Something strange was happening to Ruthy and she didn’t know what it was.

She says “it began with my fixation on people’s mouth movements. I noticed my eyes would move from watching their eyes to watching their lips.”

Hearing loss was the furthest thing from her mind at the time. Ruthy says, “I didn’t even realize it was a hearing loss until I had my ears checked. That’s when I realized I had a hearing loss.”

Following her diagnosis, Ruthy was faced with multiple worries and concerns. She remembers, “My initial thought was fear of losing my hearing completely. I felt disabled and began wondering if anyone else could tell that I was struggling to hear. I felt alone and ashamed.”

Then there was a personal battle with the social stigmas around hearing loss for Ruthy to contend with. She explains, “Only old people lose their hearing; not 40 year olds! What would people think if they knew I had been to a hearing specialist? How can I maintain my professional career with this disability? And finally, would I be treated differently because of my disability?”

However, Ruthy found herself in reassuring hands at Highline Hearing. She says, “From the first phone call (which took me weeks to make) to being fitted for my ‘ears,’ the staff was courteous, compassionate, professional, and caring. I was never made to feel like I had a disability; instead, the team helped me feel empowered because I could now actually hear!”

Fast forward ten years to today and Ruthy is thankful for her hearing aids. “They have changed my life!” she says. “I can understand what people say to me without having to ask them to repeat themselves.”

However, she admits life with hearing aids was tough at first, but that soon changed. She says, “In the beginning, I was embarrassed to have them, so I didn’t tell anyone. But as I paid attention to other people struggling, I started sharing my story.

“I firmly believe that my new hearing aids were key to my landing my dream job because I could hear well, I understood the questions being asked of me, and that gave me the confidence I needed to show my future employer why they should bring me onto their team.”

She finds that many people today still have outdated stigmas toward hearing aids. Ruthy explains, “Now, almost a decade later, I still shock people when I tell them I wear hearing aids! Being in the cyber security world, I emphasize how modern and high tech my ‘ears’ are now. I tell them they are rechargeable and I can listen to Spotify through them, take calls through them, and work out with them in place.”

When asked what she would say to anyone contemplating an appointment at Highline, Ruthy says, “I would ask them what’s holding them back from making that call. People wear glasses to help them see and they are accepted. People wear hearing aids to hear, how is that different?

“Show yourself some love and get your hearing checked and if needed, wear those new ‘ears’… it will change your life.”