Here for Your Ears

About Our Clinic

One of the greatest joys we have at Sun Country Hearing Ltd. is seeing the faces of those who are hearing their best again. Located in Estevan, SK, and serving all southeast Saskatchewan. Whether you’re visiting us for a hearing aid fitting or need earwax removal services, you can count on us to provide you with kindness, care and the respect you deserve. We value you and your needs.

Our History

Sun Country Hearing was founded in 2014 by Jacquie Mvula. Jacquie had moved back to her hometown of Estevan, SK to be closer to family. Melanie Tribiger came on board one week after the clinic opened as the receptionist. As the clinic grew, so did Melanie’s role within the clinic as well as her love for helping people through audiology. In 2021 Sun Country Hearing expanded to include a satellite clinic in Moosomin. In 2022, Jacquie decided to sell the clinic and Melanie did not hesitate at the chance to purchase the clinic and continue to provide Estevan and the surrounding area the same great audiology services they have come to expect from Sun Country Hearing.

Our Team

Melanie Tribiger

Born and raised in Estevan, SK, Sun Country Hearing truly is Melanie’s Hometown Hearing Clinic. Melanie is the daughter of Delores and the late Rodney Butler and grew up in Estevan with her sister, Janelle. Melanie believes in supporting our community and has done so through her volunteer work. It was through her work with the local Kinette Club that Melanie first met Jacquie Mvula. When she learned that Jacquie was moving back to her hometown of Estevan to open Sun Country Hearing, Melanie saw an opportunity for a career change.

More about Melanie

She began working at Sun Country Hearing as the receptionist in November 2014, one week after the clinic opened and through the years has found herself in a variety of positions within the clinic. Melanie decided she wanted to make Audiology her career and enrolled in the Hearing Aid Practitioner program at Grant MacEwan University. Upon completion of the program she worked as a Hearing Aid Practitioner, splitting her time between Sun Country Hearing and Yorkton Hearing Services. Melanie purchased Sun Country Hearing in 2022 and is eager to continue offering audiology services right here in her hometown.

Mikayla Belhumeur

My name is Mikayla Belhumeur, I have been living in Estevan since November of 2019, and have been a part of Sun Country Hearing since July of 2020. I started as a part time receptionist and have recently came back from my maternity leave into a new role, as the office manager. I absolutely love my job, the environment and people I get to work with every single day, I look forward to meeting and connecting with every client who walks through our doors, young and old.

More about Mikayla

Prior to working here, I was a continuing care aide for 5 years, working with the elderly is something I have always had a passion for. In May of 2021, I had a beautiful baby girl, so in my spare time you can find me chasing after our busy girl, and enjoying time as a little family. Learning the ins and outs of hearing has been so enjoyable and I would love to learn more and expand my knowledge, maybe some possible education will be in my future.

Lois

Lois joined Sun Country Hearing in May 2021, as the receptionist.

Loves to travel the world and spent most of her time after high school traveling to more than 20 other countries. As a Jill of some trades, she has settled down in the area and loves to renovate her little fixer upper. She is an avid reader, and looks forward to bringing a smile to your face.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long has the clinic been in operation?

Sun Country Hearing Ltd. has been a part of the Estevan community since 2014.

Do you have financing?

Financing is available on select hearing devices. We would be happy to help walk you through the application process.

Can you bill my private insurance?

We do not offer private insurance billing, however, we would be happy to provide you with a receipt that includes all the information needed for you to submit your claim.

When should I get my hearing tested?

Usually, individuals do not seek out their audiologist until a hearing problem is noticed. For example, his/her spouse complaining about the TV being too loud, or difficulty understanding speech in background noise. Although a hearing test at that time is recommended, a baseline is also a recommended starting point so that change in hearing can be determined.

1. Anyone working in the presence of excessive noise (85 dBA) should have an annual threshold check.
2. An assessment around the age of 50 will help determine a progressive hearing loss in the future.
3. A sudden shift in hearing acuity requires a hearing test within 48 hours.

Additional testing may be recommended by your hearing aid practitioner depending on case history and audiometric results. Once hearing loss or tinnitus is determined, an audiometric test every two years is recommended (sooner if any of the above is applicable).

How often should I have my hearing tested?

We recommend your hearing be tested every 2 years unless any of the exceptions listed above apply.

Do I need a referral to see a hearing aid practitioner?

To see a Hearing Aid Practitioner in a private practice, you do not need a physician’s referral. There is a cost for an assessment in this setting, but the wait time is minimal. Some health plans will reimburse the assessment fee, but you must check with your plan to see if it is covered.

Why do I have ear wax and what is the best way to get it out of my ears?

Ear wax (or cerumen) in moderate amounts is healthy. It serves as a protectant for your ears, just as eyelashes protect your eyes. A combination of ear hairs, outward migration of the skin in the canal, and jaw movement serve as a natural cleaner of the canal. The aging process often changes the shape of the canal to a slim oval which can also cause wax to build up.

