Hear Hear

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Stu
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Hear Hear

Post by Stu »

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.
Big and Bashful
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Big and Bashful »

My Mother had and my brother has nerve deafness, my Mum's aids were basic NHS issue, they really helped her until her ears got so bad she couldn't hear when her aids started to feed back. My brother ended up with aids that were over £1000 each, paid for by his work, I don't know any details but he found them extremely helpful.

I now find I have problems with my ears, not deafness but tinnitus caused by some of the drugs I am prescribed as well as constant problems with wax, I really should start quarrying it and open a candle factory!
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Fred in Skirts »

I am profoundly deaf. When I went to see the doctor and had my hearing tests done I was issued ReSound hearing aids. They were issued by the veterans hospital and free to me. They were great, the doctors adjusted them with some of the latest computer testing equipment to get them right. Things works great until I ended up with a fungus in my ears. Now I can't wear them at all, so I can't even hear the TV when it is at full volume. I was told that I still have bone conduction hearing and that will require a metal plate inserted and attached to the left side of my skull, and a hearing aid device that is magnetic that will connect to the plate in my skull. I am not sure I really want to have a metal plate in my head.
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Bodycon
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Bodycon »

I have no experience of hearing loss, but can't figure out why you would give up.

The only thing it should cost is time to keep going back again and again until you get them or replacements to work. You pay NI, you get an NHS, that's the way of it.
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Fred in Skirts »

Bodycon wrote: Mon Jul 25, 2022 6:06 pm I have no experience of hearing loss, but can't figure out why you would give up.

The only thing it should cost is time to keep going back again and again until you get them or replacements to work. You pay NI, you get an NHS, that's the way of it.
I have not given up. I don't have NI or NHS here in the USA.
But it is a very expensive trip to the VA hosp at present as it is 40 some miles from the house and with gas prices at over $4.00 US a gallon and I am lucky to get 12 miles to the gallon, the round trip is over 80 miles. I have been getting treatment via tele-med and they send the prescriptions via mail carrier. The treatment seems to help and then it stops working all together. There is also the pain that is involved. And as long as the Fungus or what ever it is, is there I can not put hearing aids in my ears. So I am damned no matter what I try to do!

I am trying to cope as best as I can. If my daughter and I have anything important to talk about we use messaging on our phones.
"It is better to be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not" Andre Gide: 1869 - 1951
Always be yourself because the people that matter don’t mind and the ones that mind don’t matter.
Bodycon
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Bodycon »

Fred in Skirts wrote: Mon Jul 25, 2022 7:58 pm I have not given up. I don't have NI or NHS here in the USA.
Sorry Fred, I was replying to Stu.....
geron
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by geron »

Stu... I know very little about hearing aids, except for my wife's, and she's had hers only since yesterday (literally) -- but is it possible that yours have lost or corrupted their programming? Might be worth getting them checked over. Phonak is a reputable make -- they used to do expensive bespoke in-ear radio earpieces for the police, and possibly still do. But even big-name kit can have problems. Last month, another family member got her two-year-old Airpods Pro replaced in an Apple product recall because of a technical fault -- the noise- cancellation function seemed to be boosting the ambient noise instead of suppressing it. If you were on the other end of one of her phone calls, the din was intolerable.
Last edited by geron on Wed Jul 27, 2022 5:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Fred in Skirts »

Bodycon wrote: Tue Jul 26, 2022 7:22 am
Fred in Skirts wrote: Mon Jul 25, 2022 7:58 pm I have not given up. I don't have NI or NHS here in the USA.
Sorry Fred, I was replying to Stu.....
No problem! 8)
"It is better to be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not" Andre Gide: 1869 - 1951
Always be yourself because the people that matter don’t mind and the ones that mind don’t matter.
Freedomforall
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Freedomforall »

I lost over 80% of my hearing when I was in first grade. I was afraid to tell anyone. It was the teacher that noticed something was wrong. I was failing school and no one knew why. The teacher noticed one day that I was constantly leaning my head. My mother lost all her hearing and the ability to speak around 2013. No one ever knew the cause. She was given hearing aids but refused to wear them. I begged her to let me take her to a better place than an insurance company that happened to sell hearing aids as well. She refused and everyone suffered including her.
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Sinned
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Sinned »

