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hearing aids
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Message 1.Â
Posted by Bractondefeated (U3173859) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
Deeply depressed and thinking this is the beginning of the slide downhill. I've just been diagnosed as needing hearing aids and since I'm not 60 yet (in fact the same age to a month as TA) it came as a really nasty shock, particularly since my image of hearing aid wearers is
a) a friend who is 80
b) Mrs Richards in Fawlty Towers.
I need cheering up by eg
a) being told of people younger than me who wear them
b) being told they're terribly unobtrusive (which the guy at the hospital said, but then "he would say that, wouldn't he?"
Bracton (pardon?) -
Message 2
Posted by Fee (U3534148) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
My SiL has had them since she was not much over 50 - although you'd never know it to look at her.
I have at least one colleague also in his 50s who has them - I only know because he doesn't always wear them and then he has to be careful about where he sits in relation to the main speaker(s) at a meeting. For all I know I have others as well since if he wore them the whole time I wouldn't know at all.
Fee -
Message 3
Posted by aloysia (U8252408) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
Bill Clinton has used hearing aids since the age of 51.
My OH will need them soon too.
Chin up.
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Message 4
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
Hello Bracton,
I've just read your cri de coeur regarding hearing aids. I wasn't younger than you when first diagnosed deaf-as-a-post but if I hadn't "minded" so much about wearing them I would have been much so! Sorry - grammar!
Well now, what can I tell you on the positive side? To begin with, they really ARE unobstrusive these days - and I speak as a mole of the female gender with very short hair.
Because they are now digital there is no longer any of that embarrassing whistling - in fact, no volume control because this is judged for you at the time of the fittings. So, the batteries are either going strong or you get a series of small discreet bleeps (audible only to you) to say they are about to run out. Batteries free on National Elf.
It used to be that people would bankrupt themselves in order to avoid the horrid aids available to the National Elf, but nowadays there is no difference so it would be very stupid to waste your money by going private.
You will find that churches, theatres, cinemas, banks/building societies etc. operate on a 'link' systgem which is some clever-clever method of making things more personally audible to the wearer of aids.
On the downside (and be realistic, because there is always going to be that!) I think you will find some difficulty in distinguishing one small voice from a roomful of shouters. Well, I do, so I can no longer enjoy, for instance, quiz nights. Though perhaps I would be able to do so if these were ever held in a room with the link system. The sad fact is that your ears are now damaged and no system yet devised can give you back full discriminating hearing, alas!
It all takes a bit of getting used to, but nothing like as bad as I was anticipating.
So - go for it! Even if you only wear them occasionally, like in theatres or in meetings as I did at first, it will make a huge difference to your life and you will feel you've joined the human race again.
Lots of luck, and let us know how you get on.
Smoctus -
Message 5
Posted by captainbenayoun (U13326760) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
Bracton, please don't be depressed. Not clear how old you are, but think you are about the same age as me (58, going on 59, apoligise if thats not so). I was 57 when I started wearing hearing aids. It was life changing, literaly. It made work life (being able to contribute to discussions involving more than two people)as well as social life (same thing, really) so, so much easier.
I had a converstion with DD shortly before I got the aids, where she found it (fairly) funny that (as so often happened) that I misheard what she said, and replied inappropriatley. I asked if she would find it so funny if I was losing my sightt? Result? A very chastised DD.
How would (did, in my case) you feel if you were prescribed glasses cos your sight was going? Par for the course, im my case. When discussing my hearing aids with younger coleagues, I tell them that they are the result of WAY, WAy too many rock concerts in my youth (not too far from the truth, I'm afraid!)
My advice, go for it (no, not the defunct programme). Wear your aids with pride!
Or/and grow your hair a little bit longer, like what I did
Cap
Ps aploagise for spelling etc, just keen to get this message to you! -
Message 6
Posted by witchwoman (U2992515) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
My maternal granddad lost a lot of hearing through working with heavy machinery and had two hearing aids from the age of about 50. They were utterly unobtrusive and improved his quality of life immensely, especially when in latter years the technology of hearing aids was so much better.
My dad has a fantastic hearing aid which is so unobtrusive that he's lost it a couple of times! This has been a great success, and his enjoyment of radio, TV and ordinary conversation has been greatly increased. In his early 50s he was horrified at the whole idea in the first place and refused to wear his original hearing aid, but the fantastic quality of this one has totally changed his mind and made us all very happy.
