Hearing Aid Styles and Colors - There Are Many!

It is not uncommon that a patient with hearing loss interested in hearing aids mistakenly believe there's only TWO hearing aid styles.

The kind that goes in the ear and the kind that goes behind the ear.

Although that is true, there are more different variations of both types that catches many people by surprise.

Image taken from NIH

There also seems to be a generational gap in what style is preferred by patients.

"Older" folks in their 60's or older prefer the styles that go in the ear, mostly because of the stigma associated with hearing loss and use of a hearing aid that reinforces and reminds them of their age. Also, because they remember the large skin-toned BTE that used to be the only option.

The "younger" generation typically prefer the min-BTE that go behind the ear. It probably helps that so many people use wireless bluetooth earpieces almost like a status symbol.

Beyond where hearing aids go, they now come in different colors and patterns for further personalization! Skin-tone is no longer the only color option.

Northern Virginia Balloon Sinuplasty for Chronic Sinusitis

In the past month, local residents of Northern Virginia may have received a magazine newsletter from Prince William Hospital (Manassas, Virginia) that contained a feature story about sinus surgery and about balloon sinuplasty specifically.

It was a great story about how far sinus surgery has come compared to even just 5-10 years ago and the great patient experiences under otolaryngologist Dr. Gardner is not uncommon now.

A few key features of sinus surgery of the 21st century:

• Nasal packing rarely occurs

• Most patients are surprised by how little pain there is

• No facial swelling or bruising... your best friend won't be able to tell you just had sinus surgery

• Fast recovery

• No incisions on the face or in the mouth

• GPS-like image guidance to make sinus surgery even safer is available
• In select patients, can even be performed in the office without sedation using local anesthesia only

Balloon sinuplasty is a relatively new innovation that allows sinus surgery to even be performed even more comfortably in the office without any sedation (not all patients are candidates).

Such advanced sinus surgery techniques have been available at Fauquier ENT since 2005.

Read more about sinus surgery and balloon sinuplasty.

Source:

Balloon Sinuplasty. Perspectives Winter 2011 Pages 2-3.

ENT Position Available With Our Practice

Our practice is looking for a board-eligible or board-certified otolaryngology-head & neck surgeon sometime in 2013-2014 time frame with guaranteed income that first year followed by partnership.

We are located in Northern Virginia about 45 minutes directly west of downtown Washington DC and is run by Dr. Chang in solo practice. The practice itself is located on hospital grounds situated in the lovely tree-lined rural city of Warrenton, VA where one can even see the Appalachian mountains from our office. Many city amenities are available within a short 15 minute drive but without the traffic and hassle of big-city congestion.

Interest in general otolaryngology is a must with sub-specialty interest even better. Some facts that may be of interest:

• Full-service ENT office with audiology, hearing aids, allergy testing, and allergy shots
• Near-monopoly services in terms of ENT and allergy in the region. 1 of only 2 otolaryngologists in the county… no otolaryngology services in counties to the West. 1 of only 4 allergists in the county 
• Office fully on electronic medical records
• Office on hospital campus (one office and no satellite offices to cover)
• Hospital and Radiology fully on electronic medical records & PACS, all accessible via iPhone and iPad
• BrainLAB image guidance available
• Office will be moving to a brand new medical office building (still on-campus) in near future with in-house ambulatory surgery center. Ownership opportunity available for both.
• Aggressive social media participation
• Semi-rural, small-town environment
• Call would be 1:3 (with calls rarely occurring after hours)

If there's any interest, please call or email!

For more information about our practice, check out our practice website!

Please note...

We will not deal with recruiters.