Diane Pfederer – Morton, IL

“My hearing loss began many years ago when I was working as a bedside nurse. I noticed that I was having difficulty hearing the heartbeats of patients with a stethoscope. A hearing test showed that I had a mild hearing loss in both ears. It was the kind of hearing loss that happens when the 3 little bones in the ear become spongy. That change causes the sound waves to be diminished as they go into the ear. I had surgery on both ears which improved my hearing for a few years. Eventually the hearing loss returned. Thankfully, hearing aids are a successful treatment for this kind of hearing loss because what’s needed is an increase in the volume of sound. And so, I began wearing hearing aids in my early 30’s. My hearing loss has slowly progressed over the years. Now, I’m very dependent on my aids. The technology that’s being used to improve hearing aids is remarkable. With my Audibel aids, I hear most conversations pretty well, and I continue to enjoy listening to music.”