Provided to Treasure Valley Hearing & Balance by patient Maggie Galt.

The Summer of Hope is a faith-based Christian organization that brings school aged orphans from other countries to the United States for a 4-week vacation.  The children get exposed to potential adopting families before returning to their home countries to await a possible legal adoption.  While here, they receive medical attention, mentoring, and often stay connected with the people they meet for life.

For more information about the program visit SummerofHope.org.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Definition of a Sound Void™ (noun):

1. A moment lacking clarity in hearing or understanding.

2. An empty space in one’s life caused by the absence of sound clarity.

Do you often hear people talking but simply have difficulty understanding them?

Do you sometimes struggle to hear clearly in background noise?

Do you occasionally have trouble following the conversation in small groups?

Do you find it challenging to explain your hearing situation to others?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be experiencing the perception of “Sound Voids.” The term “Sound Void” was created by AudigyCertified™ professionals to help explain the “gaps” that some individuals say they experience in their day-to-day listening lives. Sound Voids usually occur in specific listening situations where an individual’s hearing loss does not permit them to detect or understand important sounds and speech cues. Individuals often find that Sound Voids result in tiring, frustrating, and embarrassing situations. However you experience them—whether they happen during precious moments with your grandchildren, critical conversations in the workplace, or in simple everyday interactions—

Sound Voids can detract from your ability to live your life to its fullest. AudigyCertified professionals have the experience, training, and advanced technology to provide you with the best possible hearing care solutions.

So, you think you might be experiencing Sound Voids™, what do you do next?

Treasure Valley Hearing & Balance and Audigy Group members have worked very hard to create a process and an environment in which you feel comfortable, learn about your hearing loss, understand your options and have the opportunity to make an informed decision about your communication needs.

Step 1: Schedule an appointment with your local Audigy Certified Hearing Clinic.

When you call Treasure Valley Hearing, our schedule coordinator will work with you to find a convenient appointment day and time in one of our clinics for you. It is critical that you bring a loved one or friend with you whose voice is very familiar to you. That person’s voice will be used in part of our testing.

Step 2: Arrive a few minutes early for your appointment.

You will be given some paperwork to complete. Your companion will also be given a form to complete in which he/she will give their thoughts about your hearing loss.

Step 3: Time with your Hearing Care Provider.

During this appointment, your provider will conduct an interview in which he or she will gain an understanding of the environments in which you are experiencing your difficulties. We feel it is critical that your spouse or other loved one be involved in this process as they may be observing things you are not aware of. We bring them in to the discussion and use their voice during some of the testing.

Next, your provider will take a look in your ears to insure that a wax blockage or something similar isn’t the issue. From there, a hearing evaluation will be performed and then the results will be discussed with you.

If hearing devices are recommended, your provider will present multiple options for you and discuss the pros and cons of each. If you have never worn hearing devices before you will be placed on a rehabilitation program in which you will be given specific instructions as to how to wear the hearing devices and in what kinds of environments over an initial 45 day period. Just as a bright light might hurt your eyes when they have been in the dark for some time, the noisy world around us can be just as bright! It takes time to learn to adapt to the world around us.

To understand more about our process and what you can expect when you come in to one of our clinics for an evaluation, you can watch an education video on our website at www.treasurevalleyhearing.com. This short video will outline the process you will experience when you come to one of our clinics in search of better hearing.  If you still have questions, do not hesitate to give us a call, 1-800-726-1019 or 208-377-0019 or email us at info@treasurevalleyhearing.com.



Hear that "Ping" of the Good Drive

The connection between hearing and golf has been well documented.  All the major manufacturers from Callaway to TaylorMade to Cleveland Golf to Ping (and more) have usability labs whereby they conduct studies on their clubs’ ability to produce that wonderful sound.  They understand that sound is one of the most important factors in the likability of their clubs.  As testament to the sound/club connection is the fact that Ping got its name from that notorious tone.

In 2005, Golf Digest’s June issue was all about “Feel” in golf.  They highlight many of the aforementioned studies.  One in particular had scratch golfers hit two types of balls.  One was a wound ball, the other a two piece ball.  The golfers hit the balls as though they would on the course.  They were then asked to identify which ball type they hit.  Secondly, they were asked to hit the balls with headphones on.  In both cases, the golfers could correctly identify which ball they hit.  But to identify how important hearing was, the golfers were asked to hit the balls with headphones again.  This time the headphones were filled with the opposite sounds of the balls.  The golfers incorrectly identified the ball 100% of the time, signifying that the sound was the reason they knew which ball was hit.

