Success Stories
Meet Terri Rice
Stats
- 63 years old
- Congenital hearing loss since birth
- Began wearing hearing aids at age 7
- Blind
- Favorite sound – birds chirping
Artists are different than most of us. They see the world and interpret what they see in imaginative ways that are unique to them. Terri is one of those artists. “I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and worked as a graphic artist, before losing my sight. But what I really wanted to do was teach art to deaf students.”
Terri has had a neurological form of hearing loss since birth. She was diagnosed and fitted with hearing aids at the age of 7, followed by years of speech therapy. Soon after learning to hear and communicate, Terri began planning how to use her artistic talents and was quite successful.
Then, in her early twenties, Terri began to slowly lose her sight. “I knew I would lose my sight eventually because that’s part of Usher’s Syndrome. That’s when I started to save money to travel. I wanted to see the things that I wanted to see while I still could. I stayed in youth hostels and discovered so many places and people throughout my travels. Now I see without seeing. It’s brain memory.”
Unable to continue working as a graphic artist, Terri began to consider what she wanted to do and where she wanted to live. “I earned my Master’s degree in Rehabilitative Counseling for the Blind. I hoped I could help others who had lost their sight.”
Having lost both her vision and a lot of her hearing, how does Terri stay connected with those around her? “I’m really social, and luckily, my hearing is mostly stable. I budget carefully for my hearing devices. Yes, they are expensive but they are not optional and it’s important to me that they are powerful enough to help me maintain those connections. Hearing affects the quality of my life by helping me navigate life.”
Terri has been a patient at The Speech & Hearing Center for almost 15 years. When asked why she chose us, she said, “Because you treat me as an individual and recognize that I’ve lost both senses. Everyone always takes time with me. I’m never made to feel rushed or hurried. It was important to me to choose an audiologist not associated with a for-profit business. I didn’t want to be sold.”
We are so thankful that Terri is a part of The Speech & Hearing Center family and love every time she visits.
Meet Cheryl Giest
I am an occupational therapist and work with speech therapists in an adult rehab setting. It wasn’t until my own child needed speech therapy that I truly realized how much of an impact they make on people’s lives.
My husband and I noticed when my son, Aiden, was 3 that his speech wasn’t as clear as other kids his age at the playground and even family members had a difficult time understanding him. Aiden got to the point where he started stuttering and then would get frustrated and lower his head and refuse to talk. It broke our hearts to see him struggle with communicating so I pushed for his pediatrician to send him to speech therapy.
My son’s speech therapist, Carla Wiksell, has been a godsend for us. She truly has changed Aiden’s life.She started teaching him how to sound out the letters and sounds he was having difficulty with andmade it fun for him. We could tell that she truly cared about him-not just his speech but other areas that were needed to help him get ready for kindergarten such as being able to sit still, listen and follow directions.
When Aiden started kindergarten this year, he started having speech therapy in the school system but we requested to also continue with his speech therapist, Ms. Wiksell at The Speech & Hearing Center because we could see and hear what a difference she was making on my son’s speech and his confidence. We will forever be thankful for what Ms. Wiksell has done for our son!
Meet Cheyenne Sluder
My son, Ashton, started going to speech therapy in August of 2021. He wasn’t speaking at all, other than the occasional “mama” or “dada.” Ms. Emily worked so hard with Ashton and formed a great relationship with him. Ashton loves her and always looked forward to seeing her. I think this helped Ashton progress even more quickly. Every week, I could see the amazing progress he was making. By March 2022, Ashton was pronouncing words amazingly and putting 3-4 words together. That’s when he completed his time with The Speech and Hearing Center and working with Ms. Emily. Now, Ashton is doing great! He can effectively communicate with not only family members but everyone he meets. He’s so much happier and less frustrated being able to communicate his wants and needs. I’m super thankful and blessed to have been able to get Ashton into The Speech and Hearing Center. I recommend them to friends and family. They are amazing!