Just remembered, we were talking about hearing loss at work the other day and I was amazed to realise that one of my colleagues wears a hearing aid - I'd never noticed.
So I hope these experiences will encourage you, Bracton. I find your idea of hearing aid wearers rather ironic - as I'm a primary school teacher, my main experience of hearing aids is my pupils wearing them! They are everywhere these days, and the improvement they achieve in everyday life is huge.
Best of luck,
Witchwoman x -
Message 7
Posted by Bractondefeated (U3173859) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
Thank you for all the replies. The trouble is that I didnt go to my doctor because I couldnt hear as well as I used to, but because my ears felt blocked - I hadnt and still havent noticed any reduction in hearing (although the audio test shows I have)- which is why the diagnosis of hearing aids rather than eg an infection came as such a shock.
Bracton -
Message 8
Posted by captainbenayoun (U13326760) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
Bracton, that must have come as a bit of a blow/shock to you. However, I know know that my hearing had been going for at least 5/6 years before I did anything about it, it creeps up on you so slowly, at least in my case
Just give the aids a try, I know you will. The best advice I was given was to perserve for at least a couple of months with them. The first time I wore mine, I felt like running away from the noise of every day life. I used to have to walk out of the office when the "noise" became too loud. I will never forget being freaked out by the sound of my clothes rustling as I walked.
One of the things that cheered me was being told, when I was being fitted with them, that young (!) people like me tended to adapt to the aids better.
Best of luck, and, unless I point them out,most people are unaware that I wear them
Cap -
Message 9
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
Bracton,
It sounds as if this is recent news and you are still very shocked at what was a total surprise. Perhaps your hearing loss has been so very gradual that you genuinely haven't noticed, but I daresay your nearest and dearest will now feel free to tell you they've been shouting at you for ages!
I was first prescribed glasses when I was at school, not because I thought I had any sight loss but (as I sincerely believed) I hadn't "done" my piano practice and used my eyes as a feeble excuse. I was outraged to be told I needed glasses after all, instead of getting the well-deserved clip round the ear! But the strange thing was that I discovered for the first time in my life when I looked at a tree I could make out individual leaves. Magic! And perhaps it will be the same for you and your ears.
Smoctus -
Message 10
Posted by Campbell-in-Clogs (U8123405) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
<<>>
---
One of my cousins, who I last saw at Dad's funeral in 1997, had hearing aids, also because of factory noise damage. He's only a few years older than I am. So he would have been... about 38. I do voluntary work at a stables one morning a week, working with young people who have a variety of disabilities and a good number of them have hearing aids. One of my more glamorous pals (50, but think Madonna type 50) is definitely going deaf but she's too vain to go and get her ears tested. Don't know why, her recently acquired reading glasses are so sexy she has to be careful where she wears them or her husband is likely to drag her off to bed
Bracton, I'm sure you'll soon get used to whatever aid you acquire, and according to the ads which keep popping up on tv here about how tiny they are, no-one will even know you're wearing one. (Now I just have to be so reassuring to vain pal, who really is showing signs of deafness, there are only so many hilarious mishearings of things that can happen before it stops being so hilarious...) -
Message 11
Posted by Sunny Clouds (U7606212) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
I didn't wait for retirement to get hearing aids. OK, so I didn't get them when I was at school in the days when that meant having a big box on your chest, but I got them later when they were little behind the ear things on the NHS. Some people pay more to have fancy ones but mine do the job quite nicely.
Most people don't seem to notice them, and those that do don't seem to do a double take or treat me differently.
The only thing about NHS hearing aids, which are usually behind the ear ones with a mould in the ear connected to the aid by a bit of tubing, is that the mould can go a bit yellow, but if you wipe any wax out of your ears with a tissue before inserting them this can help, and you can get new moulds at intervals.
If you want to make a feature of them, you can buy coloured moulds, which can go nicely with glasses frames.
The aids themselves come in different colours. Mine match my hair. If you go private, you can even get see-through ones with all the electrical wizardry visible.
Beware very small in-the-ear aids if you have arthritic fingers, otherwise they can be quite discreet.
If you get NHS aids, you will get free batteries, but if you go private, you'll have to buy your own. -
Message 12
Posted by jane_berry (U3025755) on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
A little off topic but those of you using hearing aids might be able to advise. For a few weeks now when singing in church I've found that my ears go "muffled". Do you think an ear problem or a whole ENT thing?
