You're tuned into the Hearing Matters Podcast with Dr. Gregory Delfino, and Blaise Delfino of Audiology Services and Fader Plugs, the show that discusses hearing technology, best practices, and a growing national epidemic, hearing loss. On this episode, we have one of our patients, Mr. Richard Taylor joining us on this episode. We are so happy to have you on the show. Mr. Taylor, welcome to the Hearing Matters Podcast.
Thank you. And I'm happy to be here because I have an attachment, I've been coming here for what, three, four months? I have an attachment to this place, you and Jasmine and all those that we see. And I know that's what you strive for and you got it.
Well, thank you so much. And we always say because we are a family owned private practice that our patients truly are part of our family. And we're so happy to hear that you, no pun intended, feel that way now. Mr. Taylor, before we dive in and talk about your new hearing world. Share with us about your background, because it's very interesting
Going way back to birth? Or do you want?
Your career, okay?
I've just evolved spent a lifetime and printing it happened is an accident, really, you know, there are vocational schools in our high schools. But I never took one of those printing was available, yet. I never took it. So all of a sudden one day I found myself standing in a press the small printing press the very beginning kind of a press offset. And I liked it. And from there I moved on. And I eventually ended up working for
cover astronautics. And I was cleared for secret in the US Navy, which made it easy for me to get my first real job and printing because they wanted people with clearance of please secret. Some of the guys are worried over top secret because all that now was declassified. So I can talk about that because that's like back in the 50s. So you're talking 50 years ago.
So I'm curious to know you were in the printing business. And when you would go to some of these manufacturing plants, and you would walk through did you wear any hearing protection?
No. And I tried as an owner of a printing company to encourage the people who work for me to use audio protection, and they'd put them on and I'd go out on a sales call or somebody come back and they'd all be no protection.
Taking them off, right?
Yeah, taking them off. Why'd you take them off? Ah, they're uncomfortable, I can't get used to him, blah, blah, blah. So that was one of the first real introduction for me into audiology, unprofessionally he didn't understand at all, but I do know that those people were told that it'd be better for their hearing and their health if they wore
them. Yes. And so I did encourage kind of an unknown product did I should let them know and I got a little tough room I made a worm as long as I was around good prefer to go out. I know they take them off.
And it's essential if you do work in a noisy environment to protect your hearing and now with OSHA, it is mandated the company needs to provide hearing protection for their employees to protect
and preserve their hearing. Now when you first came here to audiology services, we of course conduct and Dr. Delfino conducts an extensive case history we want to make sure and review well did you work in a loud environment is your hearing loss linked to present accuses which is age related hearing loss now taking your history into consideration, of course the aging process
We also haven't hit the Navy either. There's heavy, loud engines. I was on two different ships the aircraft carrier, I made one over and back once and then a true transport I went over and back 13 times 13 over and 13 back and it was hard to be placed in a quiet place aboard a naval ship and you just better get used to living with
noise. If you want a good night's sleep is when you lay your head down just say I'm going to sleep I'm not going to listen to that junk, it could be pretty disturbing is kind of a vibration. I call it a thick noise in like somebody's pounding on steel or it's not like some delicate thing we're a baby drop a little pacifier her it was real heavy. So it's constant whenever that ship pulled out. Once we'll see that carrier was for de Laval steam
engines. Back when was all steam that was a 1944 carrier and a true transport was the earlier version. It was a writer but the first part of the war 41 when they started really building ships, and they knew they need to get troops over there.
So we can say that it is highly likely that due to your occupation, and again, thank you for your service that you began to experience a decrease in hearing due to your occupation. But of course, there could be other factors like if you mowed the lawn without wearing hearing protection, things of that nature. Now, Mr. Taylor, you are 90 years young, right?
Three weeks ago
Three weeks ago, happy belated, when did you start to notice that you had difficulty hearing?
Probably way back. But I didn't know how do we code it? I didn't know. Was it me? Was it a physical thing inside? Or was it the audiology was receiving was distorted through my ears, but I wasn't knowledgeable enough to really understand all sides of it. So I just ignored it, like a lot of people do and just lived with it is, you know, I lived 90 years, with no correction to my hearing until I was brought here to you and introduced to all that you can do to help someone
Just to dovetail off what you're saying hearing instruments are really only as good as the individual tuning them and programming them.
