When Bradford West Gwillimbury resident Theresa Warner came into HearingLife for a free hearing test, she didn’t think she’d be able to afford hearing aids.
Still, with the help of an audiologist, Warner picked out the hearing aids that would suit her best – just in case she ever "came into some money."
Imagine her surprise when she received a call, informing her that she would be receiving the hearing aids free of charge, through the National Campaign for Better Hearing.
HearingLife Client Service Administrator Sara Finlay explained that hearing tests are free, but HearingLife’s head office sets aside $4 for every hearing test performed – one of more than 200 hearing health centres across Canada participating in the campaign.
The money goes into a pot that is used to pay for hearing aids for clients facing financial hardship.
The Bradford HearingLife centre applied on behalf of Warner, and the gift was approved.
Warner had just come of hospital – the result of a fall – when she received the call from HearingLife. Still wearing a back brace, she came in to be fitted with her new OPN hearing aids, just in time for National Hearing Awareness Month in May.
“Oh, I was so down when she called,” said Warner, after spending nearly two weeks in hospital. The gift of hearing aids, she said, has been a positive boost. “It’s great!”
Warner was back at HearingLife this week to have the hearing aids adjusted and the volume turned up slightly.
“It’s so great,” she repeated. “I can hear you.”
Hearing loss can be insidious – the result of workplace noise levels, illness, or simply the aging process. Statistics show that hearing loss strikes one in five Canadians, and more than 47 per cent of those over 60.
There are a number of clues and signs that you are experiencing hearing loss, Finlay said:
- Family members/friends/teachers seem to be “mumbling"
- You find it difficult to follow conversations in a crowded room
- People constantly complain you have the TV or radio turned up too loud
Hearing loss can create struggles in school or other learning situations, depression, and even withdrawal from social activities and friends – which is one reason why Finlay encourages everyone to come in for a free hearing test.
Hearing aids can make a huge difference, she said.
“It’s just the difference between knowing what’s going on in your surroundings and family, versus not knowing,” she said. “You know what’s going on, instead of just a bunch of mumbling.”
Hearing aids can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000, and are not covered by OHIP, but there are other options even for those without a benefit plan, Finlay said.
Veterans, people on the Ontario Disability Support Program, and employees who have suffered hearing loss as a result of exposure to noise in the workplace will have the cost of hearing aids covered – the latter through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
And there is the National Campaign for Better Hearing. Its goal this year is to encourage as many Canadians as possible to take a 60-minute, painless hearing test that will check the ear canal for wax buildup, include a baseline hearing test to determine the pitches and tones you can and can’t hear, and a speech understanding assessment.
Four dollars from each test will be donated to the campaign to provide free hearing aids. This year’s target is $300,000, raised coast to coast, to help clients like Warner.
HearingLife is located at 61 Holland St. W., in Bradford. To book a hearing test, call 905-778-2002.
