Fox 8 Viewer Gives Boy, 6, The Gift of Hearing

MEDINA, Ohio – A six-year-old boy from Elyria received new hearing aids thanks to a FOX 8 News viewer.

On Thursday, Ryan Gurcze was fitted for two new Siemens hearing aids by Bob Formoso, a hearing specialist at Clarity Hear on Medina Road.  Formoso wanted to help after learning that Ryan’s hearing aids were stolen, along with his mom’s wallet and camera bag, while the family was at the Great Lakes Science Center.

“I know how difficult it is for somebody to be without hearing and for it to be a child and have that hearing stolen from you, I knew that I needed to do something about it,” said Formoso.

Ryan’s hearing aids vanished when they were removed while playing with his twin brother, Sean.  “They have one exhibit there, it’s a static electricity exhibit and my son wanted to do it, well you can’t have any electrical devices on you when you do it – no cell phones, no iPads, or nothin’ like that,” said Ben Gurcze, Ryan’s dad, in a previous interview with FOX 8 News.

“Our team was happy to help our guests search the building after they lost their items.  We are disappointed that the items were not found,” said a spokesperson for the Great Lakes Science Center.

Ryan, who is about to start the first grade, has been fitted with temporary hearing aids while his new Siemens hearing aids are manufactured.

“We were very grateful that Bob had contacted us to do this, especially to get it rolling before school has started because he does benefit from it in school,” said Michele Gurcze, Ryan’s mom.  “We had people in Arizona, in Florida, in Maryland, everywhere contacting us and it kinda restored my faith in humanity,” said Michele.

“It was very hard to swallow my pride to do this,” said Ben Gurcze, Ryan’s dad, who also expressed his overwhelming thanks for the community response.

For more information on Clarity Hear, visit www.myclarityhear.com.