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Message 13
Posted by patriarchou (U11317033) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Are you sure that's not you body's reaction to your singing Jane?
..... Pat runs off very rapidly (if only) -
Message 14
Posted by jane_berry (U3025755) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Snork Pat! But it's only started happening in the last month or so
And I'll have you know I've been told I have a very nice singing voice. Just a little nonplussed at my ears turning to cotton wool recently when I try it.
And it's no good hiding behind that sofa as I will find you) -
Message 15
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Jane - I don't think we are qualified to answer this, so get thee to a physician! You're a nurse, aren't you, so you'll know this could just be ears being a little blocked following a winter cold, and if you aren't annoying all around you with frequent plaintive cries of "eh? wazzat?" it's most probably something like this.
And, of course, acoustics in your Church.
Don't panic!
Smoctus -
Message 16
Posted by misles2 (U6928301) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Lots of good advice here. I am in my mid fifties and have been wearing aids for 5 years - mainly because my family bullied me! I was amazed how much I had been missing. I was not happy about wearing them at first and they did take some getting used to, although the new digital ones are much better than the old version. They will never be a fashion item though will they? I also use a special phone at work. Soft spoken people, large meetings and nosiy enviroments all give me problems. My hearing loss is as a result of meniere's disease , which also involves tinnitus and severe rotational vertigo - I'll spare you all the gory details - but a feeling of fulness in the ear can be related to this so do have it checked out. In the meantime do what I did and just brazen it out with your aids - if you look around there are lots of young peole who need to wear them, and don't struggle - if you can't hear say so, I am beginning to enjoy being a grumpy old woman and making my needs known. Why deafness is a source of humour I can't imagine, as someone has already sadi nho one would find blindness amusing.
Mis
aka Dizzy Miss Lizzie -
Message 17
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Hello Bracton, are you still with us or have you done a runner?
We're all beginning to be a bit more honest about the downside of hearing aids, and I'm rather sorry about this as I think it's a bit like telling a potential giver-upper of smoking that they will crave for the rest of their days!
Everything already said about early difficulties is true, but I PROMISE you (come and hit me if you discover different) that this is a brief period of adjustment. And if people are so stoopid as to whisper at you just act Grumpy Old Woman - they wouldn't invite a blind person to admire their new dress, would they? Mind you, looking back I was krule to my poor old mother....
Chin/s up -
Message 18
Posted by Bractondefeated (U3173859) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Thank you so much everyone. I knew I could rely on ML. I shall go away and try to make my brain triumph over my feelings.
Bracton -
Message 19
Posted by Sunny Clouds (U7606212) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
When you wear hearing aids, your own voice can sound a bit muffled and it can be difficult to judge how loud you're speaking. It can also be difficult to hear someone directly next to you with some sorts of hearing aid. However, if you have full earmoulds or certain types of in-ear aids, you have an extra option, namely that you can have a second hole in them that allows sound from around you directly into your ear, bypassing the aid.
I mention this, because I would recommend it, unless you have severe deafness, in which case, it could give you too much feedback and lead to whistling. -
Message 20
Posted by notjenniferaldrich (U8555450) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Dear Bracton,
Sorry to hear you've got to have bionic bits, but I hope they have a very positive effect on your life. (With me, it's glasses!!)
My friend's mother, in her seventies, was causing her much heartache after a severe stroke because she just didn't seem to be getting over it. Eventually, some bright person thought of testing the lady's hearing, and lo and behold, she needed two hearing aids. And it has changed not only her own life, but her daughter's too. They have conversations they could never have before the HAs, her mother responds to enquiries about her wishes and well-being and they both feel much more in touch with each other altogether.
I hope you are not such a dire case, but I would think that wearing hearing aids is no worse than wearing glasses, and when I think of my own mum being dismissed when her hearing went in one ear with the delightful statement from her GP: "Oh, well, you have to expect these things at your age" (65), perhaps you might be considered fortunate.
