In his second of six blogs written exclusively for Starkey, Justin Osmond — who was born with a severe-to-profound hearing loss and has been wearing hearing aids since he was 2 years old — shares what he likes best about wearing his Livio Edge AI hearing aids. Go here to read his first blog — and watch this space for more.
There are so many features, programs and amenities that I absolutely love when I wear my Livio Edge AI hearing aids. It’s hard to narrow it down to just one favorite, because it’s a culmination of so many.
The primary reason why I absolutely love my Livio Edge AI hearing aids is the fact that they have propelled me forward and upward from ‘hearing’ to ‘understanding.’ I think every deaf and hard-of-hearing person can agree that there’s nothing more frustrating than hearing something and then not being able to understand what is being said. This is the gap, split, separation and disconnection that separates us from our family, loved ones, friends and life.
I know first-hand what that’s like, and it’s a very lonely place to be. I feel like I’ve developed the heavenly virtue of patience and long-suffering after waiting 44 years to finally get a hearing device that truly allows me to connect with life on so many levels. And now that I’ve entered this whole new world of hearing, I feel so incredibly blessed and grateful to live in an era where technology is at its peak!
I love the wireless connectivity
Not only has my livelihood been empowered with the best quality of hearing through my Livio Edge AIs, I have to say that my one true happy place is utilizing my Bluetooth capability without ever having to take my devices in and out like everyone else does to enable their Bluetooth devices.
For example, whenever I’m walking through the airport and I observe the corporate world walking around with their Bluetooth devices sticking out of their ears thinking they’re cool like James Bond, I just smile because — although they’ve got cool technology working for them — I feel I have the best set up ever! Not only am I using the same streaming technology they’re using, mine are concealed, custom-fit perfectly into my inner ear (not a standard ear bud) and whatever I’m listening to streams to both my ears.
And the BEST part (which very few people understand) is when I walk through a very noisy and busy environment such as the airport, I open my Thrive app, turn my hearing aid mics off, and at that precise moment — due to my profound hearing loss — it’s now completely and utterly silent (can’t hear a thing) in a very noisy airport.
I then turn up the volume of my Bluetooth/streaming accessory and now I’m only able to hear my Pandora music crystal clear, talk at ease with my wife and children on the phone, communicate with my Alexa assistant, listen to my voicemails, and so much more — without hearing a single clatter or decibel in any loud surrounding or background.
I love that I can control what I want to hear
It’s really hard for anyone to fully comprehend or picture what I just described unless you’ve experienced it, but when I say it’s nothing less than a miracle, I don’t say it lightly. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to be a witness to this amazing technology.
Let me take it a step further. I could be at my dad’s rock concert — which is at least 120 dB — and if my phone vibrates for an incoming call, I can simply turn my hearing aid mics off (the concert noise is now completely blotted out), turn my Bluetooth on and have an easy fun conversation with my phone pal with no loud distractions (unlike others, who have to leave the concert hall in order to hear the person on the other line). Admittedly, the person I’m talking to may have a hard time hearing ME for a change — since they can’t change any settings to cancel my dad’s concert in the background — but it’s still very cool.
These are definitely NOT my father's hearing aids
There’s no better era to be living in where all the bells and whistles are available to us to make our lives more convenient, accessible, fun and better! I can’t even tell you how many times friends and family members admit that they wish they were hard-of-hearing so they could enjoy the benefits I currently have. Ha!
There are many more things I love about my Starkey Livio Edge AI hearing devices, but don't these features alone make you want to go tell all your deaf and hard-of-hearing friends and associates to go and check them out!?
You can follow Justin Osmond on Facebook at JAOsmond; on Instagram at justin_osmond; on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinosmond/ or at his website www.justinosmond.com
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