1. Healthcare

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JANUARY 2015
COMPLETE HEARING HEALTH CARE
COMPLETE HEARING HEALTH CARE
Helen’s story
Helen Court, one of our senior Audiologists practising on the Sunshine Coast, is no stranger to the joy of helping clients to
hear with cochlear implants. Having “switched on” many clients’ cochlear implants over the last 18 years she feels lucky to
have been able to share in the joy of clients hearing new sounds and becoming part of the hearing world again. In 1999 she
was flown to Pakistan to perform the country’s first implant switch on and has continued to have a passion for implantation.
What many clients don’t realise is that Helen herself has a hearing loss in her left ear after being diagnosed with Meniere’s
disease in her twenties. This year she decided to undergo implantation in her left ear, and in November 2014 “switched on”
her own cochlear implant. She noticed an immediate reduction in her tinnitus and for the first time in twenty years got to
experience silence again.
In terms of her hearing, she is delighted to report that she can now hear people on her left side and no longer ignores people
when they talk on that side. “I love having a sensation of sound in my left ear. It somehow makes me feel more balanced and
without it everything sounds dull and empty. I hate taking
my cochlear implant off”, she states. It’s certainly making
life easier hearing her children in the car and she put her
localisation skills (telling where sounds are coming from)
to the test on her recent Christmas holiday snowboarding
in Japan. Wearing the cochlear aqua pouches it’s already
had a good work out at the beach and Helen reports now
being able to hear much better when sailing.
“It really is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I
can’t believe how easy the surgery was to cope with
thanks to Dr. Chris Que Hee and how quickly I’ve been
able to adapt”.
Neurosensory and its team of implant specialists are
looking forward to working with many more clients with
single sided deafness and those who are still struggling
to understand speech, despite hearing aids, in 2015.
AUDITORY FATIGUE AND OTICON’S “BRAINHEARING”:
Over the last 35 years, Neurosensory has been at the forefront of advances
in hearing technology. In that time we have seen amazing improvements
in hearing aids. Despite these advances, people still often report trouble
hearing in certain situations, particularly when having to listen for a long
time. This is called Auditory Fatigue.
Nina Quinn
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New clinics
02
New ENTs
02
No commissions paid
03
Understanding APD
04
Helen’s story
“BrainHearing”
Oticon offer
About Neurosensory
• Guaranteed standard for
testing in hearing care.
• High quality reports
- enable GPs to make
accurate diagnoses.
• No commissions paid
to staff
Due to the successful results that we have seen with Oticon’s “Brain
Hearing”, Neurosensory are offering our valued clients the opportunity
to trial this technology across all of our clinics. If you would like to see if
this new technology could help you to hear better for longer, please call
Neurosensory on 1300 965 513 to book in your trial appointment.
• Over 35 years supporting
the medical community.
For a limited time get a 20% discount on Alta Pro + 12 months of audiological services and a 4 year warranty.
Orders to be placed by 31st March 2015.
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CEO Update
• Proudly owned by 39
ENT surgeons.
Since late 2014, Neurosensory clinics have been trialling a new system
from hearing aid maker Oticon, called Brain Hearing. The Brain Hearing
approach has been shown to reduce the listening effort and Auditory
Fatigue, in some users.
Neurosensory
01
04
Helen and her family in Japan
If you no longer wish to receive Neurosensory
Newsletters, please email us at [email protected]
or call us on 1300 965 513.
As another new year begins, I make a resolution to not leave everything
I intend to do in 2015 to December! All of Neurosensory’s clinics were
extremely busy in December 2014, helping people to hear better for their
upcoming family and friend events. So if you, or someone you love, was
having trouble hearing over Christmas this year, don’t put it off any longer,
come and find out what your options are.
