Patient Stories

Maryann Bellinson our April Hearing Partner

Four years ago I went to bed perfectly fine and woke up deaf in one ear. After waiting, in vain, for an obligatory six month period I was lucky enough to get a referral to Hearing Partners. After my first meeting with Dr. Adam many of my fears were alleviated. The staff at Hearing Partners are accomplished, skillful and experienced. They work diligently to meet your needs and concerns, and I feel very well cared for in their hands.

Laurie Goodwin our March Hearing Partner

Karen Frank our February Hearing Partner

Karen was a Special Education teacher and administrator. She noticed a hearing loss 10 years ago but chose not to get hearing aids. Through the years, she knew that her hearing loss progressed and knew it was finally time to have a hearing evaluation and consider hearing aids. Once she made the decision to come to Hearing Partners, she wanted to be seen immediately and get the process started to address her hearing loss.

She was diagnosed with a mild to moderate hearing loss. After the hearing test, the audiologist performed a listening demonstration and put hearing aids into her ears. She found that the aids definitely made a difference. She immediately ordered the hearing aids with a rechargeable battery kit. The fitting appointment was scheduled and her new Oticon hearing aids were placed comfortably in her ears. Next, we paired the hearing aids to her Iphone. Hearing Partners audiologist counseled Karen on using the battery charger and how to insert the hearing aids. All her questions were answered.

Karen said, “the transition to hearing aids was very easy and definitely made a difference in her life.” When Karen calls our office, she finds the staff, friendly, knowledgeable, responsive and skilled. She always thanks us for our service and says, Hearing Partners is fabulous!

Peter Grossman our December Hearing Partner

Peter is very active with an established career with International Banking working for Bankers Trust Company and American Express Bank. He has lived and worked in Argentina, Brazil, the Philippines, Italy, Thailand and New York. When he first came to Hearing Partners, he explained that there is a history of hearing loss in both his mother’s and father’s family.

Tinnitus has been a longstanding condition but never bothersome until now. Hearing loss in his left ear recently became more serious with the discovery of a small tumor (acoustic neuroma) that touched the auditory nerve causing further loss of hearing and tinnitus. When Peter scheduled his first appointment with Hearing Partners, he wanted to find out more about hearing and tinnitus treatment.

Peter was immediately impressed with the professionalism of his audiologist and genuine concern for patients. He found the audiologist was understanding and was trying to achieve the best results with respect to his hearing and tinnitus.

Peter is happy with the technology of his hearing aids. He has overall improvement with his hearing. He says, “that he no longer has to lean into conversations with his better ear”. His hearing aids offer several programs that play in the background to mask the tinnitus and over time redirect the brain away from the tinnitus. He uses the Zen program which has helped alleviate the sound and stress of tinnitus.

The entire staff is personable and friendly. Hearing Partners prides itself on outstanding customer service and offering new technology for our patients.

Barbara Abrams our November Hearing Partner

Barbara worked as a teacher for 30 years, receiving the Western Tennessee, Teacher of the Year Award. When Barbara won this award, the newspaper headline read “Kindergarten Teacher Found Hanging from Chandelier”. This meant Barbara would be wherever the children needed her, and she could reach them. After her teaching career, Barbara worked as a coordinator with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service which worked in conjunction with TNCAT 07. She worked with other amateur radio operators from 10 states on Earthquake Exercises networking with Hospitals, Health Departments, Homeland Security and some other agencies.

Barbara started to notice her hearing loss in the later part of her teaching career. Finding herself asking colleagues, students, and parents to repeat themselves. At home, she was asking family members to repeat words or she would answer questions incorrectly. While still living in Tennessee, Barbara contacted her doctor and had her hearing tested. The test results confirmed what she already had suspected. She moved to South Florida and found Hearing Partners. Barbara has been with us for almost 10 years.

What Barbara likes most about Hearing Partners, is the caring that shows from the moment you walk in the door. She says, “the staff makes me feel welcome and comfortable, which make me relaxed enough to share whatever thoughts or concerns I may have. My audiologist, Meredith Resnick takes her time and expertise to help me hear to the best of my ability. My greatest gift is being able to hear my 5-year-old granddaughter, she has so many wonderful things to tell mema.” Mema is the name she uses for me, her proud grandmother!

Lilly Glass our August Hearing Partner

Five years ago, Lilly started to notice a significant decline in her hearing. She says, it seemed like I kept saying “what” or could you repeat that”. This realization was quite disturbing to her.

Lilly worked many years as a personal assistant to a CEO. She moved to Delray Beach 3 years ago. Prior to moving she was living in New York. Lilly first noticed her hearing loss while still living in New York. She started with an extended wear device called Lyric. She continues to enjoy the convenience of Lyric which stays in her ear, 24/7 with no batteries to change.

