At the age of four, Tyler was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a medulloblastoma. At such a young age, he underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation in order to treat the tumor. One of the side effects from chemotherapy was that his hearing was damaged. The hearing loss happened gradually for Tyler and when he was around 6 years old he was fit with his first pair of hearing aids.

“I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t wear hearing aids, but I do know that if I don’t wear them now, it’s very frustrating and I miss a lot of what is going on around me. If I had not received my hearing aids, it would have been very difficult for me to learn in school and to be able to make friends and hang out with them.”

Tyler is proud of his hearing aids and thankful for them because being able to hear better has changed every aspect of his life. The biggest impact hearing aids have made is that he has the ability to communicate with people on a daily basis. During these meaningful interactions, Tyler is confident that he will hear what others are saying to him, and as a result, he will be able to respond correctly.

“At my current job, I help people with their equipment rentals and give them instructions on how the equipment works. It is so nice when I can hear the questions they have and answer them appropriately, so they get the most out of their rentals.”

Tyler is a HearStrong Champion because he is a remarkable individual who always does his best to help and encourage others to live their best life. When asked why he would make a great HearStrong Champion, he replied “I think that I would make a great Champion because I have a great life despite being dealt some bad cards early on. I enjoy talking to people and sharing my sense of humor to make others laugh.”