Success Stories

Amy Danks

Listen to Frank and Amy (.mp3)

Frustration, loneliness, isolation, and exhaustion.

Hello, my name is Amy Danks. I wanted to introduce myself first because that is my identity, which is who I am. I am also deaf, and suffer from bilateral Meneire's Disease. These were my feelings just 4 short years ago. The disease hit at the age of 8, and so deafness has been my way of life. It is all I really knew. Then, I met Jim Morris of HEARINC., and my whole world changed.

I finally had a wake-up call when I had to go to a concert my son was in and could not hear his performance. I was sad. I had never been able to hear him, but for some reason that night, I just wanted to cry. I knew my children would continue to participate in things and I would not be able to enjoy that with them. I felt I needed to do something.

I always considered myself to be able to handle life's challenges and not let my hearing loss keep me from doing the things I wanted to do. Yes, I went to school like everyone else, earned full scholarships to college, got married, and had 2 beautiful children. But, I was exhausted. I spent my whole day trying to hear, following conversations, figuring out what the kids want, reading their lips. Everyone seemed to be frustrated repeating themselves many times to me. It takes great concentration to follow conversation.

Although a hearing aid is no cure for me, my life has new focus. If you suffer from Meneire's Disease, you know ringing in the ears is a symptom. Mine is very loud. By wearing the hearing aid, a lot of the ringing isn't noticeable because you are hearing sound now which is drowning out the ringing. That is a big plus.

Jim was able to fit me with a hearing aid based on my needs that we discussed in length. He took the time to really understand what was important for me to function on a daily basis. When I got my hearing aid that day, the joy was indescribable. I couldn't believe all of the things that made noise. I didn't want to go to bed that night because I didn't want to stop listening to my husband and kids. We could have talked all night. It was so easy, it was calm and relaxed.

Jim continued to check up on me to make sure everything was good with the hearing aid. I told him I seemed to be having difficulty hearing my daughter's voice. He said to bring her in and he would work with programming her voice in to the hearing aid so I wouldn't have to struggle. My kids just adore him.

Venture into the hearing world. Try a hearing aid; you will be amazed at how stress free your life can truly be. Put your efforts into something fun instead of hearing. I will never forget what Jim said to me, "If you can't see you go get glasses, right?" There is no shame in getting a hearing aid, just shame from not helping yourself.