Hearing Problems and Hearing Aids

[Beth Gallagher]

I have mentioned in the past that my husband wears headphones for watching TV, and often walks around the house/yard with them on. I sing "ground control to major Tom" when trying to get his attention. A couple of months ago I convinced him to go see an ENT for a hearing exam and he finally did.

They cleaned the wax out of his ear canals and did some hearing tests, and he came home wearing $7000 hearing aids. I told him if he is not going to wear them then to take them back; I'm not willing to spend that much for them to sit in the storage case. He says they work well and they are practically invisible when he has them on. He has been amazed by the improvement in his hearing; he said he thought he was being quiet on the wooden staircase so he was surprised by all the "clomping" when walking up or down. . (I on the other hand was not surprised at all.)

I have noticed a few SOCers have mentioned hearing problems. Do any of you wear hearing aids or have issues with your hearing? So far my hearing is pretty good but my eyesight is another matter.

 

[Hedi Mitchell]

Yes, I wear one but suppose to have 2. My one is about 4/5 years old now, and I do like it.
About 30 years ago started to lose more hearing. I just never bothered to get aids,until my daughter set me up with a technician friend of hers for hearing. I was told I would never hear on left side,even with hearing aid. Not true, because my first one was for left side. People I sobbed uncontrollably, when I finally could hear everything- in fact the world was too dam loud! But I learned to adjust and it made all the difference in the world for me. About 4/5 years ago I bought a newer model as the old one was shot. I wear it in the right ear and love it. I have not seen or been tested since we moved here 3 years ago,but hope to this next year.

 

[Krystal Shay]

My husband needs hearing aids really bad and has needed them for yeeeears, but he won't get any! He can't hear . I get tired of repeating myself when he says, "what did you say? I didn't hear you." He has a multitude of excuses as to why he doesn't hear when someone talks to him. And he knows he can't hear but still makes excuses. It's not about him admitting to being older. He just doesn't want them. I told him one day that he sure has bad ears. He looked at me oddly and said, "I got bat ears?" It was too funny. I had to let that one go.

My hearing is fine. I have my ears tested.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

I was afraid that my husband would buy the hearing aids and never wear them. The ENT had him test them for a month so we could return them if they didn't work out for some reason. He won't need the aids to hear me if he leaves them in the storage box... I will be yelling loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

 

[Ken Anderson]

My hearing isn't as good as it used to be, but it's not to the point where I need a hearing aid.

 

[Steve North]

Funny this thread just started because just a few weeks ago my wife got her hearing aids..
She was tested by an audiologist and it was recommended hearing aids even though she was borderline for them..
She went and got another test from a different audiologist and the result came out the same..
She sent the results to a third audiologist and again, the same results..
We then went back to the first audiologist as we were more comfortable with her and found her honest, much more than the other one who we found to be almost a scam artist insisting on very expensive hearing aids, like $7,000 for a pair.. They were already in a box ready for sale, not made to her needs..
The audiologist took a mold of her ear to get a perfect fit.. She had quoted $3,000 for hearing aids, but there was a $500 government discount for seniors.. That is only $2500 for a pair.. She then told us that there is a grant available in May of 2026 for up to 90% of the cost of the hearing aids and we should apply.. They may pay less (like 80%) but no-one is rejected.. In the meantime, she loaned her (no charge) a set of hearing aids with the ear pod that was made for her.. When the grant comes through, she will order the proper aids that she needs and we will pay her the difference which should be only a few hundred dollars..
So far, she has a pair of hearing aids and we didn't spend a penny... Mind you, there aren't any pennies any more in Canada..

Before this happened, I bought a new TV.. I bought a 55 inch with a sound bar.. I also put on closed caption for her to be able to read the voice.. WHAT A DIFFERENCE with the soundbar and closed caption.. Now with her aids, NO PROBLEM watching TV.. When we go out, she is a completely different person when it comes to hearing everything.. With her longer hair, you can't even see them...

