Hearing Loss Resolutions for 2020
December 31, 2019
January Book Club: Four Days with Kenny Tedford
January 2, 2020How hearing nature changed my perspective about the outdoors
Carolyn Hartfield’s friends knew her as a ‘girlie-girl.’ Growing up in Detroit, Hartfield was a city girl who didn’t play sports and did not like the idea of perspiring. She didn’t even visit local parks.
And while a birthday gift to herself hearing nature changed her perspective to the great outdoors. It was Lyric hearing aids that helped her to discover the beauty of nature.
The gift that kept giving
Each year for her birthday, Hartfield does something different. For her 56th birthday, she went on her first hike ever in the North Georgia mountains.
“I absolutely loved it,” she said. “It was one of the most exhilarating feelings I had ever experienced! I discovered this passion that I had no idea was inside of me. I kept hiking and became a certified hike leader. I’ve been one now for almost 15 years.”
Don’t know what you’re missing
Years ago, Hartfield had a hearing test, but she felt she could hear just fine.
“You don’t know what you’re missing, because you’re missing it,” she said. “Through the years, my hearing did get worse, but as many people do, I ignored it.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing, because you’re missing it.”
When she couldn’t ignore it any longer, Hartfield tried an over-the-ear hearing aid.
“At the time, I was divorced and living alone,” she said. “When I was alone at my home, I would take them off, and then I would forget to put them back on when I went out.”
Read more: When the hearing aid is in the drawer
Although she had an informational card about Lyric, Hartfield didn’t pay much attention to it. When she received another card, it piqued her interest to visit her hearing care provider, who fit her with the invisible hearing aids.
Placed deep in the ear canal by a Lyric fitter, the invisible hearing aid is the only one of its kind. It is worn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once the battery expires, the Lyric fitter replaces it. Because of its unique placement, Lyric requires no maintenance and no daily insertion or removal.
“I loved them from the start!” she said.
It’s natural hearing nature
“My hearing aids have helped me tremendously, when I am with clients, giving presentations, leading hikes or participating in other fun, outdoor activities,” said Hartfield. “The best benefit, though, is it allows me to engage in conversation without saying, ‘Huh’ or ‘What?’”
“The best benefit, though, is it allows me to engage in conversation without saying, ‘Huh’ or ‘What?’”
Her invisible hearing aids have also helped Hartfield to hear nature sounds that she had been missing out on. Before her hearing aids, she couldn’t hear the waterfalls, leaves rustling in the breeze or birds singing, while her hikers could. Plus, she had to be face-to-face with her hikers to try to hear their conversations. “
That all changed with Lyric,” she said. “Now I am part of the good times!”
Read more: With Lyric, sounds are ‘deeper, richer and more complete’
A life improved
Hartfield’s experience with invisible hearing aids have truly improved her life socially, because she engages more, goes out more with friends and interacts more in conversations.
“I am more confident and happier. My hearing aids have improved my life tenfold,” she added. “I love that I keep them in 24/7 … it means no hassles!”
