06/16/2026
I almost canceled the appointment - not because I was scared, but because I was busy. At 38 years old, hearing tests weren’t exactly high on my priority list. I had a wife, my one-year-old son, a demanding career, a mortgage, bills piling up, and a never-ending list of projects around the house.
Life was moving fast, and I was trying to keep up.
So when I noticed my hearing wasn’t quite right in one ear, I did what most people do.
Nothing.
At first, it was subtle - I’d hear someone talking and instinctively turn my head, I’d struggle to tell where sounds were coming from, sometimes I’d ask people to repeat themselves. Other times I’d pretend I heard them because it wasn’t worth the embarrassment. I convinced myself it wasn’t a big deal.
Maybe allergies, maybe congestion, definitely stress. Maybe I was just tired.
After all, young parents aren’t exactly known for getting a lot of sleep.
Months went by and my hearing didn’t improve. In fact, it slowly became worse.
The strange thing was that it wasn’t both ears - just one. And the more I noticed it, the more I realized something felt off. One day my wife suggested I have it checked, but I rolled my eyes at her. Of course she rolled hers back. But eventually she won, as wives tend to do.
A few weeks later, I found myself sitting in Momentum Hearing Aid Services.
I expected a quick test. Maybe a recommendation to see my primary doctor. Maybe there was some earwax blocking my hearing… Maybe nothing at all. Maybe it really was just all “in my head” and stress was taking its toll.
Instead, the Hearing Specialist spent nearly an hour evaluating my hearing.
Beep tests. Bone tests. Speech tests. Questions. More questions. To be honest, it was a lot.
But then they sat down and explained something - the hearing loss in my left ear wasn’t matching what they’d typically expect to see and they couldn’t tell me why. But they knew it needed further investigation, so they referred me to an ENT physician.
At that point, I wasn’t worried. I was annoyed. Another appointment, another copay, and yet another thing to squeeze into an already busy schedule.
Then the MRI happened.
A few days later, my phone rang, it was the scheduler wanting to make me an appointment - the doctor wanted me to come in.
Not discuss it over the phone. Not through a portal message. In person.
That’s when I knew something wasn’t right. I sat in that office staring at images I didn’t understand while the physician pointed to a small spot on the screen. An acoustic schwannoma. Sometimes called a vestibular schwannoma - A slow growing tumor causing my single-sided hearing loss.
The room felt strangely quiet. I remember hearing the words. I remember understanding the words. But honestly, I don’t remember much else.
My first thought wasn’t me. It was my son. I thought about teaching him to ride a bike, coaching baseball when he got older, helping him learn to drive, walking him into school, watching him graduate. All the moments I hadn’t experienced yet. All the moments I suddenly became terrified of missing.
The next few months were a blur of specialists, appointments, discussions, treatment plans, and questions. Lots of questions. For me, for my wife… for our future.
But there was one answer that kept standing out.
We found it early - not years later. Not after it caused significant complications.
Not after permanent damage. We found it because someone paid attention.
Someone noticed that my hearing loss pattern didn’t fit.
Someone knew enough to say, “This needs another look.”
Over the following months, I met with specialists, underwent treatment, and learned more medical terminology than I ever wanted to know.
There were difficult days. Scary days. Days I questioned everything. But there were also days filled with gratitude. Because if I hadn't gone for that hearing test...If I had continued telling myself I was too young...If Momentum hadn't recognized that my hearing loss pattern required further investigation...I don't know how long it would have gone undiscovered.
Today, I’m doing well, my doctors are happy with my progress, my family is doing great, my son is getting bigger every day. And every now and then, when life gets busy and I start rushing through my day again, I think back to that hearing test.
The appointment I almost canceled. The appointment I almost convinced myself I didn’t need. The appointment that turned out to be one of the most important days of my life.
Most people think hearing tests are about hearing better.
And sometimes they are. Sometimes they're about hearing aids, sometimes they're about better communication. And sometimes...They're about finding something far more important.
I walked into Momentum thinking I had a hearing problem. What they actually gave me was an answer. An answer that may have changed the course of my life. And for that, I'll always be grateful.
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