It is always going to be a good day when you remember to take your aids out before stepping into the shower to wash your hair. Well okay, I did not remember right away, but just a few seconds after, so all is good.
I was working at a school when I got my first hearing aids. One of the staff told me about her uncle who had wrecked a number of hearing aids in the shower. His family put up signs in the bathroom, but after a while they were just part of the decor, which he ignored .
As a consequence of her story, I have got into the habit of not putting my aids in until I get out of the shower unless I have visitors.
I also got into the habit of sticking my fingers in my ears to check before getting into the shower.
Even with this obsession I have once got into the shower wearing them, which just goes to show that you may make things foolproof - but not proof against a bloody fool.
Now wearing my new - and wildly expensive - aids. I'm told the sound of my own voice, which now seems overly loud, will normalise. Meanwhile I have a week in which to judge performance before I see the audiologist again for any fine tuning.
I don't usually put my aids in before I wash and dress - Mr F knows (or should) not to attempt a conversation when I'm still in my jammies.
Does this lead to marital bliss? I mean not having to talk early am.
As in the old joke about the woman who had 14 children because she was deaf? Her husband would say 'Do you want to go to sleep or what?' And she'd say 'What?'
I'm seriously considering replacing my Boots hearing aids with Specsavers ones - for no better reason than there's a Specsavers along the road from work, and the nearest Boots with an audiology department is in Edinburgh - and AFAIK doesn't operate at weekends, so I'd have to take time off work just to get an appointment (plus the faff of getting there).
I tried registering as a patient with Specsavers but they won't even look at aids supplied by anyone else (not even the NHS), so if I'm going to have them look after my hearing, I'll have to fork out another £1,000-odd for a new pair.
Just taken a call to my mobile, which is now paired with my aids and it works brilliantly. That's probably the most clearly I've heard anything in years.
I have only relatively mild hearing deterioration. But was nevertheless talked into getting a pair of hearing aids, from what is known to be a quality brand (Oticon, though I got their most basic model, it wasn't cheap by any standards). While they are comfortable enough and reasonably unobtrusive, I can't say I've noticed much improvement in hearing. However I take some comfort from the story that having them may minimise the effect of future deterioration in the ears by retaining the brain's ability to process signals from the ear - and of course the device's own response is adjustable (not by me, but by the audiologist).
I've not been as entranced by my Oticon as I'd hoped - the Bluetooth pairing seems erratic, and the ambient hearing not as good as I hoped for. But otoh my hearing without them is pretty abysmal, so perhaps they are doing a better job than I credit them for.
My hearing aids are Phonak ones and they are excellent. The Bluetooth pairing does drop out quite often and they occasionally make weird sounds in my ears but on the whole I can hear so much better than with my old ones. If you aren’t happy @Tukai go back and get them tweaked. It sometimes takes a while for the audiologist to get the settings just right.
Yesterday, my wife could not find her hearing aids. We looked in all the usual places. No luck. She had to go to work without them I said I would continue to look. Just could not find them. Kind of reminded me of the parable of the women looking for the lost coin.
Eventually, wife remembered she put them in her house coat. Sure enough, that's where they were.
No party through.
Check with your congregations. See if they have bluetooth enabled sound systems. Modern hearing aids can be tuned into them too. Better than those old balky headphones some churches still use.
We installed an induction loop years ago so that hearing did users could pick it up on the ‘T’ setting in their hearing aids. Increasingly, however, newer digital heating aids don’t have that facility.
Newer Bluetooth enabled hearing aids which are equipped to the Bluetooth LE standard established in July last year and using Bluetooth 5.2 or later will be able to take advantage of the system. As at the end of October “Auracast-compatible products are very few and far between” (Source).
some manufacturers have started to implement the technology. ReSound NEXIA hearing aids are the first, fully Auracast-ready hearing aids on the market. Signia Pure Charge&Go IX devices have the hardware and require only a future firmware update to activate Auracast.
The technology will slowly roll out over the next five to seven years, with a significant inflection point expected by 2025.
How quickly it will become widely available in public venues, including churches, will depend on the cost of the broadcasting equipment (not yet available). It is expected to run in parallel with widely installed loop systems for several years, once it is introduced.
