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Hearing for the holidays

Hermansville woman wins free hearing aids in contest

By Terri Castelaz 4 min read

IRON MOUNTAIN -- A Hermansville resident received the gift of hearing this Christmas.

Rose Bellmore was awarded a free pair of hearing aids from Upper Peninsula Audiology in Iron Mountain as the winner of the "Hearing for the Holidays" contest.

In the spirit of the season, Upper Peninsula Audiology for the past three years has offered a contest to provide a member of the local community as well as one from Copper Country a set of hearing aids.

Dr. Kati Stilwell, an audiologist at the Iron Mountain location, fitted Bellmore with a pair of Starkey hearing aids earlier this month.

"On average hearing aids cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,880 for a pair," Stilwell said, "which Rose got the best of the best."

The contest was open to anyone in the community who could benefit from this opportunity. The nomination form asks a few questions and requires an essay not only based on financial need, but their community involvement, how the hearing loss has affected their life and how that could change if they received hearing aids.

Anonymous judges then rate each essay to select the winner, Stilwell said.

Applications were placed at several businesses throughout town. That's how Bellmore's daughter, Sue Haelterman, learned about the contest while at a dental clinic for an appointment.

Haelterman's daughter, Taylor, a journalism student at Michigan State University, wrote the essay to nominate her grandmother.

"I cried when I received the news," Haelterman said. "I'm still tearing up today because I am so happy for her."

Bellmore's children had planned to collect money toward hearing aids for Christmas.

Stilwell said it was the family's goal to get her fitted for the holidays.

Haelterman's essay about her grandmother detailed how much Bellmore cares about her family and community.

"She also showed how her hearing loss was affecting her quality of life," Stilwell said.

"I know mom was missing so much because she couldn't hear the conversations," Haelterman said.

Bellmore said she would just sit quietly at family gatherings, unable to make out what was being said around her.

"Unless we were hollering at her, she couldn't hear me," Haelterman said.

Her family had been trying to talk her into getting hearing aids for the past few years.

"I'm not sure how long -- all I know they have been on my back," Bellmore said with a laugh.

She has given so much to her children and grandchildren that spending the money on herself wasn't an option, Haelterman said.

Bellmore is the only alto in the church choir and said she has had to ask the Lord for help a few times to keep her on key.

Although she thought she might have some hearing issues, Bellmore was very apprehensive to get hearing aids.

"Rose was able to demo them for two weeks," Stilwell said. "That was huge, because it made her realize how much she was missing."

"That two weeks did the trick," Bellmore said. "It wasn't going to get any better than this."

Stilwell said people of all ages, not just the elderly, can be reluctant. "On average, it takes people seven years once they noticed some difficulty hearing to pursue amplification," Stilwell said.

Hearing loss can be so gradual that people adjust and do not realize the sounds they are missing, she explained.

"I believe that change is hard for some people," Stilwell added. "That is one of the many reasons we have demo hearing aids in our office, because it can be a great starting point for people who are not quite sure."

Haelterman stressed how thankful they are to Upper Peninsula Audiology and Stilwell for what they did for her mother.

"I'm so glad I was able to work with them," Bellmore said. "They have been wonderful to us."

Upper Peninsula Audiology plan to spread holiday cheer again next year with the same contest.

The Iron Mountain office at 127 S. Stephenson Ave., Suite 105, opened about a year ago.

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