In This Issue
1300 965 513
www.nsu.com.au
Follow us on Twitter
@Neurosensory1
At Neurosensory you are guaranteed unbiased, independent, objective clinical
advice. Unlike the majority of the industry, Neurosensory does not provide
commissions or financial incentives to our staff for fitting hearing aids, and we
are completely independent of hearing aid companies, enabling you to receive
the most suitable technology, which is selected to help you. Recently ABC
National broadcast a program which was detailing the commission structure
U p d a t e in place for most of the audiology industry. Also that approximately 1/3 of
clinics in Australia are owned by hearing aid companies. Neurosensory is
extremely proud of its independence from hearing aid companies and its clinical ethical stance on
commissions. Neurosensory is owned by 39 ENT surgeons who set up Neurosensory to ensure
their patients get the best clinical, objective advice possible. Read about our four most recent ENT
surgeons to join the Neurosensory group on page 2.
CEO
In November 2014 Neurosensory had a very special event, with our first ever staff member, Senior
Audiologist Helen Court, being implanted with a Cochlear Implant, by one of our ENT surgeons,
Dr Chris Que Hee. Read about her story on page 4. Cochlear Implants and other implantable
technologies may be an option for you or someone in your family. We are happy to provide you
with an information pack.
I am looking forward to another exciting year in 2015. Thank you for trusting Neurosensory to help
with your hearing needs.
Regards,
Nina Quinn
NEW CLINICS
In September 2014, Neurosensory purchased the
Hearing and Balance Centre located in Sydney St
Vincent’s Hospital and also opened a new clinic in
Darlinghurst. The Hearing and Balance Centre was
initially established in 1994 in the Sydney St Vincent’s
Hospital, and since this time the centre has built an
excellent reputation for providing a range of advanced
audiological services to its clients. We look forward to
A NEUROSENSORY CLINIC
continuing to provide these comprehensive services
and will also offer additional services including paediatric hearing tests from 9 months of age. Our
Sydney clinics telephone number is 1300 134 327.
We are proud to welcome two renowned Sydney Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeons, Dr Nigel
Biggs and Dr Sean Flanagan as partners with Neurosensory. We have opened our new Darlinghurst
clinic in Dr Flanagan’s clinic at Burton Street.
On 19 February 2015, we will be opening a new clinic in Sunnybank, located at the McCullough
Centre which is within the Sunnybank Private Hospital campus. This clinic will offer our
comprehensive range of diagnostic tests and the latest in hearing solutions. The Sunnybank clinic
will be co-located with ENT surgeon, Dr Andrew Chang.
Dr Chang and team look forward to welcoming you to our new Sunnybank clinic. Appointments
can be booked by calling us on 1300 965 513.
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COMPLETE HEARING HEALTH CARE
Welcome to our new ENTs
Neurosensory is owned by ENT surgeons, which provides our clients with the security that all assessments are reviewed by one
of our surgeons, providing a medical consideration of your ear health. Neurosensory’s ENT surgeons are committed to ethical
best practice audiology which includes a strong research and development focus. In addition, if you require ENT care, you will
be provided with priority access to one of our surgeons.
Neurosensory now have 39 Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon partners, and warmly
welcome the following new ENTs:
Dr Matthew Cronin is located in the ENT Clinics Pindara at Benowa. He is co-located
with Drs Dowthwaite, Robinson and Hallam. He graduated from the University of
Queensland and completed his surgical training in ENT and head and neck in 2012. Dr
Cronin then went to London and completed a fellowship in head and neck, furthering
his sub specialities in head and neck oncology, thyroid surgery, paediatrics and voice
disorders.
An Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is when the brain doesn’t correctly make sense of the sounds it
hears. A child with APD can usually understand directions when said in a quiet room, but will often have
trouble hearing in noisier places.
About 3% of Australian children suffer from APD. Boys are two times more likely to suffer from ADP than girls. While
the signs of APD can be noticed from early on, it isn’t until 7 years of age that accurately diagnosing APD becomes
possible.
