Meet 26-year-old Laura McMahon, another receiver of free, top of the range hearing aids. Laura was fitted by her audiologist, Barry Douglas, in one of our participating clinics in Ireland.
Student nurse Laura McMahon can never remember a time when she did not wear hearing aids. After contracting meningitis as a tiny baby, she was diagnosed with hearing problems around the age of three.
“I’m the second youngest of six children so my mom, Barbara, was quick to realise I was different to my siblings,” recalls Laura. “Because I was so young when I started using a hearing aid — just one, I point blank refused to wear two — it was not something that bothered me too much. Laura also remembers the battery often went dead at the worst moments: “One Christmas, my hearing aid broke down and nowhere was open to get it fixed. I put the volume up to 90 on the TV and just sat right in front of it!”
“The free consultation is brilliant because you can have your hearing checked without any pressure. Barry and Anita have been fantastic to me and I always feel so welcome there.”
Since Laura was suffering from hearing loss and wasn’t able to afford them, her audiologist, Barry Douglas, nominated her for our Give-Back Program. Every time someone gets a hearing test at a participating clinic, we get a donation to our Give-Back Program. With the money we receive, we give free hearing aids to people who need them but can’t afford them.
Young Laura was “shocked and overjoyed” when she heard the good news and wearing two brand two top of the range aids has made her life so much easier: “I honestly feel, for the first time, that I can hear like a normal person. It’s easier to have private conversations with hospital patients now I can understand them when they speak in a low voice or even a whisper. The clarity of sound around me is just amazing.”
Suffering from hearing loss has not only affected her personal life: “I love my job and I think being a hearing aid wearer myself has made me more empathetic to patients who have hearing difficulties. I always check that their hearing aid batteries are working because I know how stressful it is when you cannot hear properly.”
Finally, Laura urges anyone who struggles with their hearing to take action: “Go and get a hearing test, it won’t cost you anything. You won’t regret it.”
Are you ready to take the first step towards better hearing? Book a free hearing test today.