The Official ReSound Blog

Braintree, Massachusetts has been home to many notable residents during its existence; politicians, musicians, sports figures and ReSound hearing aid wearer Leland “Lee” Dingee.

Lee, 70, is a retired printing salesman, strategic sourcing buyer, city councilman and veteran of the United States Army. Don’t let his retired status fool you; Lee is still as active as ever. He enjoys spending time with his wife, their two sons and all of his grandkids, going to the gym three to four days a week, shooting pistols and taking dance lessons.

An overhead explosion while serving in Army in his 20’s caused Lee’s bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The event directly impacted how Lee would communicate during his career and time in public office.

“I had to learn to read lips early,” said Lee, “It was, at times, hard to pay attention to clients, especially in a meeting room with multiple people talking.” Similar issues occurred when Lee would be in a noisy environment, such as restaurants. “It was hard to focus in when so many people were talking at once.”

Lee’s 30 year tenure in public office had moments where his hearing loss caused difficulties. “It was hard to hear when someone was speaking. I missed quite a lot,” said Lee, “I would have to use the meeting minutes to catch up on what I missed.”

The influence of his hearing loss extended to Lee’s tone of voice as well, leading him to speak more quietly than intended. “I was speaking in a very low range. I could hear in that range, so it made me feel like I was projecting my voice and speaking up. It was actually very quiet for others to hear, and they would often ask me to repeat myself,” said Lee.

That all changed a few years ago, thanks to Rhonda Natanblut Ruby, M.S. of the West Newton Hearing Center. “Rhonda has tested my hearing for years,” said Lee, “A few years ago she called me to let me know she found something. Thank God for the personal attention she gave me. She constantly was looking for hearing aids over the years that would help my hearing loss, because nothing would have helped before. I was excited about possibly resolving some of my hearing issues.” After Lee tried the ReSound Smart Hearing™ aids Rhonda had recommended, it was a done deal.

“That’s it, I want them.”

Since then, it’s been a whole new experience. “I heard noises I’ve never heard before; subtle sounds like birds chirping, paper clenching and floorboards creaking. The first few weeks I had them, I thought someone was following me because I was hearing all these new sounds.” Lee also looked forward to what they could do for him in noisy environments.

While out to dinner with his wife and Rhonda, Lee was able to easily participate in conversation despite the noisy environment by adjusting his programming using the ReSound Smart™ app on his iPhone®. “When I got them, I was expecting that if I was in a crowd, I could understand the people around me. These hearing aids have exceeded my expectations. It gives you a great deal of confidence going forward knowing you’re getting the information.”

Besides being able to hear more clearly, Lee loves his ReSound Smart Hearing aids Made for iPhone features. “Besides being able to hear better, my favorite feature is listening to music through my hearing aids while I’m at the gym. I can take phone calls right in my hearing aids as well.”

“It’s such a big plus to be able to better hear. How often do people get in trouble by misunderstanding what someone has said? I don’t have that anymore. People put them off because of price, or look or don’t want to admit they need one. I’m bald, but people still don’t notice that I have them in. It just improves quality of life so much,” said Lee, “It’s life-changing, it really is.”

Bandera County, Texas is home to the “Cowboy Capital of the World” and ReSound LiNX² wearer Lee W. Bailey. Lee, 65, retired from his career in surgical sales three years ago and is an avid outdoorsman and volunteer EMS first responder with his local fire department.

Lee first became aware of his hearing loss 30 years ago during a routine appointment. “I love spending time outdoors,” said Lee, “I’ve enjoyed shooting sports for a long time, since before there was the increased awareness around hearing protection while shooting.” He feels that this greatly contributed to his hearing loss.

It wasn’t until 15 years ago that Lee got his first pair of hearing aids. However, he wasn’t very happy with them. “They didn’t have any vents and were just amplifiers.” When he would go into noisy environments, such as restaurants, he would just remove them. The second pair of hearing aids Lee owned had vents, but were still uncomfortable. When he wasn’t wearing them, Lee often found himself missing out on conversations with friends and family.

