Hey there,
As we approach the end of the year, now is a great time to check your insurance plan to see if it will change in 2021.
This is because insurance companies can make new benefits available around this time, and it’s important to know how you can get the most out of these.
With this in mind, we’re happy to announce that Preferred Hearing Centers recently became “in-network” providers for more plans than ever.
This is great news for both our new and existing patients.
What Is An “In-Network” Provider?
An “in-network” provider has an agreement with an insurance company to serve patients who have one of its plans.
This helps you save money, as “in-network” providers offer benefits to their patients that don’t exceed the pre-defined limits of their plan
On the contrary, if you went to an “out-of-network” provider,” you’d likely have to pay the full price of a treatment or the costs that exceed the maximum amount of your coverage.
With our new agreements in place, we’re able to accept nearly all insurance plans that offer a hearing aid benefit – helping more people than ever before to improve their quality of life.
If you’re unsure about what your plan covers, give us a call at (407) 668-4546 (East Orlando), (407) 855-9799 (South Orlando), or (407) 637-5891 (Winter Springs), and we’ll help you find out more!
Updates from The Office
We hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving, even if it is a little different to last year’s festivities.
Mark and Brenda Johnson can’t wait for their annual family camping trip to Brooksville, Florida – which is always a highlight of the year!
But just to let you know, all three of the centers will be closed on November 26. The team will be ready to help you the next day, Friday, November 27, however.
New hearing technology continues to impress us. Data shows that state-of-the-art hearing aid chips can process over 552 million automatic operations per second. Now that’s something!
In team news, two of our hearing aid specialists, Iris Lazo and Alison Brooks, have birthdays in November. We hope they both have wonderful days!
And finally, Mark and Brenda’s 12-year-old grandson, Andrew, demonstrated his skill as a fisherman recently after catching a 4.5 lb largemouth bass in our community lake!
We’re hoping that he adds to his impressive haul in the weeks and years to come.
Six Great Tips to Help Hearing Aid Users When Wearing Face Masks
Face masks are helping to stop the spread of the virus. But as I’m sure you’re aware, they also create issues for hearing aid wearers – especially in regard to communication.
However, Consumer Reports recently published a fantastic article, which offers advice for those looking to improve their ability to talk with others.
They suggest that hearing aid wearers:
1. Ask people to speak slowly and clearly – this is far more effective than when someone raises their voice and fails to enunciate their sentences.
2. Stand face to face when talking – as long as you remain six feet apart, experts suggest eye contact can make a big difference during conversations.
3. Find the right mask – clear face masks are useful for lip reading, but research has also shown that cloth and surgical masks can make sounds easier to interpret.
4. Adjust your devices – hearing aids can be altered to help with these interactions; feel free to give us a call at the office if you want assistance with this!
5. Try out a transcription app – these days, there are smartphone apps, such as Dragon or Google Live, that will reproduce speech for you to read back.
6. Make meetings virtual – many hearing aids let you stream sounds via your smartphone, tablet, or computer, so this is a great way to stay in touch with others.
Patient Resources
YOUR LOVED ONE CAN HEAR AGAIN: WHAT NOW?
If your loved one is one of the over 3 million Americans that have purchased a new hearing aid this year, you should be ready to support them during this adjustment period…
A THIRD OF OVER FIFTIES COULD HAVE UNDIAGNOSED HEARING LOSS
New research suggests that a third of people over fifty have a hearing loss without realizing it. Find out what some of the common symptoms are with this article…
Have a question or need help? We’re here for you!
Call us at
(407) 499-8328 (East Orlando, FL),
(407) 329-9486 (South Orlando, FL),
(407) 942-7715 (Winter Springs, FL).
(407) 329-9486 (South Orlando, FL),
(407) 942-7715 (Winter Springs, FL).
The team at Preferred Hearing Centers
