Of all the things we take for granted, perhaps nothing has a greater impact than our hearing. Many of us share the same story: One day we start noticing that it has become harder to follow conversations in a noisy restaurant. We start finding ourselves turning the volume up a little bit higher on the TV, or even flipping on the closed captions. Then one day we realize we’ve been nodding in agreement to a story despite not having heard a word of it, and we realize that the hearing we took for granted is slipping away.
Whether you’re just starting to need some help with your hearing, or your hearing loss has advanced, there is hope. Randy Rose of Rose Hearing Healthcare Centers brings more than 42 years of experience to bear for each patient he sees, coupling his extensive knowledge of the science behind hearing loss with a dedication to staying on the cutting edge of technology.
But crucial to the different approach Rose takes is his dedication to the patient first. It’s not about just helping them hear better. It’s about the impact better hearing can make on their lives.
Cindy Stradt
One of the most common problem areas for those suffering hearing loss is trying to pick out individual voices in noisy environments. As a second-grade teacher, Cindy Stradt knows all about noisy environments.
“It was really hard to teach the kids, and I work with English-as-a-second-language learners,” she said. Diagnosed with moderate hearing loss at 28 years old, Stradt at first just tried to cope with her problem. She eventually got hearing aids but found they didn’t quite get the job done. “The old ones physically hurt, and they just made things louder, not clearer. I stopped wearing them after a year.”
Relying on lip reading to fill in the gaps proved difficult during COVID’s mask mandates, so Stradt decided to give hearing aids another chance. “I saw an ad for Rose Hearing Healthcare Centers and said, ‘I’m going to give something different a try,’” she said. Rose began by working with Stradt’s existing hearing aids, but after a few months she realized it was time to try something more high tech, opting for a Widex 440. “They’re amazing. It has made a world of difference … and their customer service is just incredible. They fixed what someone else couldn’t.”
Now, not only can Stradt hear her students better, she’s practically a superhero in their eyes. “It’s supersonic hearing, that’s what I tell my kids it’s called.”
Don Koach
Advanced hearing problems call for advanced solutions, something Rose Hearing Healthcare Centers excels in. Don Koach has spent the last 24 years struggling with his hearing, reaching a point where he became legally deaf in his right ear, with 30 percent hearing in his left. Over the years, he has seen three different audiologists, but Rose went above and beyond.
“Randy has helped me to hear better … but the main thing I can say about him is that Randy’s service is a 10,” Koach said. “There’s never been a time when I had a problem with my hearing aids, and he couldn’t help me within 24 hours.”
Rose worked alongside Koach to assess his individual hearing loss and point him toward a hearing aid that worked for him. “It was really such an improvement because he recommended the right hearing aid—not the most expensive, not the cheapest, but the one that worked for me. And he adjusted them to give me more power to hear. That was a plus for me.”
Rose also helped point Koach toward an innovation that has changed his life. Available free to anyone with a hearing loss, Koach’s phone will actually display text generated by the person on the line’s speech. “It has really helped me understand what’s being said, spelling out exactly what the person was saying,” Koach said. “It’s a great tool.”
Rose Hearing Healthcare Centers has locations on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton. For more information, visit rosehearinghealthcarecenters.com or call 843-802-2957 (Hilton Head) or 843-836-5554 (Bluffton).
