AREA RESIDENT Brian Fortner received a new hearing aid in a Hearing Life Hearing Campaign and now loves to listen to the singing of songbirds. Photo by Tom Godfrey.
Life-long area resident Brian Fortner had forgotten of one of life’s pleasures, the singing of songbirds, until he recently received a new hearing aid.
Fortner, 70, is a recipient of a Campaign for Better Hearing, contributed by Hearing Life, at 2905 Lake Shore Blvd. W., which sponsored the event and donated his tiny hearing aid, which is valued around $6,000.
“I received a flyer in the mail advertising a free hearing test,” he says. “I obtained a test and didn’t realize that my hearing was failing.”
Fortner at that time could not fully hear or appreciated the singing birds.
“I can now hear the birds chirping in the trees for the first time in years and didn’t realize how loud they are and how nice they sing,” he smiles. “I can even hear the neighbours complaining and talking. Before I couldn’t hear that.”
The deluxe Oticon OPN S hearing fits in the palm of a hand and is barely detectable when worn.
“It is light, comfortable and has changed my life,” Fortner insists. “Before the sounds were muffled and distant.”
The area resident, who at one time worked on the Motel Strip, near Park Lawn Rd., and Lake Shore Blvd. W., didn’t realize how loud he tuned his television and can now hear instruments he never heard being played in his favourite tunes.
Hearing Instrument Specialist Sandra Przepiorka, a clinician, nominated Fortner for a Campaign for Better Hearing, contributed by Hearing Life, which meant he stood to obtain a free hearing aid if he was selected.
“He is very lucky and was the recipient of the free devices,” Przepiorka says. “Hearing Life Canada offers free hearing tests to anyone who requests them.”
The company says nearly half of all Canadians over 60-years-old suffer from hearing loss and are urged to obtain free hearing tests and risk-free hearing aid trials nationwide.
They point to a recent report by The Lancet, one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, which found that people in midlife, ages 45 to 65, have nearly twice the risk of developing dementia due to hearing loss, relative to those without hearing loss.
Their research shows connections between hearing loss and other serious health problems like social withdrawal and isolation, depression, and mental fatigue
Most of the nearly 250 HearingLife centres are open with COVID-19 safety measures in place and you can book a free hearing test by calling 1-888-927-0548 or visit www.hearinglife.ca.