VHA Audiology

Audiologists are licensed healthcare professionals who care for Veterans and Service Members through the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of hearing disorders to include hearing loss, balance impairment and tinnitus. Audiologists counsel patients and families regarding good hearing health practices and advise them on appropriate management strategies.

LiveScience is where the curious come to find answers. We illuminate our fascinating world, and make your everyday more interesting. We share the latest discoveries in science, explore new. Antares Autotune is one of the most well-known plug-ins used by musicians across the planet to help transform their vocals either subtly or dramatically. Before today, we had never heard of autotune implants. But Nessly appears to be one of the first to wear the hardware on his sleeve, literally.

Audiologists utilize comprehensive diagnostic audiology tests to assess the hearing of VHA audiology patients. If, upon review of these test results, a hearing loss is determined to be present, the Audiologist will discuss with the patient the best treatment options. VHA Audiology has access to the most current, state of the art technologies to include: hearing aids, personal amplifiers, assistive technologies, and cochlear implants.

Denver Logistic Center (DLC)

Telehealth Information

During the COVID-19 pandemic, VA Staff are working very hard to protect Veterans, Service Members, and their families from possible exposure to the coronavirus. This is being achieved through the implementation of social distancing policies to include the limiting of face to face visits. To support these efforts, a variety of telephone and telehealth options have been enabled to address VHA audiology patient needs from a distance. Please see the Telehealth Information section below to learn more.

• VA Video Connect Instructions for Patients (a video that provides instructions on how to use the VA Telehealth system)

Enterprise Remote Tuning of Hearing Instruments (ERTHI)

VHA Audiology in a collaborative effort with Patient Care Services, VHA Audiology and Speech Pathology Services; Office of Connected Care; VHA Innovation Ecosystem; VHA Office of Information Security; VHA Office of Information and Technology and VHA Account Management Office recently deployed Enterprise Remote Tuning of Hearing Instruments (ERTHI). ERTHI provides VHA staff the ability to remote tune hearing instruments for our Nation’s Veterans. This allows for easy access and follow-up services in their home or the most convenient and accessible location. ERTHI is now available to Veterans through the ERTHI which was implemented across the VA healthcare network as a COVID-19 Emergency response, to keep Veterans and VHA Audiologist from having to go to the hospitals when conducting remote tuning of hearing instruments for Veterans.

Key advances include:

• Increasing Veterans’ access to care by enabling remote access to VA hearing aid services from the Veteran’s home via smartphone or tablet
• Reducing inconvenience and costs related to medical travel

At appointment time, patients use a free app on their smartphone to virtually connect with their audiologist via secure voice, text or video chat. Because the patient’s phone is linked to his/her hearing aids via Bluetooth® technology, the audiologist gains direct access to all hearing aid settings via the smartphone. This allows Veterans to receive on-the-spot tuning and program changes, counseling and more in real-time while remaining safely at home. Contact your local VA Audiologist for more information and to get setup.

VHA Cochlear Implant Centers

View our excel spreadsheet of VHA Cochlear Implant sites.
Our facilities are separated into three categories of services.

• Cochlear Implant Centers - Provide full service of surgery and programming.
• Programming Only Centers - Partner with Cochlear Implant Center for surgery and provide cochlear implant follow-up programming closer to Veteran’s home.
• Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT) Centers - Enables Veterans to work with an audiologist at a VA facility and connect with a Cochlear Implant expert via video for programming.

Vendor Resources

To assist with patient at home hearing aid and accessory maintenance, the Vendor Resources section below has been added. These links provide instructions through pamphlets and videos for hearing aid care and maintenance.
Oticon

• Changing ProWax miniFit (Video)
• How to turn Oticon Opn S rechargeable hearing aids ON or OFF (Video)
• How to change batteries in Oticon Opn miniRITE (Video)
• How to pair Opn hearing aids with ConnectClip (Video)

Phonak

• How to change a Marvel Dome (Video)
• How to change a CeruShield (Video)
• How to use a Marvel mini-charger (Video)
• How to change a CeruStop (Video)

ReSound

Signia

Starkey

Rumours online claim that a popular YouTube blogger had a video camera surgically placed into his forearm. The same rumour also claims that another online personality had an auto-tune system placed into his arm.

FALSE

In a recent social media upload, blogger Jake Paul announced to his millions of subscribers that he was getting a video camera inserted into his arm. His announcement also drew attention to a rapper identified as “Nessly” who allegedly had surgery to add an auto tune system into his forearm.

Is Auto-tune Implant Real Life

Of course, both claims are complete nonsense.

Firstly, in a video announcing Paul’s proposed surgery, Nessly appears on screen after having his own “auto tune” surgery completed. However as Nessly appears on screen, the auto tune system is not present, and only appears after the screen cuts back to him, demonstrating that it is added using video effects. See below.

Another video error is evident when Paul is allegedly using his implanted video camera to record his first video. Paul apparently misses the fact that it his phone that’s clearly visible in the reflection of his glasses. (Below.)

Of course there are other plenty of sure fire giveaways, such as terrible video effects, worse sound effects, convenient camera angles and the obvious fact that such surgery (either the video camera on Jake Paul or the auto tune surgery on Nessly) is obviously not possible. (In the case of Nessly’s “auto-tuned voice”, he has clearly had cheap voice effects added to his voice post-production.)

Is Autotune Implant Real

But another clear signal that this is merely just a prank that Paul is playing on his followers is that he identifies the doctor who performed the alleged surgery as Dr. Gabe Rosenthal Phd. A Phd is most definitely the wrong type of doctorate you would want someone to have when performing a medical surgery, and a simple Google search reveals that Dr. Gabe Rosenthal is actually a cosmetic dentist, which naturally explains why Paul was sat in what is very clearly a dentist’s chair when having “surgery” instead of a surgical theater.

It’s fake.