I found Hearing Partners through a publication and made an appointment. I am so happy I made that call.

The care I receive from the doctors and staff is just the best. “I feel normal again” When I am in the office or on the telephone they give me their full attention. They work with me when I need it. Everyone has a smile on their face and willing to help. “I feel comfortable and welcome.” I would have no reason to go anywhere else.

Agnes DeMaria our July Hearing Partner

Agnes was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised her family in Long Island, where her daughter and grandchildren still reside. Agnes has worked in the cosmetic industry for over 30 years from owner to management. She moved to southeastern Florida over 20 years ago where she resides in Boynton Beach.

Having been in the cosmetic industry, Agnes has worked in many environments with many people over the years. She had been exposed to prolong noise daily. Agnes goes on to tell us her hearing journey.

About eight years ago, I seemed to notice I was asking people to repeat things. A friend of mine was going for a hearing test and I decided to go with her. It was determined that I did have a hearing loss but, I decided not to do anything about it. A few more years passed and I was finding myself withdrawing from many of my activities because I was always straining to hear what people were saying and just not taking part in conversation, even work became stressful. It was exhausting.

I was recommended to Hearing Partners and my journey began. My hearing was tested, and it had changed considerably so together we went to work to figure out what would be the best technology and treatment plan for me. Since I am active in the community and I am very active socially it was important to have the right devices. They even made sure that I had a family member involved to give input.

Initially I was afraid of the technology, but they worked patiently with me until I felt comfortable. Now, I hear the phone and TV right in my ears “it’s great”! I can remember in the very beginning going to the office and saying “I hear too much”… my shoes on the floor, the frig running, the blinker in the car. Never realizing how many little things I was missing. “You can never hear too much, this has been a blessing.” It is rare that I miss a beat anymore. I wake up in the morning have my coffee, “put my ears on” and off I go! When I go into the office now for my regular checkups, “it’s like family”.

Sandra Fascetti our June Hearing Partner

Sandra was born in Canada, lived in Detroit, MI and then moved to Florida with her husband. She has a married son and a wonderful granddaughter named Bella. She retired after working 30 years in education as an assistant to the principal in the Boca Raton school system. She continues to work in a family owned landscaping business with job responsibilities of billing and much customer interface.

While working in the school, Sandra noticed a deterioration in her hearing when she found herself saying, “excuse me”, or “pardon me”. She finally came to grips with her hearing loss about 15 years ago and got a hearing test. Results from the test revealed a noticeable hearing loss. She started with high quality conventional digital hearing aids and was not happy with changing batteries and daily maintenance. While waiting in a doctor’s office, she found an ad for Lyric and thought the hearing devices sounded too good to be true; no batteries to change, wear them 24/7 and invisible. She was thrilled to switch to the more efficient and convenient Lyric devices which better suited her lifestyle.

Before wearing hearing aids, she would wait to hear other people’s responses, then guess at words so she could be part of the conversation. With her hearing aids, she became actively involved in the conversations among friends, family and associates.

After getting her hearing aids, she retells a story she had with her husband. “She said, I hadn’t realized what sounds in nature I was missing until I heard the birds singing one morning. It was a beautiful start to my day.” Her husband reminded her the birds were always singing! With her hearing aids, Sandra attends shows and never misses a word or musical note. She enjoys television without blasting the volume. While cruising, she never worries about windy conditions or background noises affecting her hearing and vacation enjoyment.

Sandra says, “it is vital to be able to hear. There is no reason to miss the sounds around you.”

Sandra travels a distance to get to the Hearing Partners office but she says it’s worth the trip. “The staff at Hearing Partners is always eager to help. They are pleasant, sensitive to my needs and professional. You know you are getting the best at Hearing Partners.”

Nancy Brito our May Hearing Partner

Nancy grew up with many challenges. Her family immigrated to the United States from Cuba when she was 10 years old. They came with only the clothes on their backs and a few dollars. Her family worked very hard to make a good life, and she is very proud.

Nancy has dedicated her professional life to education. She lived in New York for 30 years and worked in Bilingual Education. When Nancy and her husband moved to Florida, she continued her work in Bilingual Education in South Florida.

Nancy is no stranger to hearing loss, as she has 3 uncles who are deaf. She noticed her hearing loss early in her career. Her hearing loss began to impact her work and everyday life. She found herself working harder and harder to hear what was being said at meetings and when she was spending time with friends. She realized she was missing words in the conversation around her. She says, “of course the loud music as a youth certainly didn’t help protect my hearing.”

Nancy has been wearing hearing devices for years and likes the new technology that is available. She especially likes the Bluetooth technology giving her more connectivity.

