December 2010

A SIMPLE WHITE ENVELOPE… a true story

It’s just a simple white envelope stuck among the branches of the Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It all began because her husband hated Christmas. Oh, not the reason for Christmas, but the way it had become so commercial, causing high stress and unnecessary debt. Knowing how her husband felt, Nancy Gavin was inspired to give Mike a gift that would be especially meaningful to him. The inspiration came in an unusual way. The Gavin’s son, Kevin, twelve at the time, was on the junior high wrestling team. Shortly before Christmas, Kevin’s squad was scheduled for a non-league match against an inner-city team, made up of under privileged kids. These youngsters, wearing sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing that held them together, presented a sharp contrast to Kevin’s team in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and clean, new wrestling shoes.

As the match began, Nancy was alarmed to see that the other players, dressed in tattered clothing, were wrestling without protective headgear, designed to protect the wrestlers’ ears.

It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. One by one, Kevin’s team ended up walloping the other kids.

Mike, seated next to Nancy, shook his head sadly. “I wish at least one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.” Mike loved kids – all kids – and he understood them, having coached an array of sports teams through the years. It was Mike’s compassion that spawned Nancy’s special gift idea. That afternoon, she went to the local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and had them sent anonymously to the inner-city team. On Christmas Eve, Nancy put a simple white envelope amidst the branches of their Christmas tree. A note, telling Mike what she had done, was her gift to him. Mike’s smile was the brightest thing about that long-ago Christmas, and every year that followed. For, every Christmas after that, Nancy continued the tradition – one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose house had burned to the ground the week before, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of their Christmas giving. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and every year Kevin and his two siblings waited in anticipation as Dad lifted the envelope from among the branches. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical gifts, but the envelope never lost its allure. The year Mike died of cancer, Nancy was filled with a deep sadness as Christmas neared. It was a challenge to even put up the tree. But on Christmas Eve, she found herself placing the simple white envelope in the branches. In the morning, three more envelopes had joined it, each containing their selfless gifts to Mike. Over the years, the tradition has spread to the grandchildren. Now they, too, wait expectantly for the revelation of each year’s Spirit of Christmas, and have already planned some surprises of their own. This year, I’m going to join the Gavins and put “a simple white envelope” on my Christmas list. I can’t wait to see what gifts I will get!

IN THIS ISSUE * A Simple White Envelope

* President’s Corner * A Funny Thing Happened – Funny Bone

* PūrTone Announcements * How Resolute Are Your Resolutions?

* Answers to Holiday Puzzle * December’s Special Holiday Coupon

* What IS Tinnitus? * Looney Law

* Now ‘Ear This *Fill in the Blanks for the Holidays

* Fun Facts

Your Company Name Presents

FEBRUARY 2010

President’s

corner

Edward Maznio,

President

Welcome to our newsletter! We

sincerely invite you to join us each

month for hearing highlights, fun

and entertainment, special offers,

and a potpourri of items that we

hope you’ll find of interest. We look

forward to reconnecting with many

of you while continuing to foster our

relationships with those of you who

have been loyal patrons of PūrTone

over the years. Each and every one

of you are important to us and we

are fully committed to serving you.

It is our sincere desire to earn your

trust and become your Hearing Care

Consultants for Life. So sit back

and enjoy our first edition and let us

know if we can help you with your

hearing in any way.

FROM THE PRESIDENT:

From time to time, we hear from clients who ask where they can buy batteries for their new hearing aids. WOW! We obviously didn’t commun- icate as well as we thought we did. Why? Because we should be sure that before a patient leaves a PūrTone office, each one should know that with their new hearing aid purchase, they get our “Free Complete Concierge” – that includes Free Batteries for Life! If you’ve not yet taken advantage of our “Free Battery” offer, please stop in today and pick up your free supply. It’s our way of saying, “Thank you for choosing PūrTone to solve your hearing needs!” and to let you know just how much we value our relationship with you. That’s right! Our mission is to help you hear better for a lifetime – and be your Hearing Consultants for life!

DECEMBER 2010

These are the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions: 1. Stop smoking

2. Lose Weight 3. Get Physically Fit

4. Get Out of Debt 5. Live a Calmer Life 6. Spend More Time With Family 7. Get Rid of Clutter

8. Learn Something New 9. Be Kinder to People

10. Make Resolutions I Can Actually Keep

De o x y r ib o n u cle ic a cid

is b e t t e r k n o w n a s w h a t ?

Everyone who faxes, emails, or calls in

the correct answer by the last business

day of December, 2010, will be entered

into a drawing for a

$25.00 Dining Certificate

to Chili’s.

The winner will be selected by random

drawing of participants. Watch for your

name next month!

December’s

Client of the Month Congratulations to Harold G. of Glendale, our Client of the Month for December. As always, the Client of the Month receives a free lunch with two friends and PūrTone’s President and Founder, Edward Maznio, at Chili’s Restaurant & Grill.

Call me to find out how YOU can become a Client of the Month!

40-45% of American adults make New Year’s Resolutions. Only 46% are kept more than six months.

