"I've called it a revelation," Beckerman says of the innovative device he received as part of a clinical trial at the Ear Institute, listing reduced background noise and a comfortable fit among his praise.

More than simply a clinical trial participant, Beckerman has now made it possible for the Ear Institute to bring the technology to more patients. Through a major gift to the institute's research program, Beckerman has joined the ranks of those miracle workers, helping UM physician-scientists use recent advances in genetics, cellular biology, and microtechnology to develop new treatments for deafness.

Originally from New England and now living in South Florida, Beckerman is no stranger to bringing new innovations to the public. He created Tops retail stores in the 1940s, beginning with the first location in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1948. A precursor to today's widespread discount supermarkets like Wal-Mart and Target, Tops brought one-stop shopping to mainstream America.

Beckerman was an ideal participant for the Ear Institute's clinical trial of the Vibrant Soundbridge, the first FDA-approved implantable hearing aid. The device offers patients an alternative to conventional acoustic hearing aids and eliminates the usual downsides of an external aid, such as sound distortion, background noise pollution, and discomfort. When Beckerman visited the Ear Institute for an appointment to address some of those problems with his conventional hearing aid, he didn't hesitate when his physician, Thomas Balkany M.D. '67, Hotchkiss Professor of Otolaryngology and chairman of the department, asked him about participating in the new study.

"My personality is 'go,'" Beckerman says. "So I went for it. I'm so grateful of what the Ear Institute has given me, that I wanted to do anything I could to give something back."