ReSound Smart Hearing Aids: A Tale of Lost and Found

Bandera County, Texas is home to the “Cowboy Capital of the World” and ReSound LiNX² wearer Lee W. Bailey. Lee, 65, retired from his career in surgical sales three years ago and is an avid outdoorsman and volunteer EMS first responder with his local fire department.

Lee first became aware of his hearing loss 30 years ago during a routine appointment. “I love spending time outdoors,” said Lee, “I’ve enjoyed shooting sports for a long time, since before there was the increased awareness around hearing protection while shooting.” He feels that this greatly contributed to his hearing loss.

It wasn’t until 15 years ago that Lee got his first pair of hearing aids. However, he wasn’t very happy with them. “They didn’t have any vents and were just amplifiers.” When he would go into noisy environments, such as restaurants, he would just remove them. The second pair of hearing aids Lee owned had vents, but were still uncomfortable. When he wasn’t wearing them, Lee often found himself missing out on conversations with friends and family.

Lee dealt with his uncomfortable hearing aids for over five years, until last fall when he was introduced to ReSound LiNX² by his audiologist.

Lee is now able to be more engaged with his family and friends. “They [his hearing aids] have such better sound quality, are easier to use and much more comfortable. I can carry on a conversation much easier than I could before.”

When he’s out on a call, his ReSound LiNX² are particularly helpful. “When I’m driving the ambulance, I can hear what’s going on in the back, or can talk to my partner much easier than I could before,” said Bailey.

The Made for iPhone® feature was also a game changer in Lee’s book. “I was able to get rid of the hands free accessories that I had to talk on the phone while driving. Now I can just stream everything directly into my hearing aids from my iPhone. It’s great.” Lee is also a fan of adjusting his Smart Hearing aids through the iPhone and ReSound Smart app. Recently, Lee was able to use the ReSound Smart app for more than adjustment.

“My hearing aids fell off the ranch cart as I drove though the pasture. I wasn’t supposed to forget they were sitting on the back seat! They’re so comfortable I didn’t notice I wasn’t wearing them and I got in a hurry. I drove into the pasture that was being planted.” He didn’t realize until afterwards that they had been planted over. Using the ReSound Smart app’s finder feature, Lee set out looking for his hearing aids.

“I retraced my route using the Finder and I soon got a hit on my left. After about 45 minutes I found it undamaged. It only need a good cleaning. Proceeding on I got a hit on the right hearing aid. I searched 30 more minutes until dark, came back after dinner for another 30 minutes and covered the area with a tarp. The next morning my wife and I searched another 45 minutes before getting another signal and found it!”

“I never thought I’d want a BTE hearing aid, but I’ve been amazed by the comfort and forget I’m wearing them. With ReSound LiNX2 my concerns were alleviated,” said Lee, “I’m thankful for my ReSound LiNX2. For over five years, I didn’t really wear my hearing aids. I recommend that others try them out – they’ve made a big difference.”

If this is something you'd be interested in, please contact Land of Lincoln Hearing today to schedule your first hearing evaluation!