Funny Bone “A cheerful heart is good medicine…” Proverbs 17:22

A Funny Thing

Happened on the Way

to Better Hearing…

As we all know, misunderstandings

can happen on a moment’s notice

– and not always at the most

opportune time. Here’s a perfect

example:

The couple had been married for

seven decades and the family had

put together a big event to help

them celebrate. Family and friends

were gathered around the “bride

and groom” as they re-enacted the

cake cutting and champagne toast.

The aged groom raised his glass

to give his beloved his special

words of endearment: “After all

these years, I have found you to be

tried and true.” His bride was hard

of hearing and asked him to repeat

his toast. He raised his glass a little

higher and repeated a little louder,

“After all these years, I have found

you to be tried and true.”

Her response surprised them all

when she said in a tart tone, “Well,

this is a fine time to tell me that.

Just to have you know, after all

these years, I’m tired of you, too!”

Her poor husband was left feeling

pretty disappointed until his wife

understood what he had really said

and gave him a kiss to make up.

And while this story is both

comical and sad for the poor

husband, it’s a good reminder that

a hearing test will help YOU avoid

this kind of a mistake – although,

we will admit, it IS fun to kiss and

make up!

WELCOME, NEW CLIENTS! Among many others, here are some of the new clients who became members of our “PūrTone Family” this past month. I’d like to welcome you, and wish you all the best!

Jackie C. from Glendale (referred by Harold G.)

Don C. from Lake Havasu City

(referred by Richard and Sue C.)

Ila K. from Wickenburg

(referred by Betty Joyce F.)

Carl C. of Sun City West (referred by Brian D.)

We love giving recognition to our new friends and our wonderful existing clients who are kind enough to refer their friends, family and neighbors to us. Thank you so much for your kind support. We appreciate you.

TINNITUS – WHAT IS IT AND HOW CAN I GET RID OF IT? Tinnitus (TIN-ih-tus or tin-EYE-tus) is noise, or ringing in the ears. A common problem, tinnitus affects about one in five people. But it isn’t a condition itself – it’s a symptom of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, ear injury, or a circulatory system disorder. Although bothersome, in most cases tinnitus isn’t a sign of something serious. For most people, symptoms of tinnitus get better with treatment. Sometimes it gets better by treating the underlying cause, when one is identified. Other treatments reduce or mask the noise, giving some measure of relief by making the noise(s) less noticeable.

Tinnitus involves the annoying sensation of hearing sound inside your head when no external sound is present. Tinnitus symptoms include, but are not limited to, these types of phantom noises in your ears: ringing, buzzing, roaring, clicking, whistling, hissing, thumping, pounding, sawing and galloping. The phantom noises may vary

in pitch from a low roar to a high pitched squeal, and you may hear it in either one, or both of your ears. Or, you may have the sensation that the noise is actually

internal in the center of your brain, not in your ear, per se. In some cases, the sound can be so loud that it interferes with your ability to concentrate or hear. Tinnitus may be present all of the time, or it may be intermittent, coming and going at intervals. There are two kinds of tinnitus. The most common, subjective tinnitus, is unexplained head noise that only you can hear. Objective tinnitus is sound your doctor can hear during an examination. This rare type of tinnitus may be caused by a blood vessel problem, an inner ear bone condition, or a muscular issue. As frustrating as tinnitus is, and as desperate as some people are to find the root cause in hopes of getting successful treatment, in many cases, an exact cause is never found. However, there are several identified causes of tinnitus, some of which we will note here for you. The following list is not complete, but does include: age-related hearing loss; extended exposure to loud noise in work or hobbies; earwax blockage; changes in the earbones; Meniere’s disease (an inner ear disorder); stress and depression; acoustic neuroma (a non-cancerous – benign – tumor); head and neck tumors that may be pressing on the blood vessels; high blood pressure; excessive use of alcohol, nicotine and/or caffeine; medications such as diuretics, antibiotics, cancer medications or taking uncommonly high dosages of aspirin. Tinnitus can significantly affect your quality of life by causing complications. Among the difficulties that tinnitus can cause, some are: fatigue, stress, sleep problems, trouble concentrating, memory problems, depression, anxiety and irritability. Consult your doctor if you are significantly affected in any of these areas by your symptoms of tinnitus, or if you are concerned about what may be causing them. Since tinnitus is commonly connected to some measure of hearing loss, the use of hearing aids can help “mask” your tinnitus symptoms. When emphasis is placed on speech and ambient sounds through amplification, the annoying tinnitus noise fades in comparison, giving you some measure of relief. Call us today to schedule a hearing exam. Hearing aids just may be the answer to help you hear better and reduce that annoying noise in your head.

CALL US TODAY AND ASK

ABOUT OUR

MUST HAVE COUPON G OO D UN TI L 12/31/10

This continues our series on our journey through the ear. This month we

are going deeper into the ear and examining the cochlea, the auditory portion of the inner ear. The cochlea resembles a snail shell with 2.5

turns. It houses the organ of Corti, (the body’s microphone) and hair

cells. In the lower turn of the cochlea, there are two windows, the

“oval” window, and the “round” window. The footplate of the stirrup

is attached to both windows and functions as a piston, moving the

fluid of the inner ear. This movement of fluid activates the hair cells

in the inner ear, which run along the entire length of the basilar

membrane. There is one row of inner hair cells and three rows of

outer hair cells, making up the central part of the organ of the Corti.

