The Dog Ate My Hearing Aid

[Lowell]

My wife goes to bed early sometimes. I turn of the volume on the TV and watch with CC. So a few nights ago my wife comes out into the living room with a strange look on her face. She tells me Lucille, one of our Jack Russells, is under the bed . . . whistling. Well I had to see this. My mom always told me that if dogs could whistle and had pockets they would rule the world. I reached for my hearing aid on the night stand and discovered it wasn't there. I knew then I was in big trouble.

Anyway I captured Lucille and pried my poor, damaged hearing aid from her jaws. It still works, but the casing is broken. So I took it to my audiologist to have it repaired. Has anyone else had their devices recased? They had to make another mold of my ear canal and sent the whole package out express. I hope I get it back soon. Meanwhile, Lucille is in the dog house.

The audiologist said they are going to have to recalibrate the thing when it comes back and they want me to take an other hearing test. Has anyone else suffered a weird destruction of their aids? And what did you do?

[liberalhistorian]

1. Actually, that happened to me about

18 years ago, with my second pair of aids. We'd just gotten a couple of puppies, and they got into my purse and literally ate the damn things, both of them. I had to get a completely new pair; fortunately, they were still under warranty but just barely. I'd have been screwed if they weren't, because I had no money to get new ones.

I got my third pair a few years ago, and am still paying the goddamned things off and will be forever, with the horrendous finance charges that are as much as the damn monthly payment. My insurance, like most insurance, didn't cover them and my boss at the time had to cosign the $3,000 loan ($1,500 apiece). Funny thing is, they've been in the shop more often than any other pair of mine to date. I'm so sick of the damn things sometimes, I get so tired of having to wear them in order to have a life. You'd think after twenty one years of wearing them, since I was 21 years old, I'd have gotten used to it by now, but I really haven't. I don't think I ever will.

[Lowell]

2. Expensive devices

I know what you mean about them being expensive. I'm just glad the dog didn't damage them as extensively as yours got damaged. It is still going to cost me a couple hundred dollars to get the damn thing recased. There is an incredible profit margin on these things. 2 cents worth of plastic, a few minutes of somebody's time and two hundred dollars.

I'm wearing Rexton aids. I've never had to take them back for anything, other than getting them adjusted correctly. What kind are you wearing?

[liberalhistorian]

3. I'm wearing Beltone,

the same ones I've had from the beginning. When I moved from OH to SD last summer, I had to switch branches; I like the Rapid City, SD, branch office of Beltone much better than the ones in Ohio.

[China_cat]

4. My sister's dog ate hers

but it was a lot worse than yours. She had to get a whole new one.

[liberalhistorian]

5. That's what happened to me,

the damn puppies totally ate BOTH of the aids!

[Lowell]

6. Yeah, I guess I was pretty lucky

The thing got hung up on a front tooth and just stuck there whistling. I'm glad my wife heard it and I was able to get to her before more damage was done. As it is it is going to cost several hundred dollars to get it recased. I'm still waiting on it to come back from the repair shop. I can't believe how much they charge for a little plastic. I can't imagine loosing two. It is sure going to make me more careful on where I set them down.

[China_cat]

8. At least your dog didn't swallow it.

Several hundred dollars is bad but try adding to that a couple thousand to remove the battery from the dog before it killed her.

[uppityperson]

7. an uncle told me his dog chewed up a couple aids.

liked the taste or the smell or something, advised me to never leave them out on a counter or dresser.