I was very excited when my mother announced that she was finally getting a hearing aid. She has spent much of her life lip reading and pretending to understand the things going on around her, when in fact, a lot of the time she was in the dark. After she received them, and while she was in the process of getting the aids, I learned a lot more about these nifty little gadgets.

First and foremost, the cons. There is the cost. These little pieces of equipment are very pricey, however, my mother's pair are tailored to what she needs, and she had to spend about $3,000 total to get them. Furthermore, she does have to buy batteries and if anything goes wrong with either of them, and it is not covered by the warranty, she would have to pay for that, as well.

Another con, that we were surprised about, is that for the first couple of days, my mother experienced a sensory overload. She could hear things that she couldn't before, and that, in turn, made her notice some more annoying things in her apartment building, like the loudness of the air conditioner, and of the neighbors.

That's about it for the cons, though, as there have been many, quite noticeable perks to her new-found hearing. First, she can hear. She no longer has to ask us fifty times what we said, and she even asks us to turn down the television because it is too loud for her, now. She even has a little remote that goes with her aids, so if she is in a noisy atmosphere, she can turn them down so it isn't too loud. The batteries that they use can be bought in any store, and are not as expensive as you might think. On top of that, she doesn't have to replace the batteries that often, and she can fit a couple of them in her wallet, so she has them when she needs them.

Another benefit of these tiny devices is that you can't see them. I hadn't even realized my mom had them in until I had begun to notice she could hear me and she pointed them out. She said they are really comfortable, and she has even fallen asleep in them because she forgot she had them in.

I cannot express how exciting it has been to see how happy my mother is now. I am even more excited to know that when I give birth to her first grandson here towards the beginning of next year, she will be able to hear him every time he coos and giggles. It has been a blessing for our family, and I hope that the pros will continue to outweigh the cons.

Learn more about this author, Aubrea Glenn.
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