How our clients can choose the most convenient access to hearing care

A virtual service helps Heather avoid hours of travel to consultancy appointments for her hearing loss. As a resident of New Zealand’s North Island, where distances to healthcare providers can be long, she can take advantage of highly convenient hearing health care provided remotely.

“Are you deaf or something?” Not only did Heather Shermann, compassionate Administrator at Kawhia School in New Zealand, have to deal with questions like these from her colleagues. In fact, she could hardly catch what they were saying, her access to the children was limited, she couldn’t hear bird sounds or the rain on the roof, and television was getting quieter…

Heather sought counseling at Triton Hearing and received a hearing aid that allowed her to reconnect with the world she loved. However, with long travel distances, visits to the clinician were time-consuming. “Going back and forward from Kawhia to Hamilton was an hour and a quarter,” she recalls. However, this journey is not necessary as frequently anymore, because Triton’s Virtual Hearing Care service that makes hearing health care accessible to all – no matter where they are. 

Meeting our clients at their happy place 

At Sonova, we believe that people with hearing loss should be able to choose the way they receive their hearing health care – whether in a clinic or from the comfort of home or work. We meet our clients wherever they are. In 2017, Triton Hearing became the world’s first company to offer a full-service virtual hearing care practice that revolutionized the cost and ease of access to audiologists by connecting TeleAudiology specialists with clients – thechallenge of distance was eliminated. Communication technology enables remote consultations and the delivery of audiological services even if the client and audiologist are hundreds of kilometers apart.

Through a mobile app, clients can use their smartphone to act as a gateway to allow the Virtual Care audiologist to remotely adjust their hearing aids in real-time. After a telephone conversation with a hearing expert to confirm the order, the hearing aids are delivered directly to the client’s home. Once received and fitted, the hearing care professionals perform a virtual hearing aid fitting with in-clinic follow-up appointments to ensure the device is correctly adjusted. 

The beauty of Virtual Care is choice 

Family or caregivers of clients who are unable to attend in-clinic appointments due to health or mobility reasons, also benefit from Virtual Care. These clients rely on their loved ones and caregivers to act as the conduit to be able to use their smartphones and technology to assist in the “appointment”. They feel empowered to actively support their loved one in the comfort of the client’s home. 

Virtual Care has allowed Heather to spend more time with the people she cares about. “It’s just wonderful to be able to interact with the teachers and the children. I love the children. I just love going to work. I love that I can hear better!”