“Losing your hearing at a young age is depressing so I’ve been lucky to work with audiologists who really know what they’re doing and who are quite happy to chat to you about how to cope,” says 27 year old primary school teacher Jolene Butson.

Jolene suffers from a severe progressive hearing loss and her introduction to Courtenay Hearing came after frustrations with the public health system. “At Courtenay Hearing they took the time to talk to me about the various hearing scenarios I faced and what I had lost, then helped me find the right hearing aids and accessories.” says Jolene. During her first visits, Courtenay Hearing recommended an improved set of hearing aids to cope with the demands of a her job as a teacher of 10 year olds. “By going private I had a choice from the full range of quality products. I even qualified to have three quarters of the cost covered because I needed my hearing aids for work.” Once the aids were available, Jolene had a series of follow-up appointments to be properly fitted and trained in how to use them.

“I didn’t know how badly I had been hearing until I realised how much better I could cope at school.” Jolene had also been missing the ‘basics’ she’d previously taken for granted like watching TV and music. “Now I’ve got a ‘streamer’ that looks like a really cool MP3 player. I just put my IPOD shuffle on top and the hearing aids become headphones so I can go running to music again. That alone has changed the experience for me.” Jolene’s confidence in dealing with her hearing problems has increased so much she’s now planning her OE. “I’ve got modern products that suit my needs and look cool too. I’m ready to enjoy the things other 27 year olds do.”