I hope ML has helped you to look on the bright side and that you will get used to your extra bits very quickly. Thank goodness you can get them these days. -
Message 21
Posted by poppy (U2220656) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:58 GMT, in reply to Sunny Clouds in message 19
I can understand how you feel, Bracton - my hearing is fine but I have recently been diagnosed with sleep apnoea which means I have to wear a mask at night that pumps compressed into my nose - it looks like a hospital oxygen mask with a long hose. I was very resentful at first because of OH (who is a recent arrival in my life) seeing me looking like Darth Vader. It took only one night to realise the benefits hugely outweigh the disadvantages - my energy levels have risen hugely and I don't snore any more. The fairly high risks of heart attack and stroke I apparently had before the diagnosis have also gone. Best of all, OH has a great line in mask jokes and doesn't have to sleep in another room.
Good luck with your hearing aid - if it transforms your life it will be a price worth paying and, as everyone says, it will very discreet. -
Message 22
Posted by halftidy (U8567554) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Two of my daughter's closest friends have been profoundly deaf from birth (twins). They lipread amazingly well so long as people remember to speak clearly at them (ie facing them) but sometimes the lipreading skill can be a disadvantage as one of them worked in my office for a while and after about two months a colleague complained to me that despite her saying "Good morning V......." every morning, V....... never responded. I gently suggested she had a good squint at V.......'s ears. Poor woman - she was so embarrassed - we all discussed it afterwards and V suggested that perhaps brightly coloured aids might be a way forward to help others to make allowances - afterall a guide dog or white stick is a useful outward sign to others of blindness? But are we all too old to learn to lipread in middle/old age? I was at a very noisy party with V last week and she was the only person there able to carry on a normal conversation!!!!
-
Message 23
Posted by patriarchou (U11317033) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Bracton, I too am struggling to live with unwanted physical changes. We can, and WILL, work out the best way forward. As long as the good outweighs the bad we are winning.
Good luck - every faith in you -
Message 24
Posted by sweetfeet (U3064123) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
My o/h has been wearing hearing aids since his early fifties.
He has NHS aids, two pairs, one soft mould, one hard mould. He does like to take them out at night, he thinks it's probably the ear equivalent of unlacing your corset. -
Message 25
Posted by Boris Becka (U11094701) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
what a wonderful fred....i've got by all my life with dodgy ears now i've hit the big 50 bits of me are wearing, including those dodgy ears.. i will re-read this and maybe investigate further.i've got non digital aids which i never wear cos i hate'em...i should wear them , i know, but hmm,...glasses, hearing aids, shall i get a new knee, a new hip..where to stop
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Message 26
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
Teeth ?
Botox ?
............ the world's your lobster, Boris! -
Message 27
Posted by Bractondefeated (U3173859) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
You've got to see the funny side - bearing in mind Im only 58 and plan on working till I'm 65 - I had an email (to me personally) from my main employer's HR today - did I want to attend a pre-retirement course?!!!! Talk about timing!
Bracton -
Message 28
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Thursday, 16th April 2009
That's it, Bracton! It helps.....
Your employers are masters of timing, aren't they! -
Message 29
Posted by Thanks for all the fish (U10654037) on Friday, 17th April 2009
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:06 GMT, in reply to Bracton in message 1
Well, if it helps I have needed them since birth. At primary school I refused to wear them cos I wanted to be like everyone else. It was only when I hit my teens that I realised that I wasn't going to cope at secondary school without them.
I started off with behind the ear (BTE) ones but moved onto In The Ear (ITE) ones in my late teens. BTE ones are technologically better - they're bigger so they can get more...electronic thingys...in them, but they're a pain on the phone (the mic is on the top of your ear) and they can be a nuisance if you wear glasses. If your loss isn't so severe that you need BTEs (and my hearing loss is moderate to severe) then I'd strongly recommend ITEs. And they are very discreet, I promise.
Also; I'd recommend that you go down the NHS route rather than privately; the NHS is now the second biggest purchaser of Hearing aids in the world so has a LOT of clout, with the result that manufacturers are clamouring to speak to them rather than the private dispensers. As a result, you can now get free on the NHS what you could pay thousands for on the high street. Repairs, filters and batteries are all free, but of course things take rather longer.
