What was the most surprising sounds with hearing aids?

My family’s voices. I came out of the appointment when I got my hearing aids and my dad spoke to me and I HATED his voice so much, it sounded so weird and my mum and sisters voice took a couple weeks to get used to but now I don’t know any different. My garden also, we sit outside in my garden a lot when it’s warm and we have a pond with a fountain, I came home from the appointment and opened the back door and I never knew the pond fountain made a noise or that there were so many birds in my garden. I remember the day so clearly.

Hearing the turn signals, that I hadn’t heard in who knows when.

My car keys! And birds. Love the birds.

@DeafAntifa said:

I was shocked when I discovered that my own footsteps made noise, I thought someone was following me at first😂

OK - LOL! If you’ve worn aids for 30-odd yrs like me, you have to answer in chapters, cuz the aids I’ve had have come a LOOOOooOooOONG way in terms of quality and features.

Chapter One - 1985. Biggest surprise was being able to hear fellow students in an auditorium-style classroom in grad school. WOW! Downside was that the aids vibrated when I’d shift my car (4 on the floor). Weird.

Chapter Two - 1993. Biggest surprise was that I now had a few programs to use in the aids. Downside was that they were too smart for their own good, always dampening SPEECH in loud places. Augh.

Chapter Three - 2012. HEY! Now I can stream sound from the TV or my cell phone to my aids with the TV Connector. Very cool. Downside was that I had to wear a dorky, clunky necklace that banged against my teeth if I bent over wearing it.

Chapter Four - 2018. Now I’m streaming to my AID (yes, only one of 'em!) without the clunky necklace. Downside was the obvious - my brain actually works better when I hear through BOTH ears, but the Phonak Audeo B-Direct only streamed to ONE. Doh.

Chapter Five - 2019. WoooOooOO!!! I got my first pair of aids that let me stream phone into BOTH ears stereophonically. I’d already been doing that with the TV Connector paired/connected to my TV, but this was another giant leap forward. Downside, I could only have ONE pair of aids paired with my cell phone. Fudge. What if I have to send a pair in for repair? I gotta yada yada to get the backups paired/connected to phone.

Chapter Six - 2022 (You can see I’m ready to publish a novel on this saga!) I got the latest Phonak Lumity Life aids that not only offer superb speech comprehension, but a Music program that let me hear new sounds in all the classical, jazz and rock music I’d been listening to for decades. Plus, I can pair more than one set of aids to the phone, so if I swap out the aids every other day, I’m automatically connected for streaming phone calls - no prob! Downside? Weeeeeelllll, the aids were supposed to be “waterproof” but, um, er, that is to say, they are NOT. So I was bummed cuz I’d believed the marketing hype and planned to enjoy water sports actually HEARING folks around me for the first time. Yeah, well that dream died hard. I now remove these aids and enjoy water sports in my own silent universe of cinderblock ears. Better than nothing.

I’m wondering what Chapter Seven will bring, but until that time, I’m actually at the most comfortable, confident period of time I’ve ever lived in with these aids. I’m very grateful for that.

Reading through the posts I want to thumbs up every one of the posts.

The first time I put on hearing aids I remember hearing the high heels of the gal fitting the aids on a tile floor. It was a big surprise.

Then I learned about frequency lowering technology. That was another ground breaker for birds, vehicle blinkers, music and so much more.

I have to add a little about CI. For those with really bad hearing for a long time the CI experience is beyond imagination. It’s overwhelming for a while. Bodily functions that I’d didn’t think we’re making noise!

Worn them a long time I can’t remember the first few sets since I was young say 6 years to 10 years old I couldn’t tell you what I noticed as I hated being the only hearing aid user in my primary schools. Best thing was the loop system my parents set up in the living room i’d listen to the TV upstairs at night sometimes in my bedroom on the sly! Mum or dad would notice the box light on and do the okay louby it’s being turned off directly into the microphone and they’d hear me giggle upstairs or ask from the top of the stairs for them to leave it on so I could fall asleep.

