Dorothy Rumbaugh looked pleased and a little nervous as she watched her son being fitted for a hearing aid Wednesday morning.

“Now maybe I won’t be bothering folks all over Jefferson County when I’m trying to get Gary’s attention,” she said, laughing.

The Rumbaughs live in McLouth.

Gary, 57, was born with Down syndrome. His hearing has been fading over the past few years. During that time his mother has been trying to set money aside to buy the $1,000 aid.

Scott Hesseltine, owner of the Hearing Aid Center, 4106 W. Sixth St., came to the rescue.

“We tested Gary’s hearing a long time ago when it was borderline,” Hesseltine said. “When we saw the story last month in the Journal-World about him and Mrs. Rumbaugh, it reminded me that his hearing might be getting worse.”

Hesseltine contacted the New Ear Foundation, established by the Starkey Hearing Foundation. It assists low-income people with hearing problems worldwide.

After adjusting the tiny hearing device, Hesseltine inserted it in Gary’s ear and spoke to him in a whisper.

Gary whispered his reply.

“Loud and clear.”

Both beamed, and Gary shot a “thumbs-up” into the air.

“This is the best part of what I do,” Hesseltine said.

Gary Rumbaugh shoots a thumbs-up after trying his new hearing aid at the Hearing Aid Center, 4106 W. Sixth St. The center's owner, Scott Hesseltine, arranged for Gary's digital hearing device through the New Ear Foundation and fitted it Wednesday. Hesseltine contacted the foundation after seeing a story in the Journal-World about Gary and his mother, Dorothy Rumbaugh.