Hearing aids

[cheryl.tevis]

Through the years, there have been many negative experiences with the sound quality of hearing aids (and the cost).

For those of you who wear one, has the situation improved? Have you tried the lower-cost hearing aids at places

like Costco or Sam's Club? I'm doing some research for a story. Thank you!

--Cheryl Tevis, SF editor

[farm160]

My husband (in upper 50's) purchased a set of hearing aids about a year ago at a cost of nearly $5000.  He wore them all the time at first, but then gradually stopped.  They sit in a drawer.  I'd imagine if he had to attend a meeting and knew he may be sitting in the back he may put them in his pocket to have just in case.  The hearing aids were very discreet (not bulky) so vanity is not why he stopped wearing them.  He got his through a place that specializes in hearing aids.  

The reasons he stopped wearing them:  1) the wind was a huge factor - he couldn't stand the amplified noise 2) equipment sounds - again amplified ; 3) the batteries - needed replacing about once a week and it got to be a nuisance and an added cost; invariably the batteries would go dead and he wouldn't have a spare set with him so he got out of the habit of wearing them;   4) he said the more he wore them the more he relied on them and he felt his hearing was declining - I equate it to wearing glasses.  A person's eyes get lazy, the doctor gives you a stronger prescription (or adjusts the settings on the hearing aids) until your'es dependent on them. 

[OKdon]

Back ground noise is a huge problem for those of us that haven't been annoyed with it for years. Most of us don't want normal hearing. We just want to hear what we want to hear and that doesn't mean we like pots and pans clanging in the back ground.

I know we expect too much or the impossible. Christmas parties of twenty people and the accompanying din is not at all pleasant.

[Blacksandfarmer]

Cheryl, I am 31 years old and I have had hearing aids for a number of years. Since my hearing loss is due to military service, I don't have to pay for the hearing aids or batteries, so cost is not a factor for me. What bothers me with hearing aids is that they pick up wind to the point you don't even want to wear them on a day with a light breeze. My last set of hearing aids, the most discreet, give me headaches. My wife told me to wear them more often to get more comfortable with them, but I couldn't stand the headaches. So, they sit in my dresser drawer most of the time. I like to pull them out in the summertime on a calm morning or evening to listen to the frogs, crickets and birds, but this time of year I just deal with not being able to hear as well as most.

[Kay/NC]

Don, I think you said it very well. Our son has a pretty profound hearing loss in one ear. You can tell if he wants to hear what you are saying or not, by which side he turns your way...or, if he is literally "turning a deaf ear".

We dealt with medical specialists to have him diagnosed correctly, and have his singke hearing aid built, when he was about ten. He wore it once. I think people read lips, turn up the radio, abpnd mostly hear what they really need or want to hear.

[OKdon]

Good point kay! Lip reading is very important to those of us hearing challenged. My wife didn't understand why we could be sitting side by side and I couldn't comprehend what she was saying. When she is across the table I do much better but even then her soft voice is difficult to hear. Evidently asking her to repeat is very annoying to her and then she speaks as if she is angry with me.

WE can watch the TV together and I need to be really focused on the dialogue. Then she gets involved in a discussion with someone else or a phone call and I just as well shut the TV off. 

[Kay/NC]

Don, I have recently started utilizng the closed captioning feature on our TVs for certain shows, or if I am awake early or late, but Mike is asleep. It is very easy to find the function in your menus, usually under " display".

On DirecTV, I think I click " menu" on the remote, then " settings" then " display" then " captioning", which lets me turn the feature on or off. On broadcast TV, it may take a bit different path, but is easier to get the captioning function going on the TV we use on antenna.

I found I was unable to grasp a lot of dialog parts in foreign accents. There is a slight delay, which Mike cannot tolerate, but it helps me grasp the storyline, or lets me watch something without disrupting his rest.

We are both guilty of starting a sentence, then walking to the next room. I do not pretend to hear someone if I don't. You never know what you are agreeing with, if you do.

[Kay/NC]

Mike just showed me the CC butyon on our newest TV's remote...one touch gets you captions. Great feature!

[dairy mom]

I got hearing aids about 3 years ago.  Wear them all the time because like Don said, my family and the people I'm around all the time would rather get mad at me for not hearing them than be polite and make the effort to make sure I hear them since they know I don't hear well.  Plus I already blew out the speakers on one television turning it up loud enough for me to understand.  Television is still hard to understand.  Kay guess I should figure out how to get the captions, although I think reading captions makes it hard to watch what is a visual medium.

Yes back ground noise and the wind are horrible problems with them, but it is enjoyable to hear the birds and crickets and such that I haven't heard for a long time.

But I must say the most enjoyable part of my day is when I take the stupid things out as I am getting ready for the end of the day.

Kay my husband has the terrible habit of saying things you need to know as he is walking away from you.  Once asked one of my daughters (his favorite by the way the one that he got the least upset with) how she managed .  Her answer was "guess I was just better at guessing what he was saying than the rest of you were".

My dad's only brother was completely deaf. Lost his hearing at about 18 from an infection, so making sure he could see you was paramount when we were around him.  Still usually his wife had to repeat for him.  He was best at reading her.

He received one of the early Cochlar implants.  Really, really didn't like being able to hear after all the years of silence.

[cheryl.tevis]

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experiences. My mom wore a hearing aid for many years,

and my grandmother probably had one of the earliest prototypes. I'm familar with many of the

difficulties associated with wearing one, but I am hoping that newer technology will help.

For people who don't have significant hearing loss, personal sound amplifiers using

wireless technology are much cheaper, and you can program them with an app.  Hearing loss

is a safety hazard for farmers, not just a social impediment, so I will keep researching this topic!