Meet Debbie McCloud
Debbie McCloud has been a patron of HearingLife (formerly Hear Wright) since 2011. Her first appointment came after years of her family encouraging her to get her hearing checked. It was at that appointment when her local provider diagnosed her with binaural hearing loss. Debbie decided to seek help by purchasing a pair of refurbished hearing aids and recalls how great it felt to hear sounds she had never heard before; the sound of birds chirping, and even the loud, blaring sounds of traffic. She fondly remembers her mother teasing her, saying, “Welcome back to the noisy world!”
Hearing loss meant challenges in the workplace
For many years, Debbie has worked as a nurse’s aide. When she started using her hearing aids in 2011, she began hearing new sounds while at work, like the steady sound of air leaving patients’ oxygen tanks and the rhythmic beeps of the hospital machines. Over time, her refurbished hearing aids were in constant need of repair, and those costs began to add up. Debbie could no longer afford to continue fixing her hearing aids, and her hearing suffered because of it.
Audiologist, Allison O’Grady, heard about the issues Debbie was experiencing with her refurbished hearing aids. She also learned that Debbie was going through major personal struggles, including the loss of her son, and health challenges that left her unable to work. Allison wanted to do something to help Debbie, and she looked to the Campaign for help.
Overjoyed to be selected for the Give Back program
Both Debbie and Allison were overjoyed when they learned Debbie was selected to receive the Give Back program’s free hearing aids. Being able to hear well again will increase Debbie’s quality of life and make it easier for her to communicate with her family. Debbie is the mother of three boys, and she and her husband, Gene, have five grandchildren. This new set of hearing aids means the world to her because they will help her to experience her life to the fullest and get the most out of the time she spends with her family.
After eight years and countless repairs of her current devices, she is very excited to experience the “noisy world” again.
Congratulations, Debbie!