"Sloping Severe Sensorineural Bilateral Hearing Loss" is what they call the family's disorder at the Hearing Speech and Deaf Center of Greater Cincinnati. An optimist by nature, Max just calls the gradual-but-steady loss "not the greatest thing in the world." He began to learn to read lips at about age 7.

Max talks about tae kwon do and Shotokahn karate, guitar playing and his new loves - theater and rugby.

"He's eagerly engaged in life and accepting of his own challenges," said his mother, Deborah.

But the challenges mount. Because he's growing, he's had hearing aids replaced just about every three years. He's overdue and the family has no health insurance.

A new device, the Starkey Destiny Hearing Aid, automatically adjusts when the wearer goes from a quiet space to a noisy room. It filters out periphery noise.

There's also less irritating feedback.

"It's a more advanced (hearing) aid," said Gina Hounan, audiologist and clinical services manager at the center. "We want, especially young people, to be able to go about daily activities without being challenged or fatigued by managing their own hearing aids. This makes it seamless."

It also makes it expensive: $5,180.

Max would jump at a job to help pay for the device, but the family's visas prevent him or his mother from working.

"This is the only gift I've ever thought that I'll be able to continually use, that would continue to help me and benefit in a way that's entirely different from any other gift," Max said.

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