Hearing & Balance Doctors of Utah is Seeking Study Participants

The Hearing & Balance Doctors of Utah has been chosen to bring brand-new, cutting-edge hearing aid technology, VERSO, to Southern Utah.  Because this technology has just been released, we are looking for people to help us test and analyze it.

We rely on our study participants’ honest, real-world assessments of new technology.  These assessments will help us determine if this new hearing aid performs as promised.  They also help us validate the value and benefit of technology enhancements.  Our in-house study will include both participants that have never worn hearing aids and those who have.  Participants that currently wear hearing aids will be asked to compare this new hearing aid to their existing technology.

You should participate if…

• You feel your hearing has changed in the last one to five years.
• You have never worn a hearing aid.
• You currently wear hearing aids but would like to compare them to new technology.
• You have difficulty distinguishing words from background noise.

This is a risk-free opportunity, and you are under no obligation to purchase.  As a thank you for participating in our study and being one of the first in Utah to evaluate this technology, the hearing aids evaluated will be offered to study participants at substantial savings. If we can help you realize greater benefit, we will BUY BACK your existing hearing aids.

To participate in this study, you will be asked to receive a comprehensive hearing test (covered by most insurances), be fit with the new hearing system if you meet study qualifications, and wear the device daily for 1 week and complete a short questionnaire.

The clinic study runs from November 5-21.  Call (435) 688-8991 for more details or to participate.  As a thank you for your participation, you will receive a FREE TURKEY. Offer expires Nov. 21, 2012.

We want to hear why someone in your life should receive free hearing aids this holiday season. Visit our office located at 1054 E. Riverside Drive, Suite 201 in St. George to pick up an entry form. Fill out the entry form and drop it off or mail it to us by October 19, 2012. For questions, call us at 435-688-8991. Each contestant will be evaluated for hearing loss. Winners will be announced at the Jubilee of Trees on Saturday, November 17, 2012.

Dr. Ryan Whitaker

Dr. Whitaker joined Hearing & Balance Doctors of Utah in 2009. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Brigham Young University in 2005 with his Bachelors of Science in Audiology and Speech Pathology. He then received his Doctor of Audiology from the University of Arizona where he minored in Cognitive Neuroscience (the study of how people perceive sound). While at the University of Arizona, he specialized in evoked potentials, specifically researching Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials and the Acoustic Change Complex. He gained clinical experience at Tucson Ear, Nose, and Throat; St. Joseph’s Hospital Balance Center; Arizona Hearing Specialists; and the Center for Hearing Impaired Children. Dr. Whitaker was raised in Orem, Utah with three older sisters and a younger brother (who is also an audiologist). His grandfather was a cartoonist for the Walt Disney Studios where he drew Donald Duck and many characters in Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland before starting the BYU Motion Picture Studio. Dr. Whitaker is married and has three sons. He is passionate about college football and also enjoys hiking in Southern Utah, reading, and traveling. He has traveled extensively through South Asia including Thailand, India, Nepal, and a church mission to the Philippines.

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