Phonaks in high school NHS it was the flushing toilets seriously that sound made me jump and drove me crazy! I couldn’t go to the bathroom without switching my hearing aids off for a long time the noise was overwhelming. Downside is I was constantly having issues with software compatibility with various radio aids at the time for school lessons. They must’ve tried 4 different phonak types in a year I’d just get used to them and it was changed due to issues with hooks or loop system on radio aids.

Usually each upgrade was different for NHS hearing aids. When swapped to oticon in 2002 can’t remember which one it was but it was birds I was shocked to hear them tweet loudly.

upgrade to oticon spirit zest bte around 2009 . The first time I actually heard rain on the car. I was so confused and freaked out a bit thinking the car was breaking down. My mum had to say it’s rain louby I’d never heard how it sounded before and admittedly started crying as I didn’t know it had a sound. So a emotional experience my family cried with me not out of sadness but to realise what sounds I hadn’t heard in loosing my hearing aids.

Upgrade to another oticon NHS spirit zest power bte 2010 despite only having previous ones few years and no hearing loss change they felt it would suit my losses better. And what that particular nhs audiologist used in the area after a move it was crisp packets I didn’t realize crisps or the bags were super noisy!

First private hearing aids when I moved to the states brought at Costco Phonak brio 3 rics 2018. It was that fish tanks are noisy, I could hear conversations in a car without going what everytime from the backseat that was amazing

2021 Costcos Kirkland signature 10. Upgraded due to constant brio 3 repairs usually twice a year This one was that the fridge is bloody loud as is the microwave . That flags have a noise when they flap in the wind and that the poles ting and my footsteps echo on a walk I did weekly for years without realizing. Biggest thing with the ks10 direct streaming without having to fork out for a separate device. I STILL love being able to just call friends and family without the your on loudspeaker or having to use headphones. My brother commented just today how he loves me calling back home with these because I’m not saying what on calls anymore and how clear I come through in calls

2023 Loaner Jabra aids while Ks10 were repaired. It was a love hate situation adored the resteraunt hyper focus setting and just general hyper focus amazing feature for conversation it outshone the KS10s one by miles in that area. Liked the music setting really made the radio clear for car rides. I didn’t get on with the domes as I always have moulds even after 4 weeks my ears were constantly sore and irritated at the end of the day. Hated the feedback due to domes due to trying to accomodate my losses. Biggest issue it wasn’t compatable with my current phone so no direct streaming or Bluetooth streaming for music or calls…at that point I’d called home trying to catch up with family and was constantly asking everyone on call what did they just say. Been a month since those and everyone I’ve spoken to in person and over phone has said we could tell the difference you don’t say what all the time since KS10s were repaired and spend so long just chitchatting instead of looking confused or pissed off

Stepping outside and hearing birds!!!

Hearing the kitchen clock tick loudly after REM, it’s been on the wall for years, I could only hear it rather faintly, if I put my head up close (inches away) But now, I can hear it from 10 feat away

Agree with you 100%!!! I do prefer to use the TV connector with my Lumity Life aids, but that’s cuz the room where our TV is has a lot of annoying reflectivity and “echo”, so streaming the TV cuts ALL that out.

Yes, these Phonak Lumity Life aids are a game-changer for me, and despite my kvetching (endlessly) about them NOT being battery-operated, I’d never ever trade them in thanks to the noticeable sound improvements.

My washing machine playing a tune.

The microwave makes a beep sound when timer is complete, never knew that. My car alarm, i can find my car now when i forget where I parked. My cats purr (although i still have to press my good ear against her to hear her). Dropping my keys, many times i dropped them and was clueless, now i can hear them when they fall. TV dialog. Before my streamer i was 100% reading subtitles.

That is a lovely story of your journey with aids - from NHS to Costco aids in the States here. Love that avatar, too! I once had a family of barn owls perched in a tall evergreen outside my office window. I think every employee in the building stopped by my window to check 'em out. They’d turn off the lights (no matter what-all I was doing in the office!), push past me seated in my chair, and just stand there at the window staring at these amazing winged raptors for minutes at a time.