by Michi Diller, AuD

Top 4 Self-Service Resources for your Patients

August 12, 2024

Did you know? There are several ways that your patients can get the help they need for common questions without having to wait.

Check out the top 4 most frequently utilized self-service support options and click on the heading to access the resource.

Device Basics: Access how-to videos covering tasks like pairing sound processors with phones or wireless devices. Your patients can also find user guides and manuals here.

Device Support: Explore troubleshooting articles related to common issues such as sound quality or battery life. If their device needs repair, they can use our chat bot to contact Cochlear support.

Recipient Account: Having an account allows patients to check on an order status, view all registered equipment and manage contact information.

Online Store: Place orders for rechargeable batteries, battery chargers, accessories, care products, or even a new sound processor.

Download the brochure below and share with your patients to enhance their Cochlear experience!

FUN5194 ISS1 JAN24 Device Support Resources 4 Download

Interview with the author: Video-Based Aural Rehabilitation Guide: Enhancing Listening and Spoken Language in Children and Adults

October 28, 2019

Introducing the new Video-Based Aural Rehabilitation Guide: Enhancing Listening and Spoken Language in Children and Adults

Interview with Linda Daniel, Author, MS, MA, ABA/CCC-A
LSLS Cert. Auditory-Verbal Therapist, Director of HEAR In Dallas

October 2019

Cochlear: What can you tell us about your new book, Video-Based Aural Rehabilitation Guide: Enhancing Listening and Spoken Language in Children and Adults?

Linda Daniel: This is the first textbook of its kind because it includes over 200 captioned videos that illustrate important concepts and clinical practices pertaining to aural rehabilitation for individuals with hearing loss ranging from infants to older adults. This video-based textbook contains a vast amount of current information that is relevant to the education of undergraduate and graduate students; practicing professionals in audiology, speech-language pathology and education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing; and families who have a person with hearing loss.

Due to the multifaceted aspects aural rehabilitation and the diverse professionals involved in the field, disciplines covered in the book and videos include medicine, human development, audiology, speech-language pathology, cognition, psychology, counseling and education. Current theories and research in best practices in audiology, speech pathology, medicine, and counseling are integrated throughout every chapter. The framework of the book highlights interprofessional collaboration for fostering optimal communication skills and enhanced quality of life for persons with hearing loss.

Cochlear: How do the 200 videos enhance the learning experience? Can you tell us about their creation?

Linda Daniel: Just as in the presentations I gave over my 45-year career, the videos make the information in the textbook immediately applicable to the practice of aural rehabilitation with persons of all ages. The videos feature diverse professionals such as otologists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, Listening and Spoken Language Specialists, educators, administrators, communication partners and even family members as well. They provide the viewer a host of perspectives from professionals and family members from the time of diagnosis of hearing loss through the process of aural rehabilitation in multiple settings. With captions, the videos are accessible to people with all levels of hearing. In this age of multimedia instruction and learning, those who use this book will gain both academic knowledge and clinical management information simultaneously.

Cochlear: How does this book advocate for aural rehabilitation requirements across the hearing and speech professions?

Linda Daniel: Chapter 1 brings to light the bodies of knowledge that are requisite for the AR practitioner to acquire and integrate into practice. Chapters 2-4 focus on the function of and candidacy for hearing aids, cochlear implants and the auditory brainstem implant to assist person’s with hearing loss access the acoustic signal of spoken language. Chapters 5-10 present practical perspectives for facilitating listening and spoken language for young children, options for children with complex factors, fundamentals of assessment, educational supports, pre and post-linguistically deafened adults, counseling, quality of life and advocacy.

Cochlear: Who can benefit from this book?

Linda Daniel: By thoughtful design, this book is highly applicable and useful for otologists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, teachers in regular education and education of the deaf and hard of hearing and families that have a loved one with hearing loss. We intended for it to be valuable for students, professionals and families who want to improve the lives of children and adults with hearing loss.

Cochlear: What topics are covered?

