I have had growing high frequency hearing loss for about 15 years, with complaints at times from family members increasingly. But I did not want to look old by wearing a hearing aid. Finally after a recent argument with my wife over a miscommunication, I went to Ascent Audiology in McLean, VA, the very next day. They tested my hearing thoroughly and explained the test results well. They showed me the various hearing aid options and explained their pro's and con's. they let me try the hearing aids to see how well they worked and how visible they were. Most importantly to me, I walked out of the office wearing a set of hearing aids that immediately improved my relationships in my family and radically improved my communication with coworkers and customers. I previously sensed I was kind of checking out of a lot of conversations at home and work that I simply could not strain hard enough to pick up on. I can now hear much better in all my conversation settings, and feel much more energized and engaged overall at work in particular due to the change. I have had perhaps two colleagues out of perhaps 100 that I have seen since getting the hearing aids, ask if I were wearing one. Even these two people said they had to look closely to verify there was something different. On a personal note, negatively, I now hear the creaks of my car and my staircase and my floorboards, reminding me of maintenance I probably should have done something about a long time ago. I'll take that ! :) Positively, I have always loved summer for the sound of birds, crickets and cicadas. I had felt I was missing them over the last few years. I was. I was just sad about it, thinking it was a lost part of my life. It's back! I can hear the sounds i enjoyed! I want to thank Dr Heather Stone and the staff at Ascent Audiology--I thank them, my wife thanks them, and my kids thank them! And if my co-workers knew I was wearing a hearing aid, they would thank them too!