Help for Hearing Impairment

Savvy_Sue

summerof0763 wrote: »

lol,dh is right,can you imagine peoples faces as you whip out the box in a crowded place ,then you pullout your hearingaids:rotfl::rotfl:

Round where I work, I'd probably be offered a refill before I opened it. :rotfl:

summerof0763 wrote: »

must admit i was told that once you take battery off the sticky bit they start losing power,so i carry a spare pack,but maybe yours are not on sticky tabs.

Mine do come on sticky tabs, on a sort of octopus arrangement, so I cut the 'tentacle' off and leave it on the tab. That way, once I've swapped a battery, I know it's been used because it's now off its tab.

summerof0763 wrote: »

as a matter of interest is your whole family deaf/hard hearing.i ask because i have been told many moons ago mine is heredity,yet i have two sis 1 bro,who is deaf from measles,two daughters,2g/daughters 1 g/son,yet none of them are bothered by hearing loss,has always puzzled me where the heredity bit comes in

Good question! Of course heredity can skip a generation or an individual, and they can blame that when there's no single 'cause' to blame.

My mother's one of 4: one died young, the other two lost their hearing in middle age, but I think a bit older than when my mum did. Don't really know when that was but I remember her getting her first aids. She blames repeated untreated ear infections before the NHS was set up. No hearing left in one ear, very little in the other, hopeless without her aids in and not always that great with them in. My aunt blames teaching in open plan schools which were fashionable at the height of her career. At least one of my cousins is also very deaf, adult onset, but I think another cousin's children may have mild hearing loss.

I'm one of 5. Oldest sibling was noted as having hearing problems at secondary school, medically this is thought to be as a result of meningitis at the age of 2 but Mum says she'd have noticed so it certainly didn't happen straight away. Needs two hearing aids, lipreads very well so you wouldn't necessarily notice immediately. Next one lost hearing quite suddenly in early middle age, possibly Meniere's but I think they ruled that out in the end. Needs 2 aids, can't function without them, doesn't lipread well. Then there's me, no-one's ever suggested a cause or a genetic link, and my loss is very mild and in one ear only. I do get dizziness and very mild tinnitus so maybe it's Meniere's but no-one's ever talked about it. If I didn't tell you I had a problem you probably wouldn't know, but I can't use the phone to that ear (so I dread the other ear going!) Next one down has just started having hearing problems, again Meniere's is a possibility but doesn't have the full trio, and that's the other ear to me! Youngest sibling has two aids, got them after me but I don't know how bad the loss is, seems to function fine.

The 3 of us who have had children have all had them tested regularly throughout school, because of the family history, but nothing's ever been wrong, except when they've been full of cold.

So if it is hereditary, it's clearly an adult onset type. Which I've warned my boys about - if you start to have problems hearing, get it sorted!

My brothers also have an unusual liver condition for which both my parents must have been carriers, we've no idea if any of our partners are carriers, but again I've warned the boys that if ever they go yellow they should mention that their uncles have this rare liver thing and get tested for that. :rotfl:

summerof0763

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Round where I work, I'd probably be offered a refill before I opened it. :rotfl:

Mine do come on sticky tabs, on a sort of octopus arrangement, so I cut the 'tentacle' off and leave it on the tab. That way, once I've swapped a battery, I know it's been used because it's now off its tab.

Good question! Of course heredity can skip a generation or an individual, and they can blame that when there's no single 'cause' to blame.

My mother's one of 4: one died young, the other two lost their hearing in middle age, but I think a bit older than when my mum did. Don't really know when that was but I remember her getting her first aids. She blames repeated untreated ear infections before the NHS was set up. No hearing left in one ear, very little in the other, hopeless without her aids in and not always that great with them in. My aunt blames teaching in open plan schools which were fashionable at the height of her career. At least one of my cousins is also very deaf, adult onset, but I think another cousin's children may have mild hearing loss.

I'm one of 5. Oldest sibling was noted as having hearing problems at secondary school, medically this is thought to be as a result of meningitis at the age of 2 but Mum says she'd have noticed so it certainly didn't happen straight away. Needs two hearing aids, lipreads very well so you wouldn't necessarily notice immediately. Next one lost hearing quite suddenly in early middle age, possibly Meniere's but I think they ruled that out in the end. Needs 2 aids, can't function without them, doesn't lipread well. Then there's me, no-one's ever suggested a cause or a genetic link, and my loss is very mild and in one ear only. I do get dizziness and very mild tinnitus so maybe it's Meniere's but no-one's ever talked about it. If I didn't tell you I had a problem you probably wouldn't know, but I can't use the phone to that ear (so I dread the other ear going!) Next one down has just started having hearing problems, again Meniere's is a possibility but doesn't have the full trio, and that's the other ear to me! Youngest sibling has two aids, got them after me but I don't know how bad the loss is, seems to function fine.

The 3 of us who have had children have all had them tested regularly throughout school, because of the family history, but nothing's ever been wrong, except when they've been full of cold.

So if it is hereditary, it's clearly an adult onset type. Which I've warned my boys about - if you start to have problems hearing, get it sorted!

