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The International Senso Diva Award 2003, initiated by the leading Danish hearing aid innovator Widex, was celebrated at an exclusive gala dinner on 13th September in royal surroundings at Fredensborg Store Kro, north of Copenhagen. The Senso Diva Award was given to a hearing aid user in each of the participating countries, who has clearly improved their quality of life with Widex Senso Diva hearing aids. The Award was also given in the category of hearing aid dispensers who have made a notable difference by fitting Senso Diva hearing aids.
The winners from 14 countries, in the category of both dispensers and hearing aid users, were all in Copenhagen to celebrate their National Senso Diva Award, being spoilt from arrival to departure. The weekend culminated with the big finals on Saturday night when the two winners of the International Senso Diva Award were announced.
The International Senso Diva Award winners are: |
Mr Roberto Martin, Spain (Senso Diva hearing aid user)
Mrs Natalie Buttress, South Africa (hearing aid professional/dispenser)
Dr Robert Sweetow from University of California, read aloud the first winner’s story. Only Mr Roberto Martin of Spain knew that it was his story which was being read, and that it was he himself who had been carefully selected by an entirely independent jury. Mr Martin was clearly moved as he received the International Senso Diva Award and said:
‘It is strange for me to be awarded a prize like this. Especially after having been handicapped for so long because of my sensory disability. I remember when I was a child and my father told me with all his love: ‘Roberto, when you grow up you can be anything you want to be’. He was really confident about this, but unfortunately he was wrong. I did grow up, but I could not be what I wanted so much to be. I had a problem and that problem would spoil all my dreams. A problem so bitter and painful that it made disappointment a usual feeling for me in those days. I almost lost all my self-confidence, but my parents did not and they kept encouraging me not to give up. One day we found a shop in Barcelona called Audioóptica Canuda and in that shop I met my good friends Isidoro, Jaume and Mireia.Through them I met the people at Widex, too. They all knew perfectly well how to help me. Not just selling me a pair of hearing aids, but giving me back my lost self-confidence and making me feel equal to any passer-by out in the street - because I was. Of course I was! It is true I still have a problem but it is no longer the kind of problem it used to be. And thanks to Widex, I am quite sure it will never be again. Thank you very much.’
The excitement continued as the dispenser category winner of the International Senso Diva Award was announced. Again, the winner’s story was read out loud by Robert Sweetow, and Natalie Buttress from South Africa recognised her entry. She expressed her immediate reaction as feeling like Julia Roberts on Oscar night! She then went on to express her feelings by saying;
‘I would like to say thank you to Widex for this incredible weekend. We have felt like royalty! And thank you also for dedication to what I believe is an altruistic cause. Really looking for change in the quality of life of people whom you do not even know, but who are going to feel the impact of wearing a really superior instrument for a very long time.
I have enjoyed fitting the instruments, particularly because my hearing impaired clients do not complain so much…! It is a really tremendous experience to be part of a technological breakthrough and evolution in hearing technology that allows me to do something completely different as an audiologist now, compared to what I would have been able to do twenty or thirty years ago. I also want to say that, really, this is all about the user. It is wonderful to be here as an audiologist and it is a tremendous gift to have experienced this. But in the end, I think that everything is up to you – the user – to be able to talk to other people about your hearing loss, and to be able to tell them that there is help available. And that, although hearing losses vary, and lives vary, technologies vary, and professionals vary, you should be able to reach out and ask for help. And as much as we can provide at this stage, we will! So, thank you very much, this has been incredible.
Robert Sweetow ended the Award evening saying: The winners were tremendous. The people who did not win are tremendous. Again, I thank all of you.
Congratulations! Widex thanks all our Senso Diva Award winners! Thanks for being ambassadors and helping other people with hearing loss to improve their quality of life.
 To see all the National Senso Diva Award Winners click here
To view Senso Diva user testimonials click here
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