Colleen Scott has been living without the ability to see, hear or smell for decades after surviving a brutal attack.
Now she is getting some much-needed help with hearing.
“I wanted to cry,” said Scott after trying on a new pair of hearing aids at Hearing Life in Royal Oak.
Being able to hear wasn’t the only five senses Scott lost after she said she was shot by her then-boyfriend nearly 40 years ago as she lost her sight and smell.
Despite it all, the 75-year-old never lost her strength. In fact, she became stronger.
“I’m happy,” Scott said. “I tell people I see better now than I did when I could see if you understand what I’m saying.”
Her story of survival inspired HearingLife Audiologist Dr. Daniel Agrusa.
“A lot of the time, we think we are the ones helping them, but this time it was a role reversal,” Agrusa. “She was the one helping me, helping me see things in life that we take for granted.”
Due to her financial circumstances, Agrusa said he was worried about his ability to give her what she deserved.
So he nominated Scott for HearingLife’s Campaign for Better Hearing to receive free hearing aids to replace her old ones that weren’t up to par.
“What she had before was essentially basic amplifiers,” Agrusa said. “They just went in her ear and turned things up.”
Scott struggled to hear.
“I was so frustrated and asking people, I beg your pardon, what did you say, can you repeat that,” Scott said. “Now I don’t have to do that anymore.”
Scott said she’s looking forward to hearing her grandchildren’s voices clearly.