on taking nothing for granted

I make a point of taking nothing for granted. And I make a point of being grateful.

I first got my hearing aid in 2010. I was delighted at the difference it made. I was grateful to have it. I had to send it in for repair twice and missed it terribly while I was without it. I never took it for granted.

Recently I lost it. It was, literally and metaphorically, the perfect storm. On Friday 17 February Southern California was hit by the largest rain storm it had seen in a dozen or more years. That same day Terry was scheduled for a procedure at a location about thirty miles away. (You know the procedure. It’s the one we have to get every few years after we turn a certain age. The one where the preparation is more unpleasant than the actual procedure.) When we arrived at the facility it was cloudy and cold but not raining. By the time they released Terry the storm had arrived in full force. I had Terry in the wheelchair and was trying to juggle that and the umbrella. As I often do when going from a building to the car when it is raining I took off my hearing aid and put it in my pouch. I managed to get Terry to the car and into the car, get rid of the wheelchair, and get myself into the car. When I went to get my hearing aid out of my pouch it wasn’t there. The battery was there but there was no hearing aid. Retracing my steps in the pouring rain produced nothing, and even if it had the hearing aid would doubtless have been ruined.

It being a Friday afternoon, there was nothing I could do until Monday. I researched local hearing aid centers over the weekend and selected one that had been in business for a long time and sold multiple lines. I called them first thing Monday morning and though it was President’s Day I was grateful that they were open. I made an appointment for 8:00 a.m. Wednesday. The audiologist was very competent and thorough. I asked him about a hearing aid that would connect directly with my iPhone. He recommended the ReSound brand and as it was only a little bit more expensive than buying the brand I previously had, I decided to go for it.

The hearing aid arrived last Thursday and I immediately made an appointment for this morning. I went in and again the audiologist was very thorough and helpful. The features are somewhat different from my previous hearing aid, but I am getting used to how they work. And not only am I able to use my iPhone directly with my hearing aid (without an intermediate device), but I can control it from my iPhone. I can change the volume and the settings. There is a restaurant setting that I can adjust for the ambient sounds, and then tell the app to remember that restaurant.

It’s all very cool and I am delighted to be able to hear properly again.

I am grateful and I take nothing for granted.