One thing that I hope will be a consolation. It will probably take you a few months to get used to your aids, but once you do, you will realise just how much you've been missing without them. -
Message 30
Posted by Thanks for all the fish (U10654037) on Friday, 17th April 2009
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:28 GMT, in reply to Sunny Clouds in message 19
Sunny Clouds, I've maybe misunderstood you, but in most cases ITE aids / moulds should have a second hole in them; that's to prevent the occlusion effect whereby your ear feels blocked / your voice sounds funny etc. Here's a link to an article about that:
Forgot to say; In The Canal aids are tiny, a nightmare to fix, and more limited in their functionality. Given that even full shell ITEs are barely noticeable ITCs are just a vanity step too far, IMHO.
Oh, and the new digital aids are fantastic; they can put on various programmes such as music ones (normal aids tend to compress musical sound a little as they think some of it is just background noise - not something you'd notice in the general run of things but as a total music boffin you might) or anti-wind ones if you're a walker (ordinarily it can be difficult to hear in high wind if it's blowing in a particular direction) or anti-background noise ones. The latter is so good that in noisy pubs I am often now asked to do the interpreting. -
Message 31
Posted by aloysia (U8252408) on Friday, 17th April 2009
Thank you for those posts burnt apple. My OH will need hearing aids in the not too distant future. When his hearing loss was first diagnosed (at least 10 years ago) he was most depressed and I promised him that we would pay (somehow) for the best/smallest aids.
So reassuring to learn that the NHS aids are now the bees knees.
Gawd bless the NHS. -
Message 32
Posted by sweetfeet (U3064123) on Friday, 17th April 2009
Yes I agree with Burnt Apple. O/h has had all his hearing aids provided by the NHS and they have been top quality, both in design of the appliance and the service provided.
If they need tweaking he just rings the clinic and they, usually, ask him in the same day.
He did have a fairly long wait initially, but once he was in the system, so to speak, it's been a superb service..........and, it's free. -
Message 33
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Friday, 17th April 2009
My thanks to burnt apple too. I think I'll go back to the orspital and see if I can get ITE aids to replace my BTE ones as it would be good to get rid of the difficulties with phone calls - at the moment people usually ring off before I've managed to get the aids out! I wonder if they would help with that whooshing tire noise heard in cars, too.
And I REALLY like the idea of being able to go to pubs again!
Good onya. -
Message 34
Posted by Boris Becka (U11094701) on Friday, 17th April 2009
burnt apple
i too should have worn aids from my youth.....glaases and aids.. how on earth was i to get a fella at college
consequently i coped
your posts have been quite enlightening and i will most probably now trot off with my BTE aids and see if they can be replaced with ITEs
Mole crossthreading to the Bull, see you have not killed off this thread -
Message 35
Posted by Campbell-in-Clogs (U8123405) on Friday, 17th April 2009
I heard some bits of a programme on the radio this afternoon (Radio 4, about 12.15 UK time) about how many young people are damaging their ears with i-pods. So hearing aids will no doubt become fashion accessories in the near future...
-
Message 36
Posted by Sunny Clouds (U7606212) on Friday, 17th April 2009
but in most cases ITE aids / moulds should have a second hole in themÂ
Ok, I said some have a second hole in them but you say that most do. I didn't know it was the majority, but I wasn't trying to be that specific anyway. Certainly most of my moulds haven't had second holes in them and my mother's previous ITE's didn't have holes in them. However, the point is that not all do, and I was recommending to get ones that do. -
Message 37
Posted by Thanks for all the fish (U10654037) on Friday, 17th April 2009
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:16 GMT, in reply to Sunny Clouds in message 36
Sorry, I wasn't trying to have a go, I was concerned that you've been given aids that don't work as effectively as they should for want of an 'ole. Such a little thing but it makes a huge difference! If anyone is having problems with occlusion I would recommend they speak to their audiologist about getting their mould(s) remade.
Otherwise, am v glad if I've been able to help or reassure anyone.
C-in-C: m'audiologist swears that it's a myth about MP3 damage; that you'd need to listen at earsplitting volume umpteen hours a day for umpteen years on end to do the damage they're talking about. The concern now is more folk that worked down mines, in shipyards, and in noisy factories for decades; those chickens are well and truly coming home to roost.
