear monitors and high quality earphones for iPods,” said Dr. Pianin. “Once your hearing is gone, it’s not coming back,” said Dr. Pianin. “It is so important for people to get checked because they might not even know they have hearing loss because they’ve just subconsciously adjusted,” she said. Fortunately, there are convenient methods to fix these problems.

Dr. Hoffman stresses that even teenagers should be aware that “one out of five teens suffers from hearing loss,” and as time moves on, the statistics are rising.

How do I know if I need to see an Audiologist?

Hearing Checklist: If you answer "yes" to any of the questions below, we encourage you to contact our office to schedule a hearing test with one of our Doctors of Audiology.

• I have a problem hearing over the telephone
• I have trouble following the conversation when two or more people are talking at the same time
• I have trouble understanding things on TV
• I have to strain to understand conversations
• I have trouble hearing conversations in a noisy background such as crowded room or restaurant
• I get confused about where sounds come from
• I misunderstand some words in a sentence and need to ask people to repeat themselves
• I especially have trouble understanding the speech of women and children
• I have trouble understanding the speaker in a large room such as at a meeting or place of worship
• Many people I talk to seem to mumble(or don’t speak clearly)
• People get annoyed because I misunderstand what they say
• I misunderstand what others are saying and make inappropriate  responses
• I avoid social activities because I cannot hear well and fear I will reply improperly
• Family members and friends have told me they think I may have hearing loss

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