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Recipient says he can now hear his granddaughters
BOARDMAN
2“My granddaughters are always saying, ‘Papa can’t hear,’” he said.
“It was amazing” when they turned on the hearing aids, he said.
“I was only hearing half of what was going on. I would watch television and not really know what was going on,” said Cretella, a carpenter, who said the noise from the power tools probably caused his hearing loss, which began years ago and got progressively worse.
“I’m going home and call everybody. I’m thrilled. This is some kind of Christmas present,” said Cretella, who was one of 28 Mahoning Valley residents who met the financial criteria to receive hearing aids at the third annual Hearing for the Holidays event Thursday at Centers for Hearing Care’s Boardman office.
The hearing aids are provided through the Hearing Missions Foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of Centers for Hearing Care.
The candidates chosen receive ear examinations and other appropriate treatment ahead of the actual fitting of the hearing aids and come back in two weeks for adjustments for hearing and comfort, said Dr. Sheryl A. Figliano, owner of Centers for Hearing Care.
It’s amazing for most of the people who receive hearing aids. Often, they have put off getting hearing aids because of the cost, Dr. Figliano said.
Most of the top-of-the-line new hearing aids, which retail for $6,000 a pair, are provided by the Starkey Hearing Foundation. If well-cared for, they can last five years or longer, she said.
“We help some who don’t meet Starkey’s financial criteria, and we donate the follow-up patient care for a year,” she said.
“I can hear. Just to hear noise is wonderful,” said Beverly English of Cortland, who had been having hearing problems for many years but could not afford the hearing aids.
She said she can make out what is being said while watching television, but when she is out with friends, she “can’t hear a thing.”
This is a nice birthday — she turned 78 on Dec. 4 — and Christmas present, English said.
Centers for Hearing Care does at least one international mission and one local mission a year, Dr. Figliano said.
For many, regaining their hearing is life-changing. “When you can’t hear what is going on, you can become socially withdrawn and not participate,” Dr. Figliano said.
She said she and her staff look forward to this day all year.
“We travel around the world helping those in need, but it is truly a special day when we can help those right here in the [Mahoning] Valley,” she said.
“When you see their faces when the hearing aid is turned on, it makes you want to do this every day,” Dr. Figliano said.
Centers for Hearing Care has seven offices in Northeast Ohio staffed with a full-time doctor of audiology or licensed audiologist. They are in Austintown, Boardman, Columbiana, Howland, Liberty, Pepper Pike and Salem.