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Hearing aids with reading glasses and a mask. How to not lose the aids?

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I am finally getting my Jabra hearing aids tomorrow at Costco. I have reading glasses that I have to take on and off all the time, plus a mask when I’m out that I take on and off. How to I keep the hearing aids off with glasses on and off and mask the same?? When I was trying out the in Costco, I took the mask off without thinking and the HA flew off!! (I don’t see a way to do a search about this topic). Thank you.

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Oh. This may be the great unanswered question of the post COVID era. Just don’t wear a baseball cap.

Seriously, this is a tough one. You’re ears are really multitasking in this situation. My suggestion is to stay calm and not get flustered. If you can see without the glasses, maybe take them off when you are trying new aids, and put them back on as needed.

This way you’ll only have the mask on when messing with the aids, and get that stable before using your glasses. Just a thought.

I buy masks that have straps that go all the way around my head, and if that’s not possible you can buy little plastic widgets that hook around the ear straps and make them stretch. I also have little soft plastic hooks on the legs of my glasses to keep them on and it seems to help keep the aids in too. Hope that helps!

I never had problems combining glasses and . But masks are a completely different story- extremely hard to take off and not having your HAs lifting off for a flight.

In reply to @Blue_Pearl1

I use retention “tails” (what Phonak calls “sports locks”) that fit around the base of each receiver. The receivers go into the ear canals, and each “tail” curls around inside the bowl of the external part of the ear. I accidentally allowed the crew neck of a tee shirt to scrape the outside of my left ear recently, and the body of my left fell off my ear. The “tail” didn’t let it go any farther than that, and I simply put it back in place.

I try to tilt my glasses forward as I remove them, and put them back on at a forward tilt so I can slide them down between my HAs and the side of my head. I put a mask on last, and guide the elastic straps into place by hand. When removing the mask I grasp the elastic straps with my index fingers near my cheeks and thumbs near the jaw line, then extend my index fingers and thumbs widely and pull back a little, so the straps lift easily without snagging my glasses or HAs.

That’s what I tried to do when I got my glasses, but the optician, who came highly recommended by friends, made the multifocals all calibrated to near and medium range, ie, computer, reading closer, but not to distance, which only needs a little correction. He said, as we get older,we need different pairs of glasses for different purposes. My near vision is about as bad as it gets, I think, as the magnification level is at least 2.75,if not more.

But the glasses drive me crazy! They fit none of the levels that work for me! And they were expensive, as the frames were unusual. So I constantly take them off and on and futzing with them, plus constantly dropping them or misplacing them. Arghh!

I am going to look into getting multifocal scleral lenses. I am not a candidate for regular contact lenses, as I have a severe dry eye condition. The scleral lenses are much bigger and have saline in a pocket between your eye and the lens. But the big question is if the progressive part would work or not. As it is, I have neurological deficits that lead to falls, so . . not sure. They are expensive, so it might be a gamble. Thank you Tick-Borne-Diseases for the neurological part!

In reply to @Tee

Yes, thank you. The regular over the ears ones are a disaster for ! But what are the legs on your glasses called, and where do you get them? Actually, the optician put such things on my glasses, as they were constantly falling down my nose. (And now they are falling down again). But I’m not sure the ones I have would prevent losing the HAs. Especially since I am continually taking the glasses on and off, much to my frustration.

In reply to @Blue_Pearl1

Anti-slip ear hooks or glasses hooks. They’re like little silicone things that slip on and stretch to most sizes. I got mine from TradeMe in NZ which is like eBay but I suspect some opticians might sell them direct too. Really cheap, like a few dollars, and have saved me from many accidental flying glasses events. :joy:

In reply to @Blue_Pearl1

Tick-borne diseases are horrible!

Are you a candidate for laser correction at all? In 2015, my wife had LASIK for her astigmatism and focusing issues, but I needed 13.5 diopters of correction for myopia and so I had PRK. Both thanks to a modest-but-helpful inheritance from my grandfather. Without the LASIK, my wife would need to switch between 3 different pairs of prescription glasses. I do wear glasses for presbyopia these days, but much milder correction than previously required, and my prescription is pretty stable, knock wood.

In reply to @Blue_Pearl1

I considered the little elastic loops they make to fasten to the earpieces of glasses - and then decided against them because of how many times a day I take my glasses off to clean them. Our Saint Bernard seems to believe doggy noseprints improve visual acuity. :grinning:

Wire framed reading glasses and masks with bands that go around the head.

From Covid days.
When using ear loop masks I had headbands with a button sewn in on either side that the earloops went over.

masks - look for Moldex N95 disposable mask which has a single strap that goes around the back of the head and not over the ears, so no risk of dislodging hearing aids.
Come in 3 sizes and are molded to fit the shape of your face so a good airtight fit.
Sold by industrial safety stores so more expensive but lots cheaper than a hearing aid.

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