The Treatment Plan Behind Better Hearing: What Most People Never Hear About

Hearing aids can be life-changing, but the part most people never hear about is the plan that keeps them working and keeps you improving. We sit down with Dr. Jill Copley to spell out what a complete hearing care treatment plan looks like when it’s built for real life: not just fitting devices, but creating a clear path for support, maintenance, and long-term protection.

We talk through the core building blocks: prescriptive hearing technology based on a full evaluation, guidance on speech understanding and hearing in background noise, and the follow-up schedule that helps you adapt instead of giving up when things feel “off.” If you’ve ever said, “I can hear people but I can’t understand them in restaurants,” we explain why that happens and how a structured approach can help your brain and your ears work better together.

We also dig into the practical details that save time and money, including multi-year repair warranties, annual manufacturer checkups, and the small parts that make a big difference, like domes and wax filters. Quarterly check-ins matter, too, because hearing needs change and many people never call when a problem starts, they just quietly struggle. If you want better clarity, fewer surprises, and a plan you can actually follow, hit play, then subscribe, share with someone who’s been on the fence, and leave a quick review.

To learn more about Total Hearing Care visit:
https://www.TotalHearingCare.com

Total Hearing Care
Multiple Locations Across the DFW Metroplex
(469) 809-4487

Transcript

Welcome And Show Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Total Hearing Care Difference, where we help you experience life through better hearing. Hosted by the Experts of Total Hearing Care, a leading private audiology practice serving the DFW Metroplex, we are here to provide guidance on hearing loss, tinnitus, and the latest advancements in audiology. Transform your life through better hearing. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

When it comes to hearing care, most people don't realize how much support, technology, and long-term protection they're actually entitled to, and how much peace of mind a structured plan can bring. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Sophia Yuveth, co-host and producer, back in the studio today with Dr. Joe Copley. Dr. Copley, how has it been going today for you?

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Oh, it's been going great. I'm so happy to talk about this topic. It's so important for people.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Oh, yes. And I am so glad to be back here with you to talk about this topic. Now,

What A Hearing Treatment Plan Means

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Dr. Copley, let's start with the basics because this is something patients ask about all the time. Can you explain what a treatment plan actually is in hearing care?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Sure. So what we want to do is at our office, we want to look holistically at the whole patient and look at their hearing from several different vantage points. Typically, we people are going to think, okay, there's a hearing loss, so therefore they need hearing aids or hearing devices. And we do start with that. That is an important component of the treatment plan. But there's also regular follow-up. We want to make sure not only that the devices are working okay, but that the patient is improving and doing okay with just understanding how to take care of their devices. So at one point you do have the hearing aids, but then we also have the follow-up. Plus, we have some other things we want to look at to just help the brain function better with the hearing aids and with their hearing loss and improve some of the functions of their brain.

Brain Processing And Hearing In Noise

SPEAKER_02 2:12

So, Dr. Copley, what are some of those other components you want to look at?

SPEAKER_01 2:18

So, one of them that we want to look at is typically how the brain is processing, how quickly it can process, as well as how it does in background noise. Um, because a lot of the complaints that we hear from patients are I can't understand in a restaurant, I can't understand at a party, people seem to be talking too quickly for me. And those are real things that are happening in the brain. Um, those things happen when you have hearing loss, those processes don't work as well. And so we want to give people not only the way they can hear, but also a chance to improve those skills. One of the things we also look at is I am very passionate, as we've known from um previous podcasts, about um reducing the risk of a cognitive decline and dementia. And so hearing loss is a main factor that goes into that, but there's lots of other things that um have to do with your health that can also increase your risk of dementia. So we partner with the company to help look at those other risk factors. Um I consider him kind of like a health coach that looks at some of these other risk factors and tries to work with people to get them to where they need or to help them change other things in their lives that can affect it.

