ListenUp!

Dr. Terri Edwards is the Founder of NewSound Solutions and an experienced audiologist. She has a passion for educating people on hearing loss and providing solutions to increase their quality of life. Over her career of more than 25 years, she has developed specialties in hearing loss, dizziness, and tinnitus. 

Dr. Edwards earned her doctorate from the Arizona School of Health and Sciences at A.T. Still University and her master’s from California State University, Los Angeles. She has been married for more than 30 years and is the proud mother of two grown children.

While the research is new, there is a strong and clear connection between hearing loss and brain function. Hearing loss is already a progressive degenerative disease — but it can also cause atrophy in the brain.

When left untreated, it can lead to substantial memory loss and even dementia. It’s a significant problem that goes far beyond not being able to hear the TV. Slowing or reversing these effects takes some serious treatment, but few are willing to go through with it. So, how do you get patients comfortable with taking their hearing seriously?

Dr. Mark Syms sits down with Dr. Terri Edwards, the Founder of NewSound Solutions, to see how she educates her patients and gets them comfortable. The two share amazing stories of hearing recovery, how to answer the major objections that patients have, and why proper hearing is so important. They also dive into Dr. Edwards’ personal journey and how a childhood friend drove her to help others through audiology. All of this on today’s episode of the ListenUp! Podcast.

Dr. Jeffrey Shannon is the Owner and Director of Hudson Valley Audiology Center. He has been at his practice for over 10 years and serves as the Professional Advisor for the Hearing Loss Association of America’s Rockland and Westchester chapters. Dr. Shannon earned a degree in electrical engineering before switching careers and receiving his doctorate in audiology at the University of Louisville. He also hosts a podcast and radio show entitled Listen Up Rockland!, where he provides entertaining and educational interviews.

Let’s be honest: Patients can be frustrating for doctors. Whether they were dragged into the office by a loved one or they’re hesitant to take advice, the relationship between patient and doctor can be tricky. Knowing how to ask the right questions and ease their concerns can make all the difference. The only question is, how do you do it?

For Dr. Jeffrey Shannon making his patients comfortable and meeting their needs is his top priority. As an audiologist with more than ten years of direct experience, he has discovered how to simplify that process. He is eager to share his knowledge through his podcast and role as a professional advisor — and now he extends it to the ListenUp! podcast.

On this episode of ListenUp!, Dr. Mark Syms interviews Dr. Jeffrey Shannon, the Owner and Director of the Hudson Valley Audiology Center, to hear his strategy for working with his patients. They break down how to get patients comfortable, how to gauge their attitude when they arrive, and how well they can identify their own hearing loss. Stay tuned for all of this and more!

Brian Fligor, PhD is a renowned audiologist, the President of Tobias & Battite Hearing Wellness, and the Co-founder of Lantos Technologies. He’s board-certified in audiology with a specialty in pediatric audiology. As both a clinician and entrepreneur, his passion is to help patients feel comfortable in their hearing again.

Outside of Brian’s practice, he works as an adjunct professor at St. Louis University as well as a consultant for the World Health Organization. His book, Understanding Childhood Hearing Loss, was published in 2015 and seeks to help a crucial but often unseen condition.

The ability to hear is a gift people take for granted all too often. It’s only after experiencing significant hearing loss that most people start to take it more seriously. But, the ability to perceive sound has a great influence on our quality of life — especially for children and their early development.

Brian Fligor, PhD is an audiologist who specializes in children and musicians for exactly this reason. He is currently the President and one of the staff clinicians at Tobias & Battite, which was born out of the desire to bring expert hearing healthcare to New England. His passion from the start of his career has been to make his patients comfortable and independent. Now, he shares his experience and story with you.

On this episode of ListenUp!, Dr. Mark Syms sits down with Brian Fligor, PhD, the President and Owner of Tobias & Battite, and the Co-founder of Lantos Technologies, to learn about how he treats hearing loss. The two discuss a wide berth of topics from patient’s common doubts to the science behind the importance of two ears. They also break down Brian’s personal journey and how he came to his unique specialties in audiology. This is an episode you won’t want to miss!