I am now wearing NHS hearing aids and I love them! I don't always remember to put them in in the morning, I often just put them in when I'm in a situation in which I know they will help. As time goes on, I think putting them in will become more automatic.
Are they the rechargeable sort? If so, the little green lights on the bedside table should remind you. They become part of the ever-lengthening - as you get older - routine of Getting Up. First pill, interval of web surfing, sort clothes for the day, wash, dress, stretch exercises, add necklace and scent of the day, remaining pills, hearing aids - and launch.
We installed an induction loop years ago so that hearing did users could pick it up on the ‘T’ setting in their hearing aids. Increasingly, however, newer digital heating aids don’t have that facility.
It must be possible to have an induction loop receiver in your pocket that would re-broadcast to bluetooth hearing aids. I don't know whether such a device exists, but it seems like it ought to be fairly straightforward to construct.
Hearing aids (well the most recent ones I've had anyway) can be programmed to add the T setting. Some audiologists don't think people will ever use them so don't bother.
Our Town Hall has just installed one in the council chamber. It's taken a bit of tweaking but I'm hoping I'll be able to hear the proceedings much more clearly at the meeting on Wednesday.
The local theatre, the temporary Cathedral, the lifts in the Central Library here and the church I used to attend all have the loop setting available. I love the voices sounds so clearly in my head, but it did take a bit of getting used to. I was fortunate in having someone who was wel used to the system help me with it.
The T switches worked last night for the council meeting. I had to crank my hearing aids up a bit, but on the whole I think it was a success. The only downside was I could clearly hear squeaky floorboards when people got up to leave the room.
I have seen ads for a phone that has on-screen captions of what your caller is saying in near real‑time! I am having more and more trouble hearing on the phone. Has anyone tried this kind of a phone?
I have seen ads for a phone that has on-screen captions of what your caller is saying in near real‑time! I am having more and more trouble hearing on the phone. Has anyone tried this kind of a phone?
No, but I've had zoom meetings with the captioning turned on. It got about 80% there with people who spoke clearly with fairly standard accents. And then the Russian guy started talking, and it was a bit hopeless.
Even with the speakers without strong accents, if you didn't know what they were talking about, then some things would be challenging to guess.
Due another checkup in a couple of months time. Generally satisfied with my aids, Bluetooth and all. It’s helped that they’ve now had programs added for Small Group and Crowd conversation. Though sadly, I doubt there’ll ever be one called Loud Raucous Pub Chat! 🙁
Well for the second time in 2 years, I have lost a hearing aid. I tried to be so careful when taking on and off my facemask, but when I took my mask off in the car the hearing aid was gone. I retraced my steps but alas no aid. Time to give up on pricy hearing aids and go with far less expensive ones. Has anyone in the USA had a mail-order pair they are happy with? So many choices I am not sure where to start.
I hope you can find a suitable cheap replacement GI. Since I lost one due to a mask I tend to carry them in a special screw top container and put them on only when I need them. I still worry about them though.
Due another checkup in a couple of months time. Generally satisfied with my aids, Bluetooth and all. It’s helped that they’ve now had programs added for Small Group and Crowd conversation. Though sadly, I doubt there’ll ever be one called Loud Raucous Pub Chat! 🙁
What you want for that is a partner Mike. Directional microphone
You put it on the table and hope no one spills liquid on it and point it at the one you are talking to. If you have a blue tooth option then you have that choice too.
My opticians offered me a hearing test about 10 years ago. They told me to get my ears syringed and then come back. They fitted some free aids . They didn't appear to make much difference and I found them irritating
About a year ago I got my ears syringed again but this time they did a proper job In the past 4 months I have very poor hearing in my left ear. If I lie on my right ear I have trouble hearing the alarm
Sometimes my ear 'pops and I hear clear. Have I just got a wax problem ????
Telford, you may be in the same position I am and have both have both.
It might be a good idea to get your ears syringed, then get your hearing checked again. Hearing aids have improved greatly in the last few years.
Having said that they do take some getting used to. They are no use stuck in a drawer, like a friend of mine does. I was lucky that a man at church was the local President of the Hearing Association and graciously answered all my questions, however silly they sounded.
