Janet Opperman

Audiologist

"I have had some good and bad experiences with audiologists over the years. I guess this is why I wanted to become one myself..."

After all, if it hadn’t been for an Audiologist I would have never experienced the wonders of hearing aids.

So it was ironic that when I embarked in a career of Audiology, I was still experiencing hearing difficulties myself. Although having a hearing aid doesn’t mean that you will have perfect hearing, my hearing aids were not providing me the level of sound that I needed even though my parents have always tried to provide me with the best hearing aids possible. However as it had been my hearing world for so many years, I never really thought that it could be different.

I was diagnosed and fitted at the age of five with a moderate hearing loss in both ears...

I was what you would call in audiological terms “diagnosed late”. Therefore after many years of struggle for my mother trying to convince professionals that I wasn’t normal hearing, I finally received my first pair of hearing aids. This was a turning point in my life. I don’t remember much of that day except being able to hear the clock ticking for the first time. My mother recalls me asking her several times what each new sound was and showing off my new hearing aids to my father. You wouldn’t think that fitting someone with a small device could change anything but it does. Being fitted changed the course of my life. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the special gift of hearing.

When I received the new Widex Aikia's, I was literally shocked...

It was a reality wake-up call when I realised how much information I had been missing and that my world had the potential to sound better. A world that is so noisy ! People clapping, keys rattling and my car sounded so different and contained so much more information, information I had been missing out on! But a wonderful world it is, I can finally hear the family dog's collar rattling from afar!

One of the best and unique things about Widex is the sound quality...

Sounds are crisp, sharp and clear. My previous hearing aids have never emphasised high pitch sounds as much and sounds with Widex were no longer muffled but more defined. Widex hearing aids have the ability to more accurately reflect or duplicate your actual hearing environment because they have a function, which is unique to Widex, called Integrated Signal Processing or ISP. ISP allows all the functions of the hearing aid to interact or work together, rather than separately, to create a sound quality unlike any I've ever experienced. Because of this function, I am able to hear behind me, hear better in group conversations and one-on-one. I no longer have to listen to hear and hearing is as natural as it can be.

I got to experience a better world of hearing for a second time...

I want to be able to grant that same feeling of excitement, relief and wonder that I felt for my patients one day. As a hearing impaired person, the sense of hearing that so many take for granted, is important to me and being granted the blessing of hearing a little bit better each time is something special. Widex has created such an opportunity and a new level of technology that cannot go unnoticed."