I am profoundly deaf, my hearing has decreased gradually since becoming a diabetic. I started with NHS hearing aids about 20 years ago and have had several sets replaced every 3 years or so. With each set the amplification increases. I am due to visit Audiology on the 24th August, I presume for a new set as I have had my current set for about 3 years. I do have problems with clarity and generally ask for a repeat of what is said because I have missed a crucial word or two ( or more ). The other main problem is the tube from the earpiece to the aid gets blocked with a clear liquid ( which I presume is perspiration ) and wax. The tubes are difficult to keep clear and I have a number of spare tubes to do a re-tube. This means trimming the tube to fit the earpiece and the aid. Sometimes I get a buildup of wax in the outer ear and they use like a mini vacuum cleaner to clear it out. Frustrating at times. My primary ear is the right one and provides most of my hearing. My left one is problematic and at the moment is providing zero input. I don't know what the problem is, the battery is ok and the tube is clear. But my hearing isn't bad enough to have a bone conduction one fitted. So I know your frustrations but you have to keep plugging away. My Audiology is fantastic, I get a quick appointment when I have problems and difficulty hearing and they are always courteous and helpful. I go in a skirt when I can get out past my wife and nothing is said by them, they just accept me. It's just nice to know that I am not the only one with hearing problems.

ffa, when I was prescribed aids I was reluctant to wear them but I was suffering. But then I reasoned that with eye problems you wear glasses, with teeth implants or plates or whatever. I reasoned that hearing was no different, put them in and have worn them ever since. So like skirts very few people notice, those that do are ones who either wear them themselves or have contact with someone with hearing problems. There is no stigma these days and why should you and others suffer.
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.
Faldaguy
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Faldaguy »

Interesting, to me, developments in the definitions of "profoundly deaf". A quick check online now has some sites saying it is a loss of hearing below 90 or 95 decibels; whereas some years ago when I was consulting on disability issues, we took "profoundly" to mean total loss, no hearing -- and it appears, again online, that several sites still cite "profound deafness" as total hearing loss. Neither of these change the facts about the utility of hearing aides and other aides; nor the issue of perceived "stigma" about their use -- but I do wonder if some of us are not thinking about the same set of facts when we hear a term that appears to be in transition.
Big and Bashful
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Big and Bashful »

Faldaguy wrote: Fri Jul 29, 2022 4:34 am Interesting, to me, developments in the definitions of "profoundly deaf". A quick check online now has some sites saying it is a loss of hearing below 90 or 95 decibels; whereas some years ago when I was consulting on disability issues, we took "profoundly" to mean total loss, no hearing -- and it appears, again online, that several sites still cite "profound deafness" as total hearing loss. Neither of these change the facts about the utility of hearing aides and other aides; nor the issue of perceived "stigma" about their use -- but I do wonder if some of us are not thinking about the same set of facts when we hear a term that appears to be in transition.
Same here, I thought profoundly deaf meant total hearing loss, it just goes to show, I am never too old, or too fat, to learn.
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Sinned
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Sinned »

Ok, semantics. "Profound" is defined as "extremely or greatly" and not "totally" as you seem to imply. In the context of deafness it seems to take on a more extreme meaning. All I know is that without my hearing aids I can hear a little but not enough to make out conversation or follow TV without the wick being turned up.. If my aids are playing up I struggle to communicate. My hearing has got worse over the past twenty years.

90db is the eqivalent of a leaf blower which to me is loud.
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.
Stu
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Stu »

Bodycon wrote: Mon Jul 25, 2022 6:06 pm I have no experience of hearing loss, but can't figure out why you would give up.

The only thing it should cost is time to keep going back again and again until you get them or replacements to work. You pay NI, you get an NHS, that's the way of it.
Fair point but, like I said, the aids they supplied to me seem to ineffective that I have lost confidence that they can fix my hearing.

My wife has urged me to go along and see if I can have them adjusted, so I will do that as there is nothing to lose. However , from my experience so far, I am not hopeful.
Freedomforall
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Re: Hear Hear

Post by Freedomforall »

Stu wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 2:44 pm
Bodycon wrote: Mon Jul 25, 2022 6:06 pm I have no experience of hearing loss, but can't figure out why you would give up.

The only thing it should cost is time to keep going back again and again until you get them or replacements to work. You pay NI, you get an NHS, that's the way of it.
Fair point but, like I said, the aids they supplied to me seem to ineffective that I have lost confidence that they can fix my hearing.

My wife has urged me to go along and see if I can have them adjusted, so I will do that as there is nothing to lose. However , from my experience so far, I am not hopeful.
Mom felt the same way with hers. They could never get them adjusted right and were always buzzing. It is frustrating.
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