Marcia was 54 years old when she read about the Miracle-Ear hearing aid. She had complained for months about people who did not speak clearly, especially in meetings but also at the bridge table and in other more intimate venues. Even her husband had begun to mumble, but she bridled at the suggestion she might have a hearing loss.
Her doctor was non-committal. “If you think you have a problem hearing, why not check it out? Hearing aids are not like they used to be. Some of them have incredible features that offer great benefits.”
That’s how Marcia came to the Miracle Ear Hearing Center in the Durham Festival Center on Hillsborough Road in Durham. Sherwood and Max Dixon, the father-son duo who are Miracle-Ear’s hearing specialists, are passionate about helping people hear. When Sherwood retired from IBM in 1992, he wanted to start a family business with his son who joined him in 1996.
Sherwood and Max Dixon are the father / son team with over twenty years experience
in helping Triangle residents to improve their hearing ability.
“I chose Miracle Ear which has been in the business for 65 years,” Sherwood says. ‘No other brand can match our history or our pledge to provide the latest hearing aid technology.”
Max continues. “Our newest fully digital, fully programmable hearing aids have incredible features. They are the best that hearing aids have ever been.”
He is referring to the new Genius technology which provides 25 percent better speech recognition in a challenging listening environment than people with normal hearing have. That’s because the Directional Focus helps you hear front and center, blocking unwanted noise around you. The wireless windscreen takes away wind noises, allowing other sounds to be heard more clearly. Voice Target 360 zeroes in on the people and conversations in which you are interested, and HD Sound processes sound the way your brain does.
The first step in selecting a hearing aid is to acknowledge that you have a problem; the second step is a computerized test to see exactly what the problem is. (There is no charge for this service although many hearing aid specialists charge $175 or more.)
“It’s pretty traumatic for some people when they realize they have a hearing problem,” Sherwood says. “Dementia is also a big issue because they can become withdrawn. The hearing aid helps them to become engaged again.”
A large book in the Miracle-Ear reception area bears many testimonials from grateful customers like D. Yarbrough who has been wearing a Miracle-Ear aid for thirteen years. She wrote, “Wearing a hearing aid has changed my lfie. I can hear! Sherwood Dixon has always been patient, readily available and clearly explains my needs.”
A page-long testimonial from L. Adkins ends with “I take great pleasure to tell all who will listen about the modern miracle, the digital hearing aid, that overcomes significant hearing loss. It has restored my hearing to about 95 percent normal.”