Linda Daniel: Due to the complexity of the field of aural rehabilitation and the heterogeneous population of children and adults with hearing loss, the topics and concepts illustrated in the videos are vast. In addition to information applicable to persons with hearing loss, the topics are presented within the context of family members and communication partners. Chapter titles include:

Overview of Aural Rehabilitation
Hearing Aids and Hearing Assistive Technology Systems
Cochlear Implants for Children and Adults with Hearing Loss
Auditory Brainstem Implants for Children and Adults with Hearing Loss
Intervention After Early Identification of Hearing loss: Listening and Spoken Language Approach
Factors Affecting Intervention and Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss
Educational Supports for Students with Hearing Loss: Primary through Post-Secondary Settings
Aural Rehabilitation for Adults with Hearing Loss
Fundamentals of Assessing Communication Skills in Children and Adults with Hearing Loss
Quality of Life, Counseling, and Advocacy for Children and Adults with Hearing Loss

Cochlear: What inspired the creation of your book? Did your background play a role?

Linda Daniel: I’ve always been intrigued by how a person could have an idea, produce sound with their mouth, then another person could hear the talker’s idea. I knew my calling was to “teach deaf children to talk,” as I had announced to my mom when I was 4 years old. My path led me to study with founders of the LSL field (called Acoupedics and Auditory-Oral in the 1970’s)–Doreen Pollack, Marian Ernst, and Daniel Ling. After having a life-changing experience observing these masters, I began giving presentations and showing the videos of the children from my practice at professional conferences. I learned so much by observing my mentors as they worked with children with hearing loss, I knew that videos would be an incredible supplement to a book.

I wanted to disseminate much of what I’ve learned in my 45-year career. When I met Sneha Bhardwaj, Ph.D., at my poster session at the 2009 American Academy of Audiology (AAA) convention in Dallas, the seeds for this book began to germinate. Knowing her position as a university instructor and her interest in aural rehabilitation, I invited her to observe sessions of Auditory-Verbal Therapy in my practice. After she heard the children speak and demonstrate their listening, language, and cognitive skills, we were convinced that we had to produce a video-based textbook for university students, practicing professionals and families. It took several years to coalesce, and here we are now publishing the first aural rehabilitation textbook with 200 captioned videos.

Cochlear: What excites you the most about this release?

Linda Daniel: The book reflects the personal nature of the aural rehabilitation. While it is a solid academic textbook, it is written with a personal tone, tying the information to practice. This approach weaves the academic information into aural rehabilitation services as the topics unfold through the chapters. There are box-inserts in every chapter to highlight experiences of children, adults, and family members to bring the text to life. Case presentations, with videos, are included at the end of every chapter to give an in-dept look at key concepts of the chapter in a true patient story.

Video-Based Aural Rehabilitation Guide: Enhancing Listening and Spoken Language in Children and Adults, L Daniel and S Bharadwaj, Plural Publishing, San Diego, CA. 2021, release date October 18, 2019.

FDA expedites approval of Cochlear’s Remote Check solution for cochlear implants

April 7, 2020

Amid COVID-19 pandemic, remote healthcare solutions are a priority now more than ever

Centennial, Colo. (April 7, 2020) — Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH), the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, obtained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on April 2 for its Remote Check solution. This approval is the first step in commercializing the product offering, which is anticipated by the end of 2020. Cochlear will immediately begin a controlled market release of Remote Check in the U.S. and Canada by partnering with hearing healthcare providers and hospitals to quickly reach those most in need of audiological care during the COVID-19 pandemic, which supports social distancing by providing an alternative to in-person appointments.

Remote Check is designed to be a convenient, at-home testing tool that allows Cochlear recipients with a Cochlear^™Nucleus^® 7 Sound Processor to complete a series of hearing tests from their compatible iOS device using the Nucleus Smart App.* Results are then sent remotely to the recipient’s clinic for review by their clinician. The clinician can review the results by logging into their myCochlear Clinic professional portal, where they can access a comprehensive overview of their patient’s hearing health. Remote Check is designed to provide a snapshot of a patient’s hearing health so a clinician can quickly determine whether a patient is progressing well, or whether further clinical intervention is required.**

“The FDA’s expedited approval of our Remote Check offering during the COVID-19 crisis underscores that at-home hearing healthcare support needs to be prioritized, more accessible and convenient for patients now more than ever,” said Patricia Trautwein, Au.D., Vice President, Marketing & Product Management, Cochlear Americas. “When elective surgeries become available again after the COVID-19 crisis, clinicians are going to see a wave of patients coming in to seek hearing implant treatment. Having a solution like Remote Check will help clinicians prioritize their case load, so they can reduce unnecessary visits for patients progressing well, spend more quality time with patients who have complex needs, and help more patients seeking initial cochlear implant candidacy assessment.”

