Shawn Hopkins

I began to notice that I was really tired after being around groups of people. After a bit, individual words were hard to understand, which led to me not hearing what certain people said.

The moment I realized something was wrong with my ears was when I found I could not understand what was being said during important conversations that others standing right next to me could understand.

I began to have difficulty hearing in situations where multiple people were talking at the same time.

I first realized that something was up with my ears when I was just eight years old.

In college, with a male professor in a huge auditorium class, I could not understand a thing he said.

I found myself asking my wife to repeat herself far too often. I couldn’t hear the speaker in conference rooms, restaurants, or even during large gatherings.

I have worn hearing aids for years due to exposure to gunfire and jet engine noise.

I noticed my wife frequently complaining that I wasn’t listening to her. I repeatedly denied it until, one night at dinner, I saw her lips moving but couldn’t hear anything!

I've always had hearing loss to some degree, but it became very apparent when I started a new job and couldn't hear the people I had to help or the people training me to be effective.

The moment I first realized something was wrong with my ears was in my late forties