TheBanyanTree: the things we take for granted....

[Sachet]

"Do you hear milk pouring into a glass?"

"Do you hear your footsteps as you walk?"

"Did you know that papers rustle VERY loudly?"

"I heard rain on the windshield for the first time today."

"I can hear Jolie purr."

All of which brought tears to my eyes as the reality, of what my husband 
has missed hearing since infancy, hit home.

So far, my all time favorite is:

"Have our kids always been this loud??!?!?

I answered that one with a dramatic long-suffering sigh and a huge grin 
as I replied..."Actually, they used to be much louder. Welcome to my 
world, honey!"

We can now all watch a movie together without closed caption (which is 
certainly a wonderfully helpful invention, but also highly annoying at 
critical times). Sports programs (which really can't be appreciated with 
closed caption... the roar of the crowd, the music, the energy...simply 
can't be captured and conveyed by that tiny little box of words) are now 
at a tolerable level. Before, Jim had to close the doors to the family 
room, and even then we could hear the TV blasting all over the house. I 
am ashamed to say that I wasn't the most patient of wives over the 
years. Some days, (not all!) by the 3rd or 4th time I had to repeat 
something, I was getting a wee bit testy. Now, he tells me to speak more 
quietly. The audiologist told us that it would take the entire family 
about a month to adjust. We're so used to speaking so loudly in his 
presence, not having to do so, does indeed take some getting used to.

Jim contracted the mumps when he was a baby and suffered severe hearing 
loss in both ears. In his small central Illinois town (his graduating 
class totaled 45 students), it was easy for everyone to help him 
compensate. He learned to fluently read lips and few people could tell 
that he even had a hearing loss. His parents were told that there was 
nothing available to help his hearing, because hearing aids would not be 
beneficial due to the severity of the nerve damage.

When we got married in 1979, I asked him to see an audiologist. It was 
sobering to see Jim's test results and very frustrating to once again be 
told that there was nothing yet available that would help him.

Several years ago, when my father was struggling to make ends meet, and 
it was such a challenge for my brother and I to help him pay for his 
monthly prescriptions, I stumbled across a number for the VA Health Care 
Benefits & Enrollment Program. (1-877-222-8387) I requested an 
information packet and was a tad overwhelmed when the paperwork arrived. 
The challenge of completing it was certainly worth it though! Within a 
few months, my dad had a complete physical (which is how his lung cancer 
was first discovered in its initial stages), and all his expensive 
prescriptions were covered in full! They were even delivered right to 
his door.

When Jim changed jobs a few years ago and while I was researching COBRA 
options, temporary family insurance, etc., the VA once again came to 
mind. Jim had served in Vietnam, came home with a Bronze Star and had 
never ever utilized any of the benefits due him as a veteran. It had 
never occurred to either one of us. So I signed him up, too. He was very 
impressed with the medical team at the vast new clinic in Ft. Myers. I 
was very happy to discover that they had a hearing department. I was 
also very dismayed to discover that his appointment was for March, two 
years in the future.

It didn't really faze Jim, because he honestly didn't think there was 
anything to be done. Twice, during the past two years, they somehow 
dropped him from the schedule and I discovered and fixed the oversight 
each time. In January I was told that all hearing appointments were 
canceled due to the VA's inability to meet the needs of the community. 
Therefore, we were somewhat surprised to receive a letter from them a 
few months ago, explaining that all hearing appointments had been 
rescheduled with a local audiologist and that the VA would pay for the 
visit. Jim went to the appointment to placate me, fully expecting to 
once again be told that there were no options.

He was sooooooooooo excited when called me from the doctor's office! 
Imagine our delight and total surprise when we found out that great 
strides have been made in audiology and that Siemens makes hearing aids 
that would help him!

The audiologist assured Jim that the VA would pay for them in full. They 
even sent him 6 months worth of batteries and will automatically do so 
twice a year. Jim is being so ultra careful with them, since his hearing 
has become such a precious and amazing gift. It's been humbling and 
amazing to realize the incredible amount of things he's never heard 
before now.

So along with him being ultra careful, he asked me to check and see how 
our insurance would cover their loss or damage. I called our insurance 
agent who very nicely explained all the details and requested 
documentation from the audiologist regarding the full replacement costs 
for the hearing aids. Jim brought home the requested paperwork today, 
after his two week check-up.

Well.

Jim says he feels an incredible sense of responsibility now that he 
knows he's carrying almost $5000 worth of hearing aids around in his 
ears. Wow! When the audiologist said top of the line, he wasn't kidding!

They are worth every single penny.  I LOVE that my husband can hear. I 
am so incredibly, ecstatically happy for his sake. A whole new world has 
been opened up to him. And I gotta tell ya.....the questions he's been 
asking me about some of the things he's hearing for the first time are 
verrrrrrrrry amusing. Endearingly so. He can even hear me whisper now.

He also says he now understands why I ask for (demand) some quiet time 
all to myself some days.

:-)

...Sachet