Friday, August 10, 2012 - Excellent Day at Costco Hearing Aid Center

Slept as late as we could, though rain woke us up a few times during the night. Got some work done on the computer before we had to drive to an appointment at Costco in Dedham (an hour’s drive), in our continuing efforts to solve Hubby’s hearing aid problem. Made one short stop at a Chinese tailor to drop off a suit is too big for Hubby since he lost weight, but the woman there said they could alter it, so we’ll have another suit to take with us for future events. Fabulous, beats the heck out of hanging in the van never to be used again! One more side trip for ice cream at a little parlor in the mess they call downtown Dedham before we headed to Costco. We arrived about an hour early, but apparently all of the previous customers had done the same, so our provider, Rick, was able to take us right away. What a difference! Though we had a few problems to resolve at first (they neglected to tell me they only take American Express or checks, and I didn’t bring my checkbook!), and that we had to be members just for the hearing aid test (a contradiction to what I had been told on the phone), we eventually got everything sorted out, and Hubby had a fantastic set of tests, much more thorough than anything he’d ever had before. Furthermore, the kind of hearing aid he wanted was less than half the price of what that silly woman quoted us at Miracle Ear. Plus we have the advantage of being able to get it adjusted at any Costco, giving us the flexibility of a national chain that we wanted. The best part was that not only did Rick have samples of the kind we wanted, he put some in Hubby’s ears and took us around the store to show us how they worked! Fabulous! Needless to say, we ordered a pair, and we’ve already set an appointment up for next Friday to pick them up and get them programmed. That will give him a few days to get used to them before we fly to Tampa. He was crushed when he had to take them out, but he learned a valuable lesson, like how much I have to raise my voice in order to talk to him, and how frustrated I get when he interrupts a conversation I’m having with someone else, because he’s oblivious that we’re talking. Anyway, despite the long drive, it was well worth it! It looks like we’ll FINALLY be able to solve a long-standing problem, and we couldn’t be happier. Headed back to a Walmart pharmacy where we had dropped off a prescription earlier, a quick stop at Staples for some office supplies I needed, then finally arriving back at the ranch just after dark, where the pups were happy as clams to see us. Fed everyone, including ourselves, before heading to bed. Another busy day in the books!