Oh! And one thing I nearly forgot: for those of you tempted to move from BTEs to NHS ITEs you /may/ need a letter from your doctor making the case for ITEs (the reasons I've given should suffice, and your GP shouldn't charge for this). Here in the Lothians anyway they do still put cost before what's best for the patient and insist on giving you the cheaper BTEs. I was told the only way around this was a letter from your GP or (as in my case) having had NHS ITEs previously. -
Message 38
Posted by Sunny Clouds (U7606212) on Friday, 17th April 2009
It depends in part on how powerful your aids are. If you're severely-profoundly Deaf, there's a good chance that if you have a hole, you'll get too much feedback and your aid will keep whistling. You may also need a specially snug mould to stop sound getting in round the edges. On the other hand, I only have moderate loss, so it isn't a problem.
-
Message 39
Posted by captainbenayoun (U13326760) on Friday, 17th April 2009
In reply to Bracton's last message.
!! Are you me? I was a bit freaked out a couple of weeks ago when my employer (national and large) wrote to me, at home, and asked if I wanted to go on a pre-retirement course.
I said yes cos I'm not sure that I want to retire at 60 and thought it might help me make my mind up. Result? No such courses available.
I larfed
Cap -
Message 40
Posted by Brooke Field (U3225360) on Friday, 17th April 2009
What an interesting and, to me, timely thread. As a lady of a Certain Age, I've been aware for a couple of years that I was having problems hearing stuff, but haven't done anything about it. However, I was out birding a couple of weeks ago and was quite upset to find I couldn't hear the singing of the larks my friend was on about. And I can't hear the dawn chorus either, except for a noisy wren. My OH has an NHS aid which he says is useless, so I was wondering about private ones, but all of you here seem to recommend NHS ones. I think it's time I went to see my GP about getting something done.
-
Message 41
Posted by metro-mouse (U3068238) on Saturday, 18th April 2009
bearing in mind Im only 58 and plan on working till I'm 65 - I had an email (to me personally) from my main employer's HR today - did I want to attend a pre-retirement course?!!!! Â
Grasp the opportunity, it is never too early to start planning and preparing, retirement is far busier than employment.
Re hearing aids; yes it is humbling to discover that one needs accessories to keep functional but might I put the other side of it, it is utterly exhausting for the normally-hearing TO HAVE TO SPEAK VERY LOUDLY, SIMPLY AND CLEARLY all the time, I have been doing this to various family members since I could speak 50 plus years ago and am fed up to the teeth with it. Another thing to be aware of is that those who do not hear properly frequently mishear what is being said and come out with inappropriate responses which makes them appear a bit simple if they are young or losing it if they are older. On a cheerier note, the newer digital hearing aids changed the life of one friend who had been seriously hearing impaired for almost 50 years (an industrial injury), he could not believe that he was hearing birdsong again. mm -
Message 42
Posted by Campbell-in-Clogs (U8123405) on Saturday, 18th April 2009
<<>>
---
I was only half listening to the programme yesterday but apparantly the upteen hours a day at earsplitting volume is exactly what lots of young people do for fun. The umpteen years... won't be long now before the first ones get there
---
<<< The concern now is more folk that worked down mines, in shipyards, and in noisy factories for decades; those chickens are well and truly coming home to roost.>>>
--
My cousin barely had a single decade of the shipyard before his first hearing aids were in place.
---
Have you made your choice yet Bracton? -
Message 43
Posted by sweetfeet (U3064123) on Saturday, 18th April 2009
You make a very good point metro-mouse.
Of course being hard of hearing must be awful and I have the utmost sympathy with my o/h. However, there are times, especially at home, when he doesn't wear his aids, because, basically, they annoy him.
Let us say we have some very interesting conversations. Mostly funny, but it can be *very* wearing when he simply confuses words because he hasn't heard them properly. -
Message 44
Posted by Bractondefeated (U3173859) on Saturday, 18th April 2009
Once again, thank you all so much for this. I'm going to print it all to keep.
I go to have one fitted in a couple of weeks, though I'm thinking of changing the appointment. It's on my wedding anniversary and given how I felt last time, actually having the things might set me off again (I'm feeling a bit better now, thanks to ML) and ruin the day. Bu I shall definitely bear everything in mind, thank you all.
Bracotn -
Message 45
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Saturday, 18th April 2009
Bracton - I know there are loads more fun ways to spend a wedding anniversary - but appts. are hard to come by and you may have to wait a long time for another! Could you take a girlfriend with you and have a good larf about the whole thing? Some of it's quite funny, like the stuff they squeeze into the opening of your ear to make the mold - a bit like that fake cream in a can.
Then go out for a v. boozy lunch somewhere and congrat. yourself on a good first step.
