I was working with one of our patients the other day, delivering her new hearing aids. She really did not think she had a hearing loss and didn't think she needed "hearing aids". She was fighting me the whole way; all the while, her husband was standing next to her, rolling his eyes and let out a big sigh (he was well aware of her hearing deficit). However, after answering a few questions about her hearing ability, she decided to proceed with the delivery.

Upon putting the new hearing aids in her ear and turning them on, she said, "What is that noise that sounds like a fountain or water running?" With a smile, I explained to her that she was hearing the rain outside; she couldn't believe that she had not been able to hear the rain before this day. Needless to say, she was shocked at the difference the hearing instruments made in her hearing. I cannot put into worrks how great it was to be able to share this moment with her and her husband.

After a few minutes, before I left, her husband proceeded to turn on the television. It was set at the usual volume that she listens to every night. However, on this day, when he turned the television on at its usual setting, she yelled to him that was way too loud. He explained to her that is was set at its usual volume. She couldn't believe that she would have ever had the television that loud. What an eye opener! She told me that now she knew why that when her children come over the first thing they do is grab the remote and turn the volume on the television down.

What a turn around. I started with a woman who thought that she might not even need hearing aids to a woman who said, "I am keeping these in all day!" She just kept walking around her house saying how amazing everything sounded and how she was glad she did it. She told me, "I never realized what I have been missing." This is my favorite line from all new users.

Gotta love this job!