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Hearing/ listening fatigue

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In reply to @Phoebe

@Phoebe said:

I wear BTEs with thick tubing and mould with a small vent

Hum! I’m no expert, but that seems like OVERKILL for your hearing loss? Look at my cinderblock ears and I’m in connected via wire to speaker with just a double-dome silicone dome on the end, so there’s not a perfect seal.

I DO absolutely concur that if word comprehension is not pretty high up there, you will be more likely to get cross, impatient, and even think folks are purposely talking softly to you. I’ve been there.

But if you can find aids that deliver on the SPEECH comprehension, you may be able to relax a bit more. Not saying background noise won’t always be our eternal HOLY GRAIL to work around …

I am wearing Phonak Lumity Life aids now, and yesterday, at my audi’s there was a senior couple sitting clear across the waiting room from me - both in masks. We had a delightful conversation where I never missed ONE word in about 15 min of banter. That is the kind of comfort that puts me at ease during the day.

BUT! Put me in a clatterhouse diner filled with shouting people at a table where maybe some folks have a soft voice? LOL. I am hunched forward, looking at their mouths and aids are in “Speech in LOUD Noise” program. That’s another “coping” tool, but it’s a tough slog in noisy places.

Just try to take a few deep breaths and calm yourself inside. Be very focused on what folks are saying, and if the setting is too noisy - get OUT of it.

@Phoebe: perhaps you could work on the compression scheme of your programs. In my case, less compression (linear) leads to more fatigue.

@Phoebe said:

Would it being “overkill” affect anything?

@Phoebe: Don’t listen to @1Bluejay - I don’t believe she should be in domes, but I’m not an audiologist.

@kevels55 and @Zebras have acquainted us with NHS quirks and foibles. Still I believe that you should persevere and ask for another adjustment session. Keep notes on your fatigue and discuss them with the audiologist. As others have suggested - some counselling sessions on stress management might be helpful, also.

I wish you only the best outcome.

@Phoebe: Overkill must be Google-able. She means that your aids have more power than your loss really requires. We should ask @Um_bongo to explain further.

What make and model of hearing aids are you using?

Likely that you’re getting masses of occlusion with that set-up.

You’ll also be set on NAL 2 if you were ’d which can be a bit hefty for sone users.

Ask for more venting on your mould.

Ok, you mentioned that the aid had been turned up for speech: it’s possibly that you’re chasing the loudness (are you a long term wearer) a bit? and when the aid gets turned up there’s more distortion and upward spread of masking.

Also you might have auditory resolution issues if speech isn’t clear at prescribed levels.

It’s unlikely (unless the tube is blocked) that you should be struggling with it, especially since you said you need a break from it. That said, if you have a genuine volume/fatigue issue, you should seek advice from the NHS and get the re-done as you might have some stray overpowered frequency that is upsetting the fitting.

I’ve never had rem done , and I’m a long term wearer. Oh well I’ll find out at my appointment.

@1Bluejay, come in moderate, power, super power, and ultra power levels. You can fit most loses in a BTE. Pediatrics are typically all in BTEs at least up until the age of ~12, and many who are comfortable in their BTEs stay in them.

@Phoebe, to back up a bit, you’ve ruled out medical causes of fatigue, I assume? If not, and if it turns out your hearing (or hearing aid function) hasn’t changed, might be worth talking to your doctor. Again, listening fatigue in individuals with hearing loss is well researched and I would trust your intuition, but I can also think of a couple of hugely common causes of fatigue in young women that would show up on blood tests.

But this still doesn’t give you good tips on how to manage the fatigue, which I think is what you asked for, right? How do others manage their fatigue? Eight hours of quality sleep a night, optimising listening settings where possible (which you have already made an appointment to discuss :+1:), scheduling your day with quiet breaks. Reduced course load is a reasonable accommodation request if you feel that would be worthwhile, though I don’t know if you are in highschool or university.

My teacher of the deaf says my hearing aids are very clear and not echoy like some can be apparently. Out of interest what does speech sound like through hearing aids for you being profound? Does it still have a humany sound to it or robotic just curious?

@Phoebe

Well I feel it sounds normal but apparently my Mum said it sounds like a 1950s Radio when she listened through a stethoscope.

I had this talk with a family who live close by, a while ago as they said their teenage son sound very distorted but he says they sound really good. He wears Oticon Xceed 1 UP as well.

I try to add in as many speech clues and as much sound clarity as possible to help reduce the extra work my brain has to do. If you can supplement with wireless tech like a remote mic or classroom system (Sennheiser Mobile Connect for classrooms looks interesting) and also try adding in a speech-to-text app on your phone, sit close so you can better read lips, etc.

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