Beltone Ormond Beach implements technology for remote hearing aid adjustments

Ormond Beach Observer
Business

Dealing with hearing loss, no matter the patient's age, can prove difficult, but a local company has implemented technology to make their clients life a little simpler.

Beltone Ormond Beach launched remote telehealth technology for hearing aid adjustments during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning their patients — most of whom are elderly — could have their hearing modified from home or wherever they found they were having issues, including out of state. The Beltone office in Palm Coast also offers this technology.

"It was something that worked really well and continues to work well," said Matt Jones, hearing instrument specialist with Beltone. "A lot of times when patients have problems, they come into the office and they don't experience the same problems that they're having at home because their environment has now changed."

Matt Jones, hearing instrument specialist with Beltone. Courtesy photo

When patients are first fit with hearing aids, a period of acclimatization ensues, where specialists like Jones are tweaking the patients' prescriptive formulas to restore hearing gradually, as doing it all at once can be overwhelming for the patient, he explained. The remote adjustment process removes the patient's need to come to the office five times over the first three months.

The adjustment is conducted via video call using an app on the patient's phone. Other hearing aid companies also offer this technology.

"There are some situations and circumstances where the patient is still going to need to come in, depending on the severity of the hearing loss, but I would say for the overwhelming majority of people, they can use the telehealth feature," Jones said.

Jones said anyone 60 or older should get their hearing tested annually.

"Today's hearing aids are really equipped with just as much technology as some of the smartphones that we use and the computers," Jones said. "They are really in tune with the generation that we have currently when it comes to technology. They're right in line with all of the other devices and everything else that we use on a day to day basis."