If you do need them, my best piece of advice is always put your fingers in your ears before you get in the shower. It may stop you having to replace them because they got wet.
I think it might be worth making an appointment via your GP with your local audiology clinic @telford. Hearing aids make such a difference, without them you don't know how much you're missing and lack of hearing can be so socially isolating. Yes aids are fiddly to put in and can take some getting used to, but they can also totally transform your life.
It's not only missing conversations either. I went for a bush walk after my hearing aids were turned up and heard a Korimako (NZ Bellbird) for the first time in years.
Please please PLEASE if you have any family, friends, or coworkers, DO all that you can to get your hearing taken care of. It's grim living with someone who doesn't realize how much he's missing (because he can't hear it, right?) and is therefore slowly getting pushed out of the family circle (much against our will!) because he never responds to questions, notices publicly spoken information, and so forth and so on. And refuses to wear his hearing aids because "I'm not missing anything, it's just chitchat." And then, when he realizes that the toilet is overflowing/X is getting married/Y has cancer, says, "Why didn't you TELL me?"
We did tell you.
So many times.
You just nodded and said, yes, yes, of course... and waved us away.
X claims that the audiologist doesn't yet consider hearing aids necessary because the hearing loss is "only" 40%.
Isn't 40% kind of quite a lot? We are convinced that X just doesn't want them and everyone is going along with her because she has a rather strong personality (ahem).
Nobody wants them, do they? What we want are ears, working ears. What we want is no hassle and no discomfort and no extra costs. But we aren't going to get that...
I have instructed my son to throw all this in my face if I am ever so foolish as to refuse to wear my own hearing aids (yes, the day is doubtless coming). I hope he does.
It took me years to accept hearing aids because the first ones I tried back then were horrible. Rustling plastic shopping bags came across more loudly than speech and the sound of a toilet flushing was even worse. Then a couple of years later I was quoted $8,000 each. I remember replying that I had never had a conversation worth $16,000, but I was really depressed because I knew I could never afford that.
Finally I asked my mother's cousin who had hearing aids herself and she referred me to her audiologist.
Now I go to a clinic owned by one of the audiologists who was a partner of that audiologist. The service is very good and when I lost a hearing aid due to wearing a mask the clinic owner rang my insurance company for me (because I couldn't hear well enough) and argued with them when they wanted to send me to a different clinic. (apparently in NZ the person is allowed to choose who will replace a medical device, rather than having to go to a provider of the insurer's choosing). Every 6 years I can claim a subsidy of $500 per aid and I pay about $4,000 for the pair. (my whole economy revolves around saving for the next ones), They are not the top of the range, either pricewise or with all the latest technology, but they suit my needs very well. Last time I went to the clinic I was given $50 worth of batteries free because a kind man had updated his technology and no longer needed batteries, so he wanted to pass them on to someone who could use them.
My advocacy of hearing aids is akin to a fundamentalist trying to convert pagans. As I live alone it would be easy for me to become isolated from other people without my hearing aids, and that would impact on my mental health.
I am consistent in inserting my aids as part of getting dressed almost every day, and keeping them in until bedtime, to the delight of my audiologist. I have the occasional day when I give me ear canals a rest, as they sometimes develop an itch or other irritation due to heavy perspiration in hot weather. Even so, when she does a readout at my checkups, the audiologist reports an average of about 14 hours per day. Mrs BA on the other hand struggles to wear her aids. She has tiny ear canals and finds the receivers uncomfortable. I keep telling her to give time for her ears to adapt to the feeling, but she is disinclined to do so.
I also have small ears, and all but the smallest buds are intolerable. Fortunately the ones for the current aids are fine, but the audiologist mentioned the possibility of custom ones if they had not been. Has Mrs BA been offered anything like that?
On the plus side, it means I don't worry about them dropping out accidentally.
I'm much the same; when I first got my aids (before I got a TV), I generally took them out as soon as I got home from work, as there was nothing to listen to, and no-one to be frustrated by having to shout at me!
<cough>my sister<cough>
Having been advised that this is a Bad Thing, I now nearly always leave them in until just before bed, unless I get an annoying itch!