 

[Don Alaska]

I think I have told my hearing problem story elsewhere here. My hearing has declined for years and I believe I am going deaf. I have had hearing aids for years, and my hearing is declining every year. It is the loneliest feeling ever to be in a crowd and not be able to follow any conversation. I have been to a multitude of audiologists and ENTs, and only one audio and one ENT really seem to care at all. I used private providers for a while, as I have insurance that covers a good bit of hearing aid cost, but I went to the VA when one ENT told the attending audiologist to forget about my left ear and only amplified the right side. The first VA audiologist decided that I had enough hearing in my left to amplify, and she did so. It helped a lot. Left eardrum burst, and when it healed, my hearing there improved markedly. The last ENT I saw found fluid behind my right eardrum and tube was inserted on two occasions to help that. It helped some but when I asked her if she could find what was causing it, she said it was deep in my skull and there wasn't any way to look there. I had an audio appointment for Jan 2, but that was canceled and rescheduled for Jan 23 with the VA. During my last test, he told my my hearing appeared to be "holding" when I knew it was not. I couldn't hear anything he used to test me. If the same happens again, I will probably leave the VA and go to a private provider again.

Sorry for the duplication.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

@Don Alaska -- your comment about hearing loss being lonely makes me wonder why so many people resist hearing aids. My husband's new hearing aids are very state-of-the-art. They are made of some kind of soft clear silicone so they "disappear" when he puts them on. They can be individually tuned and volume adjusted, and my husband was shocked to discover how bad his hearing actually is now that he can hear again. (And the truck radio and TV volumes are not blasting me out, haha.)

He still wears the headphones to watch TV at night, after he takes the hearing aids out and puts them in the charger.

Of course, I know that the cost of hearing aids is a problem for some people since they usually are not covered by insurance or Medicare. The US government would rather support criminal Somalis than help older Americans with hearing loss.

 

[Don Alaska]

@Don Alaska -- your comment about hearing loss being lonely makes me wonder why so many people resist hearing aids. My husband's new hearing aids are very state-of-the-art. They are made of some kind of soft clear silicone so they "disappear" when he puts them on. They can be individually tuned and volume adjusted, and my husband was shocked to discover how bad his hearing actually is now that he can hear again. (And the truck radio and TV volumes are not blasting me out, haha.)

He still wears the headphones to watch TV at night, after he takes the hearing aids out and puts them in the charger.

Of course, I know that the cost of hearing aids is a problem for some people since they usually are not covered by insurance or Medicare. The US government would rather support criminal Somalis than help older Americans with hearing loss.

The more they look into the Somalis, the worse it gets. If they took the money that Somalis have stolen from us, they could buy everyone who needs hearing aids the ones they need. Minnesota is in the billions, Washington state looks like it will be at least as bad. Ohio and Maine have bad problems too so far. Ohio is the only state where the governor has jumped on it and demanded no-knock inspection of every Somali facility receiving state or federal funds. The other states are resisting any investigation. I don't think they have gotten to California yet, but I also don't know how many Somalis live there.

This is what we get when we import pirates into our country.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

This is what we get when we import pirates into our country.

Infuriating!

 

[Ken Anderson]

your comment about hearing loss being lonely makes me wonder why so many people resist hearing aids.

Could it have something to do with it representing a turning point as far as the acceptance of age limitations? I don't have hearing problems that are bad enough to require aids yet, but I would probably have an easier time working on the computer if I would adjust the default font size to someting larger, but that's a step that I resist. I've worn glasses since I was ten, but people who find that they need glasses as they get older will often resist taking that step, as well. I think I'd feel that way about using a cane, as well, so I use a walking stick instead.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

Could it have something to do with it representing a turning point as far as the acceptance of age limitations? I don't have hearing problems that are bad enough to require aids yet, but I would probably have an easier time working on the computer if I would adjust the default font size to someting larger, but that's a step that I resist. I've worn glasses since I was ten, but people who find that they need glasses as they get older will often resist taking that step, as well. I think I'd feel that way about using a cane, as well, so I use a walking stick instead.

Yes, I'm sure that's part of it for some people, and there are some that are simply vain or don't want the bother of dealing with another "device." I don't like the feeling of having something in my ear... I can't stand earplugs or earbuds, etc. So I would not be happy if I needed hearing aids. The reasons are many and varied, but it's a shame that some people would have hearing aids if they could afford them.

