What happens when an audiologist calls out and an already packed day suddenly gets even busier? In this behind-the-scenes vlog, I take you through one of the less glamorous realities of owning a hearing clinic. My carefully planned schedule quickly changed when I needed to step back into patient care while still managing HearingUp provider onboarding interviews, Ask Dr. Cliff recordings, meetings, and everything else happening behind the scenes. I also had the opportunity to meet Dr. Pamela Hughes, founder of Pure Ethos Medical. Dr. Hughes is a dual board-certified functional medicine and family medicine physician who provides personalized, unhurried integrative care. She accompanied two of her patients to our clinic so she could better understand their hearing and remain directly involved in their care. That level of commitment to her patients was incredibly impressive. Dr. Hughes and I also discovered that we had both served in Iraq at the same time, only a few blocks away from each other. Naturally, when two veterans get together, we had to exchange a few war stories. Learn more about Dr. Hughes and Pure Ethos Medical: https://pureethosmed.com/ That unexpected schedule change also led me to evaluate a fellow veteran who felt that his premium hearing aids should be performing better. His hearing aids had been provided, physically fit, and programmed through the Veterans Administration. Although he likes his VA audiologist, he knew something about his treatment was not right and decided to seek a second opinion. When I evaluated the physical fit, programming, and real-world output of his hearing aids, I discovered several major problems. His custom earmolds were allowing too much sound to escape. The resulting feedback limitations prevented his hearing aids from delivering the high-frequency amplification he needed. Even though he had ultra-power receivers, he was receiving performance closer to what you might expect from a standard receiver, or worse. Real Ear Measurement also confirmed that his hearing aids were significantly underamplifying his hearing loss. On top of that, he had not been given access to an important artificial intelligence program available in his Phonak Infinio Sphere hearing aids. He has now decided to complete our Applied360 Best Practice refitting process. This will include new custom earmolds, rebuilding his programming from the ground up, Real Ear Measurement verification, and several follow-up appointments over 45 days. The lesson is not that the Veterans Administration always provides poor hearing care. His experience demonstrates that quality can vary regardless of where you receive treatment. Problems can occur at a VA facility, private practice, ENT clinic, big-box store, or anywhere else. Until you find a hearing care professional committed to comprehensive Best Practices, you must continue advocating for yourself. In this vlog, you’ll also see: • What happens when a clinic owner has to change plans at the last minute • My conversations with new HearingUp Network providers • A behind-the-scenes look at the Ask Dr. Cliff Show • My conversation with Hearing Tracker founder Abram Bailey • Why working with other audiologists has made me a better clinician If you have a question about your hearing loss or hearing treatment, submit it at: https://AskDoctorCliff.com To find a hearing care professional committed to comprehensive Best Practices, visit: https://hearingup.com Subscribe for more hearing-aid reviews, hearing-care education, patient stories, and behind-the-scenes videos from Applied Hearing Solutions.

I Tested His Hearing Aids—and Found a Huge Problem | Dr. Cliff AuD VLOG 335

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