I sometimes feel I'd like them to go a bit deeper into my ears, but assume that if the audiologist is happy with them, so am I.
Still waiting for my replacement hearing aid. Had a medical lab appointment today and did not wear my remaining one. Bad mistake I could not hear a thing. The nurse in the waiting area turned her back to me and said something I could not hear as she walked away. thankfully a man waiting told me she said to follow her. I did not know my hearing was so bad.
Due another checkup in a couple of months time. Generally satisfied with my aids, Bluetooth and all. It’s helped that they’ve now had programs added for Small Group and Crowd conversation. Though sadly, I doubt there’ll ever be one called Loud Raucous Pub Chat! 🙁
What you want for that is a partner Mike. Directional microphone
You put it on the table and hope no one spills liquid on it and point it at the one you are talking to. If you have a blue tooth option then you have that choice too.
Down our way, he’s called Roger, (sorry, couldn’t resist it! 😁). Yes, got a checkup soon so will ask, but at the moment, pennies are scarce and it’ll have to go in the queue of Things to Have One Day.
X claims that the audiologist doesn't yet consider hearing aids necessary because the hearing loss is "only" 40%.
Isn't 40% kind of quite a lot? We are convinced that X just doesn't want them and everyone is going along with her because she has a rather strong personality (ahem).
Oh dear; that’s a tricky situation, good luck! Though actually, years ago I was told similar by an audiologist linked to our local school for the deaf. I ignored him and went elsewhere for a prescription. Hope your fm comes to see the light …
I got hearing aids on the NHS last year. I was under the impression that I had 20% hearing loss, although perhaps the "20%" referred to some other aspect of my hearing.
I wore my one hearing aid to a medical repeat appointment today. I did not put it in until I was inside the office and took it out the minute I was finished. Thanks to Hula for the idea.
What I should have added is, being low tech I have a screw top plastic jar with a dessicant substance in it as well as my name, and the audiologist practice name. Whenever I take my aids out I put then in the pot which is easier to find than just the aids, and also keeps them safe.
(I know protecting them in some way is obvious, but I also know the absolute sense of panic I get if their presence is not immediately clear.)
I picked up my replacement for my lost hearing aid today and had a person I had never seen before fit it. Lo and behold she changed the end earbuds for a smaller size and they fit so much better and I can hear so much better. Why in the world the person I have been seeing for the last year did not do this I can not imagine. She also showed me how to take my mask on and off the best way to not get it caught in my hearing aids.
A good audiologist makes such a difference. Glad you found one @Graven Image . I was always told my hearing loss was too severe for the earbud/dome type connection, but moulds weren’t very comfortable. The new clinic here has sorted me out with domes and they’re great.
Comments
As a consequence of her story, I have got into the habit of not putting my aids in until I get out of the shower unless I have visitors.
I also got into the habit of sticking my fingers in my ears to check before getting into the shower.
Even with this obsession I have once got into the shower wearing them, which just goes to show that you may make things foolproof - but not proof against a bloody fool.
I don't usually put my aids in before I wash and dress - Mr F knows (or should) not to attempt a conversation when I'm still in my jammies.
As in the old joke about the woman who had 14 children because she was deaf? Her husband would say 'Do you want to go to sleep or what?' And she'd say 'What?'
I tried registering as a patient with Specsavers but they won't even look at aids supplied by anyone else (not even the NHS), so if I'm going to have them look after my hearing, I'll have to fork out another £1,000-odd for a new pair.
Eventually, wife remembered she put them in her house coat. Sure enough, that's where they were.
No party through.
Check with your congregations. See if they have bluetooth enabled sound systems. Modern hearing aids can be tuned into them too. Better than those old balky headphones some churches still use.
Newer Bluetooth enabled hearing aids which are equipped to the Bluetooth LE standard established in July last year and using Bluetooth 5.2 or later will be able to take advantage of the system. As at the end of October “Auracast-compatible products are very few and far between” (Source).
According to this article from three weeks ago How quickly it will become widely available in public venues, including churches, will depend on the cost of the broadcasting equipment (not yet available). It is expected to run in parallel with widely installed loop systems for several years, once it is introduced.
