John Baker

Queenstown horticulturalist John Baker appreciates the holistic health value of hearing aids, “Your hearing, speech and awareness of your surroundings are all connected and your whole system acclimatises to the aids. Without them the body just doesn't function as well.”

“My hearing was damaged in my 20s when a flax spear cut my left eardrum. And I never wore ear muffs around machinery. I didn't realise how bad my hearing was so I’m lucky my wife pushed me to get it checked. There was no way I was going to on my own. Hearing aids were for old people.

“I went to my doctor who told me you couldn’t even see modern aids and referred me to a specialist, saying ‘get a hearing test first’. I laugh now, because I didn't hear him. The specialist said I was going about things backwards, so with my ego firmly in check I went to see Simon Melville. When the aids were first in my ears my wife was literally crying with relief, she said I was whispering, so goodbye ego.

“I love the technology: I put them in at 7 am and take them out at bedtime, and the more I use the app the better I hear in so many places. Hearing aids have changed my life; they are the best thing that has ever happened.”