I enclose a letter that addresses this very important subject:
Robert Bishton <upstatehearingloops@...>Thu, Jan 21, 2021 at 4:51 PMTo: carolyn@...
Dear Carolyn,
I have been a Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialist for nearly 30 years as well as a hearing loop installer for the past couple of years, I feel our biggest obstacle right now is this:
We have hearing aid manufacturers designing rechargeable RIC hearing aids w/o t-coils, nearly all of them. In 2019nearly 80% of all hearing aids dispensed were RICs and the vast majority of them rechargeable as well.
For those that don't know, a RIC product is the popular small BTE model that has just the small wire with a dome that goes into the auditory canal. Some are dispensed with a mold for better fit and more gain. A standard BTE with a tube which is generally larger and more noticeable are much more likely to be available in rechargeable models but not always.
The problem is this... we have audiologists and hearing instrument specialists nationwide who simply are not addressing the t-coil when discussing options with their patients. The patients want rechargeable and instruments that are not noticeable. That's the RIC product.
In New York State as well as Florida, Arizona, Rhode Island, Utah and Delaware it is mandatory by law that we as dispensers discuss the t-coil and it's benefits prior to ordering hearing aids for patients. Several others are involved in legislation to include the discussion of t-coils when ordering hearing aids.
We need to band together and write to all the hearing aid manufacturers and lobby to have
t-coils built in to all rechargeable RIC products moving forward. Perhaps some of your members have the time to delve into this to see who we should write to at each manufacturer.
I have attached a link to a letter I submitted to Hearing Review in March of 2019.
Letter
Yours truly,Robert Bishton, BC-HIS
Upstate Hearing Loops
315-941-0238
upstatehearingloops@gmail
https://www.upstatehearingloops.com
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Carolyn J. Odio
(703) 725-8292 iPhone/Text
Residence: 1835 Circle LN SE, Apt 425, Lacey, WA 98503
