Dr. Menge sees impact of hearing aids on patient's happiness

Dr. Natalee Menge, our staff audiologist, shared this story about the empowerment of healthy hearing:

"I saw a 90-year old nursing home resident suffering with Parkinson's for a hearing evaluation a couple of months ago.  His hearing was very poor, he looked at me blankly as we struggled to communicate.  My heart tugged a little as I saw how he struggled to control his tremors and thought about the years of isolation his hearing loss must have caused him.  Due to limited financial resources, the social worker at the nursing home and I helped him complete an application for financial assistance for hearing aids.  He was fit earlier this month with a high-powered hearing aid for his right ear, but due to the severity of his loss his left ear could not be fit with a hearing aid.  I  saw him today for his follow-up appointment to make sure that his hearing aid was working well or if any adjustments needed to be made.  I was in awe of the way his face lit up when we visited - he was connected with me, understanding what I was saying and was able to carry on a conversation that 2 weeks ago would have been nearly impossible.  He was so happy with the hearing aid and told me about how the ladies at the nursing home help him put it in and take it out.  He even shared what he had done for a living before his Parkinson's had gotten so severe.  I know we always talk about how hearing aids can help people not only hear better, but re-connect with the world around them.  That's what happened for this gentleman, and I couldn't have been happier for him."  

Melissa inspired by student's progress

Welcome to the blog! We hope these posts give you a real sense of what goes on at BRSHF & why we do what we do, from the perspective of the staff. I thought  it would be appropriate to begin with a quick anecdote from our Executive Director, Melissa Juneau, who shared this story with me today:


"It's exciting to mark the students' progress this time of year, as the spring session comes to a close. I saw a student in the parking lot this morning, and before I could speak to him, without any prompting from Mom, he shouted, 'Hi, Mrs. Melissa!'. This is from a child who wouldn't make eye contact in September. He's become like our resident greeter, saying hi to everyone by name as he walks down the hall in the mornings. His progress has been incredible, and it's not over yet! It is just wonderful to hear the chatter of little voices of kids in BRSHF's Therapeutic Language Center echoing down the hallways."

We hope to bring you more stories like this - little inspirations, huge breakthroughs, and other happy stories from the classrooms and hallways - and hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy working with them!