Names: Bob and Nat Vogt.

Ages: Bob is 90, Nat is 79.

Family: Bob and Nat have been married for 38 years, enjoying the last 22 in Bellingham. Between them they have five children, six grandkids and four great-grandchildren, all living within driving distance in Washington.

Hearing faded: Like many people, the Vogts experienced a gradual decline in their hearing over several years.

Nat had quite a shock when she first went to have her hearing checked as an adult. She was deaf in the left ear, and had been since birth. She had unknowingly been adapting to her hearing loss.

Bob, too, adapted to a gradual and severe decline in hearing over a long period of time.

Hearing aid versus cochlear implant: Until about seven years ago, Bob was almost completely deaf and hearing aids would not have helped. Nat, on the other hand, still has "reasonable hearing" with the help of a hearing aid.

"Nat and I attended one of the first monthly meetings of the local Hearing Loss Association about eight years ago," Bob says. "I met a lady there who had an implant. Until I met her, I had never considered myself a candidate, especially since I was 82 at the time."

Successful surgery: Bob wasn't quite sure what to expect from his cochlear implant.

"It's not uncommon for people to experience lengthy adjustment periods, but I could hear on the way home from Seattle, where the surgery was performed," he says. "It was fantastic, really, the whole concept."

Local help: The Vogts attribute their feelings of community and cause largely to the Hearing Loss Association of Whatcom County and to the Cochlear Support Group, a spinoff. The group meetings, they say, are equally educational for the hard-of-hearing and for family members.

"We learn things at the meetings that we may have never known, like Bob being a candidate for the implant," Nat says. "That wasn't recommended through a doctor but, rather, by one of our friends at the meeting."

Mutual survivors: Bob has gone through open-heart surgery and other medical conditions in addition to his cochlear implant, with almost miraculous recovery every time, his wife says.

And while Nat may see Bob as a miracle man, he's married to a strong woman of the same caliber. Nat is a cancer survivor who underwent a double mastectomy, but has been cancer-free the past five years.

Keeping active: Nat uses her lifelong love of writing to help others going through cancer treatment.

"I wrote in a journal every day during my treatments," she says. "I have now shared that journal with others as they experience what I have already been through. I like to think that my experience helps to give others hope and strength."

When Nat isn't busy writing, she keeps physically fit with water aerobics three days a week.

Bob's hobby is woodworking. His intricate and beautiful handiwork is evident throughout their home. On a larger scale, Bob has built two sailboats and a two-person kayak.

Area friendly to hard-of-hearing: The Vogts say Whatcom County is becoming more aware of and more accommodating to people who are hard-of-hearing. For example, people with hearing impairments can now enjoy productions at Mount Baker Theater using a hand-held reading device.

And if the outdoors is an interest, some interpretive centers at local parks are now closed-captioned.

Message for others: As staunch advocates of the Hearing Loss Association, Bob and Nat encourage people with hearing loss at any level to plug into the group for support, awareness and education.

The Vogts say people who think they don't have a hearing problem and that only their family members talk loudly should address the possibility that they may have a hearing problem and need to get their hearing checked, rather than live in denial.

Final words from Nat: "Don't isolate yourself in silence," she advises. "Others will accommodate you when you let them know you're hard-of-hearing.

"After all, our impairments often times are not easily recognized. We don't have a cane, a dog or a wheelchair. If we don't tell them, they may not know they need to speak up.

"And lastly ... do not apologize for your hearing loss! Address it, and don't let it keep you down."