Help for Hearing Impairment

Richie-from-the-Boro

Guardsman wrote: »

My dongle works perfectly well

Wot ? a 'Taff' serving as long as you did and with his dongle intact

- Cymru am Byth .. .. taff lad !

- Richie-from-the-Boro exits stage left whistling Rhyfelgyrch Gwŷr Harlech

Savvy_Sue

Guardsman wrote: »

My dongle works perfectly well

You can't be as far into the depths of Wales as I was ...

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

Wot ? a 'Taff' serving as long as you did and with his dongle intact

- Cymru am Byth .. .. taff lad !

- Richie-from-the-Boro exits stage left whistling Rhyfelgyrch Gwŷr Harlech

Shall we get back on topic now? :rotfl:

Richie-from-the-Boro

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

You can't be as far into the depths of Wales as I was ...

Shall we get back on topic now? :rotfl:

Aye ok Sue lass - it was an Army thing twixt the Taffs & Lilywhites

markyb123

Hi all, just wanted to say thanks for the great thread.

I've had hi freq loss and tinnitus for well over 15 years ( am 40 ) but have struggled with hearing at work ( MH nursing student ) so asked for a referral. Had the hearing test this week and was told I have progressive loss in bot ears and obviously permanent tinnitus. Am being given 2 open bte aids in a week or two. Am actually really excited that I have a chance of not struggling at work Everyone I told mentioned wondering why I pulled such a concentrating face and stared at their mouths a lot lol when they were talking - I never realised - blush blush.

One thing the audiologist did say tho which confused me is that the loss and tinnitus was prob not due to my being in a band for years which I always assumed has caused it. Could the fact I was 3 months premature have caused this ?

Thanks guys - what a fab and genuinely useful thread x

Tigsteroonie

markyb123 wrote: »

Could the fact I was 3 months premature have caused this ?

If it was, then I am extremely grateful they've introduced the newborn hearing test and that our son hasn't had to wait 40 years to be diagnosed

TBH I'd have thought you'd notice hearing difficulties during childhood if it was related to your prem birth. Hearing loss resulting from prematurity is generally malformation of either the physical ear (bones, cochlea) or the auditory nerve.

Errata

Can't help you on the cause of your loss and tinnitus, but I would like to mention that I've known a couple of MH nurses who were deaf and their awareness and interpretation of patients' body language was superb and far superior to that of their 'hearing' colleagues.

markyb123

tks for the info tigsteroonie.

Errata - I only hope I'll one day be as accomplished as those nurses you have known - just have to qualify first

Savvy_Sue

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

TBH I'd have thought you'd notice hearing difficulties during childhood if it was related to your prem birth.

Not necessarily, because you don't miss what you've never known, and in some cases neither do parents! I know one of my siblings was only picked up at secondary school, when THEY finally said that they couldn't hear what the teachers were saying, hence the far away dreamy look ...

In that case, it may have been meningitis at the age of 2, but my mother says she would have noticed if the hearing had been lost then. I'm not sure if it could have been progressive since then or not. Actually all the rest of us have some degree of hearing loss, which seems to start in our 30s, so who knows?

And I have a friend whose vision problems weren't picked up for a long time, even though they used to have to get up and walk around the kitchen table to be able to see the clock: parents didn't twig that this was because the child couldn't SEE the clock from the other side of the room!

Anyway markyb, sadly the hearing aids won't solve ALL your problems, even with hearing at work, but they should help! And at the risk of sounding like a cracked record, see if you can find a lipreading class, because even though you've probably been doing it all your life, you will pick up a lot of useful 'hints and wrinkles'.

Here's one to get you going, with my open fit moulds I was given a small wire for clearing wax from the central hole. It's a PITA, because I keep losing it, and it just doesn't fit well in my hearing aid case.

Solution: plastic tags from price labels on clothes, find yourself a long one, cut the tag off close to one end, keep the tag at the other, and Bob's your uncle! They seem to curl up better in the case, they're free and easy to replace, they're easier to hold with the tag, need I say more?

Errata

Solution: plastic tags from price labels on clothes, find yourself a long one, cut the tag off close to one end, keep the tag at the other, and Bob's your uncle! They seem to curl up better in the case, they're free and easy to replace, they're easier to hold with the tag, need I say more?

Tip of the week :T

markyb123

Thanks Savvy-Sue - I was too busy being hyperactive and the class clown to be diagnosed with anything I told my dad about needing the aids last night and he cried on the phone (he's 76 bless ). I'm not at all down about things - life gives you challenges so you have something to work at

BTW - my tinnitus has been lots worse since the hearing test - is this usual and will it return to its loud but totally cope-able state soon ? tks.