N. Idaho woman mistakes own hearing aid for candy

Here’s a cautionary tale for those tempted to dip into the Halloween candy early. Not one to wait until the last minute, Violet Bishop has already purchased goodies to dispense to trick-or-treaters. Well, the other night the 87-year-old Coeur d’Alene resident was about to watch “Dancing With the Stars.” And she wanted a snack. “I was lying there and decided that a sweet morsel of chocolate would be rather gratifying,” she said. So she went to the kitchen and got a small box of Milk Duds from her Halloween stash. “I took the box with me and went back to my bedroom.” Keeping an eye on her TV, she got on her bed. “I reached for my Milk Duds box and poured a couple of morsels in my hand and threw them back and started to munch.” So far, so good. “As I enjoyed the chocolate and caramel taste, it appeared that one of my Milk Duds was not as fresh as the others. One was rather crunchy and I could not get it to soften up, no matter how hard I tried.” The transplanted Texan was puzzled. Finally, she removed the dud Dud from her mouth. She wanted to see what the problem was. “I found out.” Apparently, as she had shifted into position on the bed, a hearing aid had fallen out of her ear and dropped right into the little box of candies. She couldn’t have done that on purpose if she had tried. The hearing aid was now coated with chocolaty goodness. Fortunately, it wasn’t destroyed nor was there any dental damage. It cost Bishop $199 to get it cleaned up and made ship-shape again. But she learned her lesson. “As much as I love my Halloween candy, I’ll be sure to notice what I’m eating.”