30 minute hearing aid break

Ah, interesting. I wore them pretty much non-stop during the day for the first 2 weeks just to get used to them, see if the fit was good, and explore the app even though I was at home most of the time (I didn’t start teaching until the 3rd week). My main reason is to have these so that I can hear the students in the middle/back of the classroom better, and it has worked for that.

They are pretty comfortable, and like you my hearing loss is also mostly in the high frequency range. I’m ok not wearing them at home when I’m not going out for the day, though I have noticed I will leave them in after I get back from campus for a while.

It’s good to have options.

I sometimes wonder whether hearing aids can be programmed to be in ‘noise cancelling’ mode for train or plane rides. Bose and Sony etc make earbuds that do that. Hearing aid tech seems like it is similar. Anybody know?

I have Signias, when I’m on a train I use either the Noisy Environment program (for which I’ve tuned the noise management system to be on max).
Or I narrow the beam to 104 degrees, which cuts out most of the noise.
They also auto detect car rides and lower the “rumbling” noise.

I’ve found a pattern in my own use. When I feel tired and need a rest…I’ve forgotten to turn the volume up a notch.
I find my Phonak Audeo Paradise P90’s to be finicky. I hate the wax guards with a passion. I’m finally getting better at putting them in. I used to find them askew when I went to change them…about 40 % of the time. Now it’s every once in a while. The new wax guards are so small. I find that they seem to plug up on me so I can’t hear.

I’ll check in with my hearing aid provider. And ask him what he thinks…

DaveL

Hey, your audiogram isn’t all that bad! So you are lucky in that you CAN take the aids out and hear a lot of what’s going on around you.

Yes, sound overload can get exhausting! Loud restaurants, noisy kids, traffic, poor acoustics in malls, stores, etc., all take their toll.

I have cinderblock ears, so the only time I can take them out - and of course hear NOT ONE THING - is at night when I go to bed. Short of someone setting off an M-80 next to my pillow, I sleep like a tombstone.

As for “noise cancelling” it’s not so much a MODE as it is a built-in algorithm that your audi can tinker with to adjust. If you find your aids are TOO aggressive in dampening sound around you (e.g., in a car it turns down all volume as traffic noises intrude) you can have your audi adjust it to a less aggressive level.

Hi, Bluejay. You are right. I can take out my aids and probably pick up 50 or 75 percent of speech around me, which is true of many hard of hearing people. I still have preserved low frequency hearing. It seems to me that your loss is in the severe and profound range across the board. I’m sure it has come up, but are you a candidate for cochlear implants? --Steven

Interesting and reassuring how many other long term hearing aid users figure out a way to take a break. I’ve worn hearing aids for many years and are very comfortable with them, but I need to take them out of my ears, even briefly, a couple of times a day. --Steven

@StevenS said:

It seems to me that your loss is in the severe and profound range across the board. I’m sure it has come up, but are you a candidate for cochlear implants?

Amazingly … NOT YET!

I don’t know if CI would work better than the Phonak Lumity Life aids I have now, but no audi has mentioned CI cuz I still talk rapid-fire back to any question, so I must still be doing fine with aids.

I’m 68, and in the decades to come, who knows what kind of devices will be out there for us? Adding the Roger V2 is yet another tool in my arsenal to catch probably 85-90% of non-streamed speech; I get about 98% when streaming TV.

That’s great! Just proves that audiograms do not tell the whole story. Fortunately, you hear a lot better than your audiogram would suggest. And hearing aids are still working well for you.

Chalk that up to having been BORN with my hearing loss - which, granted got HUGELY worse, and it’s kind of like my adaptation to aids and hearing accessories is as natural as a duck to water.

Oh lucky ducky ME!