As well, hearing aids can block the wax from making its way out of the canal. Use of Q-tips can push the cerumen further into the canal where it can no longer come out on its own. Remember: never put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear canal! Use of mineral oil, olive oil, or even Colace may be used to soften cerumen before removal, but only if there is certainty that the eardrum is intact.

There are three methods a regulated health care professional will use to remove excessive ear wax:
1. Instrumentation: wax is removed using a curette;
2. Suction: wax is removed using a mini vacuum (safest and most preferred by clients);
3. Irrigation: flushing with water.

NOTE: Ear candling is not a recommended method for cerumen removal.

I have hearing loss in both ears, but do just fine with only one hearing aid. Why would I get a second hearing aid?

Our ears work together as a receiving station for the brain. One ear is directed to the left, and the other to the right. When the ears pick up a sound, the brain calculates the angle from which the sound came. We need both ears working to be able to localize where sounds come from. Secondly, the quality of sound greatly increases when it is heard by two ears, rather than one. So if you have hearing loss in both ears, and only have amplification in one, what you hear will be somewhat flat and missing the richness that could be found with two.

I know someone with a hearing loss. What can I do to make communicating easier for both of us?

Hearing loss can make a person feel very isolated and lonely. Listening becomes difficult and getting together with family and friends can become very frustrating, as well as tiring. Here are some ways you can make communicating with someone with a hearing loss easier:

Speak normally; not too exaggerated, too quickly or too loudly.
Be sure you have eye contact before you begin speaking to the person.
Use facial expressions, gestures and body language.
Ensure the person is aware when the topic changes.
Be aware of competing noises or sounds in the room such as music, other people talking, or mechanical sounds such as air conditioners. Background noises make it much more difficult to hear.
Reword your sentence if the person does not understand what you are saying.
Most importantly, ask if there is anything you can do to improve communication.

I woke up this morning with significantly poorer hearing than usual in one ear. What should I do?

Sudden hearing loss occurs for various reasons and should always be dealt with immediately. In 9/10 cases, the loss is unilateral (only in one ear). Whether the change in hearing is due to wax build-up, a middle ear infection, or a sudden sensorineural decrease in hearing at multiple frequencies (inner ear), you should see your family physician or hearing aid practitioner to determine the cause/type of the loss right away. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Many times, people assume it is nothing serious, only to wait too long to get medical attention and are unable to recover their hearing.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) should be considered a medical emergency and be dealt with in the first 48 hours. The sooner you seek medical attention, the more likely you are to recover some or all of your hearing. Since there are more than 100 possible causes of SSHL, it is often unlikely that it will be identified. Possible treatments include antibiotics, low salt diet, and most commonly, steroids.

What is the difference between and audiologist and a hearing aid practitioner?

No one said hearing was simple! The complexities of the ear and all the tiny instruments within requires a variety of training and specialties. With that said, when it comes to the medical field of hearing care, there’s an array of specialists.

There are two healthcare professions that provide services to conduct hearing tests for the purposes of selecting, fitting and dispensing hearing aids and other assisting listening devices. These two groups are called Audiologists and Hearing Aid Practitioners. Each specialist has a different scope of practice, which is defined by their education and training and by regulatory distinctions.

Audiologist

An Audiologist is a hearing care professional with a minimum of a Master’s Degree of Education. This master’s degree will usually focus on a very clinical point of view on hearing loss and specialize on the physiology of speech and balance disorders.

Hearing Aid Practitioner (HAP)

A Hearing Aid Practitioner (HAP) is a hearing healthcare professional with a diploma in:

Hearing Testing and Compilation of testing data to determine type of hearing loss.
Prescribing and fitting/dispensing of hearing aids and assistive listening devices including ongoing service, adjustments, and maintenance of the hearing aids.
Ongoing counseling and support with the clients and family members to ensure they derive the best benefit possible from the amplification.

I have one "dead" ear. Can you do anything to help me?

All too often, clients report a “dead” ear when, in actuality, that ear just has poorer hearing than the other one. Following a hearing test by an audiologist to diagnose the type and degree of hearing loss being suffered, amplification options can be discussed. In the event that one ear either has no hearing OR if it can hear environmental sounds, but cannot distinguish speech sounds adequately, there is now a cosmetically pleasing option to try.

This is called a CROS (or biCROS) hearing aid which stands for “Contralateral Routing of Signals”. In other words, it takes the sound received on the side of the “bad ear”, and sends it over to the “good ear” where it is picked up by a receiving hearing aid that only amplifies the sound if needed for that ear. In the past, this was only possible with a cord running around the back of the neck, but technology has come a long way. It is now wireless and the devices are very discrete.