Nancy has been coming to Hearing Partners for over 3 years. She says, “the audiologist at Hearing Partners has worked with me, to help me hear at my very best. Hearing Partners has always been easy to work. The staff is professional and always very accommodating”.

Sheila Rubin our April Hearing Partner

Our April Hearing Partner: Sheila Rubin

Sheila and her husband split their time in FL and Connecticut. They attend many concerts, lectures, restaurant dining with friends, and spend time with their children and 8 grandchildren.

Sheila has always lived a very active life, enjoying tennis, golf and bridge. Her career as a programmer kept her in contact with many people. She would write new programs that were suitable for the changing needs of the business. Programming was interesting work and required many conversations to create the final product.

Sheila adjusted to hearing aids without any problem. She equates wearing hearing aids to wearing glasses and tells the following story. In her 40’s, she wanted bifocal glasses, when she realized her vision on her computer was getting worse she upgraded to progressives. She knew what she needed and embraced the change.

When Sheila discovered she was having a hearing problem she began to read and research hearing loss. She learned that wearing hearing aids could prevent further loss of word understanding. She was ready to take care of her hearing and asked a friend for a referral. She valued her friend’s judgement and made an appointment to come to Hearing Partners.

What she likes most about Hearing Partners is the low-key, no hassle environment. She says, “Dr. Adam is good natured and knowledgeable. When a boss is a good person, then the staff she hires will be nice and will be good people too”. She says, “Dr. Seldine is excellent when removing her ear wax buildup.”

Sheila has no issues with background noise or understanding conversations around her when wearing her Oticon hearing aids. She finds the remote control accessory helpful to adjust volume at her clubhouse, Kravis and Spanish River shows. With her hearing aids, the car radio is no longer blasting and on the golf course she hears the birds singing and at her bridge game she hears all the bids.

Sheila maintains good hearing health care. She has her hearing tested annually. She says,” By hearing you gain information. With untreated hearing loss, people don’t realize what they are missing.”

She has referred others to Hearing Partners telling them, Don’t let budget stop you from getting what you need, Don’t Deny Yourself, Just Do It!

Ken Mildworm our March Hearing Partner

Our March Hearing Partner: Ken Mildworm

We are pleased to introduce Mr. Ken Wildworm. Ken has been in law enforcement for over 54 years and still going strong. His early years were spent with the New York Police Department and then, he moved into the US Marshall’s Service. Ken has spent the last 18 years of service with The Village of North Palm Beach. Being in law enforcement he is very active not only in his community but other communities as well. Ken is always available to community members in need.

Ken first noticed his hearing loss early on in his career after years of using and being exposed to a variety of loud weaponry. Ken said that his wife was the first to take notice of his hearing loss, but he let things go for a while as he wasn’t sure that it was his hearing. He thought perhaps there were other environmental issues causing him difficulty hearing. Ken said his hearing loss was impacting him in many ways such as work, family, personal conversations, group gatherings even at the gym he was feeling unbalanced.

Today Ken is hearing better than he ever thought he could. “I am so happy now. I feel completely in balance. Not only can I hear people speaking to me, I even hear who is speaking behind me. The older technology used to shut out everything except what was in front of me, so I looked silly if a waiter/waitress came from behind and I completely ignored them because I didn’t hear them”.

Ken said once he partnered with Hearing Partners South Florida, things changed. He was impressed with how knowledgeable the providers were and how kind and helpful the staff are. They listened and worked with me to get the hearing aids just right. “The hearing aids are a part of my daily routine… like a cup of coffee”.

Barbara Siegel our February Hearing Partner

Our February Hearing Partner: Barbara Siegel

Barbara is a mother of 3 children and a certified teacher assistant. In addition, her work as an office administrator required her to hear well on the telephone. Barbara’s hearing problem was having an adverse impact on her life and lifestyle. She knew that she did not hear well but waited to address her hearing loss until she was almost 60 never realizing how much she was missing in her day to day life. We rely on our hearing everyday and Barbara took the first step to better hearing by scheduling an appointment with Hearing Partners.

With the help of highly trained audiologist, Dr. Phoebe Clouser and advanced technology in hearing aids, she can hear and understand conversations better than ever. With her new Oticon Opn hearing devices, she is experiencing better hearing. Her rechargeable battery kit allows her the convenience of no longer needing to replace batteries or carry them around.

She says. “my hearing aids have impacted my life for the better. You don’t know what you’re missing until you have it — hearing aids was a real life changer!”

Hearing Partners has a wonderful staff. She says, “everyone makes me feel my needs are important”. Thanks to the audiologists, my improved hearing has helped me gain my personal confidence.