Eighteen months ago, Barry visited a Melbourne Connect Hearing clinic with a mission. He had owned multiple sets of traditional hearing aids over the course of ten years, but none of them really suited his lifestyle. He needed a solution that was going to work.
“I was probably changing my hearing aids every year to every two years, because I used to lose them…I’m vision impaired so I’d put them down and then not be sure where they were,” says Barry. “Stopping in different hotels around the world, it was like ‘Oh my god, I’ve got a plane to catch!’ and I’m still fiddling around trying to find where my hearing aid is. So, [traditional hearing aids] were not very successful for me.”
Barry no longer worries about losing his hearing aids, as he has been fitted with Lyric – the worlds first 100% invisible hearing aid. He can shower, sleep and exercise with Lyric still in place. He even goes for swims in the ocean using earplugs to protect the tiny hearing device from water damage.
Barry’s Lyric stays in his ear canal for up to three months, at which time it is replaced with a new one by his Connect Hearing clinician, Anne. It sits just four millimetres from his eardrum, and it is completely undetectable to the naked eye. “Most people don’t even know I’ve got a hearing aid!” he says.
For Barry, the Lyric hearing aid has been a life-changer. “It’s been 100% plus,” he says. “To be honest, it’s changed my life, and it means I can carry on working…with losing the traditional hearing aid all the time, then having to run off and go into meetings without a hearing aid…it was just getting too much to hold down a professional job.”
Then there’s his greatly improved social life. “Socialising is hard enough without hearing and full vision, you know? And now I’ve been able to hear a lot more. I can go out and socialize and be with people.”
“For me, I’ve found that there is no pain at all in wearing it, and I’ve really enjoyed the whole experience…it has literally changed my life for good.”