Amazing Clients!

Every day things happen that amaze me. I have said it before and I’ll keep saying it; I have the greatest clients in the world. Every one of them has an interesting story, and most have a zeal for life that is infectious.

This week I met a woman who had just recently decided that she should hear better, and while it took her a while to make the decision, she jumped in with both feet, (or ears, as the case may be). This is not all that unusual, we see that every day; what makes her story unique is that the day before she had turned 96.

More amazing facts: She lives on her own in a two story house. Her closest relative is her son and his family, who live in Ottawa. He makes the trip here once every month to make sure his mother is looked after, and to take her to appointments and get her out of the house. She does this on her own as well, but has to walk, which limits her distances until her son comes in. Her son generally stays 3-4 days then heads back to Ottawa until the next trip.

Last week she visited her family doctor and told him she thinks something has happened to her hearing; suddenly it’s not as good as it was two weeks ago. He referred her to me and we found a moderate hearing loss, (moderate! At 96! I hope I have any left when I’m that age, assuming I get there!)

Her attitude was phenomenal; she couldn’t wait to start wearing the instruments. She insisted that her son take her that day to get all the forms signed and within 48 hours she was at the office eagerly listening to my instructions on insertion and removal and battery changing, and all the other things one needs to know when they first get hearing aids.

And she took it all in like a sponge. She didn’t even wait for me to put them in, she wanted to make sure she could do it herself, so she picked them up before I could even start talking and had them in her ears like a pro within 30 seconds.

I asked her why she was so eager to wear them, since she seemed to be in such a hurry to get them up and running. Her response was just as amazing as everything else: She hadn’t been able to listen properly to her music since the hearing dropped and she wanted to get home to listen to Handl and Haydn and Bach, her favourite composers. Her son put them on an iPod for her, and with that knowledge I showed him how to allow the Bluetooth to send the music directly to the new instruments. Had I known this I would had her bring it with her so I could show her directly, but at least she will have the opportunity to have it set up for her when she gets home.

This is a true story, and one I will tell to anyone who asks. I think she took a liking to me because of a shared Hungarian background, but whatever the reason, I am privileged, as I am with every one of the clients I see, to have been able to assist her. I’m looking forward to seeing her every few months and to getting her her second set when she is 101!