The sound of a child’s voice is music to the ears of a parent. Much more to a parent who will hear his child’s voice sing for the first time in his life.
Ken Stehle has never heard his daughter Ashley sing in the choir or speak. He was deaf for over 50 years.
During the Christmas recital of Stehle’s 15-year-old daughter, even if Ashley knew that he was using a hearing aid, she chose to wear the special microphone to complement the receiver of the assistive listening device (ALD) because her dad’s hearing aid might not work. Ashley was assigned to sing solo, the song “Daddy Please Come Home for Christmas”.
When it was Ashley’s turn to sing, Ken was amazed to hear his daughter’s captivating singing voice. He closed his eyes and listened to her voice. He was full of pride for his daughter. His daughter in turn found it awesome to see her father close his eyes and listening.
It’s amazing, I had goose bumps all over me. I’m very proud of my daughter.
With the help of a hearing aid and an ALD, Ashley’s dad was able to finally hear her sing.
Photo Credit: YouTube/ Gabriela Holden
With the help of a hearing aid and an ALD, deaf people like Ken would be able to hear sound better. The ALD is a new modern technology that uses a receiver, a special microphone, and a transmitter, which helps deaf people hear what they want to hear more clearly.
Watch Ashley perform here:
How do hearing aids work?
A hearing aid is a small electronic device that helps improve one’s hearing and speech. There are three kinds of hearing aids depending on how people wear them: behind-the-ear, in-the-ear, and canal aids. Hearing aids work differently depending on its use. There are analogs and digital ones.
Analog aids work by converting sound waves into electrical signals, which are amplified while digital aids convert sound waves into numerical codes, just like the binary code of the computer before amplifying them.