My Moment – Victoria Dinkin

Victoria Dinkin is an audiologist at the Audiology Associates of Marquette Hearing Health Clinic.  She shared her inspiring story of a husband and wife she recently fit with a pair of mini-RIC style              matching hearing aids.

The wife had worn hearing aids previously, but not for the past 5 years due to financial constraints, and she had been desiring amplification all of this time. She finally convinced her husband to go with her and be tested, and to also buy a pair of hearing aids if needed. They could only afford slightly above their insurance coverage and, accordingly, had saved towards hearing aids before they met me.

Testing revealed bilateral communicatively significant loss in both of them. He was CERTAIN that he would not want to wear a hearing aid at all. After fitting them both, I sent them to lunch (and the real world) and they were to return for some fine tuning before they returned home, since they live about 45 minutes away. Before he left for lunch (or officially purchased the aids), I overheard him tell his wife, “I think I am going to LOVE wearing these things!” Apparently the fit impressed him.

A couple of hours later, two beaming faces greeted me … especially his! He raved about the comfort, discreetness, and being able to hear the wind in the trees for the first time since he was a “young man”. Just before he left for the day, he told me that he liked my “colorful tiny display” of ReSound Dots, and asked if he could take one to show to all his friends just how small hearing aids are. He wanted to overcome their complaints and excuses, and give them my name so they could hear again!

My heart melted at that point. Not only did I help one man change his views and enjoy life again through regained hearing, but now he wanted to pay it forward to a group of his close friends. I happily gave him a dummy from my display that had a silicone receiver attached, and placed it in a ReSound hard case for a more “realistic experience” 🙂 He laughed.