Prescriptive Hearing Aid Technology Explained

SPEAKER_02 3:42

Now let's jump in more to the prescriptive treatment technology that ensures the plan is tailored to a patient-specific hearing or tinnitus needs. How does this work?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

So we've we have gone over this before, but just as a reminder, we have two types of hearing aids now. We have prescriptive devices, which is what you'll get when you see a professional like an audiologist. There's also over-the-counter devices. Now, those are not, those are more like a preset, or you can choose like four settings. Um, and those are really meant for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. Um, what prescriptive technology does is we're going to look at a whole evaluation. We're going to look at not only did you hear those beeps? Because that's what you think of as a hearing test. Um, you play some beeps, you hear it, but we're also going to look at how that person understands speech information and how they do in background noise. And so all the prescriptive devices can look at those aspects. So that's important that we look at those aspects.

Warranties And Annual Manufacturer Service

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Now, can you talk about the importance of the four-year repair and loss damage warranty?

SPEAKER_01 5:02

So most uh most hearing instruments will have either like a two-year or three-year warranty as part of our treatment plan and as part of what I see when I talk to others about their treatment plans in other offices, is we add that fourth-year warranty for the patient. Um one of the things we like to do is we like to send the devices into the manufacturer once a year to have them checked. Um there are a lot of things we can do in the office, but these are electronic devices and they are subject to moisture and dirt and lint and things like that. And so there's things we just can't do. So we like to send them to the manufacturer. Um, and so that is covered. The loss and damage. Now, loss and damage is really a one-time thing. Um, you can lose it or damage it beyond repair, which is kind of like maybe you drop it and the car rolls over it. Um, they're pretty hard, they can be pretty hard to break. Um, but that's a that is a one-time occurrence, and so we just try to have that intact. I think the repair is much more important um than the loss and damage. To me, it's kind of like most people try to take very good care of their hearing aids. And so um it's not like everybody has a loss. You have some people that may have a loss, but the repair part and being able to send them to the manufacturer if there's if there are issues is important. So a patient's not having to pay every time that happens because that's all inclusive.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

Wow, thank you for sharing that with us, Dr. Copley. Now let's

Domes Filters And Quarterly Support Visits

SPEAKER_02 6:42

get into ongoing supplies. How do ongoing supplies like domes and filters fit into the overall plan?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

So these are just small parts that can make a big difference. Um, domes and filters are what protect the hearing device from getting wax and moisture deep down into the device. And those are things that people can change themselves at home. So if they notice they're not hearing well, that's one of the things they can do. Um, just as an aside, one of the other things they can do is make sure their hearing aids are charged or their batteries are working. So those are things that the patient can do at home. Now we also um schedule quarterly checks with our uh front office staff. Um, I just want to say in some states you can't do that. The quarterly checks have to be with the audiologist, but we're here in Texas, so we can do that. Um so we schedule them to just clean them and check the devices, make sure everything's looking okay, and we can also change the domes and filters. We understand that some people may have vision uh problems where they can't see those little parts or they can't um manipulate those parts, like somebody that might have a tremor or really bad arthritis, and we will do that for them. And so that's why we also schedule those quarterly visits just to check in, see if they need help with that. But people can also do it at home. And those are, like I said, they're very small things, but they're they're important for keeping the devices working like they should.

Why Regular Follow-Up Drives Success

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Now, um, final question for you today. We talked a little bit about that follow-up, but why is the quarterly follow-up with the front staff such an important part of long-term success?

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Right. And that's what you're that's exactly what it is, long-term success. And so, like I said, we want to keep up and make sure the devices are working, but we also want to keep up with the person. We want to know if something's changed. Has their living situation changed where we might need to um change the programming in their devices? Has their hearing changed? You know, we can ask all those questions and we know that the patient is right in front of us and can talk to us about that. Um, people don't talk on the phone a lot anymore. That's just not the way our world works anymore. And what I found is if a patient has an issue, they don't tend to call and tell you. Sometimes they don't even email and tell you. But if we're seeing that person every few months in our office, we can start to get that information. So if changes are occurring, we can better keep up with those. And so that's really important, just to be able to keep up with the person and make sure they're doing okay as well.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Well, Dr. Cobley, thank you for breaking that down so clearly for all of us today. Understanding what a treatment plan includes really helps patients feel supported, and we will see everyone next time.

Book An Appointment And Closing

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Thank you for listening to the Total Hearing Care Difference. If you're in the DFW Metroplex and ready to take the next step toward better hearing, call 469 809 4487 to book an appointment. Or visit totalhearingcare dot com because when you hear better, you live better. See you next time.