The Weekend Sun
Friday 24 February 2023
17
Experiencing an Ear360 is very easy! They’re the new hearing specialists in town and I thought what better way to find out what ‘Ear360’ is all about than by putting my own ears to the test! Opening earlier this month, Resonate Health offers a holistic approach to hearing health and provides their unique 10-point hearing assessment, Ear360. Walking into their stylish studio space in Bayfair, I was greeted by the friendly faces of Resonate Health’s audiologist Clara Kwaramba and navigator Sharon Higgison.
Questionnaire
Then it was straight into Ear360. Up first was the ‘Hearing Impact’ questionnaire where Sharon asked a series of questions about how my hearing impacts my daily quality of life. “Does a hearing problem because you to feel embarrassed when you meet new people?” My answer was ‘no’, but this is a very real thing for some. “People are often frustrated and in denial about their hearing,” says Sharon. Clara then checked my ear hygiene which was fine – phew – and guided me through a series of audibility and hearing intelligibility tests. “With extended audibility, we’re testing a higher frequency than people would normally test because we’re finding when you have poor extended audibility scores you also find it hard to hear speech
Audiologist Clara Kwaramba guides Georgia Minkhorst through some hearing tests.
Georgia listens to Clara explain her Ear360 results on-screen.
holistic hearing health.” Being in my twenties, my scores were low, indicating good overall hearing health. I feel relieved my ears are in check – for now at least. Clara says: “It’s never too early to start checking Audiologist Clara Kwaramba your hearing annually getting Georgia Minkhorst set with an Ear360 so you up with the audibility and can objectively measure intelligibility testing. any changes.” With my
Ear360 profile recorded, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on my hearing and catch up with Sharon and Clara again!
Navigator Sharon Higgison takes Georgia Minkhorst through a Hearing Impact questionnaire.
among other speech – so a typical café scenario.” Unlike other hearing clinics, Ear360 also tests memory, sleep, balance and tinnitus. “Sometimes people think they have bad memory but actually it turns out they have bad hearing, which is why they look like they have bad memory,” says Clara.
Holistic
Completing my Ear360 assessment, Clara explained my results to me. “The whole idea with 360 and why we’ve got the circle graphic is because we want complete
Photos: John Borren.
Giveaways!
Thanks to Resonate Health, The Sun has three Ear360 experiences to give away to three lucky readers who can tell us what four other aspects of hearing health Ear360 tests unlike standard audiologists? Winners can pass on the Ear360 gift to a friend or family member. Enter online at: www.sunlive.co.nz under the competitions section. Entries must be received by Georgia Minkhorst Tuesday, February 28