A 'bit deaf'

I find it difficult to understand what my 6 year old GD is saying. I thought it was because her speech is not clear. Now I'm beginning to ask other people to repeat what they've said, so the fault may be mine.

A good friend of mine recently got NHS hearing aids and is very pleased with them. She has been able to turn the sound down on the t.v. She wore them for the first time when we were meeting for lunch because she knew I would be honest with her. She was so funny because she was jumping at the slightest sound - a bird song and she nearly had a fit when a plane went over! Her brain has adjusted now and she is ok.
The only ones that would work are a large sort so she has just grown her hair a bit to hide them.

Nothing wrong with admitting to a hearing problem I admitted when I was having problems at meetings when lots of people were talking. Anyway...I had it checked. Yes I needed hearing aids. I wore them straight away and went to lunch in the shopping mall. I was shocked...I found that I could hear conversations people were having several tables away. I felt as if I was listening in. Anyway hearing aids are amazing. Hearing birdsong in all its glory and music...well...I was hearing it so differently....wonderful. Get your hearing checked...you won't regret it

I had a hearing test and was told I have the hearing of a 20 year old !! So there are definitely a lot of mumblers out there !!

One of the most awful thing about becoming deaf [apart from the obvious of course] is that if you do not hear what someone is saying and request a repeat, when they do so and you still don't understand/hear, everyone tends to treat you as if you have an IQ of less than 20.
Tried hearing aids, but they were useless : it is not the loudness, but the clarity of speech that matters. BBC please note!!! Have to have the subtitles on all the time now.

I’ve always been quiet spoken, and now that I’m 72, find that a lot of my friends, and DH, can’t hear what I’m saying. If I try to repeat something louder, my DH tells me not to SHOUT! I’d love to be able to project my voice better, but maybe too old to learn new tricks.

I grew up with a gran who was hard of hearing so that is probably why those of my friends who are deaf seem to be able to understand me. I think I must have learned to speak up and clearly.

Sorry for me. Had my hearing checked by an ENT consultant. Apparently I have a condition known as otosclerosus (fusion of tiny bones in the middle ear) and hearing aids unlikely to help much. Apparently this condition runs in families passed along female to female. Turns out my mum had it which we didn’t realise till (at the time) we discussed it. Watch out daughters!

Action on Hearing Loss is the new name for RNID. The charity provides lots of help, information, support services and a shop for those who are hard of hearing, deaf or who have tinnitus. There is an online and a telephone hearing check so you can get feedback as to whether you may need a full hearing test and receive advice on your next steps.
www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk
0844 800 3838 for telephone hearing check.
Technology is moving fast and hearing aids are improving all the time. My NHS ones are great!

I don't think that I am deaf unless watching TV. Dramas and mysteries especially are difficult for me to hear. The dramatic music increases in the background, and I have to turn up the TV quite a bit to hear what is being said.

Not sure whether it is anything to do with flat TVs ... but my husband also notices.

Like many others on here, I also think people are mumbling.
After lots of nagging from Dd and son, I reluctantly had a hearing test. It turns out I have a slight hearing loss.
I had two hearing aids from the NHS but they are so lightweight and flimsy and they keep coming out.
So i very rarely wear them. They are a nuisance. Also the batteries keep going flat very quickly.
I find subtitles on the TV very useful.
If I had a severe hearing loss, then of course, I would make an effort to wear them permanently.

If most people would SPEAK up I would be able to hear perfectly ok.

I got fed up of finding different ways to get someone to repeat what they had said and was also often told that I spoke loud especially if there is background noise. I’m only 39 but had an accident at 17 when I was hit by a lorry which left me unconscious for 3 days, I had a fractured skull and the small bones in my ear especially the left one were broken. After many unsuccessful operations to try and repair my hearing I opted for an hearing age which is brilliant as I can hear much better than before. Even though i’m not as old as you would expect someone to be when they get a hearing aid I am so glad I did and don’t feel any reason to feel embarrassed by it. My hearing aid is free from the NHS but still isn’t too visible and I am much happier than before when I struggled to hear what people were saying to me. I was also worried people may have thought I was ignoring them because I couldn’t hear them. Get a hearing test and if you need one use it please it makes life so much better m.

Libral0

You are right about the background music in tv dramas etc.

I also have to turn the telly up to catch what they say.
Hence subtitles are really useful.

Pardon?

I have worn NHS hearing aids in each ear for more than three years and I’m so glad to have them. My wonderful late father suffered deafness in an era when aids weren’t as effective as nowadays. He went from being outgoing and sociable to being unable to keep up with a conversation.
As I wear my hair long, my aids are not visible but I do make sure people know I have them. Do have a test ASAP as you won’t regret it.

Arrgghh if I AM going a tiny bit deaf, then how can I hear some television programmes perfectly well, and others I have to keep turning up ? Surely I would have to have them all turned up ? Therefore I have concluded that in modern day television, people do not 'Orate well' I decided to test out my theory and it is proven. I am watching a good dram about Knights Templar called 'Knightfall' There are some young actors who deliver their lines and I cannot tell a word they are saying, and then an older actor comes on, probably properly trained in speech and drama through theatre , it is Jim Carter, playing a pope, and I can hear every word he says, crystal clear.It's so irritsating when they REALLY DO MUMBLE !!!!

Drama not Dram, nobody mentioned whisky, or perhaps I didn't hear them

I have no difficulty with documentaries and news on TV, but for everything else I need the subtitles because of the background music. Why is this needed? I find hearing aids uncomfortable and only wear them if I'm at a meeting or with a lot of people.

I think it was Penelope Keith who said, Ashcombe "In my day we were taught to speak to the back row of the theatre. No-one enunciates these days". I have no problem hearing her!

Sorry, that should have been said to rocketstop. Perhaps I need new glasses as well!!

I have had private, all in the ear hearing aids, for years. NHS ones seem to have improved recently so will perhaps give it a go. I don’t think they provide all in the ear however. They still have to loop round the ear. Without my aids in the whole world goes quiet , but I have to admit that I sometimes like the sound of silence. Our street is being resurfaced and the machines make some noise so I just remove the aids. Now was that the phone I just heard??

Thanks wendyfeline
I'm going to do the telephone hearing test later.
Its so stressful at work, trying to guess what people have said to me.
I've decided its ridiculous to struggle, though its occurred to me that I'm possibly convincing myself that I can't hear.
All will be revealed when I take the test.

In my left ear, to the point I had to give in and get a hearing aid. I must admit it has made a big difference and I sometimes forget I am wearing it. Took me years to admit I needed it but wouldn't be without it now.

I struggle to hear talk when there is other noise particularly things like ketyle/washing machine/dishwasher going. I tell my family thaty hearing isn't as good so to please come into the kitchen (or wherever) & talk to me not mumble from another room or upstairs! Funny though I get woken up at night by noises in the garden or can hear the biscuit tin being opened

I have suffered with hearing loss for many years, contracting measles as a 3 yr old left me with ear problems which now could be cured with grommets etc.
I now wear a NHS hearing aid , have the T.V. programmed to have sub-titles on automatically, but I still have problems. My daughter often asks me if I've switched my hearing aid on, because I find it difficult to hear her in the car, probably because she is facing the front and I can't see her face and the noise of the car etc.
I am currently waiting for another hearing test. (last one was done about nine years ago quite quickly), but was told there was a year's waiting list, when I inquired as to the delay, I was told that the list was now 18 months long. Hope fully I will be tested in the next 6 weeks or so. This is the NHS in S.West Wales.
I agree with you Chewbacca I had to put my glasses on to hear what my colleagues were saying.