Dr. Rodney Perkins is the Founder of The Perkins Clinic at Earlens. He also serves as a Professor Emeritus of Surgery at The Stanford University School of Medicine, where he started The California Ear Institute. He has a long history as a pioneer in the otolaryngology field and has developed surgical procedures for middle ear reconstruction and ear-drum transplantation. He’s also played a role in pioneering lasers for high-precision surgeries, many of which are widely recognized today as standard-of-care. He is also the innovator behind “Project Hear,” the ear tissue bank.

As an entrepreneur, Dr. Perkins has founded over 13 successful companies including ReSound Corporation, Sound ID, and Earlens Corporation. He earned his medical degree from Indiana University and completed his surgical residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Similar to what happens in other professions, many doctors and entrepreneurs in the medical space fall into a pattern of doing the same things every day. As time goes by, they get burnt out and find it difficult to pivot for other, more interesting ideas. 

Dr. Rodney Perkins advises entrepreneurs in the medical space to stay current and up-to-date with innovations within the industry. To do this, Dr. Perkins has one piece of advice: stop going through the motions and think outside the box. Once you break from your routine, you’ll start coming up with new innovations regularly — which will go a long way in helping provide better products and services to patients.

In this week's episode of ListenUp!, Dr. Mark Syms interviews Dr. Rodney Perkins, the Founder of The Perkins Clinic at Earlens, about innovating in the medical space. Dr. Perkins explains how the idea for Earlens came about, talks about some of his inventions, and explains how spending some time alone helps him come up with great ideas.

Dr. Tamara Lieberman is an Internal Medicine Specialist and Physician at Internal Medicine of Arizona. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Arizona and completed her residency in internal medicine at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Lieberman is a strong believer in preventative care and has a special interest in women’s health. She has been named a “Top Doc” by PHOENIX Magazine every year since 2016.

What is the value of pursuing a career in internal medicine? While many new physicians choose to enter the corporate space, Dr. Tamara Lieberman is grateful she decided to join a private practice in the internal medicine field. So, what led her down this career path, and what does she love about her practice?

For Dr. Lieberman, one of her favorite parts about being a physician is establishing strong relationships and rapport with her patients. As she says, working in a private internal medicine practice allows her to connect with patients across generations — something she couldn’t have achieved in the environment of corporate medicine. Now, Dr. Lieberman is here to talk about her journey in the internal medicine field and the profound connections she has made along the way. 

Dr. Tamara Lieberman, an Internal Medicine Specialist and Physician at Internal Medicine of Arizona, joins Dr. Mark Syms in this episode of ListenUp! to talk about her work as an internist. Dr. Lieberman shares what she loves most about the internal medicine field, the lessons she learned from her mother's hearing loss, and the connections she’s made throughout her medical career. Stay tuned for more.

Richard Bailey, M.D., is an ENT Specialist who practices in Northwest Arizona. He received his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, and did his residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Bailey has been in practice for more than 20 years.

Although Dr. Richard Bailey had suspected his own hearing loss for some time, he wasn’t aware of how severe it was. However, the pandemic changed that. The difficulty of understanding patients talking through masks made him realize how much he’d been relying on his other senses to compensate for his hearing impairment. 

This experience had a profound effect on Dr. Bailey. It was the final push he needed to seek treatment. Now, his life is full of sounds that he never knew he was missing, and he no longer struggles to understand what’s going on around him. Dr. Bailey’s firsthand knowledge of hearing loss also gives him a better understanding of what his patients are going through so he can offer them a deeper level of care.

In this episode of Listen Up!, Dr. Mark Syms is joined by Dr. Richard Bailey, an ENT Specialist, to discuss how Dr. Bailey's personal journey with hearing loss has impacted his life and work. Dr. Bailey also talks about what inspired him to become a doctor, advancements in hearing aid technology, and the people who have made a difference in his medical career. Stay tuned!

Randall Porter, M.D., is a top neurosurgeon at Barrow Brain and Spine, a physician-owned specialty practice focused in the areas of neurosurgery, advanced spine care, and pain management.

Dr. Porter went to Southern Methodist University for his undergraduate studies and then attended Rush Medical College in his hometown of Chicago. He completed his neurological surgery residency at Barrow Neurological Institute. He now works with Dr. Mark Syms at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

Medical doctors have a duty to see patients, diagnose and identify medical problems, and develop a treatment plan. However, there’s more to it than that. Properly caring for patients takes more than being knowledgeable about their medical conditions. 

