Widex Allure Hearing Aids Bring Back Sweet Sounds for LinkedIn Sales Executive Amber Naslund

Amber Naslund fondly refers to her Widex hearing aids as “the little device that changed her life.” Since donning her first pair from Widex, she’s rekindled a love of music, can discern subtle sounds in her surroundings, and collaborates more effectively as a sales director at LinkedIn and public speaker.

The freedom to hear important points during conversations, engage collectively with colleagues and recall once-unheard names of people she’s met during public speaking stints has profoundly impacted her professional life.

When it was time for an upgrade, Amber visited Dr. Carly Girard at Hearing Associates, who recommended she try Widex Allure. Its sleek design and the incredibly high sound quality she loved from her previous Widex aids made Allure a perfect fit.

Amber was impressed not just by the hearing aids themselves, but by the efficiency of the fitting experience. “The programming and fine-tuning were incredibly quick, which meant I could spend more time asking questions and learning from Dr. Girard about how to get the most out of my new aids,” she explains. “That made the appointment more meaningful, it wasn’t just about the technology, it was about my experience as a patient.”

“I no longer struggle to parse important information during Zoom calls, ask people to repeat themselves or interrupt unintentionally because I thought they were done talking. I don’t have to worry about where to sit in a room or at a restaurant and how to position myself to hear the conversation, and I can be an active participant rather than someone who sits back and just observes. I’m more confident and relaxed overall, which has made a huge difference in my work as an executive, and as a public speaker.”

In addition to its advanced, customizable sound quality, Widex Allure’s user-friendly features make on-the-go adjustments simple. Its intuitive app allows Amber to optimize her hearing in different environments, filtering out background noise in crowded meetings or amplifying ambient sounds during outdoor walks.

Before adopting Widex hearing aids, Amber had mastered various techniques to disguise her impairment. Never wanting to appear different or be coddled, she learned to quickly adapt, even as a child.

“I compensated for the loss by positioning myself so that my ‘good’ left ear was facing the conversation, sitting near the front of the classroom, and concentrating very hard, especially in the high school music classes I loved. It was exhausting.” The exhaustion continued well into adulthood, as did Amber’s hearing decline, and building a professional career made adaptation even harder over time.

Eventually after landing her “dream job” at LinkedIn—a high-level position that required constant communication, she knew it was time to stop pretending. At her next audiology appointment, instead of walking out with merely test results, she took a big first step into a forgotten world of hearing.

“I was astonished by the level of technology and innovation Widex Allure delivered, not to mention how small and discreet they were—definitely not the stereotypical big squawky hearing aid my mother had worn.”

From the moment Amber put on her first custom pair of Widex hearing aids, her life changed for the better.

“I cried tears of joy the first few days,” she recalls. “I could finally hear all the sounds I had been missing for so long—simple things like the sound of gravel crunching under my feet.” To celebrate, a friend made a high-def playlist of Amber’s favorite music. “I had listened to some of these songs hundreds of times, and only now could I hear all the beautiful details in the composition,” Amber says. “It was like I had been living life with earmuffs on.”

The past few years have been a reawakening for Amber, and she’s paying it forward by sharing her story on LinkedIn.

“It’s amazing how many people want to hear my story, and I’ve loved the opportunity to encourage other people to consider hearing aids to improve their own quality of life. And like me, they are astounded by the small size and the intelligence of the Widex Allure hearing aids, so it’s been fun to change perceptions about what today’s hearing aid technology is capable of.”