Right now I have no choice but to zoom font sizes on my laptop if I want to read anything. A friend gave me a hardback book for Christmas and I am unable to read it, even with my glasses. I have to use a tablet for reading now so I can enlarge the font. It's aggravating, but I am lucky to be alive in a time where there are options to help me see.

 

[John Brunner]

I have what I believe to be COVID-caused hearing damage, but I cannot get traction on it with the ENT. In June my GP looked and said "You need tubes," and made some comment about what he saw with my ear drums. It took almost 5 months to get in to the ENT who said "You do not need tubes." He claims "old age," but I have physical symptoms that preceded the loss and different ongoing ones. The current audiology test shows a significant decline in hearing from a previous one. The ENT said there must be a pinched nerve in my neck because the symptoms tend to be positional, but I know that's not the case. He gave me steroid drops for one symptom, but it won't address the underlying cause.

It's at the point where I cannot hear a conversation in a crowd (that part is depressing), but I won't invest in hearing aids until I get a firm read on whatever other stuff is going on. I have a Wellness Check coming up. I trust my GP. We'll see what he says. I fear that COVID (being a virus) caused some damage. But there's more than just hearing loss.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

That does sound frustrating, @John Brunner . My paternal grandmother was "stone deaf" from having scarlet fever as a young woman. She wore one of the old-timey hearing aids with a cord that made horrible whistling noises when she tried to adjust it. I can only imagine how awful that must have been.

 

[Don Alaska]

I wear both glasses and hearing aids, but let me tell you, getting glasses and getting hearing aids are NOT the same. Some say people expect hearing aids to make your hearing "normal" like glasses make your eyesight "normal". Well, glasses don't make my eyesight normal, but hearing aids don't even approach normal for me. I can make the font bigger on computers, but turning the amplification up on the hearing aids turns EVERYTHING up. Imagine if turning changing the font changed the background and made it much brighter. I can put all kinds of filters on the hearing aids, but it really doesn't make it better. The filters don't allow me to concentrate on one conversation to the exclusion of others in a crowd. Part of it might be a brain function, but I have rather high-end hearing aids and the vision aid provided by glasses or contacts is not like the hearing changes of hearing aids. Without aids, I would be almost totally deaf, but with them I am still quite handicapped. I can't speak for others as I think my hearing loss is somewhat unique, but nothing is the same as far a hearing goes.

 

[Krystal Shay]

That does sound frustrating, @John Brunner . My paternal grandmother was "stone deaf" from having scarlet fever as a young woman. She wore one of the old-timey hearing aids with a cord that made horrible whistling noises when she tried to adjust it. I can only imagine how awful that must have been.

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My mother had Scarlet Fever too. She got it when she was a baby. She lost her hearing in one ear. Her parents never entertain the thought of her having hearing aids. After her and my dad were married several years, she had them checked again. She had tubes put in both ears. I don't know why, or remember why, they put a tube in her ear that she couldn't hear out of. Later on, she tried a hearing aid in her good ear, but she simply could not stand it. She tossed it in a drawer and there it remained.

I have a cousin who was born deaf. She used to wear that type of hearing aid. It would screech and make noises that was loud to everyone else around her, but her. She never knew it was making a noise. She was stone deaf and yet they sold her parents hearing aids.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

My mother had Scarlet Fever too. She got it when she was a baby. She lost her hearing in one ear. Her parents never entertain the thought of her having hearing aids. After her and my dad were married several years, she had them checked again. She had tubes put in both ears. I don't know why, or remember why, they put a tube in her ear that she couldn't hear out of. Later on, she tried a hearing aid in her good ear, but she simply could not stand it. She tossed it in a drawer and there it remained.

I have a cousin who was born deaf. She used to wear that type of hearing aid. It would screech and make noises that was loud to everyone else around her, but her. She never knew it was making a noise. She was stone deaf and yet they sold her parents hearing aids.

My grandma's hearing aid made those screeching sounds, too. I remember my grandpa yelling "turn that thing off!!"