For the Cochlear recipient, Remote Check is designed to reduce unnecessary travel burdens to get into their clinic, provide immediate hearing and patient data to their clinician for troubleshooting requests, and provides a convenient, time-saving option for care that does not require travel to the clinic. Using this technology, clinicians will not only be able to provide a more convenient avenue of care, but they can also free up more appointment times to manage the anticipated growth in the hearing implant market.

“Our clinic is eager to provide our patients with more remote servicing opportunities, and we are excited to start using Cochlear’s Remote Check offering,” said Regina Presley, Au.D., FAAA, CCC-A, Senior Cochlear Implant Audiologist, Presbyterian Board of Governors Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence, Greater Baltimore Medical Center. “Many patients travel long distances for in-clinic care, need a caregiver to help get to their appointments, have competing school, personal and professional priorities, so if we can provide at-home service options, we believe they will have a more positive healthcare experience overall. Every patient deserves timely, quality service to get the most from their hearing devices. Remote Check will ensure that patients receive the best care no matter where life and times like this take us.”

A clinician can choose to assign any of the following activities for their patient to complete as part of their Remote Check:

Photographing the implant site and the area behind the ear.
Completing questionnaires to gather information about general health and hearing.
Taking an audiogram test to precisely measure the softest levels heard across a range of frequencies.
Taking a listening-in-noise test to objectively assess hearing ability by identifying three-digit numbers presented in varying levels of background noise.
Impedance Check to assess the performance of the implant.

The full suite of Remote Check activities for patients is designed to be completed in as little as 15 minutes, although it may take longer for some patients and children.¹ Remote Check is designed so that it can be completed at a patient’s own pace. Early pilots of Remote Check in the United Kingdom and New Zealand affirm the need for the service with 87 percent of users stating they were likely to use Remote Check again.²

“Over the last decade, Cochlear has been heavily focused on expanding and improving our digital and remote care services. We’ve brought to market first-of-its-kind solutions, like Remote Check, remote programming, myCochlear Clinic, Cochlear Link and SignHEAR, to help improve clinic efficiency, support a range of clinical practice preferences and provide the best hearing experience for our recipients,” said Tony Manna, President, Cochlear Americas. “During unprecedented times like we’re experiencing right now, we’re proud Cochlear is the leader in providing innovative solutions that allow our clinic partners to continue treating their patients without the need for an in-person appointment, ultimately ensuring our recipients continue to hear and stay connected.”

About Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)

Cochlear is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. The company has a global workforce of more than 4,000 people and invests more than AUD$180 million each year in research and development. Products include cochlear implants, bone conduction implants and acoustic implants, which healthcare professionals use to treat a range of moderate to profound types of hearing loss.

Since 1981, Cochlear has provided more than 600,000 implantable devices, helping people of all ages, in more than 180 countries, to hear.

www.cochlear.com/us

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References

1. Based on internal Cochlear data. Some users may take longer than 15 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively. Data on file.

2. Based on internal Cochlear data. “Remote Check Pilot Evaluation UK & NZ.” Data on file.

* To use Remote Check, a patient requires: latest version of the Nucleus Smart App (Remote Check is part of this App) running on a compatible Apple device (iPhone or iPod Touch); Nucleus 7 Sound Processors with implant models: CI24RE, CI512, CI513, CI522, CI532, CI612, CI622 and CI632; compatible firmware on the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor (4.1.3.3 or later). A clinician requires access to Cochlear’s secure web-based myCochlear.com Professional Portal to access and review patient results. The recommended browser for accessing the Professional Portal is Google Chrome. A clinician also requires Custom Sound 5.1 or later software to upgrade the patient’s firmware to enable access to Remote Check. For sound processor and app compatibility information, visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility.

** Remote Check does not replace clinical care and does not involve remote programming of the sound processor.

Apple, iPhone and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

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