Within Earshot - Rick Larson is One Proud Hillbilly -SeeThe Video (CI)

July 9, 2006

WMTV, Madison, Wisconsin, July 8. 2006

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Within Earshot

Paige Lambrecht

Rick Larson is one proud hillbilly, at least that's the role he's playing on

stage.

" Right now, I got me a date with Groovy Monahan. "

Like the other actors in this ville Community theater production of the

Beverly Hillbillies, Rick leads another less glamorous life as a civil

engineer.

But his journey to the spotlight is more remarkable than most, says his wife

Lou.

" He hadn't left the house for 10 years, except to go to work. "

Two years ago, Rick couldn't hear anything.

" People treat you differently and it was lonely. "

Rick has had profound hearing loss since childhood. It got even worse as an

adult, and Lou says Rick withdrew.

" He enjoys talking to people which was the number one thing we avoided

because he couldn't hear you to talk to you. "

" I didn't like to go into social situations where I couldn't thrive, " says

Rick.

In 2004, he made the decision to have a cochlear implant.

" It takes the speech, processes it, sends it through my skin to these

electrodes and they vibrate, instead of the hairs vibrating, that goes to my

brain and I process the sound. Night and day - you can't even compare it. "

Then Lou suggested something Rick never would have done before the

implant: audition for a play.

Rick not only got the part, he's the cast clown, and discovering a whole new

world within earshot.

" And getting up in front of people acting like a total idiot is just a

blast. "

The cochlear implant was the right choice for Rick, but he says it's an

individual decision.

To find out more, talk with an audiologist.

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