hearlife Clinic Toronto Hear, Communicate, Participate
Welcome Hearing is an essential part of communication. Hearing loss can create an invisible barrier between people affected by hearing loss and those they care about. By restoring hearing, these barriers to communication can be overcome. To hearlife means not only to hear but to comprehend sound. From diagnosis to treatment, from aftercare to rehabilitation, the staff of dedicated specialists and doctors at the hearlife Clinic Toronto provide comprehensive services using the latest hearing implant technologies. We care for you. 1
hearlife Clinic Center of Excellence The hearlife Clincs are a worldwide chain of clinics dedicated to the treatment of hearing loss, providing first-class medical service. The hearlife Clinic Toronto is an otology clinic offering comprehensive care for individuals with mild to profound hearing loss. With services specializing in hearing implants, the hearlife Clinic provides renowned treatment for hearing impaired individuals. Located in the heart of Yorkville, the hearlife Clinic Toronto is outfitted with modern tools and equipment. Rooms are designed to be functional as well as aesthetic, allowing individuals to receive treatment from hearing professionals in a pleasant atmosphere. Owing to its excellent location, the clinic can easily be reached from Toronto International Airport within 45 minutes and from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in about 25 minutes. 2
Our Mission In our hearlife Clinic we want to enable individuals with hearing loss to communicate, participate in and contribute to the hearing world. technology in implantable solutions for various types of hearing loss, offered by our highly qualified and experienced specialists. We are committed to provide excellent personalized care by providing first-class medical, audiological, rehabilitation and support services. We apply the latest We are dedicated to not only meeting expectations but exceeding them. 3
Our Hearing Implant Specialists Successful hearing restoration with hearing implants is a team effort. Best results can only be achieved by highly trained and experienced professionals in the fields of medicine, surgery, audiology and speech and language therapy. The staff of the hearlife Clinic provides you with a highly trained and multi-disciplinary team. The hearlife Clinic offers you the unique opportunity to be treated by some of the most experienced hearing implant specialists in the world. Depending on your individual medical history, we are able to offer you the surgeon best suited for your case. Our specialists follow highest quality standards and bring years of expertise as well as new techniques in the specialty, as they are in regular dialogue with local and global experts. The hearlife Clinic provides its staff with an ongoing training program, which assures an exceptional level of knowledge advancement. Once you have decided to entrust your care to the experts at the hearlife Clinic, correspondance will be handled by a dedicated clinic coordinator who is totally committed to attending to your needs. The clinic coordinator will assist you in making your appointments and will also coordinate all of your referrals and services. Prof. Dr. Lorne Parnes Consulting ENT surgeon Suzanne Stewart Head of Audiology Certified member of CASLPO We realize that hearing restoration or rehabilitation can be a trying experience, especially when performed outside of your home country, the hearlife Clinic Toronto is committed to making your brief stay as pleasant as possible. 4
Ensuring a Hearing Future Safe & up-to-date We understand that deciding whether to have an implant can be a difficult decision. Knowing that you are in good hands is of paramount importance. The hearlife Clinic believes that the reliability and safety of implanted devices contribute to making you feel safe and secure. Latest Technology We want you to benefit from new technologies at all times without having to undergo surgery. Our products are developed to give you the benefit of our legacy support, ensuring that whenever there is a new generation of external devices, it can be also used with your present hearing implant. Even years after implantation you can undergo a simple fitting and return home benefiting from the latest technology available. 5
