The "Can You Hear Me Now?": Part III" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking on the phone with an agent from my insurance company.  I have had Erie Insurance since I turned 16 and began to drive.  My wife and I have had Erie since we have been married.  Auto, Home Owners, Catastrophic, etc...we have them all with Erie.  And, they have been remarkable with claim payments, large and small, over our 51 years of marriage.  So, I thought I would make the call and see if they would pay for my hearing aides that my cat, The Gray Lady destroyed when I left them on the kitchen counter when I went to work.  

How can anyone get mad at this gal?

Big mistake on my part!  She is still a kitten and super inquisitive and these two small pieces of plastic that may have been beeping at her were too much to ignore, so she grabbed them and beat them to death with her claws and teeth.  My call to my insurance agent was to see if they were covered by insurance.  I was asked if I would be willing to give a recorded statement over the phone about what happened and I said, "Yes."  After a few minutes of answering questions I was asked to tell how they were destroyed.  Wasn't long before I got the bad news that they weren't covered if destroyed by my pet.  I know I could have said otherwise, but what I said was the truth, so I now have to find a way to get new hearing aides and not break the bank.  Miracle Ear had given me a price of about $5,000 for electronic aides that I could operate with the use of my iPhone.  I had tried them before, but didn't like them.  Then, while sitting in the dentist's chair, I told my story to my dentist about having my hearing aides destroyed.  He suggested I try Costco, since he has had good service and success with the hearing aides he got there.  Later that day I placed a call to Costco and talked with someone in the hearing aide department.  A day later I was talking with Heidi who administered my hearing test.  After about thirty years of having hearing aides, I knew the routine by now and the test went as expected.  She told me my loss was very similar in both ears and asked if I wanted the type that fits behind my ear.  I had them years ago and found that every time I took off my hat or glasses, my hearing aides became dislodged.  Told her I wanted an aide that would fit in my ear.  So, I was fitted with two hearing aides and told to walk around the store for 10 minutes to see how I liked them.  I loved them!  The clarity I heard was greater than my old hearing aides.  She gave me an appointment to pick up my new hearing aides and I am now getting adjusted to hearing different sounds once again.  Now, all I have to do is remember not to allow my hearing aides out of my sight or out of my ears unless they are in my plastic pouch.  The Gray Lady hasn't seen them yet, but I'm positive she will try to silence them if she ever finds them unattended.  And, the best part of today's story is the fact that my new hearing aides are about half the cost of any aides I have ever purchased.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.