There’s a pattern that we often see with our hearing loss patients. People tend to wait several years before they decide to start seeking solutions. In fact, it’s very common for us to meet a patient who has been living with hearing loss for five years or more. Because of this, they’ve often made unconscious changes in their daily lives to accommodate their hearing difficulties.

One of my absolute favorite things about being an audiologist is seeing the difference we can make in our patients’ lives. For example, I had a patient in his 60s come in for a hearing evaluation. He knew he had some type of hearing loss, but since he hadn’t had a hearing test in several years, he didn’t realize how much it had progressed. He had simply adapted his life to accommodate his hearing loss. However, his wife noticed that he wasn’t able to hear their conversations while they were out to eat and urged him to come in.

We understand that people don’t always want to come in and face the truth about their hearing loss. But because this patient chose to come in and deal with the issue, we were able to get him fitted for a hearing aid that will significantly change the quality of his life for decades to come.

Five Ways Our Patient Transformed His Life

He Can Understand His Grandchildren

This man’s grandchildren come over a few days a week after school. Before his hearing aid, he said he wouldn’t even engage in conversation with the middle schooler because he knew he wouldn’t be able to hear what they were saying. Now, he can hear his grandkids… even from the backseat of his car! Forming closer relationships and spending more time with your loved ones is such a gift, and he is so grateful to have the chance to connect with them once again.

He is Able to Enjoy Movies Again

This patient told us that he didn’t have an issue hearing the news, but whenever he watched movies with his wife, he would get frustrated because it was hard to hear certain actors. Or, if a scene was very quiet, he would have a hard time hearing it. Now, he has a device that is able to transmit the sound from the television right to his hearing aids so he can adjust the volume anytime he needs to. This makes his wife happier and as we know, a happy wife, a happy life!

He Enjoys Going Out to Eat

One thing he really enjoyed doing was going out to eat. But when he had his hearing evaluation with us, he said that there were a few people in his life he had to stop going out with because he had so much trouble communicating with them at restaurants. He said they would constantly mumble or just didn’t speak loudly enough. Now he realizes it was his hearing loss. He also knows that sitting at a booth is better for hearing due to our auditory training recommendations!

He Started Going for More Walks

Just because this patient is in his 60s doesn’t mean he can’t learn to love and embrace technology. His new hearing aid comes with a lot of cool features. We helped him figure out how he can use the hearing aid app on his phone to listen to podcasts and audiobooks through his hearing aids while he’s out for a walk, rather than using headphones. As a result, he’s making some positive lifestyle changes and exercising more!

He Understands Church Service Again

Going to church is very important to this patient, but he often struggled to hear the sermon or to have conversations with his fellow church goers after the service. Just like being able to hear movies and conversations in restaurants, a hearing aid that gives the wearer the ability to adjust volume as needed is life-changing. You don’t have to give up going to church or anything else that makes your life feel more rich and meaningful.

While this is just one person’s unique experiences that we’re sharing with you, this is actually very in line with what we see all the time with our patients. Once someone decides to face hearing loss head on, they immediately see an improvement in their quality of life. 

What Did This Patient Pay for His Transformation?

Finally, we wanted to talk briefly about the cost of investment. What does a transformation like the one our patient had cost, on average? Well, our patient lives a relatively quiet lifestyle. He only goes out to eat once or twice a month which we would consider a difficult listening environment.

For him, it made the most sense to go with our mid-level price technology, which typically costs around $4500 This kind of hearing aid can last up to 7 years, so you’re looking at $642 per year or $2 per day to live life on your own terms. Seems pretty reasonable, doesn’t it?

If you would like more information about our hearing aids or if you want to schedule a hearing evaluation with the team here at Sonora Hearing Care, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can call our office at 520-881-8740 or click here to send us a message!