Holding on to Hearing at Any Age

Elizabeth Schmidt was two months old when the Titanic sank in 1912. Now, more than 104 years later, she’s outlived every passenger who escaped the sunken ship. She speaks slowly but in a clear voice, can still walk with the aid of a walker and changes her hearing aid batteries—roughly half the size of a dime—without any assistance. And for the last 26 years, she’s visited the University of Maryland Hearing and Speech Clinic annually for a check-up.

“They’re my friends here,” Mrs. Schmidt said of the clinicians and staff during her most recent visit in May.

Mrs. Schmidt’s 73-year-old son Roger drives her to her appointments on the College Park campus from Friends House Retirement Community in Olney. He says the 45 minute drive is well worth it.

“She wants to be here and she’s comfortable here so I’m happy to bring her here,” Roger Schmidt said.

Graduate student Maya Freund, who is seeking her doctorate in audiology, conducted a series of thorough hearing tests during which she spoke words like “mushroom,” “toothbrush,” “baseball” and “hot dog” into a microphone while Mrs. Schmidt listened through headphones and repeated them back. At 23 years old, Freund hadn’t yet been born when Mrs. Schmidt first started visiting the UMD clinic.

Clinic audiologist Dr. Sharon Palmer is the one who has been treating Mrs. Schmidt for the last two and a half decades, and credits the centenarian for prioritizing her hearing, even during her advanced age.

“A lot of people don’t want to bother,” Dr. Palmer said. “She’s always been on top of things. When she was 99, she requested new hearing aids because she knew it was time.”

When questioned about the current state of her hearing, Mrs. Schmidt admitted it had declined since her last visit the previous year, but seemed optimistic about the chances for improvement.

“I keep waiting for them to invent new eyes and ears,” Mrs. Schmidt joked.

Mrs. Schmidt moved to the greater Washington, DC area from Chicago with her late husband more than 70 years ago and raised two sons—Roger and 71-year-old Brian Schmidt, who lives in Massachusetts. She can’t recall exactly who first suggested she visit the university’s Hearing and Speech Clinic 26 years ago, but doctors and staff at the clinic are grateful that she did.  

“I find her fascinating,” Dr. Palmer said. “She’s a very special patient.”

The Hearing and Speech Clinic is an invaluable resource to the campus communitiy, to residents of College Park, and to visitors throughout the state. The clinic donates approximately $15,000 worth of discounted services to benefit students from many units cross our campus, and engages in numerous community outreach projects.

Published on Tue, Aug 2, 2016 - 11:13AM