Michael Mitrovich receives his newly donated Oticon Medical Ponto 3 Superpower hearing device through Ear Community on April 4, 2018. Pictured is Michael with his parents and Dr. Deedra Alford.
Ear Community is thrilled to introduce Michael Mitrovich. Michael is only one year old, and has already had to fight some battles in his short time on this Earth. He was born very tiny (only 4 pounds!) and was diagnosed with IUGR which is a whole slew of complications including not growing at a normal rate during pregnancy. Michael was born with a cleft palate as well as other health issues on top of his little Right ear. Michael’s parents, Azziza and Matthew were overwhelmed and disheartened by Michael’s diagnosis and complications, not to mention the likelihood of him struggling to hear for the rest of his life. That is when Azziza reached out to Ear Community.
Azziza was a mom on a mission, doing everything in her power to help her little boy have the very best chance at life that he could. After being rejected by their insurance company for coverage for a bone conduction device, Azziza looked at other avenues to help little Michael hear. When she applied for a bone conduction device through Ear Community, she made sure to have all of her ducks in a row and even had Michael’s audiologist reach out to Ear Community the very day the application arrived!
Dr. Deedra Alford, an audiologist at Childrensent, a Pediatric ENT practice of Atlanta, was able to help get Michael his new Oticon Medical Ponto 3 SuperPower in just a matter of weeks! On April 4th, 2018, Michael went to Dr. Alford’s office and had his brand new Oticon Medical Ponto 3 Super Power placed on his head. His face lit up, and his parents could tell how much wonder he had at the new sounds he could hear. Ear Community would like to extend a very warm thank you to Dr. Alford, who not only donated her time to program and fit Michael’s device, but also requested an additional third year of services for his Ponto 3 SuperPower so that his family can rest assured that his Ponto is covered and will work to help him hear his best for a long time. We would also like to thank Beverly Ostrowski of Oticon Medical for helping Ear Community give Michael the gift of sound by making sure his hearing device arrived at Dr. Alford’s office. For such a little boy, he has had to fight some big battles, and we are so excited for the opportunity to help him on his journey.
A very special thank you to Alan Raffauf, Vice President of Marketing and Operations for Oticon Medical US, for choosing to donate the new Oticon Medical Ponto 3 Super Power hearing device to Ear Community so that they could be donated to little Michael to help him hear better from here on out. Thank you for everyone’s support and for helping Ear Community continue with its mission of helping individuals with Microtia and Atresia. Oticon Medical believes in helping individuals with hearing loss so that they can live a better quality of life. Oticon Medical is a well-respected international hearing device manufacturer that is a part of the “William Demant Group [which has] 100-plus years of experience in audiology and sound processing and established manufacturing and logistics infrastructure.”
Michael, the world is at your feet and you have an entire lifetime to learn, grow, and enjoy the beauty this world has to offer. Thank you for giving Ear Community the opportunity to help you have equal access to sound, we hope you enjoy all the wonderful sounds around you as you grow into the little person you are meant to be!
We’re all so proud of you Michael!
Ear Community Board Members
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