I can so agree with that with the help of my daughter, and my own thoughts on what I should be doing. They've been very successful. In fact, I think the last time I talked to you said I was warning them like 14 hours a day. You have some way of knowing that, you know, until you told me that I never thought about it. I put them in the morning, take them out at night. What they have to do for care payment puts them in the dryer. She's a dryer lady.
So Pam is your daughter. And Pam found our family almost four years ago, we fit Pam with musician ear plugs.
All her father's attributes, we could just say She's a phenomenal musician, she is a teacher. So we'll definitely put a link a little bit about Pam and her incredible career. that and so we can move on.
So Mr. Taylor, most individuals will wait seven to 10 years before they do something about their hearing loss. And really, it's about 10 years I believe, longer. Now, what do you think delayed your hearing journey? Was it acceptance? Was it vanity? Was it? Maybe your friends wore hearing aids, but they weren't successful with them? What do you think delayed the journey?
Being a young guy, I have to admit it was probably vanity. Look at a poor old guy with those hearing aids. You know, I think that as labels, you may be an older age, and you actually have one of your young person with problems hearing. I think that was the number one being vain, which I didn't really want to be but sure it was. And then the noticeable difference in what I was hearing without any help at all. I think a Navy maybe had my hearing checked, I can't
remember what the result was. I don't think it was too serious. It wasn't serious enough that they would call it a problem. So I just blew it by and took my service.
They sort of collected a baseline to see where your hearing sensitivity lied.
Yeah. And would I be safe? And would other people around me be safe with this problem?
Sure. I'm curious to know, to dovetail off what you're saying, Mr. Taylor, Dr. Delfino, you've been an audiologist well over 30 years, would you say that the majority of patients that you've seen and that you've worked with stall, or delay their hearing journey due to vanity?
I think without a doubt, that's certainly one of the primary reasons why people avoid the initial steps to amplification. It really is, how it looks and how it makes them feel and how they are viewed by other people. But what's interesting is that once they make that step, then it becomes such a less important aspect of what's going on the fact that they are able to benefit from amplification, they were able to see the difference between how they heard without them and and with them makes all
the difference in the world. So the vanity issue quickly dissipates.
Oh yeah, I would gladly tell anybody, anybody listening to this. If you have a trouble hearing, no matter your age, no matter your financial conditions, no matter what gets something done about it. It's a wonderful thing. It's like a new life when you can hear things that you haven't been here and didn't even know you weren't hurrying. Yes, Pam, and her husband and I last night we're kidding about. Paul was whispering to her when he got
done. I told parents as I heard every word he said, and Pam says, Oh, we got to be careful. Always say no now. But all the wonders of this. And the payoffs of this are tremendous. And it took me 90 years to find that out. So I beg of people listening to this podcast, if you're not hearing clearly, if you're not getting a full advantage of your life, with a good hearing, good sight, good holes. Do something about it.
See these young gentlemen right here before We see that audiologist see the professionals that can help you. I know that for a long time raising a young family 50 years ago, finances weren't the thickest, you know, like they usually are for they are absolutely, that's another reason I put it off. But I do realize that you need to work
through things like that. And I know that you and good organizations like you have some kind of plans that they can adhere to, and pay small amounts for a certain amount of time, and still enjoy the benefits of being able to hear Yes, and don't use that excuse anymore of finances now, because it really isn't, and anybody that wants to hear can pay for them, you'll make available to them.
Absolutely. And Mr. Taylor, to really echo what you just said, number one, the cost of untreated hearing loss is greater than the price of hearing instruments. And for all of our listeners tuned in right now, you have the option to either lease hearing instruments for a nominal fee per month, lowest technology would be $15 per month, you can finance over time. And I know within our network of private practice owners around the country have options for every lifestyle, and
for every budget. And that is really important. We've never wanted the financial aspect be the reason why no one moves forward with hearing technology because there are different comorbidities linked to untreated hearing loss, cognitive decline, increased risk of falling, Mr. Taylor, we recently fit you with your first set of hearing aids, they are oticon. share with us what your experience has been like with regard to your new hearing world.
