HOUSE EAR CLINIC Reviews

For about a week, the House Ear Clinic, has been running a large advertisement in the OC Register, portraying a Famous Picture of John F. Kennedy sitting at his desck signing a document, and beneath the picture are the words he is famous for, and well recognized by every American: "Ask not what your country can do for you;ask what you can do for your Country". The headline of the advertisement twists a representation of those famous words as:"Mask lot nut tore gun tree canoe for two" and in the copy of the ad they state: "Words can inspire, yet many people with hearing loss often misunderstand what's being said, so words lose their meanings". I am shocked and disappointed, that House would use such a tacky approach to a serious problem, and also disappointed that they would protitute a photo of late President of the United States to do so. It may actually be illegal, from at least a copywrite standpoint, and certainly it is tasteless, to denigrate a martyred deceased President of the United States. From a commercial advertising point of view, there is no question it is effective. The purpose of using that picture, is to attract attention to the advertisement,and it works.No question. The nonsensical Headline,as quoted above, also catches the eye, but is totally misleading. To cover their misrepresentation of how a person suffering from a hearing loss would interpret "the famous words", they state: Words can inspire, yet many people with hearing loss often misunderstand what's being said, so words lose their meaning". They use the word "May" because of the FTC standards in advertising. Anyone in the Hearing Aid Industry knows, that no person misinterprets every word spoken in any sentence, as it is presented here. A Person with a High Frequency Hearing Loss, (High Frequency sounds occur in the area of the last 24 keys on the right hand side of the piano keyboard) doesn't hear the consonants in words spoken, and as a result, sometimes misunderstands some of the words. But certainly not every word spoken. Such People often adapt for their loss by reading lips, which is natural for everyone, not just those suffering from a hearing loss, and they also use visual cues. For example, if someone says they are going to the Beach, and they are wearing a swimming suit, it may be heard as" I'm going to eat a peach", but since they are wearing a swimming suit, most people would realize the mistake and quickly realize, they must be going to the beach. In a speech discrimination test, we use words such as: Beach,Teach,Reach,Hire, Fire, Liar,etc,and then total the number of words misunderstood. The goal in fitting a hearing aid, is to have those words understood correctly, as they are spoken. We work with percentages. I am amazed that the Famous House Ear Institute, known for Medical Research and Medical Procedures and Medical Treatment, of the Ear, is not competing with COSTCO,SEARS,AND HEARING AID OFFICES, not only in the Sale of Hearing Aids, but advertising for Hearing Aid Repairs, Custom Ear Molds,Amplified Telephones, and EVEN HEARING AID BATTERIES. There is something wrong with this picture. A Medical Office, selling Hearing Aid Batteries, and Repairing Hearing Aids? I would think Medical Doctors would be above that. Maybe just their underlings, the Audiologists, who always brag about having a Masters Degree, actually handle the Sales. Are they all really that desperate? Or is it greed? I hope, that at least they are using this advertising scheme to bring in prospective Patients with Medical Problems, and of course MEDICARE, AND SOME TYPE OF INSURANCE PLAN THAT PROVIDES HEARING AIDS. Maybe they will even expand their marketing efforts to include Medical Garb and even Shoes. I still can't get over, Medical Doctors, muchless Ear Specialists (ENTS & OTOLOGISTS) selling HEARING AIDS. And to think, Medical Doctors used to put HEARING AID DISPENSERS IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS USED CAR SALESMEN. SHAME. I hope they are not using the same high billing prices in the sale and repair of hearing aids, as they use in their medical procedures and treatments. Especially not when they sell hearing aid batteries. How convenient, you can now buy batteries, when you visit your Doctor. Does this mean that Dentists will begin to sell Toothbrushes and Tooth Paste? Maybe they already do. Mine doesn't. Alsip Magistrate