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Hearing Aids.... Your first time experiences

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Hi Folks, I am sure there are many with, trials, tears, frustrations, severely subdued expectations, and maybe even tribulations for first time hearing aid users… I know, I felt completely isolated 30 odd years ago with the onset of; Severe , this was Pre-Internet days, and I became a virtual recluse, and the butt-end of everyone’s hilarity, and so-called banter… I hadn’t a clue, I didn’t know what to expect, what I got was a million miles from what I imagined! Any preconceived ideas were severely shattered, by what I can only describe as a wall of sound engulfing my brain with these analogue aids, I also had recruitment, although at the time, I was completely ignorant of what recruitment was… (Basically, recruitment is a very strong aversion to loud noise) With the high-power, Analogue Aids, with 675 batteries, they were rather large, it took me at least 4 months to gradually build up, to be able to actually use the aids all day, at first, after an hour, I was drained, constantly straining to understand what was being said, to say that I was crest-fallen, is a severe understatement, constantly tired, I could hear the very loud sound, but the contextual information was missing… You are most fortunate if you have only ever known digital aids and started out with a severe/profound loss. So your stories please, it may help first time users to come to terms with their loss, and ultimately improve their wellbeing, and their mental health… The anguish I felt back then, particularly because I had no one to guide or mentor me, it still cuts deep, nobody told me hearing aids don’t restore your hearing, they help you to hear better, and as such they are assistive listening devices… And nothing more! Although, things have improved drastically, with the advent of digital hearing aids, and subsequently Bluetooth compatible devices, especially cell phones, I almost cried with joy when I first used my Phonak Marvels, and my iPhone, twas such a joy to hear folks voices on the phone again… Cheers Kev :wink:

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It was originally my wife’s idea. I remember discussing it with friends at work and they were all in favor of it. I remember telling them how hesitant I was because hearing aids were for old people and I was in my 20s. Still they all encouraged me. I was forewarned by my audiologist that there was a breaking in period and that at first I should only wear them at home to get used to them. Eventually I wore them to work. Everything was going okay and we all headed up the stairs for the break room. Someone a flight up let out an ear piercing whistle that brought me down to my knees. I thought I was going to pass out. I’ve been wearing aids ever since.

Recalling those very early days of hearing aids, was for me, somewhat harrowing, I basically went from almost pitch perfect hearing, but, through a viral flu infection, I was traumatised into this frightened, ignorant, and reclusive individual, whom couldn’t hear you correctly anymore, my world was turned upside down……Gone forever, was the gregarious, outgoing, life and soul of the party type, on the outside I looked the same…… In my head, I was a damaged, and a very fragile individual, living in a fairly remote environment, with no one to relate to, or fundamentally communicate with, but even worse was my complete ignorance of my situation, I was totally oblivious to what hearing loss was, what it entailed, was there a solution, could anyone help me? I found out fairly quickly, I was on my own, most folks were as ignorant as me, even Doctors, and like me, they thought if you lose your hearing, hearing aids will correct the loss! Frustration, and depression kicked in eventually, but once you reach rock bottom, the only way is up…. Excepting your hearing loss, is the biggest gift you can bestow upon yourself, unfortunately it took me years to form that conclusion, I am a bit slow on the uptake :joy: :upside_down_face: :rofl: As for the hearing aids, they were absolutely terrible, amplified mostly everything I didn’t want to hear, crunching snow underfoot, seagulls screaming, road traffic noise, background noise in busy pubs, were my pet hates, analogue hearing aids had very little adjustments, with the combination of recruitment, and severe tinnitus, I tried to avoid busy places, at times I became overwhelmed with noise, and just had to leave…… In comparison, digital aids are for me, night & day, in the early days of digital, they didn’t work well, but they improved gradually in tiny increments, and eventually Bluetooth enabled, this was the game changer! Over the years, there was worse for me to come with Meniers, but that’s a different story, I hopefully morphed into a more rounded individual, and a more empathetic person towards my fellow sufferers, the journey was not without some challenging personal outcomes…. But, we are all born survivors…. Cheers Kev :wink:

