Last week we reached out to our customers and asked them to send us stories about being a veteran or about their experience with Audicus hearing aids. And it was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who submitted their story.
We received many stories about hearing loss and hearing aids, but one story stuck out. Ben Thompson, a customer from Maryland, told us about his experience in World War II.
Featured Veteran: Ben Thompson
Ben was 17-years-old when he decided to join the Navy. It was 1944 at the height of World War II; the Allies were preparing for D-Day, setting off a string of events that would ultimately result in the end of the war. Ben had just graduated from high school. After attending various training facilities, he was sent to Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay mid-1945.
At Treasure Island, Ben was assigned to an unknown destination. His Group boarded a ship not knowing where they were going to end up. They were halfway across the Pacific on August 6th, when Ben learned of the A-bomb in Hiroshima. A few days later he was informed of the second bomb in Nagasaki. When his boat docked, the unknown destination was revealed as the Philippines and he was instructed to prepare for a bloody invasion of Japan. That invasion never occurred, as Japan unconditionally agreed to surrender, ending the war on August 14, 1945.
Ben considers himself a lucky veteran. He’s thankful for the G.I. Bill, which afforded him a college education. After a year in the Philippines he moved back to the U.S. and eventually attended Ohio University. He now resides in Hagerstown, MD.
Thank you Ben, and all Veterans, for your service.
Ben’s Audicus Hearing Aids Experience
Ben, who is now 87, had found his hearing loss “increasingly annoying,” especially when he attended meetings in his community. He had visited Costco, but was quoted twice what he ended up paying at Audicus.
He believes Audicus offers a “better product for less money” and that Audicus presented a “phenomenal opportunity to get into something meaningful for a reasonable price.”
Find out what makes Audicus’ hearing aids so affordable.
Want to learn more about Veterans and hearing loss?
Fighting Hearing Loss Among Veterans:
Soldiers rarely come back from abroad unscathed. The media often discuss veterans with issues such as PTSD and physical injuries, but did you know that the top two most compensated disabilities are tinnitus and hearing loss? The Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that veterans are 30 percent more likely to have severe hearing loss than non-veterans, and those who served after September 2001 are four times as likely.
Supply and Demand: Veterans Denied Hearing Aids
The Veterans Affairs Department has taken weeks to supply hearing aid devices and repairs, leaving many veterans hearing-impaired, according to recent articles. In the most extreme cases, nearly one-third of veterans have to wait a month or more to receive a new device, and of the several thousand war veterans in waiting, about 1 in 10 need hearing aid repairs.