FYI - Free Hearing Tests - Maybe/Maybe Not

[Jzmackenzie]

Don, Jolene, and I called Modern Hearing Solutions in San Miguel de Allende for a free hearing test by English speaking people. A phone call came back (after making an appointment by phone and a follow-up by email) from co-owner Don Doucet regarding my request for the free test, and my willingness to pay for a hearing service dog letter. He asked what I meant by a "hearing service dog."

I explained that airlines, when making an airline reservation, there is often a box that can be checked for either hearing or seeing eye service dogs (there are other service animals, but usually they are not listed). My first hearing service dog was trained in 2003 with the help of two organizations in Arizona. I was again going through that process. This new dog has an appointment in Tucson for an evaluation and diabetes alert training. I made that SMA appointment to obtain the required a letter in English. I already had one in Spanish from another SMA physician. Don Doucet requested we bring any former hearing tests with us. Don and I did; Jolene did not.

I had explained in the email that my hearing has been tested since I was child. I had always had difficulty hearing in classrooms, yet, tests came back "normal hearing." In the late 1990's, I was again told that a standard hearing test came back normal, but when ambient noise was added I was 90% deaf! He speculated that my chronic Rheumatic Fever, that began in early childhood, likely burned the sensorial nerve so my ears. My ears hear just fine, but my brain cannot register the sound enough to decipher what is being said when there is background noise or an echo. I have had three different hearing service doctors in Mexico, and three in the USA test me. Five of the six said I needed hearing aids; the one that did not had no way to test for background noise. I began wearing hearing aids several years ago to enable finishing my studies in noisy classrooms, and talking on the phone.

Our triple appointment at Modern Hearing Solutions SMA was on Thursday, October 17th, with Richard Bertacini, Don Doucet's partner. I brought the dog to the appointment. Richard Bertacini, early on, explained that he did not like working in this field as he came to SMA to retire, but Don Doucet really wanted him to help with the practice just two days a week, so he had agreed.

He looked at the test results I gave him on Don and I from mid November 2012. He said, "You have been tested less than a year ago; you do not need to be retested." He then tested Jolene. During that testing he said that he discovered that background noise aspect would not work on his equipment. "I don't know why," was his comment.

I knew then that testing me would be useless. He moved into a professional teaching role with Jolene, as he explained many aspects of how hearing is processed. He advised various options, and closed by saying that hearing aids where not a solution to her hearing challenges.

He agreed to give me the letter I requested for the airlines and charged me $200 pesos for the service. I explained that I planned to fly this week. Yesterday, as no letter had arrived, I emailed and asked if I could drive there for the letter. He replied that since I was not "profoundly deaf" he would not write the letter. I called and he stated that he would not return our money. "I did a lot of research" he replied. I wondered if he learned that hearing service dogs are a common option for individuals who are hard of hearing as well as profoundly deaf?

I feel like I was totally clear two weeks ago about our medical/practical needs. We did not get a free service. We paid for a promised service that was not forthcoming with an explanation. Our medical records (that we explained were our only copies) were not returned to us. We were simply ignored for a week. Buyer beware.