Physiotherapists deliver ear and hearing care with Tympa

Physiotherapist Avril Soards shares her journey with Tympa and how expanding into delivering ear and hearing healthcare has helped her private physio business.

How did you find out about the Tympa system?

I first found out about the Tympa System through a friend who used to be a nurse, that became a Foot Health Practitioner. She was looking at the TymaHealth Training Academy and recommended it to me as she thought it would be perfect for my needs.

What influenced your decision to offer ear and hearing healthcare as part of your Physiotherapy practice?

Personally, I was looking for something that would provide me the freedom to fit patients into my diary when it suited me. I’m a single mum with shared care of my son, so having the flexibility is something that is really important to me.

Additionally, with the Tympa System I can help people in my community quickly, Physiotherapy often takes a lot of input from the patient to be successful, with this I can help people in minutes.

What made our product or service stand out from other options?

It was a combination of my nurse friend’s recommendation after the research that she had done and my experience with Monisha in Sales. She made me feel comfortable throughout the process, as this was a new area for me and explained the steps to bringing this new service to my Physiotherapy practice clearly. I thought she was intelligent, eloquent, concise, friendly and very patient – it didn’t feel like a hard sell and that made me feel secure.

How has your journey with Tympa been so far?

It’s been excellent! I’ve really enjoyed the process. Unfortunately, my dad passed away about a week before the practical day, but I felt supported from Tympa throughout this. I think the process is very smooth and the more I use the Tympa System the more confident I become.

Have you used the Remote Review feature, if so, how has this been?

To begin with, having the extra support from the Remote Review feature is very helpful and I found it really reassuring being able to reach out to expert audiology advice when I needed it. Now I’m using it less and less as my confidence and skills have grown.

How much demand has there been for the service?

I did some initial leaflet drops over two days to begin with and most of my business has come from this. I currently do a mix of teaching Yoga, Pilates, and private Physio – I like having the variety and flexibility. As long as I’m earning enough to cover the monthly rental, I’m happy. I do plan to increase my bookings in the future though.

Do you have a standout patient story where you feel you really made a difference?

Yes. As a Physiotherapist I am trained in delivering care to patients with neurological conditions. Recently I saw a patient who had unfortunately had a stroke. Because of this she had lost 70% of her vision and her husband thought that she had lost her hearing too. She had previously been in hospital with ulcerated legs before she had her stroke and so had been in the system a while – with her hearing ignored.

He booked me in to visit her in her care home, to see if the hearing problem was due to wax. At the start of the session, she was fairly non-responsive and sitting in a very awkward position. With my physio experience I was able to adjust her posture to access her ears and then I could remove the wax. It was such a heart-warming moment when she started to respond to his voice. By the time I left they were both able to have a conversation again. It made such a huge and immediate difference to both of them, and it was such a simple procedure for me to do. I feel better about that than any result I’ve had in physio.

Do you have any advice for Physiotherapists considering expanding their service?

I’d say if you are looking for more variety in your work or ways to diversify your service – give it a go! The flexibility is a massive bonus plus you see quicker results than you get with physio alone.

Any other comments?

I’ve really enjoyed it! It’s also helped me to get more private physio work from it because the care homes I visit are getting to know me and ask me to look into someone’s mobility problems etc. The two services work perfectly together, even though you wouldn’t necessarily imagine they would.