I went to visit a new hearing aid patient today for her first week checkup. As I pulled up, her care giver was outside and so we walked in together. The first thing I noticed was when I called out to Hilde(my patient) she answered me back from a few rooms away. Before, she could never have heard me from, but now with her new Phonak Nios, which are very small behind-the-ear hearing aids with the remarkable Sound Recover, she can! Heck before the Phonak Nios she couldn’t even hear the door bell, even when she was in the same room as the chime. Even though I already had a good idea, I asked her how she was doing with her new hearing aids. She replied, “Wonderful! I love them and I can hear so much better.” Her caregiver spoke up excitedly and said, “she has been doing so well with her new hearing aids it is amazing.” Her caregiver said that now she has to watch what she says because Hilde can hear everything!

The Phonak Nios hearing aids are usually marketed for pediatric use, but they can be fit on adults. What I like about the Nios is that, since Hilde has memory issues,, the Nios hearing aids have some great features which can help her. For instance, the battery has a lock on it so it won’t fall out and they are small and lightweight with retention wires that can keep the hearing aids in place so she won’t lose them.

I have to say that It really makes my day to take this lovely 88 years young lady from not wanting the hearing aids at all to being so very happy and elated about hearing again. You should have been there to see the glow she had on. Maybe she will let me snap a picture and I will post it here. It is priceless!

I was working with a patient today, who lives in a retirement home here in Florida. Her name is Lee and she is 103 years young; she is so full of life and is just amazing to talk with. During our conversation today, she told me that everyone at the retirement home will tell the new people, “Hey, there’s Lee and she is 103 years old.” Lee said to me, “Can’t they just introduce me and not always have to say my age?”

The reason I am writing about Lee is that at age 102 she decided she wanted new hearing instruments. She felt her old hearing instruments were not working anymore and was ready to upgrade to something different.  She said, ” I want to be able to enjoy life and hear everything I can while I am still alive.” Lee also suffers from macular degeneration, but still can see enough to get around and can walk fairly well. She loves to listen to the television, and she attends church services and is still able to understand the pastor when he is giving his sermon.

So many times I hear people telling me, “I am too old for hearing aids.” I don’t believe age has anything to do with it. I believe if you set your mind to it you can do anything you want. She can’t see to change the batteries so she decided to enlist a friend to help her change her batteries. She says “where there is a will there is a way.” She stands by that and she is a hero in my eyes, nothing gets her down. Oh, sorry I just lied she doesn’t like it when the Tampa Bay Rays lose!

I hope that this article might help someone who is struggling to make that first step to get help with their hearing. Hearing loss does not just affect the person with the loss but their friends and families also suffer. Please pass this article along to someone you might know that is struggling to take the steps necessary to get back in the land of the hearing.