The combined role of the two types of hair cells is essential to the function of hearing. The outer cells maintain hearing

sensitivity, while the inner hair cells convert the physical energy in the

inner ear fluid to electrical energy, which is delivered to the brain via

the XIII cranial nerve (the “auditory” nerve). Damaged or eroded hair

cells cause sounds to be processed inaccurately, and a person begins

to hear speech as if the speaker is mumbling. A listener may also hear

speech sounds at a much softer level and can find him/herself asking a

speaker to repeat what was said. These situations can typically be

corrected with the use of hearing instruments.

Weak vibrations of soft sounds are mechanically increased

through the use of hearing aids, stimulating damaged or deteriorated

hair cells. And while hearing aids cannot restore missing hair cells, they

can provide a substitution of sound to enrich speech as a listener hears

it, making it possible to understand better. Schedule your exam today!

Copyright 2010 - Audiogenic, Inc. - All Rights Reserved

LOONEY LAW:

FUN FACTS: NO PIECE OF PAPER CAN BE FOLDED MORE THAN SEVEN TIMES. WALT DISNEY WAS AFRAID OF MICE!

ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND INSIDE ON PAGE 3

1. _ I _ _ E _ AND _ I _ _ _ _ DECORATIONS FOR THE TREE

2. _ _ E _ U _ _ _ A _ _ E _ _ U I _ E BELOVED HOLIDAY BALLET

3. I _ _ A _ O _ _ E _ _ U _ _ I _ E

AMERICA’S MOST POPULAR CHRISTMAS MOVIE

4. _ I _ A _ _ E _ O _ _ A _ U _ _ A _ JEWISH FOLKS CELEBRATE THESE

5. A _ A _ I _ _ _ E _ A _ _ E _ AND

_ I _ E _ _ _ I _ _ _ 2 WELL-LOVED CHRISTMAS HYMNS

6. A _ _ _ I _ _ _ A _ _ A _ O _ THINK DICKENS

7. _ U _ O _ _ _ AND _ A _ _ A _ _ A U _ THINK RED FOR BOTH OF THESE HOLIDAY CHARACTERS

8. _ E _ _ _ E _ E _ _ _ A _

BRIGHT AND SHINING 9. _ _ U I _ _ A _ E

A LOVE IT OR HATE IT HOLIDAY TREAT

10. _ O _ A _ O _ A _ _ E _

TRADITIONAL HANUKKAH DISH

11. _ A _ _ E _ S _ E _ _ I A _

HOLIDAY MUSICAL MASTERPIECE

12. _ E _ O _ A _ AND _ _ E I _ E _

HANUKKAH’S SYMBOL OF FAITH AND A CHILD’S GAME PIECE

13. _ _ _ I _ _ _ A _ E _ E

OBSERVED DECEMBER 24TH EACH YEAR

14. _ O _ _ _ E _ _ U _ E _ E _ _ O _ E TINY TIM

Corporate Office

20350 N. Cave Creek Rd., Ste. 130 Phoenix, Arizona 85024 602-971-3900 or 888-614-HEAR E-Mail: [email protected] Web: www.PurToneUSA.com

Corporate: 20350 N. Cave Creek Rd., Suite 130 Phoenix, Arizona 85024

December 1, 2010 Online at ArizonaHears.com

Dear Friend,

Under Construction! I want to share with you some exciting news that’s going on in our business. PūrTone is going through some major changes...changes that will benefit you, our client.

I’m Sorry Before I share with you what’s happening, I feel I need to apologize for not keeping in closer contact with you. Our staff has enjoyed working with you in solving your hearing needs, and the relationship we developed while we were working closely together is important to us. So I hope you’ll forgive us for not keeping in closer contact with you.

What’s Happening? My goal is to build our business where our hearing care professionals are working as hearing consultants, not salespeople, and where 100% of our business is created BY REFERRAL. In order to do this, we’re committed to serving all our clients above and beyond their expectations. Unlike your stereotypical hearing specialists who spend much of their time “hustling,” looking for new business from the general public, our staff will dedicate 100% of their time and energy to our current clients and to those who have been referred to PūrTone. We’d rather be working with you and with your family and friends who you refer to PūrTone! We want to be your Hearing Consultants for Life, and I hope we can earn your trust and build a lifelong relationship with you, your family and your friends. Please ShareCare! Sincerely yours,

Edward Edward A. Maznio, President & Founder Direct 602-971-3900 P.S. Enclosed with this letter is our December edition of our new PūrTone monthly newsletter—I hope you enjoy it. If you have friends or family members who might enjoy receiving a free subscription as well, please give me a call me. P.S.S. In late October we opened our NEW OFFICE in MESA, AZ! We welcome our current East valley patients to visit for service or supplies, as well as referrals of friends or family who may live in the East valley that need hearing help. Our Senior Director of Patient Care, Mr. Jaime Silva, looks forward to caring for your needs.