Dominick Lacaruba is 85 years old and was slowly losing his hearing.
After a hearing test he took a few months ago, Lacaruba was told that he suffered from severe hearing loss and that he would need hearing aids.
Over time, he said he would avoid going to family gatherings because it was hard for him to have conversations with his grandchildren and he could see the time he used to spend talking to them dwindling slowly.
"I'm thinking it is due to my telling them to repeat what they said. I hope not."
Lacaruba needed the hearing aids but he couldn't afford them, so he decided to reach out for help.
He wrote a heartfelt letter to the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation and after seeing his plea for help, the foundation fitted him with a free, custom pair of hearing aids.
"It felt good. What can I say!"
The man responsible with fitting Lacaruba with his hearing aids was Michael Blackman.
Blackman, a practitioner at the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation, knows firsthand what it feels like to start losing your hearing.
"Getting to know Mr. Lacaruba and seeing how worthy he was of this and how sincere he was in this whole process - it is definitely something I'm going to remember for a while."
Blackman also suffers from hearing loss and personally assisted Lacaruba with his hearing aids and made sure he got exactly what he needed.
Over the coming weeks, the aids will keep improving Lacaruba's hearing as they interact with and stimulate his ear's nerves. He will have follow-up appointments and will have his hearing aids adjusted as needed.
Although he cannot pinpoint the exact time he started to lose his hearing, Lacaruba is relieved he can finally hear clearly once again.
"You don't realize when you lose something how valuable it is and I guess hearing is a big part of it."
