DC came to the Crystal River office of Gardner Audiology in the fall of 2015. Testing showed a severe hearing loss in both ears. He had never worn hearing aids and had great difficulty communicating, due to the extent of his loss. He had recently obtained insurance that would help him obtain one hearing aid. We worked diligently to help him go through the steps necessary to get approved for the hearing aid.
Finally, two weeks ago, the day arrived when I would fit his new hearing aid. When I turned the hearing aid on and spoke to him his eyes widened! His habit was to lean in very close to the person speaking with him and he had to work at sitting back and relaxing. Trying to communicate with significant hearing loss is very stressful. One of the benefits to using hearing aids is to listen with less effort. After 10 to 15 minutes, DC was sitting back in his chair and conversing with me.
The highlight of the appointment is when I reviewed the indicator sounds the hearing aid would make. DC is from Italy and came to the United States many years ago. I changed the language in his hearing aid to Italian and he was very surprised when his hearing aid told him in Italian that he needed to change his battery! Such a small act brought a huge smile to his face! DC returned to the office today, one week after he received his hearing aid. He is so happy to be able to be a part of the conversation once again!
