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I love my job.  Sure, sometimes I experience frustration because of my work.  I suppose most people do.  Still, my job as an Audiologist allows me to improve the quality of life for many of my patients.

The other day, I was seeing a young woman who has lived the majority of her life with a hearing loss.  I had the pleasure and honor of fitting her with her first pair of Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids.  This particular experience will stick out in my mind for years because of the patient's reaction when I turned the devices on.  I placed the hearing aids on her ears, turned them on, and started talking to her.  Immediately, her eyes widened and she began to smile.  The most satisfying moment happened when the patient responded to my question of "How do I sound?".  She started to speak, her voice choked with emotion, and she began to cry as she told me this was the first time she had truly heard her own voice.  The wonder, joy, and amazement she experienced were so obvious to me.  The rest of the appointment was spent with a mixture of information, tears, smile, and laughter.  This experience was one of those appointments I walk away from feeling happy, fulfilled, and justified that I spent several years toiling in graduate school to earn my degree.  

I doubt most people can say "Today I made someone cry and it was the best day ever!", but occasionally I do say this and it is one of the greatest parts of my job.

I LOVE MY JOB.


Jill Schmidt, B.S.

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