Our Services Designed to Offer Comprehensive Care From diagnosis to treatment and beyond, the hearlife Clinic offers the following services designed to ensure that you or someone you care about has the best possible treatment, consistently and optimally coordinated in one facility. Aftercare services such as fitting and speech rehabilitation are also available and can be tailored to suit your individual needs. Counseling Surgery Learning about hearing loss is an important first step in the journey to receiving a hearing implant. If you suspect you have a hearing loss or know someone affected by hearing loss and have questions about what can be done, let our dedicated staff inform you about the options available. Audiological and Medical Assessment and Diagnosis Following the assessment, if a hearing implant proves to be the best solution to restore hearing, surgery is a necessary part of treatment in order to obtain the desired result. The surgical procedure is typically minimally invasive in nature and is performed by one of the hearlife Clinic s highly specialized and internationally renowned ENT surgeons using the latest techniques and technology. Surgery usually takes between one and two hours and is done under general anesthesia. Patients are usually up and about the next day. To diagnose hearing loss and to find out which treatment options are most suitable, a number of routine screenings and tests are necessary. These tests can be done at all ages even with newborn children. All hearing implants are highly effective and reliable, and are designed to preserve the delicate structure of the inner ear. Using modern audiological testing equipment, our Otology specialists will conduct a detailed diagnosis and will initiate all additional necessary clinical examinations to get a comprehensive overview. After all examinations have been completed, the hearing implant team will give you a detailed briefing and will suggest the optimal hearing implant solution to fit your needs. 6
Fitting and Technical Support Rehabilitation About four weeks after implantation, the entire system will be activated for the first time. An ideal program requires repeated fitting sessions in order to gradually fine-tune the settings. Settings will be individualized, to ensure best hearing performance. Patients and their families will also be briefed on how to use the processor and how best to take care of it. While hearing implants provide a remarkable opportunity for patients with hearing loss, hearing with the new device requires training. Learning to hear with new ears is aided by regular communication and therapy with a speech therapist who will help patients to improve their listening skills. The hearlife Clinic offers patients an exclusive rehabilitation program, which is based on the highly successful BRIDGE rehabilitation program. For more details please visit www.medel.com. 7
Hearing Implant Systems Optimal Hearing Implant Solutions Bone Conduction Implant System for Conductive and Mixed Hearing Losses or Single-Sided Deafness Cochlear Implant System for Severe to Profound Hearing Loss The world s first active bone conduction implant system enables sound transmission directly to the inner ear by means of bone conduction. It is a suitable solution for people, in whom sound cannot be transferred to the inner ear via the natural path of hearing through the outer and the middle ear. Like all our hearing implant solutions, the bone conduction implant system is a semi-implantable hearing system. The implant is positioned completely under the skin and receives the signals from an externally worn audio processor. The Cochlear Implant System features a secure magnet with the highest MRI safety available and a water-resistant, lightweight and tamper-proof audio processor. The system is suitable for children as well as for adults. The design of the cochlear implant is optimized for minimally invasive surgical techniques, thus reducing surgery time. Users can choose between a single-unit or a behind-the-ear audio processor. 8
EAS Hearing Implant System for Partial Deafness Middle Ear Implant System for Sensorineural or Conductive and Mixed Hearing Losses Electric Acoustic Stimulation (EAS) is a modification of the Cochlear Implantation procedure that combines electric stimulation by means of a cochlear electrode and acoustic stimulation using traditional amplification of residual hearing in the same ear. In contrast to the usual CI indications, EAS is the preferred solution in cases of partial deafness, which is defined as a mild to moderate hearing loss in the low frequencies that increases to a severe to profound hearing loss in the higher frequencies. Middle ear implants were created as an implantable alternative to hearing aids. Unlike a hearing aid which only makes sounds louder, the middle ear implant converts sounds from the environment into mechanical vibrations. This physical energy is used to stimulate middle ear structures for exceptional high frequency sound perception. Today, a middle ear implant is the solution of choice for individuals who cannot use conventional hearing aids or who are dissatisfied with them and do not achieve sufficient benefit. 9
If you would like more information or if you would like to take a first step towards treating your hearing loss, please contact the hearlife Clinic Toronto. Toronto Hear Clinic Inc. 70 Yorkville Avenue Unit 6 Toronto, Ontario M5R 1B9 Tel: +1 416 926 9998 Fax: +1 416 926 0209 toronto@hearlifeclinic.com www.hearlifeclinic.com 24188 r1.0