Accurate Hearing Nova Scotia Inc. (AHNS) is committed to protecting its customers’ privacy through responsible personal information management practices. This Privacy Policy is a formal statement of the principles and guidelines for the collection, use, storage, sharing and disclosure of personal information.  This Privacy Policy applies to any paper or electronic information collected or created by AHNS at its places of business as well as the AHNS website https://accuratehearing.ca/ , its Facebook page, and all related websites, applications, services and tools where reference is made to this Privacy Policy (the “Services”), regardless of how customers access the Services.

Personal information means information about an identifiable individual, such as a name, address, telephone number, or credit card information.

AHNS will safe-guard personal information under its control and has appointed a Privacy Officer in order to ensure this Privacy Policy is complied with.  For any enquiries relating to how AHNS protects your privacy, please contact Heather Dunning at 902-252-3004 or [email protected].

AHNS adheres to the following principles to ensure that its customers’ privacy is respected and protected:

1)        Consent

By using the Services, you give explicit consent to AHNS for the collection, use, disclosure and retention of your personal information. AHNS will not use or disclose your information other than in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

Your consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information can be express and positive (may be verbal, in writing or electronic) or implied, such as by using one of our products or services, or by not responding to our offer to remove your personal information from our contact list, in which case we assume your consent has been provided. Customers may withdraw or refuse consent at any time for any purpose whatsoever, as long as reasonable notice of withdrawal is provided.

2)        Collection & Use

    1. Means of collection

      Personal InformationAHNS may collect personal identification information from customers in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, when customers phone or attend in person at one of its places of business, visit its website or Facebook page or other related websites or applications, register on the site, place an order, subscribe to the newsletter, respond to a survey, fill out a form, and in connection with other activities, services, features or resources made available by AHNS.

      Non-personal information

      AHNS may collect non-personal identification information about customers whenever they interact with its website, Facebook page or related websites or applications. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, the type of computer and technical information about customer’s means of connection to the Services, such as the operating system and the internet service providers utilized and other similar information.

      Cookies

      AHNS’s website may use “cookies” to enhance customer experience. A user’s web browser places cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about them. Any user may choose to set their web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert them when cookies are being sent. If this is done, some parts of the site may not function properly.

    2. Purpose of collection

      AHNS collects personal information from its customers for the following reasons:

      • To provide services and products to the customer
      • To market hearing health and protection products and services to customers
      • To establish and maintain customer relationships
      • To manage and develop AHNS’s business and operations
      • To meet legal and regulatory requirements
      • To provide customers with information regarding AHNS’s products and services
      • To personalize customer experience
      • AHNS may use information in the aggregate to understand how Customers as a group use the services and resources of AHNS
      • To improve AHNS’s website or the Services
      • To process payments
      • When placing an order only to provide service to that order
      • To run a promotion, contest, survey or other feature
      • To send periodic emails
      • To respond to inquiries regarding warranties or assistance with products or services

      AHNS will only use customers’ information for these stated purposes or other consistent purposes, unless the customer consents to another purpose or if another purpose is required by law.

    3. Types of information collected

      The types of information that AHNS will collect and retain may include:

      • Name
      • Address
      • Email Address
      • Telephone Number
      • Date of Birth
      • Transaction History
      • Personal insurance information
      • Third party coverage information
      • Contact information for alternate contacts and referral sources
      • Family doctor and ENT specialist (if applicable)
      • Personal health information
      • Family history information
      • Interests, hobbies, clubs or organizations that a customer belongs to where hearing plays an important role

3)        Security

AHNS has physical and technological security safeguards and procedures in place to protect customers’ personal information, including any information that has been provided by a third party. AHNS uses appropriate data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction of personal information. Sensitive and private data exchange between online sources and customers happens over an SSL secured communication channel and is encrypted and protected with digital signatures.  With respect to physical documents, AHNS uses secure locks on filing cabinets and doors, restricted access to information processing and storage areas, limited access to relevant information by authorized individuals only. Documents stored locally in electronic format are protected through the use of passwords and the encryption of electronically transmitted information. AHNS audits its procedures and security measures regularly to ensure that they are appropriate and that all personal information is protected.

4) Sharing personal information

Under no circumstances will AHNS sell customers’ personal information to third parties. AHNS may use third-party service providers to help operate its business and in the provisions of the Services or to administer activities on its behalf, such as for the purpose of sending out newsletters or surveys. Any Cloud based storage of information will be hosted in Canada and AHNS will require strict confidentiality and appropriate data security measures and encryption from any Cloud storage service. AHNS may share your information with third parties for these limited purposes.

5)        Accuracy

AHNS will ensure that customer personal information is accurate and updated when necessary.  AHNS relies on customers to inform us of any changes to their personal information.

6)        Access & Correction

Customers may access their personal information or request a correction of their personal information.  The request must be in writing and contain sufficient detail to enable AHNS to identify the personal information in question.  A minimal fee may be charged for providing access to personal information and customers will be informed of any applicable fee when a request is received.  In most cases, a response will be provided within 30 business days, however, if a longer time is needed, AHNS will provide the customer with a written notice stating the reasons for the extension.

In some cases, AHNS will not be able to provide the information to a customer. That will only occur if:

      • it contains references to other persons
      • it is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege
      • it contains proprietary information that is confidential to AHNS
      • it has already been destroyed due to legal requirements or because it was no longer needed for the purposes set out above.
      • it is too costly, in AHNS’s determination, to retrieve
      • it cannot be disclosed for legal reasons

7)        Retention

Personal information provided by customers to AHNS will be kept no longer than is necessary to retain the information for legal or business purposes.

8)        Contact

Please contact AHNS if you have questions about the personal information in its custody or if you would like to withdraw your consent to us collecting your personal information.  You can contact the AHNS Privacy Officer at:

Accurate Hearing NS

Attn:  Privacy Officer

[email protected]

153 Sackville Drive

Lower Sackville NS  B4C 2R3

Changes to this policy will be amended from time to time as AHNS regularly reviews and updates its policies and procedures.