My brothers also have an unusual liver condition for which both my parents must have been carriers, we've no idea if any of our partners are carriers, but again I've warned the boys that if ever they go yellow they should mention that their uncles have this rare liver thing and get tested for that. :rotfl:

thanks sue,that made interesting reading,just that it has annoyed me for years about the heredity side,my mum was one of 14,only ones with hearing aids are the ones that is with old age,no cousins deaf.
my dad one of 4,no history there either,no cousins deaf.

i must admit i lipread and always thought reasonably well,but now find myself struggling with it sometimes,dont know if its to do with my other disabilities,as i struggle to remember things now,from the tablets i am on,and my brain just not processing the lipreading as well.
must admit that does not read well lol,but i know what i mean.
phone is a bugbear,as was able to use it perfectly well up until i got this aids,now cannot hear a thing on it,another thing to see about on 21st

Errata

Swopping war stories time ? Here's mine My first hearer was a box, half a yard of wiring and an ear piece. Not a good look for a young woman :eek:

I've had behind the ear aids for both ears for many years now :T and I can't hrear anything without then, which can often be quite a blessing :T:T
It's suggested there deafness does have a hereditory component, as does Menieres (got that too, boo), but of course that means only an increased risk - not a dead cert; a bit like big noses or ginger hair.
If you're lucky enough to have a good local audiology dept, treasure it. If it's rubbish, as mine is, ask your GP to refer you to the nearest good one which may be as close as the adjacent health district.

summerof0763

Errata wrote: »

Swopping war stories time ? Here's mine My first hearer was a box, half a yard of wiring and an ear piece. Not a good look for a young woman :eek:

I've had behind the ear aids for both ears for many years now :T and I can't hrear anything without then, which can often be quite a blessing :T:T
It's suggested there deafness does have a hereditory component, as does Menieres (got that too, boo), but of course that means only an increased risk - not a dead cert; a bit like big noses or ginger hair.
If you're lucky enough to have a good local audiology dept, treasure it. If it's rubbish, as mine is, ask your GP to refer you to the nearest good one which may be as close as the adjacent health district.

oh no,my first one was a box one too,absolutely hated it argh.
i dont hear a thing without my aids either,and again a blessing especially when i get a migraine headache as i turn both off and hide in my room.
must admit i have seriously considered asking doc to refer me to the next nearest hospital,its only 20 miles away,but a real palava to get to on a bus,but may be worth it.
will wait and see what happens on 21st first

spugzbunny

Blimey you lot are like buses! Not many posts for weeks then they all come at once! Good Luck with your appointment Summer!

Sue - that did make me laugh about the tin! My mum had a lovely leaf design necklace in the jamaican colours and it wasn't until I reached a certain age that I looked at it and realised what it was! The people at work must have thought she was a right hippy bless her! My I-fit came with a lovely leather pouch that fits one battery card and my hearing aid. It's take it out when I go out drinking because when I get to a certain level of drunk I take it off incase it gets lost!

I have a question actually - can anyone explain to me what the personal t-loops look like? i'm going to some crime talks in Sept that I went to last year. I remember last year (before my aid was fitted) that I had terrible trouble because of the acoustics in the high ceiling rooms. They have personal t-loops but I don't want to look like a right numpty!

Savvy_Sue

The ones I've seen look like a piece of black wire with a plastic pendant on the end. May say Phonak, which people like me may skim read as Primark ... You could probably get round that by wearing it back to front.

I don't think you'd look like a numpty with one on, however. People wear all sorts round their necks: lanyards with ID cards and phones on the end, pens, glasses etc etc etc. You'd just have your extra ears there.

And it might lead to interesting conversations and educational opportunities, if you can cope with that!

Hear-Hear

summerof0763

Phonak Naida ? Not much point going into details of the Phonak Naida at this stage if (1) your hearing loss isn't suitable for the Naida or (2) your PCT doesn't supply Phonak aids. But ask for it anyway, and see what they say.

Phone is a bugbear ? Ask your audiolgist to activate the 'Autophone' setting on your hearing aids. Then, the in-built telecoil will automatically engage whenever you pick up your (hearing aid compatible) telephone. Brilliant !

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moneypenny2k

That is the most common form of hearing impairment - being able to hear sounds, noise, and vowels, but not consonants. Do a 'google' for "speech banana" to show you where different vowels and consonants are on your own audiogram. It helps to explain why most hearing-impaired people can hear speech relatively well in one-to-one situations, but not in ordinary regular noise environments. It also explains why volume-amplifier aids are rarely much use, and why decent digital aids (say 12 channels and upwards) will give much better speech intelligibilty than old analogue or basic digital aids.

A hearing aid that really does give decent functional hearing ? These are already available, but you may have to go private to get the best.

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spugsbunny

Do a google for personal t-loops. Very discreet - can even be worn under your clothes ! But remember, the speaker has to be using a loop system (like a priest in church) for your personal t-loop to pick it up. Most hearing aids have the telecoil built-in anyway, so really only useful for things like your mobile phone etc. Even that is becoming redundant now, as bluetooth-compatible hearing aids are widely available.

spugzbunny

Thanks guys! For some reason I had this idea that the personal t-loop would be some kind of massive A4 sized thing I wear! I have no idea where I got that idea from! I've already checked with the event organisers to see what system they have in place for hearing aid users so I'll definately be asking to borrow the personal t-loop as this is the exact kind of situation I need it in!

Savvy_Sue

One tip, say in advance that you want to use it, and ask them to check that it has been set up. I've arrived at things having said "I'll use a loop if there is one" to find that I'm expected to know how to set up their personal loop system! Er, no, actually, if you offer one, work out how to use it before I arrive please!

Errata

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

One tip, say in advance that you want to use it, and ask them to check that it has been set up. I've arrived at things having said "I'll use a loop if there is one" to find that I'm expected to know how to set up their personal loop system! Er, no, actually, if you offer one, work out how to use it before I arrive please!

That brings back memories ! Something else to be aware of is that the mike(s) for the loop may not be sited in the best possible place and the room may also be totally unsuitable environment.
eg "Well, we've checked it and it's working" .... "Makes no difference if it's working or not, all the mike is picking up is the traffic noise on the road outside becuase it's sited on the flamin' window cill"