RICHARDS, Texas — When first-time patients come to Livingston Hearing Aid Center, it's often the case they've avoided it for years.
"Just totally resisted it," Dennis Chandler told WFAA.
Often patients, doctors say, might worry a hearing aid could stick out or make them feel old.
"I guess I had my own stigma about sticking things in my ear," Chandler said.
Dr. Hunter Gerhart at Livingston said he hears that all the time.
"That’s what I love about the Golden Bachelor," he said.
Dr. Gerhart became a big fan of Gerry the Golden Bachelor when he showed off his hearing aids on national television.
"He has highlighted hearing aids that are small and discrete, they’re not the big hearing aids our grandparents wore 20, 30 years ago," Dr. Gerhart explained.
More than that, he pointed to how Gerry wore his hearing aids with pride. He even joked about them with his love interests on TV.
"Hearing aids are a good thing, it’s what connects us to people."
According to the AARP, men resist wearing hearing aids more than women. The sooner a patient gets over that avoidance and treats his or her hearing loss the better outcome, Dr. Gerhart said.
"I should’ve purchased them earlier in hindsight," Chandler said.
The first-ever season of The Golden Bachelor ended Thursday with Gerry’s Golden wedding. Where again, he showed off his hearing aids on prime-time TV. Perhaps, Chandler said, that just might influence people.
"Anybody who has a hearing issue and hasn’t dealt with it," he explained.
"For years I didn’t deal with it and the person that’s happiest that I got hearing aids is my wife. You know I can hear; I don’t have to miss things. I’m very pleased with the increased quality of life these things have given me."
