This is belated kudos to Allegany Hearing & Balance. I should have done this a long time ago!
Because Dr. Brown and staff were so well liked by my late father for their honest, professional, highly knowledgeable and truly concerned caring, I decided it was time to have my own hearing issues checked out. And Dad was not an easy sell. I had been missing out on many of the sounds around me for several years, not to mention the frustration of people around me that I could not hear or understand, and it was time I got this rectified. It was not just the hearing but the recognizing letters and phonics that confused me and made it difficult to understand what people were saying as I came to find out.
Allegany Hearing & Balance met with my wife and I (she was very adamant about me doing this also) :) , and Dr. Brown put me through the paces. After finding I did have quite a bit of hearing loss in my left ear mainly, and some in the right we sat down to discuss my options. Being on a tight budget the cost was going to be a huge factor and with insurance no help with this issue we had to have time to think about the options. It was a big step. Dr. Brown and her excellent staff were very patient with me as I pondered the pros and cons to make my decision and answered many questions. After much soul searching and number crunching I decided my hearing loss was something I would just have to live with, it just didn't fit our budget. I would remain in my own little world of limited sounds.
Unbeknownst to me, my wife and daughter entered AHB's contest. Then one day I was notified that I had been chosen the winner of that years contest and to contact them and set up an appointment for fitting for a free set of hearing aids! What a God send it has been!
They got me set up and now I can hear the "peepers" in spring that my handicapped son so looks forward to hearing each year that "officially" signals the end of winter. The sounds that had been mute all those times I sat in my tree stand enjoying nature and waiting on "the big one" was amazing. It made me wonder many times just how many had walked past me undetected by my hearing. :) Sounds that I had been missing came flooding in and it was then that I realized what I had been missing all those years.
My work involves quite a bit of background noise and this was a challenge but they met it head on and did all that was possible to make it easier for me to "hear what I needed to hear". They taught me the adjustments and variations to maximize the aids potential. Over the past, nearly three years now, I have been back to have minor things tweaked and to get more batteries and am always met with the same friendly and professional smiles and service that just comes naturally to this great bunch of individuals!
Sorry to ramble on but this has truly been a blessing to not only me, but to my family as well. And after this experience and to go back to that decision making day......... I would definitely have changed my decision! Somehow I would have done some budget adjusting to make this happen.
Your hearing is a gift and you don't want to just throw it away when you have wonderful people like Allegany Hearing & Balance doctors and staff to give that gift back to you. I am definitely a customer for life and would wholeheartedly recommend anyone seek out Dr. Brown and her staff for a consultation and hearing check! You won't be disappointed! And..... you don't know what you're missing until you meet with them! Make it happen.
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Dr. Brown and "the Crew"!
Sincerely,
Kris DeWitt