Hi. Apparently I’ve had hearing loss since birth but struggled thro school then eventually as young adult had hearing test and at great expense fitted with digital hearing aids of the time. Did I use? No. There was no volume adjustment and understanding conversation was better without them as had self taught the art of lip reading along with the bits I could hear. Also every footstep was like a crash of thunder. Moving on and courtesy of NHS I have a modern pair digital aids which are a world apart. I use mainly for tv or if really need concentrate. Of course they take some getting used to but the fact I can adjust the volume according to environment or just mute if all too much makes a huge difference. I’ve got type with a tube and dome and not too bad as the original ones were similar but felt like I’d got clamp over my head. At first the new ones still made me feel like was on a different planet but in a short time I got used to how they felt. It always takes time to get used to something but for me these things have expanded enjoyment of life in way of general entertainment eg tv, listening to music etc. Also with modern aids there are all sorts gadgets to make life easier so ye I’d rather not need but modern digital aids are worth persevering with. I balked at the idea of using aids but now I would say am glad I have given them a chance. It’s never gonna be perfect but technology has leaped dramatically since the days of ear trumpet. Perish the thought. Also this forum is a good place to share concerns and ask others how they’ve coped with any difficulties trying to get adjusted or otherwise :heart_eyes_cat:

I remember when I started wearing hearing aids. It was horrible, I didn’t realize the washer/dryer made noise or that my dog made sounds when he walked. I actually hated them at first and couldn’t wear them no more than 2 hours a day or my head would be pounding. It was horrible trying learn sounds and get use to them and felt so overwhelmed and grieved my hearing for awhile. Now I wear my hearing aids all the time and all day and feel lost without them.

Got my hearing aids last week and last night I stepped out of my friends house in the evening to the sound of a loud strange varying machine like alarm . As I looked around at all the cars and equipment trying to discern what the source of the sound was I remembered… Crickets! The world still has crickets!

The first time I used my current aids in public I went shopping late afternoon in local precinct. People must have thought me nuts because one shop was shutting early and pulled down a metal thing over the window. It was like end of world and I literally screamed with terror. I had go for a stiff drink in pub after. Loads of things were real strange at first and even now things that beep and even traffic make me jump sometimes. My friends laff as am constantly asking “aah what’s that”. However the things do mean I can now watch tv without constant strain of reading subtitles. :heart_eyes_cat::paw_prints:

I found out quite by accident that I had hearing loss after a routine hearing test during an visit. The said after the test: “Okay, now let’s try a rem with your aids” (he assumed I had removed them for the ENT exam). He was gobsmacked to discover I didn’t have any. I had been living with moderate/severe loss for some time, I just adjusted, I guess. First time he gave me a trial set, it was like life on a CD, wow. Pant legs rustling, hair brush on head, harmonic overtones on my mandolin. Wow…almost too much. I loved every strange minute even as it became apparent that what I thought I knew of my original hearing wouldn’t ever be back. As stated above, there may be some grieving.

First timers, it WILL sound weird for a while. As anyone on this forum will tell you, it WILL get better (assuming a good fit, not always guaranteed). They will become indispensable. They are better than ever with . Wish they were less $$$ for those without insurance, as I was at first. Wish I found this forum at the beginning, it would have answered so many questions.

Your reply epitomises my experience totally. I was never tested as youngster but struggled in school etc and finally as young adult went for hearing test even tho I’d managed all life. Turned out I’d got mod/severe loss in both ears most likely from birth. Was fitted with aids and was real scary especially outside but ye got used to it n especially useful for tv. :heart_eyes_cat:

Some history. I noticed my hearing loss at about 10 years old. I went to camp and the others in my tent whispered after lights out. I couldn’t understand them so turned over and went to sleep. Then I had some rudimentary hearing test in high school. I was called me back to do it again. They called my parents who took me to a doctor and it was decided I had a loss but it wasn’t worth doing anything about it.

Fast forward to my 30s. My husband complained about my hearing so I finally went for a test. They recommended aids but I was resistant because of vanity plus we just couldn’t afford them. I finally decided I had to get them in my mid 40s.

After getting my first aids, I picked up my keys as I left the office, and I heard them make jingling noise. And there were birds tweeting outside! All sorts of things made noise I hadn’t been able to hear. It was totally amazing!