Meet Penny Bates, Columbia Recycling Corporation
My name is Penney Bates, and I have been the safety director at Columbia Recycling for 14 years. Since 2013, we have used The Speech and Hearing Center to maintain our hearing conservation program. They have always gone above and beyond to make sure our employees are treated well, that testing goes smoothly, and all documentation is covered. Evelyn, the industrial hearing manager, answers all questions and makes sure we have all the required documents to stay OSHA compliant. David, the industrial technician, has always made the testing process easy and is a pleasure to work with. I cannot say enough positive things about our experience with The Speech and Hearing Center!
Meet Tracy Mitchell, Sherman & Reilly
The Speech & Hearing Center has provided outstanding audiology service to us for a few years. Their team is professional, knowledgeable, friendly and very responsive to our company’s needs. They contact me a few months in advance to schedule hearing evaluations for our employees. Their mobile unit comes to our site, which a great timesaver for our busy manufacturing facility. Of course, there are employees that miss evaluation day, but with the Center conveniently located in Chattanooga, I can send those employees to their office to be evaluated. With the help of The Speech & Hearing Center team, we stay in compliance with OSHA’s hearing conservation requirements. I would highly recommend them!
Meet Kori
The Speech and Hearing Center has made such an impact on my son’s speech development. Sessions are prepped and tailored to his needs, as well as age appropriate and engaging. My son is excited to go each week. As a parent, I am thankful for the communication, information and tools to help him at home as well. I’m thankful they help me understand the process and equip me to practice with him outside of therapy. We will forever be thankful for our time with The Speech and Hearing Center.
Meet Grygorii
Stats
- 70 year old
- Born in Ukraine
- Hearing loss in both ears due to industrial noise
- Favorite Sound: Birds singing
Imagine living in a new country, unable to speak the language, while having lost a lot of your hearing. Where would you turn? Would you know where to go for help? “I came here last year with my wife Vira to escape the war.”
Grygorii worked for 20 years in the coal mines of Ukraine. “It was very loud, very dangerous, and we had no ear protection. Over 20 years, I lost most of my hearing.”
Grygorii came to The Speech & Hearing Center through Bridge Refugee Services. When Bridge Refugee Services contacted us with concerns about Grygorii’s hearing, we were happy to set an appointment for an evaluation. After finding out more about his situation, it was apparent that he would qualify for our Hear Chattanooga hearing aid assistance program.
On May 3rd , Grygorii was fitted with his first pair of hearing devices. Through a partnership with the device manufacturer, Grygorii was able to receive a pair of new devices for just $100. “I’m excited because he can hear now. I don’t have to yell anymore”, said Vira.
Grygorii and Vira plan to settle in Chattanooga and restart their lives. “In Ukraine, I fed the birds from my hand. They were hungry. My favorite sounds are the birds singing. Now I can hear them again.”
We are honored to be able to help Grygorii in his pursuit of hearing and better communication with his family. Welcome to Chattanooga. May your lives here be filled with birdsong.
Meet John Cavanaugh
I had a great experience at The Speech and Hearing Center. The audiologist, Ursula, was very professional and did a great job performing my hearing test, going over my results with me, what they meant, and also explaining my new hearing aids and how to use them. She was so informative that when she was done I had very few questions and those she answered to my full satisfaction. And, as she advised, the hearing aids are now allowing me to hear a fuller range of sound than I had been able to hear for some time. It’s a really noticeable difference and a great feeling!
Meet Jeannie Lawrence
Stats
- 55 years old
- Lost most of her hearing as a toddler due to infection
- Hearing aid wearer
- Favorite sound: Music
Jeannie has been a patient of TSAHC since she was 7 when she was fitted with her first pair of hearing aids. “When the audiologist first put them on my ears, I heard the birds and cried. I had never heard the birds before. I wanted those hearing aids so badly but my mother couldn’t afford to buy them for me. The TSAHC and some friends helped with the costs.”
Jeannie’s mom recognized some of the telltale signs of her hearing loss early; turning up the tv too loudly, trouble hearing and understanding assignments in school, withdrawing from social interaction. “My teacher thought I was intellectually disabled and slow because I couldn’t understand her. Other kids wouldn’t play with me because I couldn’t understand them either.” After being fitted with her aids, the once shy little girl began to excel in school, made friends, and blossomed.
