My Hearing Centers, a provider of hearing aids from several international manufacturers, has acquired Connect Hearing in Bend at 932 NE 3rd St., Suite 2, and Connect Hearing in Redmond at 106 SW 7th St. The two offices will be managed by Kristin Morris, a hearing instrument specialist. Morris previously managed the Bend office.
My Hearing Centers is the largest independent hearing care provider in the Western United States with 100 offices in 10 states (in this case, independent means that the company doesn’t operate a franchise system, and isn’t affiliated with any one hearing aid manufacturer).
“With our new association with My Hearing Centers, our clientele will be able to choose from products from several of the world’s top manufacturers. These manufacturers currently include Signia, Phonak, Siemens, Oticon, Resound, Starkey and Widex. As is the case with many electronic consumer products, different models of hearing aids can offer a wide variety of options/features including Bluetooth compatibility and rechargeable batteries as well as a variety of price points. If your current hearing aid is three or more years old, you’ll be amazed at how much better the most current hearing aids are by comparison,” Morris said.
Morris added, “At a time when Americans are living longer, the need for hearing aids will continue to grow. Recent estimates indicate that about 20 percent of Americans, or 48 million people, have reported some type of hearing loss. Among those who are 65 years old, one in three suffers from hearing loss.”
She also noted, “One of the immediate effects of hearing loss is that individuals immediately become more isolated, and tend to withdraw socially. Recent studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between these factors and anxiety, depression, dementia, stroke, heart attack and even Alzheimer’s. One study even suggested that a minimal hearing loss left untreated could double the chance of a person getting dementia, and another study revealed that individuals were actually losing brain mass because they weren’t treating this condition. So, hearing loss involves much more than just turning up the volume on the TV or asking people to repeat themselves. In fact, treating hearing loss is about improving the quality of an individual’s life, and in some cases, even lengthening that life.”
The My Hearing Centers offices in Bend and Redmond will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30am-5pm. The phone number in Bend is 541-728-0472, and for Redmond, 541-647-2828.
For more information about My Hearing Centers, visit myhearingcenters.com
