How to Help Prevent Alzheimer's and Dementia... There is Hope!

About 20 years ago, we noticed that my grandfather was beginning to forget things.  Simple things at first... where he put his car keys or walking into a room and wondering why he was there.  I am sure, no matter the age, we have all done this.  But, progressively, his absentmindedness became more noticeable.  In 2000 he was finally diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It was a very slow physical decline for him, as he had suffered very little illness and had always taken care of himself. Mentally, however, the decline happened rapidly. For my family, it was incredibly painful to watch this amazing, vibrant, wise, smart, kind, and intelligent man become a shadow of himself.  At the same time, his care put a tremendous amount of pressure on my elderly grandmother and Aunt, who became his full-time caregivers.  It is something he would never have wished on them... To feed him, help him to the toilet, dress him... To do for him all of his normal daily functions that he could no longer do for himself. It would have been nothing of how he wanted his family to remember him. Finally, in 2013, he lost his long fought battle with the disease and as much as my family misses his presence, we are heartened knowing that he is finally at peace.

Why am I telling this sad story? What does that have to do with Sage Hearing Solutions, you ask? My reasoning is this... because I feel convicted to share reputable research, released by Johns Hopkins, linking hearing loss with Alzheimer's and dementia. (http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hearing_loss_and_dementia_linked_in_study). Lets face it... these cognitive diseases will affect each of us, either personally or they will touch someone in our family.  If I were to tell you that you could do something as simple as having your hearing, or the hearing of a loved one, tested for loss and that THAT preventative care may delay the onset and could even prevent, all together, Alzheimer's and dementia, wouldn't you jump at the opportunity?!  Let me be clear... Alzheimer's is a horrid disease and it WILL affect people who have NO hearing loss.  Like in the case of my Grandfather... he had no hearing loss... even in his late 80's... even after the disease had taken over his mind.  But, if by my sharing this information with you helps at least one person and their family stave off the progression of this disease, than everything that David and I stand for, why we started Sage, has paid off. This isn't about "drumming up business". We have friends all over the US.  We just want for our friends, family, and our community, to treat their collective hearing as they would getting a physical exam.  Like a significant part of their well-being. Now, there is more reason than ever, to do so.
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Our First Month

"When you lose your vision, you lose contact with things.  When you lose your hearing, you lose contact with people." -Helen Keller

We have officially been open for one month.  That is 31 days of applying our Sage philosophy in the avid pursuit of reconnecting families through hearing.  We are beginning to have an impact in our community. Though the ripple effect is small, we are excited to get our name out there based on our patient and their families satisfaction with their experiences at Sage. As this is our first blog, I would like to take a moment to candidly explain our background, our philosophy, and what drives us.

My husband, David King, has been a Hearing Instrument Specialist for nearly 13 years.  He has worked and managed nationally known audiology clinics in both Oregon and Arizona and has received top of the line training in the ability to test and diagnose hearing loss.  Most importantly, he knows how to properly FIT hearing aids. This may seem like a small thing, but in our field, it is the most important. Imagine spending hundreds of dollars on the best running shoes on the market, but they are two sizes too big.  At some point, when the blisters form, you are going to be dissatisfied with the shoes no matter how much you spent.  Likewise, David has treated many patients who have invested a lot of money in their instruments, only to be dissatisfied with the way they are hearing. Most often, the reason is because the instruments are improperly fitted(http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/july-2009/health/hearing-aids/overview/hearing-aids-ov.htm).  For David, based on the amount of money a patient invests, he found this lack of expertise unacceptable.  That is why we have decided, as a family, to start our own practice. We wanted to exercise our own philosophy based on our collective experience with working with the aging population (I have worked in the geriatric community for over 15 years).  That is, offering high-end technology for a reasonable price, properly fitting the hearing instruments, and educating our patients and their families.  Part of this education includes setting reasonable expectations. Most patients and their families do not understand that this is a long term relationship.  Helping someone to hear better is a work in progress, it doesn't happen over night. It takes time. Time to retrain the patients brain, time to educate the family on how best to support the patient, and time to program the hearing instruments to work properly in all settings of the patients life. From a church social, to watching TV, to speaking on the phone, and hearing in noisy environments, we actively strive to meet our patients expectations .  As a small, local, family-owned business, we are here for the long haul.  We want to have a positive impact on the people of our community. Further, as a family with young kids we want to lead our children, by example, in the philosophy of hard work and dedication.  What better way to do that then by helping the hearing impaired.

So here we are... I am excited to start this journey and I will continue to blog our progress as we have a positive impact on those in the hearing impaired community.
www.sagehearingsolution.com
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