By Anthony Welch

When it comes to seniors’ hearing, Hearing Consultants of Colorado Springs is all ears.

Owners Michael and Cassie Iliff understand how important hearing is to everyday life. In fact, the reason the couple chose to go into the audiology field was due to their personal experiences—directly and indirectly—with hearing issues.

Michael dealt with hearing loss prior to becoming a Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.). He suffered chronic infections that eventually turned into a tumor. He recovered, but now wears hearing aids.

“I wanted to go into a field where I had the ability to have some empathy for people suffering from hearing issues,” he said. “It’s unique to be able to understand what people are going through. It’s nice to be able to help them with today’s technology.”

Similarly, Cassie, also watched her grandfather struggle with hearing issues. She was thumbing through a college catalog when she stumbled upon the field and saw a way she could help her grandfather.

“I’m really glad I can help people with hearing issues,” she added.

Comprehensive care

Under its former ownership, Hearing Consultants of Colorado Springs operated as a part-time clinic until Michael came on board in 2011.

“We wanted to focus on patients’ experiences and cover every facet of hearing health care,” he said.

Cassie was hired in 2017, and the next year Hearing Consultants moved to a larger space at its current location at 6375 Lehman Dr., Suite 100.

Along with providing hearing tests, hearing aids and hearing protection, Hearing Consultants has expanded its services to treat patients with balance disorders.

“The ear can cause various disorders with balance,” Michael said. “We diagnose and treat those issues.”

Hearing Consultants also treats tinnitus—a condition where patients hear ringing, humming, buzzing, hissing and cricket noises. The clinic utilizes counseling and sound enrichment to treat patients with tinnitus and help them understand why it’s happening and how a specialized treatment plan will help.

“It’s about retraining the brain to no longer hear those noises,” said Cassie. “So many people are told that tinnitus can’t be treated. We feel very differently and haven’t met a patient we can’t help.”

The business has treated patients with an 80 percent success rate, she added.

Patients first

Hearing Consultants strives to focus on the patients’ care, not just their dollars.

“Our support staff put the patients’ needs ahead of their coffee break,” said Michael.

The majority of patients are seniors. Hearing Consultants is also one of the few clinics that helps patients with severe to profound hearing loss with the use of cochlear implants. While hearing aids amplify sound so that the damaged components of the ear can better detect it, cochlear implants completely bypass these areas and deliver direct stimulation to the auditory nerve.

“For seniors, the hearing loss is due to aging, genetic makeup or things like past military service,” Michael said. “A percentage of younger ages have hearing loss due to ear disease.”

To learn more and to schedule an appointment, visit www.myhearingconsultants.com or call 719-633-1494.