I’m over 70 now. Since then my hearing has really gotten bad. But each new aid has better technology that allows me to hear things I haven’t in a while. And those new sounds bring that same delight.

Yeah @db4art, IMO, vanity & denial, are the 2 biggest scourges of hearing loss, and perhaps combined with the inability to except one’s loss…. Until we do, we can’t move on. I am delighted you now enjoy the ability to hear better, tis a wonderful experience to hear old sounds, and voices again, a bit like meeting a long lost friend you haven’t seen in years…. Take care, cheers Kev :wink:

@kevels55 said:

IMO, vanity & denial, are the 2 biggest scourges of hearing loss, and perhaps combined with the inability to except one’s loss….

You forgot cost. Many forgo aids because the hearing loss doesn’t seem bad enough to warrant the cost.

That’s what I was going to say. Cost. If you don’t have insurance that cover a substantial portion of the cost and a lot don’t, than the cost of aids is mind-boggling

In reply to @db4art

Yeah @db4art, I appreciat there is a price to pay, but here in the UK, hearing aids are free at point of service, so cost is not a major factor, if you want the latest & greatest, you can buy yourself… Mind-boggling it may be @hass5744, but if you shop arround here, you can get the top of the range aids, including fitting, probably 2 or 3K USD cheaper than you guys, and girls can, Stateside? Perhaps, because the NHS are the largest hearing aid dispencers in the UK, and at one time probably the world… This helps drive down the price for us that like all the high tech stuff, and we buy our own… Having worked previosly with a government support hearing service, the biggest factor I found, was lack of dexterity for lots of older folks declining to use their hearing aids, and a lot of those whom did actually use them, were oblivious to them sitting half in their ears, and half out, squeeling feed-back! I would rectify that, but I would only be there on a home visit, and as most stayed on their own, it was difficult for them, and dexterity played a major part in their inability to use or ware their aids correctly, it was sad…

I noticed how loud EVERYTHING was - the downdraft fan on the stove, the sound of water from the tap, even the A/C unit in the house made strange high-pitched noises. Flushing a toilet was as loud as a waterfall. The first time I went to the mall with my hearing aids, I was overwhelmed by all the LOUD noises and freaky high-pitched sounds and had to leave.

On the positive side, i went out for a walk and could hear the leaves rustling!

Dear kevel. Not a big fan of socialism. Not a big fan of centralized government telling me what I can or can’t do. Not a big fan of a monarchy

My wife refused to get a hearing check but she clearly needed one. I agreed to get one too just to get her to go. It turned out my left ear is fairly poor, so I got a too.

My first HA was a 2014 Halo, so I have always been in the Bluetooth HA protocol. Frankly, other than being handy for phone calls, I did not see much difference. Same with my second HA.

In 2022, we switched to a well-respected and I am trying the Starkey a Evolv 2500 R HAs (a pair). The hearing improvement has been quite noticeable. My only complaint with these HAs is that about 40% of the time, they don’t last as long as I do. I’m debating going with the 312 battery version or just buying the turbo charger that extends the day ~3 hours with a 7 minute charge. I may also look at other brands.

Edited

In reply to @hass5744

Each to their own @hass5744…. Yeah, I am an ardent, dyed in the wool socialist, but many of my friends are the opposite, so I am very into folks freely expressing their view’s…. IMHO, socialism, and capitalism does not work, they may be polarised view’s, but man’s lust for power or just plain greed always intervenes, so we usually end up with a government with a mixture of both…… I think a measure of any society, is not how it performs in industry & commerce, but how it prioritises it’s care of the elderly, sick, disabled, mentally impaired, and those less fortunate whom are unable to work, and yes we need trade, but let it be ethical trade, there is enough wealth to go round…… Cheers Kev :wink:

Neither do I @hass5744, we are all just different, much like our hearing loss…. We can just agree to differ, in our opinions, as well as our hearing loss :upside_down_face: I learned a long time ago, that likeminded soul’s are few, and far between, I have a few ultra conservative friends, their views of the world are not on the same parallel as mines, but they are still my friends… Take care, cheers Kev :wink:

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