Help for Hearing Impairment

Savvy_Sue

I used to get given two packs of batteries at a time, then I'd swap a full set of duds for a full set of new ones. We can recycle batteries in this area, so presumably the audiology dept does this too.

Just wondering when I should 'fess up to having lost the hearing aid. Not missing it too much, TBH.

rosieben

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I used to get given two packs of batteries at a time, then I'd swap a full set of duds for a full set of new ones. We can recycle batteries in this area, so presumably the audiology dept does this too.

Just wondering when I should 'fess up to having lost the hearing aid. Not missing it too much, TBH.

good idea, I'll check with my hospital/surgery to see if they recycle

norangeduck

Hey all, glad I found this thread - can anyone offer any support/advice?

Im 23 and have been struggling with my hearing for a while, saw a ENT consultant on monday, says he thinks I would benefit from hearing aids (to trial for 9 months so see how i get on) I have more problems with low tones.

Even though I knew from previous hearing tests there was a prob, I sopose I never thought I would need a hearing aid - and I sopose Im feeling upset by it - to be 23 and needing a hearing aid.

I have to go in to be "moulded" - I know I must sound really superficial and I know im lucky that I have hearing even if i do struggle, but what will they look like?, I assume they will be bog standard NHS ones? How does everyone here feel about their aids?

I sopose im really stressing about what others will think too, as in family and work collegues, to have to suddenly start wearing hearing aids, im just feeling nervous about it all.

Is there anyone else on here with experience?

Thank you,

chalky_75

I really do not think you are at all superficial. Any health problem takes some adjusting to and I think the younger you are the harder it is. In fairness to you it is not something you expect at your age. Be kind to yourself allow yourself to grieve a little then --- pick yourself up and get on with life as best you can.

I was 40 when I was first diagnosed. I started with 1 little in the ear aid. Now I wear 2 digital aids with full " ear scaffoldoing " to be honest I hate them BUT needs must. I love being a part of the world more.

If at all possible I dont tell people. My hair covers them well. Of course my family and close friends know and are brilliant when I am not wired for sound !!

Be patient with yourself as it will take you a while to adjust to wearing hearing aids and remember you are still the same person.

Good Luck

Errata

HTH - I was a couple of years older than you when I was diagnosed and prescribed an aid. I say an aid, because the only thing on offer was a box to pin to my vest with a yard of very obvious cable attached to it. You can imaginer my horror :eek:

I struggled on, getting deafer, until the behind the ear aids became available to adults and then I got one for each ear. Not the prettiest things on the planet, but I'm a girl - well I was a girl then - and I wore my hair down so it covered the nasty little ointment pink things up !

When I reached the age when long hair looked pretty pathetic I had it cut and found that nobody paid any attention to my hearers. Most people are far more interested in themselves.

It's natural for you to feel stressed, and they're going to feel strange to start off with. Don't worry about what your family think, it's unimportant because you;re the important one in all of this. If you feel you'd like to make your work colleagues relaxed about your aids just point out to them they will no longer be able to say things behind your back because you'll be able to hear every word !

norangeduck

thanks for the quick replies, could i get private aids? - is it worth it, as im trialing them for 9 months, consultant did say surgery was an option, as he has no idea what is causing the loss, but that we should try aids first - are the small ones expensive? thanks

rosieben

norangeduck, sending my sympathies to you; there is a grieving period to go through. I lost my hearing suddenly a few years ago and it was so traumatic. I went through the stages of being frightened, angry, and grieving; I still cry sometimes because music was one of the joys of my life and I miss it so much but life goes on and we learn to cope with these things.

I'm thankful that I can still read (my other great pleasure) and although my kids live far away I can still keep in touch via email etc.

You need to explain what's happening to family and colleagues if you can, their support would be a big help to you. They need to understand that, as chalky says, you are still the same person.

Errata

norangeduck wrote: »

thanks for the quick replies, could i get private aids? - is it worth it, as im trialing them for 9 months, consultant did say surgery was an option, as he has no idea what is causing the loss, but that we should try aids first - are the small ones expensive? thanks

Go for the free NHS ones first, private ones cost £thousands ! Listen to your consultant (no pun intended) they know what they're doing.

Savvy_Sue

Errata wrote: »

Go for the free NHS ones first, private ones cost £thousands ! Listen to your consultant (no pun intended) they know what they're doing.

I agree with that, however good the private ones are there will still be an adjustment to make, and if you get yourself used to using the NHS ones then it will be less of an adjustment.

How much they show depends partly on what sort of mould you need: IF an 'open-fit' mould will work for your hearing loss then the tube will be finer and less visible. However they don't 'work' for all kinds of losses, and they may not be widely used in your area yet. (Although I bet they are rolled out fairly quickly, because they are probably cheaper because they don't need to be individually fitted!)

And no, you're not superficial. In my lipreading class last year there was a chap who would only wear one aid (even though he really needed two) because he didn't like the 'look' of two (and he had no hair to cover them up with! :rotfl:) And the lady who hadn't told her employer she was losing her hearing because she didn't know how they'd react. Both a bit older than you but also younger than me - and I am on the Young Person's List for hearing aids! :rotfl:

I think people don't realise what you can and can't hear, unless you tell them. Like me you have an unusual loss (low frequencies first), and it means I often hear things which everyone else seems oblivious to! We had a radiator whistling at work not long ago which nearly drove me demented! I can hear the phone ringing when everyone else seems deaf to it. But I can't hear the mutterers, and I certainly can't hear the mutterers who look down, shake their long hair in front of their face, and move away from me while muttering! (DS3!)

Because several of my family have quite severe hearing losses, I've always been quite brazen about asking people to speak up in public, even if I can hear myself. I've done it both by interrupting, and by private words afterwards.

My personal pet hate is people who don't think it matters whether they can be heard when they are leading the worship at church, because God can hear them OK. :mad: Yes, I know he can, but if you think what you're saying matters, then say it so the rest of us can hear you! Or sit down and shut up!

naf123

Here is a proof that us deafies are the most romantic people in the world: -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7772902.stm