Do people actually notice your hearing aids?

Nothing wrong with a bit of vanity! I’ve been wearing HA since my mid thirties, I’m now 48. People VERY rarely notice them, and I have pretty short hair. I actually often mention to people that I have hearing loss as it helps with communication (I still lip read and sometimes ask people to speak more loudly or repeat things). If someone judges negatively then they’re probably not a great person.

I think people notice them more often than we think but it doesn’t really matter to them. It’s more accepted now than in the past. Hearing better is so much better than looking good.

I wear Cochlear Kanso processors that are off the ears. They are very noticable with short hair. I see people taking a second look often, rarely saying anything. Those that do are amazed once the questions start. Amazed at how well I hear with them.

Communicating is so much nicer that vanity.

I suspect most people don’t notice them. I wear RIC aids and went for an annual physical. My physician got out his otoscope to look in my ears when I stopped him and removed my aids. He was surprised and said that he had not noticed them at all.

The answer to the OP question is somewhat straightforward. What’s more noticeable?

A person wearing hearing aids or someone with a hearing loss not wearing hearing aids.

I think that answers your question teshhwhsi. Next

The same thing happened to me recently. Funny thing is, the doc was an ENT treating me for acute sinusitis. He too was surprised when I took out the hearing aids.

I’m 77. I started wearing aids when I was round 60. I’ve worn glasses since I was about 8. I know that as a HA wearer I tend to find myself noticing others who have them, but it’s only if I’m in a line and they are ahead of me, otherwise I don’t see them, and those are the over the ear style.

And has been pointed out, wouldn’t you rather hear than be concerned with what other people see or think? That reminds me of the old saw about girls and glasses. And has also been pointed out, what about an eye patch or a missing limb, or for that matter a wheelchair?

One more vote for “pretty much nobody notices mine”.

I have RIC, starting three years ago age 50ish. My hair is long and covers my ears pretty well when it’s down, but most of the time I have the sides clipped up to keep it out of my face and to keep it from making noise rubbing on the hearing aids. (I also wear glasses so there’s definitely no room to tuck hair being my ears!)

Coworkers never knew until I mentioned them, never had any interactions with the general public that suggested they noticed. I am certainly more likely to notice others who are wearing them than I was before I joined the club.

My hair is short, so I’m 100% positive that people notice them…But nobody says anything

I’m also sure that many folks don’t notice them right away…we as people just don’t care enough about other people to pay attention to little things like this that don’t matter. We have enough other things on our minds…worried about ourselves and little things like this that shouldn’t matter to us but do….

My kids didn’t notice them when I first brought them home, till I think it was the next day when I pointed them out!

and funny, just yesterday I was telling one of my kids that I sometimes wish that these things had strobe lights built in, that would switch on in high noise environments, to let other people know to speak up, speak slower, and face me.

@bradw said:

I sometimes wish that these things had strobe lights built in, that would switch on in high noise environments, to let other people know to speak up, speak slower, and face me

You and me, both.

I don’t think modern hearing aids have the same stigma an ear trumpet had two hundred years ago and I think missing bits of conversation and constantly asking ‘what did you say’ is a lot more annoying to others. Studies suggest that hearing aids are not only good for volume and sound sorting but likely contribute to brain health. If someone makes an untoward comment, they are stupid.

I am a female with generously sized ears and Resound HAs which are tiny, so my experience may not generalize. Having said that, no one ever notices mine. I have had mine for many years, so I have no issue whipping out my phone to adjust the settings in front of people.

I’m also young (late 20s) but not vain, I don’t think. I like to change up my style and have fun with it, but also I don’t really care what anyone else thinks. I’m a brand new hearing aid user (my HAs say I’ve got 36 hours on them so far, got them 3 days ago, totally brand new to them) and I have an anecdote you may find comforting.

When I got them, I decided to not say anything to my staff at work and my family that I live with, purely to see how long before any of them noticed. 3 days in of wearing them all day long, not a single person has noticed. The pair I wear is a RIC that’s a bit larger than most these days, so should be pretty visible compared to many, and nobody has said a word. The few I’ve told were baffled to hear I was wearing them in that moment.

They’re absolutely visible from behind, but still not in-your-face visible, and are quite discrete from the side and front. People are certain to notice occasionally, but my silly experiment as a new user seems to point to people generally not noticing very often!

Interesting little experiment! I remember how hearing aids looked back in the day. I remember the beige ones in particular. They were not a soft or “glow-y” beige, either. My new SoundGear HAs are also called “beige”, but they are kind of a soft metallic shade that isn’t unattractive. Again, I think people are now so used to AirPods and other similar devices sticking out of ears, actual HAs, for most of us, don’t stand out quite like they used to.

Yeah, when my audiologist first floated the suggestion of a hearing aid, I anticipated what I remembered seeing on others when I was a kid. Quite surprised by just how discrete they are, these days. Now that I’ve thought about it, even my family members that I already know wear aids, I have had a hard time spotting them when I try. I’m blown away by how invisible they are, especially if you have a bit of hair to cover them.

Its part of why I decided to try keeping them quiet (hah) at first. Figure as a new user in his 20s, I’ve got a unique opportunity to try something fun, lol. So far, it has absolutely been as amusing as I hoped. Not to mention, having just a bit of privacy about it these first few days has been really nice.