The ClearlyVisible Ear Model is a full-size model of the human ear. Its clear construction promotes easy viewing and explanations of ear components such as the ear canal, tympanic membrane (“ear drum”), stapes (“stirrup”), incus (“anvil”), malleus (“hammer”), and cochlea of the inner ear by vision care practitioners, hearing specialists, general physicians, and other health care professionals. It is perfect for educating patients and staff members. The model is constructed of durable, high quality, long-life materials. Included with the model is an instructive education card.
Vision and hearing loss often occur together. In a growing trend toward providing patients with services that enhance their overall well-being during their office visits, a number of practices offer patients services such as audiology screening and education in addition to routine eye exams. This not only enhances services to their patients, but also can help offset the declining reimbursements from Medicare and other medical plans. In addition, eye care specialists know that hearing loss may prevent a patient from understanding a physician’s instructions and explanations – particularly important with conditions such a glaucoma – which is treatable, but depends on patients understanding and complying with medication routines.
The ClearlyVisible Ear Model is a full-size model of the human ear. Its clear construction promotes easy viewing and explanations of ear components such as the ear canal, tympanic membrane (“ear drum”), stapes (“stirrup”), incus (“anvil”), malleus (“hammer”), and cochlea of the inner ear by vision care practitioners, hearing specialists, general physicians, and other health care professionals. It is perfect for educating patients and staff members. The model is constructed of durable, high quality, long-life materials. Included with the model is an instructive education card.
Gulden distributes a wide range of eye models including: Glaucoma Demonstrating Models, Astigmatism Models, Cataract Models, Vision Threatening Diseases Models, Cornea Eye and Transplant Models, Retinal & Vitreous Detachment Models, Intraocular Lens Models, Lasik Models, plus more. In addition, Gulden can design, develop, and produce custom eye models to meet every patient and staff education need.
BACKGROUND:WHY EYE CARE SPECIALISTS ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH HEARING LOSS
It is becoming increasingly widespread for vision care professionals to consider hearing loss in their treatment regimes. Factors that have encouraged this pairing of hearing and vision concerns include: more adults are living longer; the number of older adults is increasing; the widespread popularity of personal music players that can affect hearing; the progression of rock-concert attending baby boomers to older age; other factors that affect sensory perception; a trend toward providing other services for patients to enhance their well-being; and shrinking reimbursements for routine patient exams and visits. Often, folks with hearing loss depend on an intuitive adaptation of “reading lips” in order to perceive speech – as their vision becomes less precise, it affects their ability to perceive speech accurately.
Researchers have found that for each additional line on the eye chart that an individual cannot read, his or her odds of having hearing impairment increased by 18 percent. When researchers looked specifically at the two most common causes of age-related vision impairment, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, they found that both were independently associated with hearing loss.
It is highly probable that vision and hearing loss are regular, if not normal, consequences of aging. That could explain why they often occur in the same patient. In addition, common risk factors could predispose older adults to both conditions. Researchers in Australia have noted that each condition has been postulated to result from somewhat similar genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Exposure to oxidative stress, smoking and hardening of the arteries has been linked to age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and hearing loss. Another common risk factor for cataracts and other visual and hearing impairments is diabetes, which is becoming more prevalent in our society. Health care professionals must consider that both senses are critical to daily life, and while the loss of either can be debilitating, the loss of both can affect patients severely.
It is not uncommon for vision care specialists to enlist or partner with auditory testing staff in their offices. Patients can fulfill their eyeglasses, contacts, and hearing instrument needs in one convenient location and with the clinical team they already know and trust. It is interesting to note that Salus University, renowned for educating vision care specialists, offers the first and only College of Audiology program in the US, leading to a Doctorate in Audiology.