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by Howard Schor, Coffman Vision Clinic“What makes for a dynamic business, one that gives you a competitive advantage in this complex world of competition? What makes for a powerful relationship with your clients, staff, and partners? There are layers of understanding of what the other is conveying that is a key to connection. This is a key to success in a (hopefully) mutual objective. A minor difference in the words you hear, picking up on the subtle central idea that certain words or sets of sentences convey, including a change of tone can give you the clarity and confidence to continue to move the conversation toward a desired outcome,” said the owner of the company to me, his trusted General manager and one of our top managers.
“Huh? Excuse me, what was that word after hopeful...about the objective?” Fortunately, I was bold enough to ask this brilliant doctor this question. “No, Howard, I said that hopefully it is a mutual understanding with you and your manager about how to handle this situation. If it’s not mutual, that’s when I have to get involved.”
I know how busy the Doctor/Owner is and felt rather dumb as to why I even asked. For some, it could be blamed on a simple misunderstanding. It can happen to anyone who drops their attention, is distracted, stressed—yes we experience all of those excuses for missing the point. But I knew those were not the reasons in my case.For the past several years I have noticed in some conversations, to face or virtual, and definitely in conversations where a group is gathered, be it at a meeting, across a table, or at our weekly staff meetings of 20 or so people, I was simply not hearing all the words or getting the nuances of the speaker.At first, I was embarrassed. I would jot down what I missed and most often ask the person after the meeting what they said, or I would have been able to get the gist of what was said, or... just let it go.As I became more aware of the slightly muffled words at work or having my wife say, “turn down the TV,” or me saying, “what did you say?”So, eventually I went to an audiologist and took a hearing test. I was showed some graphs and numbers that showed I was losing my ability to hear higher pitched sounds.
“So how bad is my hearing?”
Oh it’s not bad yet—but it would only go downhill. And for just $7,000, I could get a pair of the best hearing aids available and come in four times a year at $350 a pop to be tested and, no, it’s not covered by Medicare or insurance (I was 73.) Oh, and he handed me a booklet, and studies showed this would double my chances of getting dementia. I left a bit shaken and decided to take my chances. That was four years ago, and I was having enough trouble hearing that it was a nuisance and reduced my effectiveness and comfort in the presence of others. By now I had overcome my embarrassment and just let it be known “I am having a bit of trouble hearing.”Fortunately, my cognitive abilities have remained sharp at 77… lol. I am not nearly approaching the level or “profound” hearing loss where I require a hearing aid that would be $5k-$7k proposition or the alternative—get a cheap pair that protruded like two old potatoes and often malfunction or fall out and break or are misplaced every other month.And, just in time, comes—I say like a miracle—a new technology that tweaks my hearing enough so that I can truly say the NUANCE hearing frames are a marvel. The uniqueness is that the NUANCE frame is also my prescription glasses with no—I mean zero— hint that I am wearing a slick pair of glasses with the hearing device being tiny AI speakers that are embedded in the frame.With the simple pressing of a totally undetectable button on the underside of the frame, it pairs with the NUANCE app on my mobile phone which gives me more than 10 controls to navigate, and modulate my hearing, based on the situation I’m in. It has controls to heighten or lower sound, for direct person-to-person, staff meetings or in-a-crowd settings. It can lower or raise background noise or conversation whether you are home alone watching a movie or a sporting event or playing a video game. But most importantly it centers you with a new sharpness of understanding of conversations at work—be it in person, on the phone, or on a virtual call. You can even set the level of hearing your own voice as you speak. You will be surprised at how valuable it is to notice the level and tone your own voice plays when you speak. And once you get the feel of each control it is almost like being a jet pilot who can adjust to any situation with the touch of a button.Yet, the most amazing and gratifying time comes when you take off the glasses and truly notice the difference is the quality of your hearing and the increase in clarity the NUANCE provides.The battery life of the frames and the charger, a flat surface that has a light magnetic field to hold the glasses in place is about eight hours. This is shown on the app and is actually “said” to you when you open the frames and hit the little “on” button. There is no loss of battery life when you take off and fold the glasses, but you also must charge the flat charger.The whole deal costs $1200 for the frame and plane lenses. You can also purchase the NUANCE after an eye exam and purchase new lenses if your vision is the same or has changed or for use for a specific set of purposes.You get 30 days to try them and also a one-year warranty on any defective parts of the device. I absolutely love them, and I am available for questions or if you want to see them and test them out.Howard SchorGeneral ManagerCoffman Vision Clinichoward@coffmanvision.com(541) 389-4774
