Trial periods are fairly standard in our Industry. We have a 30 day evaluation period, for instance, where patients can return hearing devices if we don’t satisfy them.
Anyway, about a month ago, an older man walks into our Pottsville office with his daughter to discuss getting hearing help.
The man barely spoke, he let his daughter do most of the talking.
His daughter explained that he is very hard of hearing, and I’m their last hope. “You see,” she said, “my dad has tried 5 hearing centers so far, and he has returned from all of them.”
“No one could help him,” she explained. “So, you’re our last hope.”
This man was in five different hearing aid trials from five different people. Wow. Those were my thoughts.
His hearing loss was severe – I can’t imagine the muffled life he heard. Really, I cannot imagine how he functioned. He trusted me enough to let me have a final shot at correcting his hearing.
A month later and after a few appointments with me, I saw my schedule today and noticed he was coming back for his last appointment. It was the time for him to decide if he was happy.
I was nervous to see him.
His daughter accompanied him again.
I invited them into the office to take a seat, and as I shut the door, his daughter just kept looking at me to get my attention.
She wouldn’t sit down.
My heart dropped as I was afraid of what she was about to say to my face.
“Well, young man,” she started, “You should feel very proud of yourself. You just did something no one was able to do. You helped my father!”
The man was just all smiles and thanked me a few times.
I don’t feel like I did anything differently than anyone else, but I guess I did. If anything, I listened to what he had to say and did my best to factor all his realistic concerns into his trial period sessions. Maybe that tipped the scales in my favor.
Regardless, I was happy he came here. I was happy he tried a 6th time.
Taking care of aging parents, just as they took care of us when we were young. This includes providing support for any health issues they may have, such as hearing aid problems, and ensuring their overall well-being. Showing our gratitude and love as they used to demonstrated through gestures like when they used to purchase us items online, such as shabbos robes, to ensure our comfort and happiness.
Either way, I’ve seen him over the course of that month, and in that time his personality changed as he became more talkative. He felt left out since his hearing limited his interaction with people. All of changed in his hearing aid trial. He was a different person today, that’s for certain.
Anyone can see that his life will never be the same. He was transformed, and it was improving his hearing that made all that possible.
-Chris