Dr. Randall Porter believes that only knowing how to treat an illness is not enough — you also need to know how to treat the person. Being the kind of doctor patients can trust to make the right decisions for their health and life is something he takes seriously. For Dr. Porter, knowing his patients as individuals is an essential part of caring for them. After all, everyone is different — and their treatment should be too.

In this week's episode of Listen Up!, Dr. Mark Syms is joined by Dr. Randall Porter, a neurosurgeon at Barrow Brain and Spine, to talk about acoustic neuroma surgeries and determining the best treatment plans for patients. Dr. Porter shares what led him to a career in neurosurgery, one patient story that’s stuck with him through the years, and some of the challenges he faces in his practice. Stay tuned!

Dr. Drew Dundas is the Vice President of Audiology and Product Strategy at Earlens Corporation. He is an audiologist, scientist, and leader who seeks to turn great ideas into tangible innovations. 

Before joining Earlens, Dr. Dundas was the President and Chief Technical Officer at Soundhawk and the Director of Audiology at the University of California in San Francisco. He has also been a Staff Audiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and an Audiology Fellow at Cleveland Clinic.

Hearing loss profoundly affects patients’ lives and often hurts their confidence levels. It can alter a person’s relationships as well as their personal and professional lives. 

Dr. Drew Dundas' love for working directly with patients has enabled him to help many people get their hearing loss problems treated so that they can live more fulfilling lives. Because of technology created by the Earlens Corporation, he was able to help a famous film director return to editing the soundscape for his sets. 

In this episode of ListenUp!, Dr. Mark Syms is joined by Dr. Drew Dundas, the Vice President of Audiology and Product Strategy at Earlens Corporation, to talk about audiology, technology, and helping patients receive proper hearing treatment. Dr. Dundas also describes some of the patients he’s treated, his experience working at Earlens Corporation, and the benefits of communicating with experts outside of your own specialization.

Dr. Mark Strasser is an ear, nose, and throat specialist. He grew up in Prescott, Arizona, and attended the University of Arizona as an undergraduate and for his medical school. Dr. Strasser completed his residency at the University of Cincinnati and then went on to work in New Zealand at the University of Otago. In 2001, Dr. Strasser returned to Arizona to join Prescott ENT and Allergy, where he currently has his practice.

When he’s not working, Dr. Strasser is busy enjoying the great outdoors and spending time with his wife and their two children.

An ENT medical practitioner gets to see and treat patients with different types of complications related to the ears, nose, and throat. Some of the cases may take a short time to treat, while others may require complicated medical procedures such as surgery.

Being an ENT specialist, Dr. Mark Strasser has had his fair share of interesting and memorable medical moments. Like many professionals in highly demanding jobs, he’s found a way to work hard, enjoy the rewards of his labor, and laugh at the unpredictable moments that life throws at him.

Dr. Mark Strasser, an ENT specialist at Prescott ENT and Allergy, is Dr. Mark Syms' guest in this episode of ListenUp!, where he shares some of the crazy and memorable medical moments he’s experienced over the years. He also talks about what it was like growing up around his father’s ENT practice, how he eventually found his way into the same specialization, and who some of the role models were that he had along the way. 

Dr. Francisco Ponce is a Neurosurgeon and Residency Program Director at Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI). He studied at Harvard University and The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He then did his neurosurgery training at Barrow Neurological Institute, where he now helps train future neurosurgeons as the program director. 

In addition to being an excellent physician, Dr. Ponce is also a loving husband, father, and friend. His area of practice is in the fascinating field of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery.

Over the years, advancements in the medical field have helped make treatment easier, faster, and more accurate. One of these advancements is called deep brain stimulation. It involves implanting electrodes within the brain to treat certain health conditions.

Dr. Francisco Ponce has been using this procedure to treat his patients and has seen its benefits. He uses it to treat diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. And, the procedure has been shown to help with hearing issues involving severe tinnitus.

Dr. Francisco Ponce, the Residency Program Director at Barrow Neurological Institute, is Dr. Mark Syms’ guest in this episode of ListenUp! Together, they discuss a procedure referred to as deep brain stimulation. Dr. Ponce explains how the procedure works and the benefits of this kind of treatment. Plus, Dr. Ponce shares some inspiring patient stories.