Donna's $4,000 Hearing Aid Didn't Work
Donna is a seventy-five-year-old mother and grandmother.
As a result of a childhood illness, she’s been deaf in her right ear since she was one and a half years old. She has 30 percent hearing remaining in her left ear.
Donna bought a hearing aid that was a "lemon"
A few years ago, Donna purchased a hearing aid for her left ear that turned out to be a “lemon”—it just didn’t work and she wasn’t able to hear with it.
She took it in for repairs twenty-six times, but nothing fixed it.
She wasn't able to talk on the phone with her children for two years
Without a working hearing aid, she felt isolated and embarrassed when she tried talking with family or friends on the phone or in groups.
Donna asked the company to provide her with a working hearing aid without any luck. She contacted the Better Business Bureau and other agencies for help. Nothing changed.
How we helped her advocate for her rights
Then she requested help from Disability Rights Oregon.
A DRO attorney helped Donna to advocate for her rights under Oregon’s Assistive Device Lemon law. The company reimbursed Donna for the cost of her hearing aid.
Because of that, Donna was able to purchase a working hearing aid.
In Her Words
Q&A with Donna
Q: At what age did you get your first hearing aid?
I didn’t have one as child. My dad couldn’t afford it. He worked a farm and didn’t have insurance. There were five of us kids. We didn’t have money. I got my first hearing aid when I was in my fifties.
Q: How did you feel when the company would not provide you with a working hearing aid?
I felt like they were taking advantage of older people. I felt like they really didn’t care about helping people.
Q: How did you feel when you finally succeeded in getting the company to reimburse you?
I thank the DRO attorney who helped me. I’ve never had anybody go to bat for me like that and care about me as a person.
My daughter was so happy because I could take that money and get another hearing aid and not be out another $4,000. When you’re on a fixed income, that’s a lot of money, a lot of money.
Q: What’s the best part of having a working hearing aid again?
Being able to hear my grandson. He is seventeen and a half. He’s an awesome, awesome young man. And, of course, my daughter. She talks a mile a minute. And I can hear my son when we talk on the phone. I hadn’t been able to talk on the phone for two years. We’d just text. There’s nothing like hearing your child’s voice.