A chance encounter and a cochlear implant gave Edward Romero his sense of hearing back

Hearing loss stole Ed Romero’s career, his conversations and his connection to his family.

Romero served as a communications specialist in the Navy during Vietnam from 1963 to 1965. When he returned to civilian life, he founded a public relations firm. Then, slowly, his hearing began to fade. It worsened for years until one day, he couldn’t hear his grandchildren, his children or his friends. He was ultimately forced to leave his firm.

“Then came the dark days of near-complete loss of hearing,” Romero shared. “No TV, no music, no restaurants, [no] business meetings. In effect, a critical loss of any method of communication.”

He tried hearing aids, and they didn’t help. He said he reached a point where he just had to accept he wasn’t going to hear again.

A stranger at a wedding

In 2013, at his son’s wedding, he couldn’t follow a conversation, and then, as the father of the groom, he was called to speak to the group.

“I had to announce to all that I was unable to converse as a result of hearing loss,” Romero said.

That’s when one of the wedding’s attendees approached him. She introduced herself as a VA audiologist and asked if he was a Veteran. She checked his hearing on the spot and recommended he visit his local VA medical center to ask about services available to him.

“Fate and happenstance led me to VA,” Romero said.

Finding help at VA

Dr. Kerri Richter, a clinical specialist and cochlear implant audiologist at VA Eastern Colorado, says their evaluation process centers on the Veteran.

“Our goal is to improve a Veteran’s quality of life,” Richter said. “We evaluate how each individual is doing with consistent hearing aid use. The Veteran completes patient-reported outcome measures, and together we discuss results, their struggles and individualized goals.”

Romero’s cochlear implant surgery was performed by Dr. Stephen Cass, who works closely with VA Eastern Colorado on cochlear implant procedures. Before surgery, Romero had just one question for his doctors.

“Will I be able to hear?” Romero asked. “The doctor answered, ‘Yes.’ Can you imagine how that moment felt?”

After his surgery, Romero returned to VA for activation of his cochlear implant. His audiologist sat across from him, asked if he was ready and pressed a key on her computer.

“In that moment, I could hear clearly,” Romero said. “My life was reborn, fully capable of functioning in everyday life.”

Letting others know

Romero says he asks himself how he didn’t know sooner that VA could help. Now he’s joined a Veteran advocacy group to spread the word about VA services.

“I, for one, will forever be grateful,” he said.

Richter says Veterans with hearing loss don’t have to accept their situation.

“There are options if hearing aids are not beneficial, and we will work with them to determine what is most appropriate,” she said. “The team is here to help improve their quality of life and keep them connected to family and friends.”

If you’re a Veteran with hearing loss, talk to your VA care team about a hearing evaluation. You can also learn more about VA’s audiology services.