How to make hearing aids less noticable (a vanity thread)

If she needs aids then everybody she deals with is probably looking for her aids and surprised to see she’s not wearing any. She’s only fooling herself

One thing the op mentioned that wasn’t picked up was wireless connection between the aid and the receiver. That’s an interesting idea, but now that I think about it, without the tube or wire, how would one keep the aid in place. CIC technology needs advancing, as CIC is by far better a form factor for protection from elements, mic noises, ease of wearing glasses, etc… (and vanity, I suppose). I’ve been wearing aids since I was 6. Vanity was a major concern of mine until I got out of college, then it just sort of ceased being a concern anymore.

I have to ask what a ‘bum it’ is

@justmejacqui said:

what a ‘bum it’ is

Topics like this really irritate me.

The same people embarrassed to wear hearing aids would calmly and PROUDLY wear a pair of earbuds to a ministers funeral.

This stupidity is why manufacturers are spending so many resources to make the aids smaller rather than have them perform better. I started wearing hearing aids in 1976 as a first grader.
I remember Dad thinking I would be picked on. He gave me a great strategy. Then, the six million dollar man and The Bionic Woman were staples. I simply loved Jaime Summers.(Lindsey Wagner). My classmates were told ahead of time I would be getting the aids. I came into school about 1pm - wearing them. My classmates thronged around me to see… I told them that just like Jaime Summers - I had bionic ears. They thought it was the coolest thing ever!! I never got picked on by that group…not once. Later when I moved, I did…mainly because they had experience with another kid with a hearing aid…and he could be kind of a jerk back then. (He turned out well) I transcended that. I went to a new job in 2007. My new employer’s supervisor called my audiologist up wanting to know what me deafness meant for them. (The same audiologist I had had since 1976 mind you!!) He got right with them…told them it didn’t mean anything for them. I had a lot of issues there…small place…didnt fit in to the clique…corporate moved me to the traveling group…and I learned more with them in a week than with the local office in 8 months. However, I didnt want to be gone for months at a time, so I left and took another job…where I excelled.
I work in a steel mill… My resound quattros were red, my marvel Skys are purple with yellow hook

Honestly I was considering making the opposite of this thread but otherwise titling it identically - How to make hearing aids more noticeable (a pride/vanity (?) thread)…

I wear half shell ITE hearing aids that are closer to 3/4 shell hearing aids and they stand out more than any MiniRite hearing aids. I do not care about anyone seeing my hearing aids. I wear ITE aids just because they are more comfortable too me, and I have had far less issues with ITE hearing aids failing than the MiniRite aids that I once wore.

I agree Phobos. Where I live in downtown Toronto, in the last year, it’s very common for people to be wearing wireless earbuds. They are incredibly noticeable compared to hearing aids, and no one tries to hide them.

If someone were to see your hearing aids they’d probably be jealous due to how small they are.

In the past hearing accessories were associated with “old age”. Now they’re being associated with the “young hip crowd”. Something to think about…

The normalization of “ear gear” is fast approaching, I believe. Similar to glasses. Nobody cares. You shouldn’t either.

I am in my 40s, and I shave my head. There is no hair to hide my HAs. Mine are behind my ears with an almost invisible wire that wraps around the top of my ear. I did not want the band-aid colored ones. I started wearing them a few weeks ago, but most people didn’t notice for a few days that anything was different, until some started to comment, “I can tell you are actually hearing a LOT better now!”

So ditto on what others said: the only thing people really notice is when you can’t hear them; they’ll think you are not very smart.

I’m getting another set in a few weeks, and those will be black. I like all my high-tech gadgets in black. These hearing aids are high tech. They are not band-aids.

Stop caring what they look like.

Preach, brothers and sisters and non-/multi-gendered siblings (as appropriate).

I was debating between black and white. My glasses are black so that’d at least match (though I usually wear contacts during the work week). Wish Phonak had the Audéos in blue. Though my coworkers are equally oblivious. I got “you wear hearing aids?!” several times this week. Led to some interesting conversations let me tell you.

Usually the wearer is the last one to know they have a hearing problem. And though I understand the desire of some people not wanting their aids to be noticeable it’s probably something only they worry about. These days I’m more surprised that people don’t notice my bte aids although I admit they are smaller and thinner than they used to be. Hell I’ve had people say to me do you have a hearing problem. But then again I’ve had people who are just outright rude because I don’t hear well. I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the vanity issue. Most people won’t even notice. And if they do so what. You have a handicap. It doesn’t make you less of a person. Actually it makes you a better person because you’re trying to do something about it. Now you’ll be able to hear all the stupid remarks from stupid people.