Kirstin -Germany

"I was again able to hear and understand entire sentences"

Like many other people with a hearing loss, journalist Kirstin Krabsch from Wuppertal in Germany has been through a lot. For years, she had a hearing aid, which she never wore. It sat in her desk drawer.

She simply didn't like it. It was ugly and made speech sound metallic and hollow and just seemed unnatural.

But for most hearingimpaired people something eventually happens that, mercilessly, throes their situation into focus. This is what happened to Kirstin.

"Imagine if you are in the middle of the tennis court and one of the players asks what the score is - and you answer "almost one o'clock!" This results in a peal of laughter, and you politely join in."

It wasn't just on the tennis court that Kirstin lived through humiliating moments. She also recounts an incident in the doctor's waiting room where she didn't hear her name being called. And conversations at work of which she understood only little or northing whatsoever.

This succession of bad experiences persuaded Kirstin that she needed to get back in contact with her hearing aid audiologist.

This time she decided to get back a modern digital hearing aid that could be custom-fitted. She chose the Senso Diva from Widex.

"In the initial test phase, I felt very excited", says Kirstin. "I suddenly saw the world around me in a different light. I was able to hear and understand entire sentences from people passing by. I could hear my car engine start and I had to turn the volume of my car radio down."

Her colleagues at work began to notice that she was talking in a much lower voice. And her boss was happy about their new and uncomplicated working relationship.

Kirstin then decided, on her own initiative, to sign up for further education - somthing which she had not previously considered because of herhearing loss.

Unfortunately, far too many people abstain from taking part in varios activities because their first hearing aid has not been a success, but luckily more and more people realise that the new generations of digital hearing aids are miles from the technology available just a few years ago.

With today's technology and the competence of hearing healthcare professionals, people like Kirstin Krabsch can live life to the full.