My Brand New Body

Guest post written by Marc McGee

I’m 65 and feel like I’m in the prime of my life—and it feels great. It all started a few months back when I was up late one night watching TV. One of those crazy infomercials came on for yet another exercise system—but this one caught my attention, P90x. Honestly, the advertisement wasn’t that different than any other that I’d seen, but something inside me told me to give this a try since I’d been feeling a little sluggish then.

So I ordered the set and I’m now in week 7. I only have a few more weeks to go on the program—and I’ve enjoyed it so much, I think I might start up for another set! I’ve been feeling so good about myself, I even decided to go to miracle ear, where I splurged on a new set of digital hearing aids.

They feel so much better than my old set, which makes me feel even more like a million bucks. What’s next? Maybe I’ll be one of those guys you see on TV, running a 10K!

Making others’ beautiful

Guest post written by Adrienne Wiles

I couldn’t see myself doing anything except styling hair. Growing up, I always styled my dolls’ hair and dyed my friends’ hair in high school.

It isn’t just making people look and feel beautiful that I love, it’s also getting to talk to people and getting them to open up. My mom always said that I was a talker and this is a job where that’s kind of an advantage.

But there are certain things about this job that are a little tough, like having to be on my feet all day. Also there are some days when you just don’t feel like talking and being super friendly, but that’s just all part of being a hair stylist. It can also get pretty noisy in the salon at times when everyone has their blow dryers going at full blast and talking to their clients. I mentioned to one of my clients a few weeks ago that it was hard to hear what my customers are saying sometimes and she suggested that I go and get a free hearing test. I did and after I took a look at some hearing aids prices I got fitted with some.

None of my clients or co-workers have mentioned them yet, which is even better!

My “Eclipse” trip

Guest post written by Barbara Cotton

My daughter works a lot as a single mom, so I try and help out with my 12-year-old granddaughter as much as possible. This also means that we get to enjoy each other’s company even more and do fun things together. However, our ideas of fun don’t always align.

One of these instances is when we went and saw the new movie in the “Twilight” saga, “Eclipse.” Sue is a diehard fan of the books and previous movies and wanted nothing more than to see it on opening day. So I took her on opening night and bore it through all the teenage shrieks whenever the main vampire stepped onto the screen.

But, I didn’t have to put up with the storyline as much as I thought I would because I was having trouble hearing a lot of the more soft-spoken lovey-dovey lines.

I had considered getting hearing aides before this but I started doing research and found some miracle ear hearing aids reviews after this. I found some hearing aid in PA that seemed to work well for me and bought them. Now I know that when I’m recruited to take Sue to the next teenage vampire love story, I’ll at least be able to hear the cheesy lines.

Cupcake handler

Guest post written by Michael Long

Working in a bakery that specializes in cupcakes can be dangerous. It’s kind of torture to see people come in, buy and eat cupcakes all day. But I get a free cupcake every day and when it comes down to it, I don’t need more than one a day – even if I secretly think that my body has become dependent upon cupcakes.

I didn’t exactly aspire to sell cupcakes, but after I retired one of my good friends opened the bakery and offered me the job. I thought it would be a great way to make a little extra money and satisfy my sweet tooth.

I love to interact with the customers and I’ve become friends with some of the regulars. I noticed that one of the regulars was having a better time hearing what I would say and I didn’t have to talk as loud to her. I asked her what was new with her and she pointed to her hearing aides. She told me all about them and suggested that I get a hearing test too.

I took her advice and scheduled one for in a few days. Although all our cupcakes are delicious, people don’t like to be handed the wrong one on accident.

Seniors on the go with GPS

Guest post written by Tim Wilkes

After I became a senior citizen in the eyes of the law, I decided that sitting around my house all day just wouldn’t cut it anymore. There’s still so much out there to see, even in my own area that I’ve never laid eyes on and I knew that a portable GPS systems would help me achieve that.

I found one with a large touch screen that I could enter in the address to my desired destination on, and it ended up being pretty easy to use. But I found out early that it’s best not to mess with the device when you’re actually driving because I almost ran into the back of another car at a traffic light one day when I was trying to hold the device closer to my ear so I could hear it better. That’s when I thought I might need Hearing Aids.

I asked my daughter to help me out and she made me an appointment and I got fitted with a pair and found that I didn’t even have to turn the volume on my GPS as far as it would go just to hear the directions! Since then I’ve gone on quite a few day trips to landmarks near my town and have enjoyed living my life to the fullest.

Senior Technology

Guest post written by my friend Sam Liam

When I was younger I can remember taking a lot of abilities for granted such as the ability of sight, smell and hearing. However, I found that these things should not be taken for granted because they tend to fade as we get older. When my hearing started to decline I was worried that there was nothing I could do. Most of all, I worried about my quality of life and I thought that I would miss out of the special occasions in my family. These things include graduations, weddings and even local football games that I enjoyed attending. When my hearing started declining I became very worried and hoped for a solution. After speaking to my cousin she told me about the Miracle Ear products and solutions. She had suffered a 50% decline in hearing within the last two years until she decided to purchase a hearing aid. This is a Hearing aid that cost her just $653 with a free hearing exam. The hearing aid that she purchased resulted in a dramatic improvement in her hearing and the hearing aid is very easy to place into the ear and remove without it falling out. She suggested them to me and I set up a free hearing examination for myself.

The examination was free of charge and I selected their Completely-in-the-Canal solution that includes a 2 year warranty that covers loss and damage. This hearing aide is comfortable and fits nicely while not obvious when worn. Because of the variety online I am able to have the best hearing solution at a very low price. My quality of life is restored and I do not have to miss out on any special family occasions, I was scared that I would lose the sounds of life that go along with the sights. However, I found hearing products worked well in my situation and restored my hearing while the best aspect was the fair and affordable prices.

She's not Old, She's my Grandma

Cristina M., author

It had gotten to the point that others began to wonder about whether or not it was time to place my grandmother in a skilled nursing facility. My grandmother was able to care for and dress herself. She also prepared her own meals and took all of her prescribed medications on time. I remembered as a child how she had loved to quilt. One day as we were discussing quilting, I noticed that my grandmother just did not seem to understand what I was saying. Grandmother was also using words in the wrong context. I began to wonder if others had been right. Was my grandmother in the beginning stages of dementia or Alzheimer's? Was I not able to provide the loving and caring home that my grandmother had once provided for me? A television commercial for Miracle Ear suddenly came on. I then wondered if Grandmother’s problem wasn’t not understanding me, could it possibly be that she was having difficulty hearing me?

My grandmother had not been letting on that she was having difficulties hearing. Rather, my grandmother would answer the questions that she thought were being asked. What I and everyone else had concluded, that grandmother's memory was fading, was incorrect. My grandmother was just too proud to tell anyone that she could not hear clearly. Grandmother told me that there was no need for a hearing testing because she was not going to wear one of those monstrous hearing aids; that a hearing aid would not improve her hearing and, worse yet, was it would make her look old. Yes, my grandmother was vain - at age 85. So I took my usually pleasant grandmother for her hearing test. The evaluator was patient, understanding and informative. My grandmother liked him. He showed her different types of hearing aids that would work for her. My grandmother thought that some of the hearing aids were too small. We all laughed when she explained what her mother's hearing aid had looked like. "Boy, how things have changed,” is all that my grandmother had to say.

My grandmother was fitted with a hearing aid. Guess what, Grandma's mental acuity is still there! Now we go shopping, to restaurants to movies and other places that she avoided. Now age 92, grandmother told me the other day that she "will leave the quilting to old people.”