First of all, being a new electronic instrument. I didn't want to miss a month. Like drop them step on them, you know, something like that? Yeah, that was my first concern. I was kind of in a wonderment, kind of like, How can this be this little thing on top here, I found out from you and instructions, that is the microphone. And the part that goes in my ears, the receiver. And then there's a little piece of wire that has kind of fold up
and going inside my ear. That I guess is also like an outside receiver.
So it actually ensures that the receiver stays in your ear canal and it's snug so it doesn't fall out.
So yep, there's no electronic action from slowly I got to learn them. And Pam was a lot of help to me, because she has an analytical mind as you know, she's a great musician, and they all have good analytical. Absolutely. So if I have a real deep problem was discovered, so is nothing, you know, unfortunately, maybe, unfortunately for her, but fortunately for me, I just dumped it on her now. She does that kind of stuff that she does so fast. In fact, every Monday
is our data, dry him. And I said to work and we use another day, this is kind of like a business day. I'm not here and like I should but currently do. Well. The problem is that Monday is my only really free day for several years. Okay, so I go without him on Monday. And that's another good thing. Let people know that try that if they want to really see the value of what they're getting out of those hearing aids. Try going without him for like four hours, or going out
without them for a work day. And all of a sudden, oh wow. Big difference. You know, it's just as if I can't hear anything. Yes, of course, none I acclimate to it. But they have to turn her talk up to yell. And another funny thing after I got this all going on, and going on so greatly, I had to tell them to turn the TV down, or turn anything that they were using, don't please. And if they see me in there, messing with little
toggles. I know that I was serious, and I can understand why I'm going to do we're used to yelling almost to me.
So what's interesting is that you cannot see the picture when you are in the frame and family members behaviorally start to speak louder because I need to speak louder to help you exactly for you to understand what they're saying now Mr. Taylor living in this new hearing world, what did you notice was enhanced and again, I'm sure family members notice that communication is easier.
My favorite. My favorite story and Pam was with me. We walked out of this place. He had put the hearing aids in for me. I went up front here turned, made the left turn into the parking lot and all of a sudden his chirp, chirp, chirp chirp chirp chirp and I look up at her is this Cardinal in his treatise far less down in the parking lot chirping away and as odd he was chirping, me, because see, you can hear me and I sound pretty, but you didn't know that
before. I can almost get emotional about because whom I walked up to his door and heard, really heard Well, for the first time you plant this bird up here.
Oh yeah, we keep them. We have them on speed dial. Yeah. So he says congratulations to all of our patients who who move forward with technology,
But man, I mean, that was so cool, and from that point on that day, and the time we were outside there, chirping back at me, and is it something that we go 90 years without having that feeling, and almost call it a security, and all of a sudden, as they're laid right before us all because of Audiology, and all because of a levels that has gone to I kind of talked to friends and quickly looked into years ago. But as I you know, this just doesn't make
it so garbled. And these people are complaining they can't understand as well as they did without them. So what a day that was 90 years later, and I'm hearing at Cardinal church, it's a day I'll never forget that. So they they see that the Lord has made a man.
Mr. Taylor, what advice would you give friends, family, and listeners tuned in right now who suspect they have a hearing loss, but aren't really quite ready to move forward with hearing technology?
Give themselves a chance at life, give them a chance to get life in a whole the whole 100% not 50% or 70%, but a whole 100% when they start hearing. Sick of I mean hearing, hearing sight smell ones is as important as the other. And for some reason hearing from what I'm hearing from you. And from what I've just seen through life doesn't get a good rap. They kind of get pushed up down all the way because it's not an immediate loss. Correct. It's a
gradual loss. It's a gradual loss and gives you all next year, I got to get a check you know, next year, and all of a sudden or death or near death. So please, for your family, for you. Get your hearing checked and find out that you can have hearing aids and make good use of life with good hearing through someone like Blaise and his dad, who are real experts at this and I'm gonna prove it because I will warn her her needs not for three, four months. And what a difference.
And don't ignore it another day.
You're tuned into the Hearing Matters Podcast with Dr. Gregory Delfino, and Blaise Delfino of Audiology Services and Fader Plugs. Today, we had one of our patients, Mr. Richard Taylor, join us talking about the benefits of hearing technology. Until next time, hear life's story.