Elderly Moore County woman given gift of hearing

ABERDEEN, North Carolina (WTVD) -- A Moore County woman can finally hear again. It's all thanks to an Aberdeen hearing specialist who gifted the 79-year-old with free, state-of-the-art hearing aids.

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During the past two years, Theresa Utley has had operations on her back, neck, both shoulders, (including a total joint replacement in one.) She also had an aneurysm in her stomach, complications with her diabetes and a significant loss of hearing.

On top of her hearing loss, she was wearing a set of hearing aids that were not replaceable.

"When it came to her hearing aid, she had a hearing aid but it was on the fringe. There was nothing I could do to fix it," said Hearing Specialist Eric Hanse.

With nowhere else to turn, Utley recently wrote a letter to the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation to see if she could get approved for new hearing aids.

Wednesday, her wish came true.

"For someone like Theresa, who's giving, giving, and giving, everything she's done is for someone else," Hanse said. "And to have an opportunity to do that for her? I mean it really benefits everyone else in her life."

Despite being nearly deaf, Utley has spent most of her life helping others.

"I have recently been helping to raise an 8-year-old boy. I cannot hear or understand what he needs anymore. He has to repeat himself several times," Utley said. "I am also helping an 84-year-old man who cannot read or write. It is important for me to be able to hear when I go to the doctor or when I take my friend to the doctor. My son has also had open heart surgery and three strokes."

Thanks to the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation and Beltone Carolina/Virginia, Utley will be able to hear everyone and everything again

"God left me here and is leaving me here just to help. Because it doesn't matter who it is or what it is," Utley said. "If I can help you, then I'm going to do it."