By Martin Jurek, Campbell River Hearing Clinic
“Dobry den!”
The
familiar Czech greeting came at us from behind the counter of Dave’s
Bakery, where Jana and I were chatting idly in our native language
during our first visit to the Willow Point establishment.
The greeting – which made us immediately thankful we hadn’t been discussing something embarrassing like how hot I look in my new spandex bib biking shorts – came from David himself, a fellow countryman who’d opened the bakery after a long career as a pharmacist.
David’s passion for baking and Walter White-esque ability to spin his knowledge of chemistry into irresistibly delectable baked creations are a potent combination. His scones are divine, his soups are to die for and his light, cream-filled venecky instantly transport me to my Czech childhood begging my maminka for just one more.
And don’t even get me started on the freshly baked breads and treats concocted by David’s partner, who, just to keep things as confusing as possible, is also named Dave. Confession time: My name is Martin and I’m a treat-o-holic. I’ve battled a weakness for baked goods for years, and I was just starting to feel like I was overcoming my illness. But put David and Dave together in their bakery and the aromas alone are far too irresistible for a mere mortal such as myself.
Not surprisingly, Jana and I were instantly hooked. We’ve actually had to set a “Dave’s Bakery” budget and restrict our visits to predetermined time slots. I even had to add another weekly bike ride to ensure that I would indeed continue to look hot in those bib shorts (if only in my own mind).
All of which got Jana and me thinking (over a bowl of soup and a chocolate raspberry danish) . . . Why can’t hearing aids be as irresistible as David’s baked goods? Why aren’t people gossiping discretely in a foreign language while patiently lined up through our front door? After all, I can think of at least . . .
Seven ways hearing aids are better than baked goods
- The pleasure of a baked good lasts only a few moments. Hearing aids work all the time.
- When you put baked goods in your ears, it's hard to hear anything. But put hearing aids in your ears, and suddenly you can hear virtually everything.
- If you’re anything like me, baked goods attack your budget every single day. Purchase hearing aids once, though, and all of your follow-up services are free for the lifetime of the devices.
- Baked goods contain the evil gluten. Hearing aids are 100% gluten-free.
- In 1838, France and Mexico battled for more than three months over a dispute with a pastry chef during the aptly named “Pastry War.” Hearing aids, so far as I know, have never caused an international conflict.
- Eating too many baked goods can lead to nagging from your spouse. Hearing aids can actually improve strained relationships. (In fact, your spouse will encourage you to use them!)
- Baked goods go great with strawberry jam. Hearing aids . . . well OK, not so much. Score one for the baked goods.
The passion we share
Despite what we believe are seven (OK, six) compelling reasons to choose hearing aids over baked goods, Jana and I realize we may be on the losing end of this argument.
As we sip our coffee and nibble our koblihy, we watch David and Dave making people happy, day in and day out. Regulars and newbies alike dig into their favourite treats while the two hearing professionals in the corner dream of a day when people are just as excited to improve their hearing as they are to feel the satisfying tear of a flaky croissant between their teeth.
Like David and Dave, we’re passionate about making people’s lives better. No matter how passionate we are, though, or how great our recipes for better hearing, we’ll never get the line-ups of excited patrons that Dave’s Bakery sees every day. In fact, people tend to avoid seeing us for as long as possible. When they do finally decide to do something about their decreased hearing sensitivity, they’re rarely as excited about being fitted for hearing aids as they are about sinking their teeth into a jelly doughnut.
But here’s the thing: So many people we fit for hearing aids say to us, “I should have done this a long time ago – thank you for making my life better!” Just as David and Dave get a kick out of each new rave review on Trip Advisor, Jana and I get our reward from moments like these. Making lives better is exactly what we strive to do – we improve strained relationships, put the fun back into social gatherings and significantly improve quality of life for so many people.
Hey, wait a minute . . .
Maybe our hearing clinic isn’t so different from Dave’s Bakery after all. As soon as you finish one of their goodies, you want more. Once you get a “taste” for your new life with improved hearing, you also want more – you want to keep coming back to fine-tune your devices to their maximum potential and to fix any of the little problems that develop through normal use. When you rediscover all the sounds you’d forgotten were even there, it’s a sensation you never want to be without.
Ready for the best part? Your spouse won’t even try to stop you from coming back for more –when you do, though, leave the bib shorts at home.
If you’re interested to find out what you might be missing, call us at 250.914.3200 to book a free hearing assessment. After you visit us at 780-D 13th Avenue, reward yourself with a treat from Dave’s Bakery!
To read some of our past articles, or for more information, visit http://www.tohear.ca/news/