Hearing Healthcare Practice has operated in Harpenden for more than 40 years. Having built a unique reputation, we are now the ‘drive to’ centre of excellence for clients with demanding needs… and the highest expectations.
We specialise in providing an environment that is welcoming, not overly clinical or at all retail-focused, but a space where everyone walking through the door can feel relaxed and confident. Our clinic is continually evolving – both visually and technically – so our returning clients appreciate their investment in us is re-invested in them. This is our commitment, our guarantee that our professional approach will consistently improve. It’s the attention to detail our clients appreciate and why so many of them remain loyal to us over years, and decades.
Working with 3Shape
Our latest move has been to invest in aural impression laser scanning technology. And after much research, several false starts and some trial and error(s), we settled on the Danish company 3Shape, as our preferred partner for digital scanners.
We’ve been using our 3Shape A3 desktop scanner for around 12 months. Correctly utilised, we believe the impression scanner is one of the single biggest revolutions in the delivery of hearing healthcare in the retail space in a generation. Similarly, it’s one of the best tools to build client confidence, reassuring them that we take their care seriously and have their best interests at heart.
But the journey didn’t start like this for us. As the development of CAMISHA (Computer Aided Manufacturing of Individual Shells for Hearing Aids) as early as the 1990’s, revolutionised the production of hearing aids. It was only a matter of time before this technology would be extended, beyond the laboratory and into the clinic – allowing clients to witness and appreciate the technology that was wowing us behind the scenes.
Desktop scanners allow two impressions of our clients’ ears to be scanned with a laser and special camera array before intelligent computer software converts the millions of data points into a digital 3D image on the screen. It’s a like watching science fiction in real life as the images materialise from the physical to the virtual space.
The first scanners, although functional, were utilitarian in design and, to be honest, not very aesthetically appealing. To cap it all, as you couldn’t visualise how the impression was being scanned, it left our clients underwhelmed by the whole process.
Another industry approach being considered was to attempt to introduce scanning technology earlier in our client journeys and to design equipment capable of scanning the contours of the ear itself. All very exciting, but after a few years of evaluation this equipment hasn’t provided the results we were expecting. One of our professional commitments is to always be an early adopter of technology that promises to improve what we can do for our patients. We concluded that, although ear scanning technology is amazing, at that moment, we didn’t have sufficient confidence in it to replace our existing approach, so we have retired this equipment for the time being.
Taking an ear impression is an art form in which we specialise and excel. Impression scanning now takes our backroom process to the next level in accuracy and sophistication. And so it came that we settled on 3Shape which has a long history in creating scanning technology equipment, producing some beautifully designed products for dental practitioners.
Beautiful Results
Design is such an important feature in our lives and so it should be in our professional lives. The technology behind the scanners has to be robust and do everything we would expect… and more. With the added bonus of being beautifully packaged and visually engaging we knew these scanners would be what we’d been seeking and would fill an important role in our clinic. Unboxing our A3, it was indeed love at first sight! It delivers on so many levels, and we believe it to be one of the single biggest revolutions in hearing healthcare in a generation.
It’s had such an impact that we’re now reserving a dedicated space to demonstrate the equipment in our reception – relocating our scanner from the back room to featuring centre stage where it can be seen and marveled at!
We use our 3D scanner to produce all customised bespoke hearing technology including hearing aids, earmoulds, in-ear monitors and personalised hearing protection.
To sum it up:
It looks amazing!
It’s simple to use.
It’s fast, very fast.
It’s compelling to watch in action.
The software is intuitive.
It provides 100% accuracy for the perfect fit, time and time again.
The rendered 3D images are hypnotic as they materialize on screen.
The images can be emailed to manufacturing labs globally within seconds.
The 3D files can be stored and retrieved time and time again to reduce unnecessary repeat visits back to our Practice.
Experience it for yourself
If you’re passing by, we’ll be delighted to demonstrate this amazing technology in action.
If you’d like to schedule an appointment with one of our team, click here https://hearinghealthcare.co.uk/make-an-appointment/