How hearing aids have helped me defy the limits of hearing loss

By Starkey Hearing on Jan 22, 2025

In his newest blog 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 two years old—talks about how hearing aids have helped him overcome the challenges of hearing loss and improve his quality of life.

I believe every single one of us has limitations—whether physical, emotional, spiritual, social, or mental.

For me, I was born with a severe hearing limitation. It generated a lot of challenges for me growing up, but I’ve learned that we can either limit our challenges or challenge our limits. From my many life lessons, experiences, and failures, I’ve learned that the latter is the better approach.

I believe we don’t overcome our limitations by removing the broken obstacles in our lives. We conquer our limitations and challenges by not letting them have us, own us, control us, or define us. This mentality has taught me the perspective that we can control the quality of our lives just by how we think and act towards those challenges.

Knowing that I could control the quality of my life by being proactive and doing something about it, I decided to not let my hearing loss define me—but rather, let it refine me.

This mentality led me to my personal motto:

I may have a hearing loss, but my hearing loss does not have me.

And a BIG reason why my hearing loss does not have me is because of my decision to wear hearing devices. Currently, my Starkey Edge AI hearing aids have refined me, molded me, purged me, propelled me, empowered me, and elevated me!

Growing up with the old analog hearing technology, I had to simply “fake it” until I made it, which was terribly frustrating. But today, with the latest incredible technology, I can honestly face my challenges head on, come what may.

The sky’s the limit with today’s hearing aids

Here are some reasons why my hearing aids have helped me defy the limitation of hearing loss:

Enhanced communication

Edge AI hearing aids have significantly improved my ability to hear and understand speech, which is nearly impossible without them. They have enhanced the clarity of speech sounds, making it easier to understand what people are saying.

Hearing aids have also increased the volume and quality of sounds, making it easier for me to hear quiet conversations that were previously inaudible.

Overall, they are essential to better communication with my friends and family, which binds us together emotionally and socially.

Improved social engagement

Hearing technology has substantially improved my social engagement. They allow me to actively participate in conversations and social situations, particularly in noisy environments. Using a feature that minimizes background noise, I can experience clearer hearing in bustling environments.

Thanks to Edge AI hearing aids and the ability to overcome communication barriers, I can now participate in social activities and maintain a healthy and strong marriage.

Life-simplifying technology

The benefits keep getting better, thanks to hearing technology that makes life easier. For example, Edge AI hearing aids provide Edge Mode+—an on-demand feature that uses artificial intelligence to instantly analyze my current listening environment and make significant adjustments to noise reduction, directional microphones, and gain settings. This gives me optimized sound clarity and comfort in challenging situations.

Moreover, my hearing devices allow Bluetooth® to connect my hearing aids to my phone and make hands-free calls. I can also pair music and other audio resources to my hearing aids directly from my phone and other devices.

And what could be better than this: It used to be where my wife would complain that the TV was too loud, as I needed to increase the volume in order for me to hear and understand. Now, with my new hearing technology and accessories, it’s completely the opposite. She now complains the TV is too soft and she has to turn it up for her benefit.