Giving the Gift of Hearing Never Gets Old

By Maggie Page

I have had the privilege of giving the gift of hearing every day for over 19 years and it has become my passion. The path to better hearing can be traveled by so many individuals who are wanting to be part of the conversation, become less isolated and enjoy the everyday sounds of life. This journey usually involves the help of many people along the way.  

The other day I had the opportunity to spend some time at an assisted living facility helping patients care for their current hearing aids, perform hearing screenings and checking ears for potential blockage due to wax. I always have a great time meeting new people and enjoying the conversations with current patients that stop in to see me as well.  

On this particular day…

I had the honor of assisting “John” with his current hearing aids. John came to me with his caregiver, he was not engaged in the conversation and wouldn’t respond to any questions. He stared straight ahead and wouldn’t even make eye contact. I cleaned his aids and noticed that his hearing aid battery was completely missing in one aid and in the other aid the battery was drained.  Both aids were not functioning.

Poor John basically had plugged ears. I replaced the batteries and inserted the aids in his ears. John’s face lit up. I asked him if he could hear me and he smiled and replied, “Why, yes, you sound wonderful!” He was alert, engaged and happy to hear again. His caregiver looked on in disbelief. The caregiver responded that he just thought John was having a bad day. He said, ‘It’s so hard to know if he isn’t well or if it’s his hearing.”  I encouraged the caregiver to always check his batteries.

These are the moments that make it all worth it…

As the patient and caregiver walked out of the room I could overhear their conversation. “Well, John, how to do you feel today?”, the caregiver asked. “I feel so much better now that I can hear,” replied John. The conversation faded as they walked down the hall, but I got a sense that they had much to catch up on.

Simple things like checking batteries, changing filters and cleaning your hearing aids make the sound quality so much better. It was such a great feeling to be able to help John in his journey to better hearing.  I am here to help you hear…

Hi! I’m Maggie. I have been helping Charlotte hear better for nearly two decades! I love giving the gift of hearing to my friends and neighbors. Please leave me comments if my posts are meaningful to you or teach you something new, and feel free to tweet us at @LevineHearing!