Golf Digest points out that many national golf instructors today are focusing more on teaching their students to aim for that perfect sound coming off the club as opposed to always focusing on the technical particulars of the golf swing.

Men's Burner

Ladies Burner

In honor of the connection between better golf and better hearing, we are running a campaign through July 15 whereby you can trade-in, trade-up or purchase hearing devices from us for the first time and receive $500, PLUS free, the latest TaylorMade Burner SuperFast Driver (men’s or ladies) with the purchase of a two-device AGX9 hearing system.  If you can’t use the Burner, we are sure you know someone who can.  According to our source, this is the  most popular driver on the market today and is a very forgiving club.  You will get the latest in technology as we are offering you the 2009 model.

If you already own the Burner, perhaps you would like to play golf on us?  We are featuring several courses in the Treasure Valley:  Centennial, Purple Sage, Ridgecrest Golf Club, Falcon Crest Golf Club, BanBury Golf Club, Shadow Valley, Plantation Country Club.  Just tell us your pick and you’ll get $500 off PLUS we’ll purchase you a free round once you purchase either an AGX9 or AGX7 two-device system.

You can’t combine the Burner and the Golf Round.  But aren’t you excited to start playing your golf better?  If so, visit our website, call us 208-377-0019 or 800-726-1019 or drop into one of our clinics:  Boise or Nampa, or email us at info@treasurevalleyhearing.com.

If you aren’t yet a patient of ours but need your current aids cleaned and/or checked, drop into one of our clinics and get that done while you wait.  We’ll offer your a free sleeve of golf balls or one package of batteries if you do.

These are limited-time offerings.  So make your move now!

If you would like to see a flier we created on this promotion, email me at selcox@msn.com and I will be glad to forward it.

Speech Guard
Only AGX9 offers the ability to follow conversations so naturally and immediately. The device works in harmony with your brain to recognize natural speech tunes and keep competing noise or voices from distracting you, giving you a sense of quiet clarity.

Connect Plus
Enjoy the full breadth and range of music when you stream through any Bluetooth® device.

Nearly Invisible
Today’s devices are so small, neither the wearer nor an observer can hardly tell they are on. But if you want to flaunt that you are wearing them, choose a broad array of beautiful colors, mauve, blue, purple, sunset orange, wine red.

Pick a color to match your hair or skin. Or if you choose to be so bold, have fun and wear your device like an accessory.

For more information about our solutions, visit http://treasurevalleyhearing.com/audigy-technology-levels.php

Custom Earplugs

Whether your issue is noise from the sound of the engines or wind-shutter, we have protection for you.  For some, there may be a concern that too much protection means they won’t hear important sounds such as an approaching siren or a honking horn.  For this situation, we recommend our filtered earpieces.  They provide a dB reduction of 21 and protect mostly in the mid to high frequencies, allowing greater environmental awareness and a safer riding experience.  And they can be worn comfortably under a helmet.

For other bikers, the biggest concern is wind noise, which can swirl in the ears and create unpleasant turbulence.  You guessed it!  We’ve got a plug for that too.  Scooped and hollowed-out for comfort, they can be comfortably worn under a helmet.  While not rated for attenuation, they do provide a moderate degree of protection, particularly in the high frequencies.

Custom iPod Earpieces

I spend a lot of my time listening to my IPod™ but the little earbuds start to hurt after awhile. They are not very comfortable and when I go running they actually fall out and I am constantly repositioning them!

The truth is, “bud” styles allow so much noise from the environment to enter your ears and the sound that you want to hear bleeds out into the cosmos that you turn the volume even higher to combat that noise.  Studies have shown that “bud” wearers typically turn their MP3 players up to 120dB, safe to your ears for just seconds.   But with custom-made plugs that can be used on either your IPod™ (or other MP3 player) or your cell phone, users tend to leave the volume much lower, a safer volume of 80-85dB.  With these plugs it is safe to wear your headphones for hours.

Custom Ear Plugs

I love the pool.  Diving.  Splashing.  Dunkin’ girls.  I’d stay in ’til I was shivery, purple and wrinkled.  But water in my ears?  No thanks!  Not since I had tubes put in my ears!  I am listening – to my mom.  And protecting my ears with AquaNots – custom swim plugs.  AND THEY FLOAT!!! Not only that, I can get them in any color I can imagine, including swirls and glitter and even glow in the dark!

While designed for swimming or showering to prevent moisture from entering the ear canal, they also provide superb all-around noise reduction.  They float and have integral finger grips for easy removal.

These plugs are made for sudden-noise environments.  A filter instantaneously closes when damaging noise levels are reached.  Allows essentially normal hearing at all other times.