As an adult, she communicates freely with both hearing and non-hearing friends. Does she ever still have problems understanding? “Oh sure. I have coping skills that I use all the time. Accents are difficult to understand but anytime I need more help, I just ask the other person to repeat what they’re saying or write it down for me.”
Jeannie has continued to need financial help to afford her hearing aids. Jeannie and TSAHC formed a partnership with a commitment to improve her hearing and we have continued that partnership for nearly 50 years. “I knew TSAHC would help me because they told me they would.”
Meet Lillyan Mueller
Stats
- 14 years old
- Hearing loss all her life
- Favorite Sound: Gently flowing sound of the river
Lillyan has had severe hearing loss all her life and has grandparents that are both deaf. Lillyan never learned American Sign Language but learned to communicate with them nonetheless. “We used a lot of body language to communicate, so I grew up thinking that everybody has their own way of speaking.” Around age 5, she remembers becoming aware of her own hearing loss and learning how to help others learn to communicate with her. “When I had trouble hearing what people were saying, they would point out what they meant.”
“Making friends has never been hard for me. I’m an outgoing person. When I make friends or start a new school year, I immediately tell them that I am tone deaf. People usually just respond ,”okay” and treat me like everybody else. Kindergarten was the toughest year since I was noticing that I couldn’t hear everything clearly. I got my hearing aids that year and since then, learning at school has never been a problem. I struggle with hearing low/deep voices well. Last year, I had a male math teacher with a deep voice and I had to request to be moved to the front.”
Recently, Lillyan got a new pair of hearing devices. “The Speech and Hearing Center really helped me find great hearing aids! I got fitted with a newer technology with built-in blue tooth ability. I think it is cool and my friends say it is “awesome” because my hearing aids are like built in air pods. Hearing loss itself is not cool, but I choose to look at it in a positive way.”
Meet Adam Caudle
Stats
- 12 years old
- Rising 7th Grader
- Least Favorite Sound: A storm
Adam is a gifted student who loves math, science, and English and is on the honor roll at school. When he is not studying his core subjects, he is involved in TechTown, an after-school program where he builds robots, does 3D modeling and printing, and learns about computer design.
When Adam was 2 years old, he began suffering idiopathic epileptic seizures. Although his seizures are now under control, Adam began stuttering. Adam’s mom recorded his stuttering for the neurologist. “At first, his neurologist thought they may be related to his seizures but decided they were not.” That’s when Adam and his mother were referred to the Speech and Hearing Center.
“In middle school, some kids started teasing Adam about his stuttering. Ms. Katherine taught him how to breathe and refocus to control the stuttering. The progress he’s made has been amazing! Ms. Katherine has helped him so much that we plan to keep coming and continue his therapy.” According to Adam, “I get to go play games. Ms. Katherine makes it fun.” And mom agrees that when Ms. Katherine works with Adam, “it just looks like age appropriate play”.
Adam’s mom also has some advice for other parents of children with speech problems. “Don’t wait to get help for your child. It gets harder for them as they get older and other children can be cruel. Get to know your child’s therapist and communicate with them so your child knows how to grow with their therapist, too.”
Meet Bill Smith
When we think of childhood bullying, we sometimes forget that adults can also be a source. “Mrs. White was my first-grade teacher. “On my first day of school, she asked all of us to stand and say our names. When it was my turn, I said BBBBBBBB because I stuttered. I couldn’t say 2 words without stuttering. She told me to go stand in the hall until I could talk right.”
Every child needs an advocate who helps them. For Bill, Dr. Schmidt, his principal, was that person. “He saw me and asked what had happened. When I told him, he asked me to go to his office. Through the door, I saw him with his finger in Mrs. White’s face.” Bill recalls that she probably didn’t like him very much after that.
Bill’s principal was responsible for Bill’s referral to The Speech & Hearing Center. Over the course of 6 years, Bill had weekly appointments with his speech therapist. “My therapist worked with me every week from first grade through sixth grade.”
Bill, now in his 60’s, no longer speaks with a stutter. He wants others to know that every child should have a chance to speak clearly. “The Speech & Hearing Center gave me that ability and it changed my life.”