A high-priced theft on a middle school campus has left one San Diego student without something she needs on a daily basis: her hearing aids.
San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Police launched an investigation Tuesday into the disappearance of a student’s hearing aids.
Bethany Balbuena, 13, an 8th grader at Bell Middle School in South Bay Terraces, said she had placed the hearing aids on her desk during advisory period to change the batteries. When she turned around with the new batteries from her back pack, the hearing aids were gone.
“I dumped everything out of my backpack, and still couldn't find them,” the teen told NBC 7.
Bethany’s mother, Tiana Jajko, is convinced her daughter is telling the truth and fears another student is responsible for the theft.
"Hearing aids don't just get up and walk away, so whoever did it, whether it was trying to be funny, or pull a prank, or just to be mean, it wasn't really nice of that person to do it. We just want them back,” said Jajko.
Bethany has late onset bilateral hearing loss, a condition her mother said worsened to the point of needing hearing aids last May.
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Bethany said some students at school picked on her for wearing them.
"Last year a lot of people were mean to me about my hearing aids. Like, [saying] I don't look good in them, or they'd flick my ears to see if I could hear from the flicking,” said Bethany.
Jajko said the hearing aids cost $2,937 dollars, but are under warranty, meaning she’d be on the hook for $800 if they needed to be replaced.
Without the hearing aids, Bethany is often left trying to read her teachers’ lips in class.
Bethany waited several days before telling her mother because she was afraid of getting in trouble, but claims she told her teacher right away.
The teen and her mother claim not much was done by school faculty about the situation.
“When she brought it to the teacher’s attention that [the] hearing aids are gone, I feel like more action should've been taken” said Jajko.
The mystery has not yet been solved and, for now, Bethany remains without her hearing aids. Jajko is offering anyone at her daughter’s school $100 if they can help find them.
