Though well-qualified as an audiologist, with more than 10 years' professional experience, Ron Trounson, co-owner at Ear Health in Devonport and Birkenhead, says growing up in a household with his deaf mother is where he acquired his most valuable credentials. “My mum had meningitis as a child and lost 100 per cent hearing in one ear and most of her hearing in her other ear. She lip-read her way through school and when hearing aid technology finally became available, used hearing aids,” says Trounson who lived in Hauraki in early childhood. As a child, Trounson learned how best to communicate with hearing-impaired people – speaking in a lower and slower voice, avoiding mumbling and using simpler language when that was appropriate.
Before becoming an audiologist, Trounson earned a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Auckland and worked in Brazil. The South American sojourn added to his communication skills. “I lived 10 years in Brazil, working on major projects that required me to communicate with people from all over the world, so you learn quickly how to adjust your communication style depending on who you’re talking to,” he says. “Brazilians are very social. So now I basically ‘chin-wag’ all day as part of my job.” And the ‘chin-wagging’ has become one of Ear Health’s points of difference. Large audiology franchises can be impersonal, and patients often see a different audiologist each time. But at Ear Health patients see either Trounson or business partner Soren Thompson. “We remember you, our previous conversations and your device preferences. We’re small, local and personalised,” Trounson says.
Ear Health offers ear-wax removal which many audiology clinics don’t provide. The build-up of ear wax can render even high-quality and expensive hearing aids ineffective, so Ear Health has the latest equipment and qualified technicians to remove the wax. “We have everything under the one roof, so you don’t have to go somewhere else to get your ears cleaned, only to then come back and have the device fitted or adjusted.” Devices have become more sophisticated over the years, with the most recent of them looking like gadgets from a James Bond movie – essentially going unseen in the ear. Trounson says demand for these devices has increased dramatically since Covid began because masks have added another complication for people who might already have their hearing aids and glasses on their ears. Insurance companies are preferring the hidden aids too: “So many people have lost hearing aids when they pull off the masks.” The new hearing aids connect to a phone with low-powered bluetooth. While some can be hidden, other models look like in-ear earphones, prompting Trounson to describe them as a kind of “jewellery for the ear”.
SERVICES PROVIDED
• Ear cleaning by micro-suction
• Diagnostic hearing tests
• Hearing-aid fitting and repairs
• Hearing health and rehabilitation
• Tinnitus assessments and advice
Ear Health is ACC, Enable and WINZ registered. All services are provided by medical professionals, including Registered Nurses and MNZAS Audiologists.
CONTACT EAR HEALTH
Contact Ear Health
131 Birkenhead Ave, Birkenhead 09 480 5676
82 Lake Road, Narrow Neck, 09 242 0866
28 Surrey Crescent, Grey Lynn 09 361 3838
www.earhealth.co.nz
