Hear Hear

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Elisabetta
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Elisabetta »

Stu wrote: Sat Jul 23, 2022 2:54 pm I am aware that there are gents here who are of a certain age (ahem) and may well suffer, as I do, from age-related hearing loss. Well, I'm now pretty deaf. This is an issue I have inherited from my mother and my siblings suffer the same impediment.

In June 2021, after some persuading, I attended a hearing clinic and was tested. The audiologist showed me the charts which indicated the nature of the loss and assured me that I needed hearing aids which were duly made and supplied. These are a leading brand of digital aids (Phonak) and, as they were supplied to me under our National Health Service, they didn't cost me a penny. Excellent! There is, however, a slight problem. Without them in, I can't hear what people are saying to me; with them in, however, I still can't hear what people are saying to me - it just sounds different and my ears itch. They don't help in the slightest and they are just an annoyance, so I don't wear them.

I didn't give up on them easily - I wore them religiously for the first ten weeks or so. They are slightly (!) helpful if I watch TV or go to see a movie, but these are things I rarely do. Otherwise, they are utterly useless and, for some situations, like when using the telephone, they make any kind of hearing impossible and I have to remove them to have any chance of making out what is being said. Of course, I could traipse back to the audiologist and have them adjusted, but I have to say that, from my experience so far, I now have zero confidence that they have any ability to remedy my hearing problem and I have better things to do with my time.

I have read other people's accounts online and, while some say the NHS aids have transformed their lives, I am not alone in finding these a waste of time. Of those who did return to the NHS audiologist because they didn't work, none said that the adjustments made them significantly better. Others said they abandoned the NHS and used a commercial audiology service and paid a considerable sum for more advanced hearing aids - again these were divided between those who found the expensive ones made a difference and those who felt they had wasted their cash. Lastly, there were those who had just resigned to living with deafness which, as things stand, looks like being my situation. I am not inclined to gamble about three thousand pounds on the off-chance that will make a massive difference when my experience so far has been disappointing.

So, I would be interested to read comments from anyone on here who has similar hearing issues and if and how they were resolved.
I have 75% hearing loss in my left ear and 80% in my right ear.I use rechargeable hearing aids.They help some but I still can't hear certain things.

Anyone that talks to me must face me at all times while talking to me otherwise I can't make out anything you're saying because I can't read your lips.
"When life gets blurry adjust your focus."
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Sinned
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Sinned »

Hey, Jenn, didn't realise you wore aids! Welcome to the club, you are probably as deaf as I am. Glad that you have aids that work for you. My aids are directional which means that they are best when the source of sound is in front of me. I find it difficult when the person has their back to me and walking away. Yes, I read lips of a sort. My wife has complete loss in one ear due to a perforated ear drum. She had a graft once but it didn't work so she has learnt to live with it.

Stu, keep on at them and don't leave until you are happy. Their function is to provide a means for you to overcome your hearing loss, nothing less. I don't take any sh*t from them and don't leave the consulting room until I can hear again properly. But fair enough, I find them knowledgeable, professional and good at their job, no complaints. I get replacement aids every three years or so and quick follow-up appointments when I have problems. I have an email address for contact and get a fast response. My aids are good enough for most purposes but their weakness is the tube connecting the earpiece to the elactrical bit which can get blocked with various substances.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Elisabetta
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Elisabetta »

Sinned wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 2:41 pm Hey, Jenn, didn't realise you wore aids! Welcome to the club, you are probably as deaf as I am. Glad that you have aids that work for you. My aids are directional which means that they are best when the source of sound is in front of me. I find it difficult when the person has their back to me and walking away. Yes, I read lips of a sort. My wife has complete loss in one ear due to a perforated ear drum. She had a graft once but it didn't work so she has learnt to live with it.

Stu, keep on at them and don't leave until you are happy. Their function is to provide a means for you to overcome your hearing loss, nothing less. I don't take any sh*t from them and don't leave the consulting room until I can hear again properly. But fair enough, I find them knowledgeable, professional and good at their job, no complaints. I get replacement aids every three years or so and quick follow-up appointments when I have problems. I have an email address for contact and get a fast response. My aids are good enough for most purposes but their weakness is the tube connecting the earpiece to the elactrical bit which can get blocked with various substances.

I inherited my deafness from my dad.Have worn hearing aids since I was young enough to remember.Usuaally I don't have them in but have gotten to where I need to start wearing them.

Sometimes if I can't hear I have Moon or Amber relay what that person said.If someone's wearing a mask forget it I can't make out the words you're saying.
"When life gets blurry adjust your focus."
Stu
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Stu »

Sinned wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 2:41 pm Stu, keep on at them and don't leave until you are happy. Their function is to provide a means for you to overcome your hearing loss, nothing less. I don't take any sh*t from them and don't leave the consulting room until I can hear again properly. But fair enough, I find them knowledgeable, professional and good at their job, no complaints. I get replacement aids every three years or so and quick follow-up appointments when I have problems. I have an email address for contact and get a fast response. My aids are good enough for most purposes but their weakness is the tube connecting the earpiece to the elactrical bit which can get blocked with various substances.

Thanks. Advice taken and appointment at the audiology clinic made.

Stu
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Sinned
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Re: Hear Hear

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Good luck, Stu, only you can tell them when you can hear sufficiently well and if what they are doing isn't good enough - tell them.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
pelmut
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by pelmut »

Sinned wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 12:01 am 90db is the eqivalent of a leaf blower which to me is loud.
dB is a relative measurement, like percentage.  It is correct to say "90 dB hearing loss", because you are comparing your hearing with that of someone who isn't suffering from hearing loss.  

When describing the absolute loudness of a sound, the standard it is being compared with should always be stated.  Normally the 'threshold of hearing' is taken as the reference, and this is shown by a suffix: dB(A), dB(B), dB(C)  The suffix letters indicate 'weightings' that are supposed to take account of the nuisance value or hearing damage potential of the sound.  (In actual practice, the system was set up in the days before accurate portable wide-range microphones were available, so dB(A) was always used because that corresponded to the response of a relatively cheap Brush crystal microphone.)  Nowadays the wider-range dB(C) scale is available on most sound-level meters and gives a more accurate impression of the loudness of music.

If your hearing loss is 90dB over the whole range and a leaf blower generates 90dB(A), you should only just be able to detect the sound.  I expect the figure they gave you was for the frequency of greatest loss and you are able to hear some of the other frequencies more strongly.
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
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