Dr Andrew Chang will be co-located at our new Sunnybank clinic which will be located at
the Sunnybank McCullough Centre. He also graduated from the University of Queensland
and also completed his surgical training in 2012. Dr Chang went to Cambridge to complete
his fellowship, furthering his sub-speciality of otology. He has a special interest in dizziness
and implantables. If your child is showing some signs of APD, accurate diagnosis and management of the condition will give your child a
better chance to learn and experience childhood to the fullest.
Dr Nigel Biggs is located in the Sydney St Vincent’s Clinic and is the Chairman of the
ENT department of Sydney St Vincent’s Hospital. He graduated from the University of
Queensland. Dr Biggs completed his fellowships in the United Kingdom and Sydney,
furthering his sub-specialty in Neuro-otology and skull base surgery. He has extensive
experience in cochlear implantations.
Dr Sean Flanagan currently practices in Darlinghurst at the Sydney Ear Nose & Throat
Clinic, as well as in Miranda and Wollongong. He graduated from the University of Sydney
and completed his fellowships in Italy and Sydney, furthering his sub-specialty in Neurootology and skull base surgery and paediatrics. He has extensive experience in cochlear
implantations. We have opened a new Hearing and Balance Centre clinic at his clinic at
Burton Street, Darlinghurst.
UNDERSTANDING
AUDITORY
PROCESSING
DISORDER (APD)
Signs and symptoms of APD
Your child might be suffering from APD if you notice any of the following signs:
From top to bottom:
Dr Matthew Cronin, Dr Andrew Chang,
Dr Nigel Biggs & Dr Sean Flanagan.
No commission paid on hearing aid sales
Late last year, ABC Radio National had a segment about the hearing aid industry which you may have heard. The segment
was primarily focussed on commissions and incentives paid to audiologists for hearing aid sales. It also touched on the large
number of clinics owned by manufacturers.
We wanted to share with you, where Neurosensory is positioned with these comments.
Neurosensory is independent from manufacturers and doesn’t pay commissions on hearing aid sales.
We have always had a very firm commitment from the owners and management of Neurosensory that paying commissions
is not in the best interest of our clients. We are dedicated to the highest standards of hearing health care. Our individually
tailored hearing solution programs are selected only on the genuine need of the client. We are passionate about improving
your quality of life and we like to ensure that every client is completely satisfied with the unique Neurosensory hearing health
care service. Our audiologists only recommend hearing aids where they believe the client will benefit from wearing them.
• Poor listening skills in noisy places.
• Difficulties following directions.
• Reading or spelling problems.
• Not understanding what they are meant to do.
• Being forgetful and disorganized.
• Not performing well in the classroom.
• Easily distracted or fatigued at school.
What causes APD?
Ideally, the brain should easily make sense of sounds we hear. As words are spoken, a child with normal auditory
processing skills can effectively separate the speech from the noise, fill in any bits that they miss, and make sense of
what the sentences mean. A child with APD struggles with these tasks. This can make it more difficult to learn in a
normal class setting.
The causes of APD are difficult to pinpoint. It is most likely due to various areas in the brain’s sound processing system
not developing correctly. Children with ear infections throughout their early years can often be at a greater risk of
having APD. The first step in testing a child for APD is a hearing test. We need to rule out any hearing loss. After the
child’s hearing levels are established, the more complex Auditory Processing skills can be assessed.
Assessment with a hearing health professional
A full Auditory Processing assessment will take up to 2 hours. Several tests are completed to assess your child on a
range of listening skills. Each skill helps us to successfully make sense of sound. The test results will tell us which skills
your child can utilise appropriately and the skills they have trouble with. The comprehensive report will also provide you,
and your child’s school, with recommendations to manage any difficulties your child may be having.
If you think your child has APD or is showing some symptoms of APD, call Neurosensory on
1300 965 513 to schedule an auditory processing assessment. Don’t let APD hinder your child’s
growth and development.
Neurosensory
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