Interview with Jerry Lowery

HH/Beck: Hi Jerry. Thanks for agreeing to speak with me about your hearing aids. I'd like to start by having you tell me a little about your hearing loss and your experience with hearing aids.

Lowery: Well sure. I'm 47 years old, and I've noticed I've had a little hearing loss all along. When I got married, my wife complained and she got tired of repeating things. She thought it was a habit that I was always asking for things to be repeated.

HH/Beck: Do you have hearing loss in the family?

Lowery: Yes. Both of my parents have hearing loss and I hunt and shoot a lot. I also worked on heavy machinery when I was younger, drilling rigs and such. So I've got hearing loss in the family and noise exposure too.

HH/Beck: Do you have any idea what your hearing loss is actually like at this point? Can you describe it for me?

Lowery: I'm pretty sure it's mostly in the higher pitches.

HH/Beck: When did you first wear hearing aids?

Lowery: Let's see, probably February, 2003.

HH/Beck: And is this the first time you've ever worn hearing aids?

Lowery: Yes.

HH/Beck: What can you tell me about your experience?

Lowery: Well, at first I was fitted for custom made in-the-ear hearing aids and while those were being made, my audiologist gave me the SeboTek units to see if I liked them. It took me some time getting used to the SeboTek, but then the custom made ones came in and we switched. I wore the in-the-ear hearing aids for about a month. When I went in for my check-up, he asked me how I was doing. I told him I liked the SeboTek better. So I came back and he put the Seboteks in, and now -- he can't have them back!

HH/Beck: What were the major differences?

Lowery: Well the occlusion was so great with the custom made hearing aids that chewing, or jaw motion would drown out speech sounds around me.

HH/Beck: Okay. And did they try to adjust that for you by opening the vents and changing the response of the circuit?

Lowery: Well no, we didn't try that. We looked at the vents and they looked like they were pretty good. I'd had good luck with Sebotek and I said let's just go back to those because I did like them.

HH/Beck: Okay and what's it like wearing them? How often do you wear them?

Lowery: I put them in at 5:30 in the morning and take them out at 9:30 at night.

HH/Beck: And you're wearing two of them?

Lowery: Yes.

HH/Beck: What are you hearing with hearing aids that you didn't hear before?

Lowery: The first thing I noticed was that my clothes actually make noise. I didn't realize that before. Being a hunter, I didn't realize how much noise clothes make just by walking and moving your arms.

HH/Beck: You're right. I think the deer depend on you making that noise!

Lowery: Yeah, they probably did! I also noticed that when I clean my shoes by walking across the grass before entering the house, I didn't realize that the dry grass made noise. Small things like that were just ear opening I guess you could say. I also noticed birds. I get out in the wildlife a lot, out in the hills and the sounds I'm hearing now are just phenomenal. I never realized that we had that many birds around.

HH/Beck: Where do you live, what part of the world?

Lowery: I live in Nevada.

HH/Beck: Does your wife notice a difference when you're wearing the SeboTek hearing aids?

Lowery: Absolutely. If I don't put them in first thing in the morning she's after me. When she says something and I don't hear it she says, Go put your hearing aids in.

HH/Beck: Good for her! That's nice of her to help you remember to wear the hearing aids.

Lowery: I've recommended SeboTek to a lot of people. They've made a really big difference in my life.

HH/Beck: Any negatives, any problems you can tell me about?

Lowery: I did have one minor snag. One of the speakers came off the wire, but they replaced it right away in the office, no charge, no problem. They took care of it and it's been fine ever since.

HH/Beck: All right Jerry. I do appreciate your time. Thanks so much for sharing your story with us.

Lowery: No problem Dr. Beck. Happy to help.

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