Gulf Coast Audiology: Providing Exceptional Hearing Care to Rory Simons

Jordan Pysz / iFoundMyDoctor.com
Rory has been a loyal customer of Dr. Duran and Gulf Coast Audiology for more than a decade.

It is an odd fact, but the concrete block that’s used to build homes, the asphalt that’s used to build roads and the paste we use to brush our teeth all have one thing in common. They all contain limestone, or a mineral (calcium carbonate) derived from it. Until he retired just a few months ago at age 74, digging up that limestone was what kept Rory Simons busy each day. “I was a drilling and blasting contractor,” Rory explains. “I owned a company with a crew of guys whose job was to drill holes into the limestone, place explosives in it and then blow it up so that someone else could use it.” Rory, who says he “started blowing stuff up” in the early ’80s, spent the last nine years before retirement seeking a buyer for the company who would take care of the employees he left behind. “Those guys were all very good to me, and they helped my company do very well for many years, so I needed to make sure they were going to be OK,” Rory says. “I finally found a buyer who guaranteed me that last November, and that’s when I walked away from it.” Rory walked away largely unscathed from his job as a demolitionist. The only serious health issue he’s dealing with is hearing loss, which he doesn’t attribute solely to a career devoted to blasting. “I didn’t hear all that well before I got into that, and there was a time when I didn’t miss too many of the top-flight concerts that came around, so that might have contributed to it,” Rory says. “And I’m sure age has had something to do with it, too. “Your hearing just naturally deteriorates with age, but either way, I’ve been wearing hearing aids for more than 10 years. That’s how long I’ve been seeing Dr. Duran, and I’ve stayed with her because she’s always taken good care of me.”

Trampled Receptors

Drianis Duran, AuD, a board-certified audiologist at Gulf Coast Audiology, discovered years ago that Rory’s job as a demolitionist caused more damage to Rory’s hearing than he might be willing to admit. “In the inner ear, we have tiny hair cells, and if those hair cells are abused by loud noises or certain drugs or medications, they can become damaged,” Dr. Duran explains. “The damage is what leads to hearing loss. “In Rory’s case, he was exposed to loud noises for many years, so those hair cells, which are known as sensory receptors, became damaged. That is why he has what we refer to as noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss. “In explaining this to patients, I often use the analogy of a path you walk on regularly in your yard or on a carpet at home. Because you’re walking that path so often, the grass or the carpet gets trampled down along the path you walk. “That’s what happens to hair cells that are constantly abused by noise or something else. They get trampled down because they’re constantly being abused, and that’s what happened with Rory. Some of his receptors have been trampled, and some have not.” Trampled receptors do not pop back up, and that is what leads to hearing loss. The impairment can be corrected with hearing aids, however, and Dr. Duran began that process with Rory by first fitting him with a pair of behind-the-ear hearing devices. Those devices worked well, but their placement behind the ears became bothersome for Rory, especially on the job, so he returned a few years later and replaced them with in-the-ear hearing aids. Those instruments worked well, too, but Rory recently returned to Gulf Coast Audiology for a regular appointment during which he inquired about changes in technology that might benefit him. “Rory is retired now, and his needs have changed a bit since we last saw him, so he wanted to know all about the latest improvements in hearing devices,” says Samantha Englaish, AuD, an audiologist at Gulf Coast Audiology. “His timing was actually great, because the technology in hearing aids is always changing, always improving; so, I recommended the latest top of the line technology that is very effective in allowing for better speech clarity and understanding in noisy environments.”

The Real 1

The model Dr. Englaish recommended is the Real 1 by Oticon. The Real 1 contains an algorithm that allows the device to make soft sounds in speech louder and normally loud sounds from becoming uncomfortably loud. The Real 1 also contains Bluetooth® technology, which allows the wearer to stream sound directly from electronics such as a computer, television or smartphone. “We proceeded to fit Rory with these hearing aids and scheduled a follow up appointment,” Dr. Englaish explains. “When he came back a week later for his follow up, he said, These hearing aids are awesome. I’m not giving them back.” Rory has been true to his word. He’s wearing his new hearing aids every day, all day, because they are proving to be significantly better than any he had before. “When Dr. Englaish first put these hearing aids on me in the office, I was absolutely stunned with the brilliance of hearing, the clarity, the ability to actually hear what was being said versus trying to guess what I thought was being said,” Rory offers. “I was so pumped up by that, and I’ve only developed more appreciation for these hearing aids since then. I put them on first thing in the morning after I get up, I don’t take them out until I go to bed, and I literally cannot believe how well I hear now.” Rory says he initially visited Gulf Coast Audiology because he wanted to be treated by a doctor of audiology who could properly diagnose his hearing loss and recommend the proper fix. More than a decade later, he says he made the right call. “Everyone there is a delight to deal with, and the service is just exceptional,” he concludes. “That’s why I recommended them to one of the guys I worked with, a guy who bought his hearing aids from one of those wholesale clubs and wasn’t getting anything out of them. “I told him, Go see Dr. Duran, I’ve been seeing her for years and she’s great. He did and told me that he literally cried right there in her office when she put the hearing aids on him because he heard so well. It was an emotional moment for him. “But that’s the kind of care and service you get from the folks at Gulf Coast Audiology. They do it all, and they do it with a smile. They really care about their customers and people in general, and that’s why I’ve stuck with them all these years.”