Deafness

Hi watermeadow. Hearing aids do take some getting used to. I was first prescribed mine nearly 40 years ago. My dad was deaf and most of my family have hearing problems to some degree which means using aids.

When first wearing aids, surrounding sounds will come across as very loud and distorted - the noise of the loo flushing is like a thunderous waterfall, but stick with them. Your brain needs time to adjust to suddenly picking up sounds again. They may be rather uncomfortable to start with and you may need to have a short break from them every so often. Twiddling around with the sound buttons may not be helpful. My aids are basic NHS, although I've previously had the little inside the ear ones. A lot of Opticians now provide free hearing tests and aids. I'm sure you will have a lot of advice and support from others on GN who put their ears in every morning!

Welcome back to the wonderful world of sounds





Life for you will be so wonderful. I for one will never forget the wonder of hearing birdsong after believing that all the birds in my garden had deserted

I have had rapid hearing loss over the past few years(I am 59) and as the hearing loss has worsened the tinnitus has increased. I have less than 30% hearing in one ear. The other ear has none less than 5%. The NHS hearing aids that were supplied do not have any hearing controls so I cannot alter the volume. They were almost completely useless once I left the Audiology Dept because they pick up all background noise far easier than direct conversation with another person. I ended up buying a cheap hearing aid(£30) online with a volume control which picks up high frequency sound very well. As I am housebound most of the time I only use mine when I know I am having visitors.
I have invested in headphones to use with the TV, Music Centre, Laptop and these work great. I also use subtitles on TV when watching programmes.

I should wear a hearing aid but I get lots of painful ear infections so don't wear it. I found that the background noise was too amplified and it was flipping annoying. I also had a device for tv listening but it made everything sound like daleks.

Depends on the cause of your deafness....MIDDLE EAR DEAFNESS MAY BE CAUSED BY OTOSCLEROSIS, when the tiny bones in it fuse up. I have had two stapedotomy operations, and my right ear which had heard nothing for 43 years can now hear again.
Or with nerve deafness, an. implant can restore hearing . This is really miraculous. So you may not be incurable now.
I still need aids, but dont ask people to repeat things interminably. So lucky to be alive now.

I've had one since my late fifties, (deafness runs in my family) at first I had a moulded earpiece, but now it's a soft little rubber thing which is much more comfortable. It's an NHS aid and does have volume control.

DH needs a hearing test and asked about having one when he went to the Drs last week, she said ' Oh just go to Specsavers you'll be waiting ages for an NHS appointment'. I doubt if he'll go he says he doesn't need one, I'm sick of repeating everything I say to him.

I have just started hearing aids at 69. I suggest that you do not wear them all the time, just when you need them most. I wear mine when I am in a group situation and when watching tv.

I have got used to mine quickly but they do amplify sounds you don't want. For example if I am watching tv and D H is in the kitchen, it sounds like he is crashing and banging about. Also I have to remind him when I am wearing them as he has got so used to speaking loudly to me, that it sounds like he is shouting.I came home with mine the first time, on a bus. I wanted to shout at everyone to shut up. I never wear them on public transport.

I went to specsavers for mine and he showed me how to link the aids to my phone. This makes them easier to switch off. He also showed me how to redirect them to,cut out background noise, but I have not quite got to grips with that.

One of the most interesting things is my adult children's reaction. They say " it is so nice now you can join in conversations". I had no idea that I was missing so much chatter.

My DH, who is 71, has had hearing aids for about 8 8 years. It has changed his (amd my) life. He has NHS ones which are free. If youse one, they charge you £50. He sometimes has a bit of a problem in a crowded place with a lot of background noise but on the whole his life is much easier.