The only thing William Austin seems to work at harder than promoting himself is promoting the benefits of hearing aids. But in fact, the two go hand in hand. Over the past 40 years, the founder of Starkey Laboratories, one of the world’s seven dominant hearing aid manufacturers, has waged what at times has seemed a one-man war against the stigma of wearing hearing aids. From fitting U.S. presidents with aids (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton) to starting a foundation that raises more than $1 million a year and has donated more than 120,000 hearing aids to people in need around the world, the name William Austin has become synonymous with hearing health. This month Vanity Fair magazine put him in its Hall of Fame. And today the Starkey Hearing Foundation issued a news release entitled “Legendary Audiologist William Austin Restores Hearing to 113-Year-Old Woman.”
A publicity stunt from the P.T. Barnum of the hearing aid industry? Perhaps. But it couldn’t be for a better cause. For more information on the Starkey Hearing Foundation, including information on how to contribute, go to http://www.sotheworldmayhear.org.
Here’s the text of the release:
MINNEAPOLIS, April 25 /PRNewswire/ — It was today announced that 113-year-old Rebecca Lanier, who had been deaf for over a decade, has regained her hearing after being fitted with high-tech hearing aids at Starkey Laboratories. After adjustments, the procedure today has been deemed a complete success by a team of audiologists.
Hearing pioneer William Austin, head of Starkey, had heard of Lanier’s amazing life and knew he had to do something. “You’re so isolated if you can’t hear, you’re disconnected from the world,” says Austin. “I was delighted to see the smile on her face when she heard the world again.”
Lanier, whose nickname of “Queen Rebecca” befits her status as America’s oldest woman, replied “Yeah! I like that!” when she heard her first words. By the end of her visit to Starkey, Lanier was joking with photographers, saying, “You better get those pictures right … ”
Austin had Lanier flown from her Cleveland home to Starkey headquarters in Minneapolis and personally supervised several tests to ensure the success of the procedure. After a few hours, the custom-made hearing aids were ready.
At the same session, Austin helped a young lady at the opposite side of the spectrum — six-year-old Biverly (correct spelling) Huff from the Philippines. Both Rebecca and little Biverly, with a 107 year age difference, walked out of Starkey with the same wonderful gift — the ability to hear clearly. Biverly, who was almost totally deaf, will be able to hear friends and family for the very first time.
These fittings are all in a day’s work for William Austin, whose Starkey Hearing Foundation, since 2000, has donated more than 120,000 hearing aids to people who cannot afford them. This week Austin is making a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, where he will fit 760 impoverished children with hearing devices.
Austin is hardly a stranger to fitting noteworthy people with hearing aids. He has personally fit four US presidents with hearing aids (including the late Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr.), and other world leaders. Austin has also provided hearing assistance to renowned people including Steve Martin, Paul Newman, Kirk Douglas, Walter Cronkite and Billy Graham, among many others. He can be contacted via www.sotheworldmayhear.org or by writing to the Starkey Foundation, 6700 Washington Ave. S., Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3405.