After contracting measles as a kid, Beverly Pillsbury had trouble hearing. She says she tried surgery and different types of hearing aids but unfortunately they didn't help.
“I missed out on a lot especially in school because I could hear nothing,” said Beverly Pillsbury. “My ears would break down and run, it smelled terrible and I was always embarrassed and you couldn't control it”.
But now Beverly has a new set of hearing aids that came with a price tag of around $7,000 and she didn't have to pay a dime for them. The Miracle-Ear Foundation, whose mission is to support people with limited income for hearing aids, picked up the tab.
Rory Conrad, a hearing instrument specialist with Miracle-Ear in Nampa says Beverly is the second person their store has helped this year for free. Next year they plan to help at least four others. In total, the Miracle-Ear Foundation has donated 13,000 hearing aids to over 7,000 children and adults nationwide.
“As soon as we put hearing aids in people's ears, we see them cry. For the first time, a spouse says something, you see their face light up because they can finally understand, they can finally feel that voice,” said Rory Conrad of Miracle-Ear of Nampa.
The Miracle-Ear Foundation is accepting donations so other can have the gift of hearing, donations made onlineare also tax-deductible. For Beverly, being able to hear once again is music to her ears.
“I wear them now 24/7. I can't do anything without them,” said Pillsbury.
To find out if you are a candidate for free hearing aids through the Miracle-Ear Foundation, visit any of their store locations in the Treasure Valley.