Lee dealt with his uncomfortable hearing aids for over five years, until last fall when he was introduced to ReSound LiNX² by his audiologist at Audicles Hearing Services, Dr. Jane Watson.

Lee is now able to be more engaged with his family and friends. “They [his hearing aids] have such better sound quality, are easier to use and much more comfortable. I can carry on a conversation much easier than I could before.”

When he’s out on a call, his ReSound LiNX² are particularly helpful. “When I’m driving the ambulance, I can hear what’s going on in the back, or can talk to my partner much easier than I could before,” said Bailey.

The Made for iPhone® feature was also a game changer in Lee’s book. “I was able to get rid of the hands free accessories that I had to talk on the phone while driving. Now I can just stream everything directly into my hearing aids from my iPhone. It’s great.” Lee is also a fan of adjusting his Smart Hearing aids through the iPhone and ReSound Smart app. Recently, Lee was able to use the ReSound Smart app for more than adjustment.

“My hearing aids fell off the ranch cart as I drove though the pasture. I wasn’t supposed to forget they were sitting on the back seat! They’re so comfortable I didn’t notice I wasn’t wearing them and I got in a hurry. I drove into the pasture that was being planted.” He didn’t realize until afterwards that they had been planted over. Using the ReSound Smart app’s finder feature, Lee set out looking for his hearing aids.

“I retraced my route using the Finder and I soon got a hit on my left. After about 45 minutes I found it undamaged. It only need a good cleaning. Proceeding on I got a hit on the right hearing aid. I searched 30 more minutes until dark, came back after dinner for another 30 minutes and covered the area with a tarp. The next morning my wife and I searched another 45 minutes before getting another signal and found it!”

“I never thought I’d want a BTE hearing aid, but I’ve been amazed by the comfort and forget I’m wearing them. With ReSound LiNX² my concerns were alleviated,” said Lee, “I’m thankful for my ReSound LiNX². For over five years, I didn’t really wear my hearing aids. I recommend that others try them out – they’ve made a big difference.”

Firemen have one of the more dangerous job in the world. When others run out, they rush in. Fire and smoke aren’t the only hazards that can pose a threat to their health on a daily basis – noise can as well.

Jeff Shupe can attest to that. Shupe is a retired firefighter who still does fire training work for numerous fire departments across the country. He began his career in 1974 where, for over 35 years, he was exposed to uncontrolled emergency scene noise environments.

“The trucks weren’t built to protect from noise,” said Shupe, “It’s only in the past two decades that any advancement in hearing protection has been pushed for firefighters as an occupational concern. It is a fact that most all in my profession will suffer down the road because of the job.”

Jeff first became aware of his hearing loss 15 to 20 years ago during a union-scheduled hearing test. He was one of 50 men selected for a local study on the effects of occupational noise on fire fighters. However, Jeff wasn’t keen on the idea of getting a hearing aid.

“There was vanity involved. I didn’t want a big, clunky hearing aid. That deterred me for a while,” said Shupe. However, he did have someone in his life that “pushed” him to finally get hearing aids – his daughter, Dr. Samantha O’Leary of Audiology Associates of Nashville.  “My daughter kept pushing me to get hearing aids. She would tell me constantly ‘you got to do something.’ I expected them to be uncomfortable, but my daughter helped me through that phase.”

In November, Jeff was fit with ReSound LiNX². “They are fantastic,” said Shupe, “I love that they are barely noticeable. The tubing is so small that it looks like a hair and it isn’t noticeable at all.”

The change in sound quality has been noticeable as well.  “There’s a big difference between when I have them in and when I have don’t. You miss a lot. If you go out with friends, you miss conversations. Now that I hear better, I can focus and have better quality conversations.”

Jeff’s professional life has been positively impacted by his ReSound LiNX² as well. “When I was speaking at trainings, I use to cup my hand to my ear to hear questions. Now, I can hear the questions clearly,” says Shupe, “I haven’t had to make any adjustments, and I only take them out during water-based trainings.”

“It’s easier to get help now than it was in the past,” said Shupe, “people shouldn’t put it off. The technology is better and the size is so much more discreet.”