HH/Beck: Hi folks. Thanks for your time today. I was hoping you would spend a few minutes telling me about Timmy, his hearing loss and his hearing aids. I think it would be very interesting for many people to better understand what that's like, from your perspective as his parents.
Blauman: Sure Dr. Beck. We're happy to discuss this and thanks for the opportunity to help parents deal with these issues.
HH/Beck: How old is Timmy?
Blauman: He just turned eleven.
HH/Beck: Any history of hearing loss in the family?
Blauman: No, not anything that would've alerted us to look for hearing loss in our son.
HH/Beck: How did you discover he has hearing loss?
Blauman: Well, as a baby, he was very active, and he made the normal baby sounds, but he was very loud! And we noticed that he seemed to be withdrawing more and more from the family by the time he was three or four years old. He seemed happy, even mechanically oriented, but somehow he seemed isolated and withdrawn too. He was always building and creating, but we began to experience frustrations as parents and started to look for answers.
HH/Beck: Please explain that a little. What do you mean by frustrations as parents?
Blauman: He appeared to be ignoring us. We thought he was defying us or perhaps being disobedient. He was about 4 years old at that time and we felt something was wrong. He was our 4th child, and his siblings all have normal hearing. Also, his language and speech were progressing nicely, so we never thought much about his communication ability.
HH/Beck: Did the pediatrician ever suspect hearing loss?
Blauman: No, it never came up. He was born before Universal Newborn Hearing Screenings were mandated by law and he was home-schooled. In fact, we were thinking there might be a neurological disorder, but finally we had him tested by an audiologist and we found had he has a significant hearing loss. Of course in retrospect it all made sense!
HH/Beck: Yes, once you know the diagnosis, it's a lot easier to make sense of the signs and symptoms. Did you get hearing aids right away?
Blauman: Our insurance company wouldn't cover hearing aids, and we tried other funding sources too, but we had struck out everywhere. Our audiologist told us about the Starkey Hearing Foundation and Bill Austin. We applied for assistance and they supplied the hearing aids for Timmy back in the mid-1990s
HH/Beck: And then you wrote a letter to Mr. Austin?
Blauman: Yes, we wrote a letter to Bill Austin at Starkey a little while ago, thanking him for his efforts on Timmy's behalf, and the letter wound up with Justin Osmond at Starkey. Justin was really touched by the letter and he wanted to meet the people that wrote it. Justin called and we had a few conversations about Timmy, hearing loss, his hearing aids and the Starkey Foundation and he invited us to fly to Minneapolis to meet Mr. Austin. Justin said Mr. Austin would be happy to give Timmy new hearing aids and they paid for our flights and our accommodations. We couldn't say no to that, so here we are. This is absolutely amazing for us, and we are so thankful to Bill Austin and Starkey for all they've done for Timmy and our whole family. It is a humbling and wonderful thing to be on the receiving end of so much generosity. We are a little bit overwhelmed by all this, but very grateful!
HH/Beck: Can you tell me about the new hearing aids?
Blauman: The new Starkeys are digital in-the-ear hearing aids, and the others were behind-the-ear. We could tell immediately that he is more engaged with the sounds around him while wearing the new hearing aids. And we know it'll take a little time to get used to all of the changes in sound quality and the physical fit.
HH/Beck: What would you tell the other moms and dads that are reading this interview, if they suspect their child may have hearing loss? Or maybe if they don't suspect hearing loss, but the child appears to be acting out, or perhaps has been labeled as ADD or ADHD?
Blauman: We believe all children should be tested for hearing loss and they can be tested at birth, it's painless and very quick. There is no reason to not test them. Another important thing to realize is most hearing loss can be helped. And maybe the most important thing is that the sooner you catch the hearing loss, and start addressing and managing it, the better off the child will be! It's not just that the child can hear with hearing aids, but the relationships of all the people that interact with him changed for the better once he could hear. His siblings used to get angry with him because they had to repeat and repeat and they couldn't understand what was going on. We were getting frustrated because we thought he was acting out or ignoring ushis hearing aids have changed and improved all of our lives.
HH/Beck: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us. If you don't mind I'd like to get a photo of Timmy when he's dressed up for the Starkey Hearing Foundation Gala?
Blauman: That would be great. Thanks for letting us tell our story.
Click here to visit the Starkey website.