It's going to be AGES before you get the dratted things, though, and who knows by then you might have perfected your lip-reading skills!
Luck and hugs.
Smoctus -
Message 46
Posted by Lindfield (U11070610) on Sunday, 19th April 2009
Dear Bracton,
I think i can help you with both requests:
a). My DD (now aged 19) has been wearing hearing aids for a few years
b). they are totally unobtrusive - i can only tell whether she has them in by whether she ignores me or not (Yes, useful passive aggressive move for a teenager - take your hearing aids out so you can't hear your mother shouting).
DD lost the hearing in one ear while being ventilated as a newborn and the other through surgery when she was 16. She had been reticent about HA's because she didn't want to look different from her friends - she managed fairly well with one ear until the surgery. However, she was pretty delighted when she saw how tiny the HA's were and how much better they made her life.
Seeing a 16 year old stop dead and look up because she was hearing bird song for the first time was very special. -
Message 47
Posted by Helen (U1476131) on Sunday, 19th April 2009
I've worn hearing aids for three years now, since I was 31. I had the same trepidation about them and was very self-conscious about them, but they have made such a difference to me that I'd never go back to having to ask people to repeat themselves over and over again, or guessing what they were saying and getting it wrong.
I'd always thought people were being polite about not seeing them, but a few times people I've known quite a while have been genuinely surprised when i take one out to answer my mobile or something. (well, they might be good actors I suppose)
You might be interested to know that as a hearing aid user you will qualify for a Disabled Adult railcard which costs about 18 quid a year but gets you 1/3 off not only your own train fares but the fares of a companion travelling with you. Now personally I don't consider myself disabled at all - I have a sense that doesn't work very well and is adequately corrected. Exactly the same as if my vision was faulty and I wore glasses. But I'm not about to be principled about it if it's ok for Labour MPs to have second homes when they don't really need them, so I get 1/3 off my train travel. -
Message 48
Posted by SmoctusMole (U13882662) on Sunday, 19th April 2009
Gosh Helen! I'd no idea about the rail travel - what have I been missing?
Seriously, are you sure this applies to all people who use HAs? Or only to peeps actually registered disabled because of the degree of their deafness?
Back to the earlier poster who spoke of the magic of watching her DD hear birdsong for the first time - I totally agree that this was an unexpected joy, similar to the effect of wearing my first pair of specs.
Dear Bracton, for all my flippancy I sincerely hope you can stay with it. We all do.
Smoctus -
Message 49
Posted by Lindfield (U11070610) on Sunday, 19th April 2009
Helen mentioned removing her hearing aid to answer the phone. I have noticed DD can get feedback when she uses the phone but can't take the aid out or she wouldn't hear the caller. However, she texts a lot as do her friends, which makes it easier. In addition, she requests text or email as the fist method of communication from her college.
-
Message 50
Posted by Everything Stops 4 Tea (U3819066) on Sunday, 19th April 2009
It'll be ok, Bracton.
My hearing was damaged when I was 34, (brain injury). The situation was made worse with a lot of internal bleeding and many subsequent infections. Various specialist peeps have looked and said, "Nah, no good" re. fitting hearing aids, so I am stuck with it.
Five years ago I plucked up the courage to register for lipreading and speech therapy classes, and it has been wonderful. If I have to explain to someone that I am hard of hearing they usually look surprised and say, "Oh, I had no idea", which I hope is a compliment to my lipreading skills. However, sometimes communication is very difficult; one gets the feeling that some people aren't in the slightest bit interested in helping you, (ie: look straight at me and slow down your speech rate!), others find it incredibly embarrasing or amusing.
It angers me that schoolchildren are taught, (in what I think are called Citizenship Classes?) how to approach and assist someone who has a physical disability, blindness, epilepsy, etc, but nothing seems to be advised re deafness. Sadly, too many people STILL equate deafness with brain damage and run away, citing, he/she, "Sounded a bit funny when they spoke".
I am stuck with this situation because there is nothing that can be done; though, as I previously said, becoming a (now 'advanced' oooh-errr!) lipreader has helped more than I can say.
If there were aids available to help me, I would have them like a shot. Someone upthread mentioned the sound of rustling clothes - would love to hear that again.
Go for it, Bracton! Good Luck to You,
ES4T
Half deaf, half blind, but with own teeth and hair.
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