It must be possible to have an induction loop receiver in your pocket that would re-broadcast to bluetooth hearing aids. I don't know whether such a device exists, but it seems like it ought to be fairly straightforward to construct.
Our Town Hall has just installed one in the council chamber. It's taken a bit of tweaking but I'm hoping I'll be able to hear the proceedings much more clearly at the meeting on Wednesday.
No, but I've had zoom meetings with the captioning turned on. It got about 80% there with people who spoke clearly with fairly standard accents. And then the Russian guy started talking, and it was a bit hopeless.
Even with the speakers without strong accents, if you didn't know what they were talking about, then some things would be challenging to guess.
You put it on the table and hope no one spills liquid on it and point it at the one you are talking to. If you have a blue tooth option then you have that choice too.
About a year ago I got my ears syringed again but this time they did a proper job In the past 4 months I have very poor hearing in my left ear. If I lie on my right ear I have trouble hearing the alarm
Sometimes my ear 'pops and I hear clear. Have I just got a wax problem ????
It might be a good idea to get your ears syringed, then get your hearing checked again. Hearing aids have improved greatly in the last few years.
Having said that they do take some getting used to. They are no use stuck in a drawer, like a friend of mine does. I was lucky that a man at church was the local President of the Hearing Association and graciously answered all my questions, however silly they sounded.
If you do need them, my best piece of advice is always put your fingers in your ears before you get in the shower. It may stop you having to replace them because they got wet.
We did tell you.
So many times.
You just nodded and said, yes, yes, of course... and waved us away.
X claims that the audiologist doesn't yet consider hearing aids necessary because the hearing loss is "only" 40%.
Isn't 40% kind of quite a lot? We are convinced that X just doesn't want them and everyone is going along with her because she has a rather strong personality (ahem).
I have instructed my son to throw all this in my face if I am ever so foolish as to refuse to wear my own hearing aids (yes, the day is doubtless coming). I hope he does.
Finally I asked my mother's cousin who had hearing aids herself and she referred me to her audiologist.
Now I go to a clinic owned by one of the audiologists who was a partner of that audiologist. The service is very good and when I lost a hearing aid due to wearing a mask the clinic owner rang my insurance company for me (because I couldn't hear well enough) and argued with them when they wanted to send me to a different clinic. (apparently in NZ the person is allowed to choose who will replace a medical device, rather than having to go to a provider of the insurer's choosing). Every 6 years I can claim a subsidy of $500 per aid and I pay about $4,000 for the pair. (my whole economy revolves around saving for the next ones), They are not the top of the range, either pricewise or with all the latest technology, but they suit my needs very well. Last time I went to the clinic I was given $50 worth of batteries free because a kind man had updated his technology and no longer needed batteries, so he wanted to pass them on to someone who could use them.
My advocacy of hearing aids is akin to a fundamentalist trying to convert pagans. As I live alone it would be easy for me to become isolated from other people without my hearing aids, and that would impact on my mental health.
Here endth the Lesson.
I also have small ears, and all but the smallest buds are intolerable. Fortunately the ones for the current aids are fine, but the audiologist mentioned the possibility of custom ones if they had not been. Has Mrs BA been offered anything like that?
On the plus side, it means I don't worry about them dropping out accidentally.
<cough>my sister<cough>
Having been advised that this is a Bad Thing, I now nearly always leave them in until just before bed, unless I get an annoying itch!
I sometimes feel I'd like them to go a bit deeper into my ears, but assume that if the audiologist is happy with them, so am I.
Down our way, he’s called Roger, (sorry, couldn’t resist it! 😁). Yes, got a checkup soon so will ask, but at the moment, pennies are scarce and it’ll have to go in the queue of Things to Have One Day.
Oh dear; that’s a tricky situation, good luck! Though actually, years ago I was told similar by an audiologist linked to our local school for the deaf. I ignored him and went elsewhere for a prescription. Hope your fm comes to see the light …
What I should have added is, being low tech I have a screw top plastic jar with a dessicant substance in it as well as my name, and the audiologist practice name. Whenever I take my aids out I put then in the pot which is easier to find than just the aids, and also keeps them safe.
(I know protecting them in some way is obvious, but I also know the absolute sense of panic I get if their presence is not immediately clear.)