Hearing Aids - how goes it?
Discussion
TheJimi said:
ollie uk said:
WinstonWolf said:
Kewy said:
Not had a chance to properly read this whole thread but thought I'd give my experience.
When I was 15 I had a bad case of labyrinthitis, it started with the hearing in one of my ears going in the morning (almost like when you're on a plane), all morning I was trying to 'pop' my ear to get the hearing back as I thought it was a pressure thing, but no luck.
Then, in my music lesson (ironically), the whole room started spinning, I collapsed, threw up everywhere and literally couldn't lift my head off the floor. To cut a long story short, I ended up in hospital for 2 weeks on an IV drip whilst my brain adjusted to 'balance organ failure' – whatever that means.
Two weeks later I was back on my feet, and more importantly could keep food down as the nausea started to wear off. The hearing in my right ear however, never came back. I'd take a guess that I have about 20% of my hearing left and its all low frequency, and high frequency just doesn't get through.
I put up with this, and in fact it didn't affect me much for a good 9 years, but eventually wanted to go find out exactly what was going on and whether there was any way of getting my hearing back. After a number of appointments and tests they kind of explained what had happened back when I was 15, they also told me that in this day and age, if I had been given steroids within 24 hours of my hearing loss then it probably would have come back! Not much help now.
Anyway, I was given a heading aid, this was 5 years ago (its an Oticon one??), and used it for a couple of months but really couldn't get the hang of it, the little sounds as it rubs against your skin and the feedback and the faff of wearing it (its small but certainly not inconspicuous) was all too much. It's sat in a drawer most of those years and I try it every now and then but find the extra hearing it gives me isn't even that noticeable to warrant wearing it.
I have however started to become more and more frustrated with the lack of hearing in that ear. Quiet places, and when the people are talking to are standing anywhere but to my right hand side, its fine and I don't even notice. But in noisy environments or when someone is to my right and talking to me I just cannot hear, most the time I move to their other side and much closer.
I've found over the years I feel more and more anxious in busy places (I can literally only be in city centres for an hour or so before its too much), and I'm convinced its my hearing thats causing the disorientation and making me feel this way. I'm generally a confident and chatty person, I love festivals and socialising and no reason to feel this way otherwise.
I also get so frustrated asking people to repeat themselves or saying 'pardon', that I've just started ignoring them and hoping they repeat themself of their own accord. Particularly the o/h (comes in handy sometimes :P), but despite her being fully aware of my hearing, and always walking on my left etc, I'm still constantly mis-hearing her at home etc.
Are aids any better/smaller than they were 5 years ago? Is there a better aid now than the Oticon one I currently have? Has anyone else noticed that in busy places they can become quite anxious and disorientated due to hearing?
Wear it, your life will be better once you've adjusted to all the new noises you can hear. Sure, they're not perfect but they're better than feeling isolated. You don't have to wear it the whole time but it's a handy tool to have.When I was 15 I had a bad case of labyrinthitis, it started with the hearing in one of my ears going in the morning (almost like when you're on a plane), all morning I was trying to 'pop' my ear to get the hearing back as I thought it was a pressure thing, but no luck.
Then, in my music lesson (ironically), the whole room started spinning, I collapsed, threw up everywhere and literally couldn't lift my head off the floor. To cut a long story short, I ended up in hospital for 2 weeks on an IV drip whilst my brain adjusted to 'balance organ failure' – whatever that means.
Two weeks later I was back on my feet, and more importantly could keep food down as the nausea started to wear off. The hearing in my right ear however, never came back. I'd take a guess that I have about 20% of my hearing left and its all low frequency, and high frequency just doesn't get through.
I put up with this, and in fact it didn't affect me much for a good 9 years, but eventually wanted to go find out exactly what was going on and whether there was any way of getting my hearing back. After a number of appointments and tests they kind of explained what had happened back when I was 15, they also told me that in this day and age, if I had been given steroids within 24 hours of my hearing loss then it probably would have come back! Not much help now.
Anyway, I was given a heading aid, this was 5 years ago (its an Oticon one??), and used it for a couple of months but really couldn't get the hang of it, the little sounds as it rubs against your skin and the feedback and the faff of wearing it (its small but certainly not inconspicuous) was all too much. It's sat in a drawer most of those years and I try it every now and then but find the extra hearing it gives me isn't even that noticeable to warrant wearing it.
I have however started to become more and more frustrated with the lack of hearing in that ear. Quiet places, and when the people are talking to are standing anywhere but to my right hand side, its fine and I don't even notice. But in noisy environments or when someone is to my right and talking to me I just cannot hear, most the time I move to their other side and much closer.
I've found over the years I feel more and more anxious in busy places (I can literally only be in city centres for an hour or so before its too much), and I'm convinced its my hearing thats causing the disorientation and making me feel this way. I'm generally a confident and chatty person, I love festivals and socialising and no reason to feel this way otherwise.
I also get so frustrated asking people to repeat themselves or saying 'pardon', that I've just started ignoring them and hoping they repeat themself of their own accord. Particularly the o/h (comes in handy sometimes :P), but despite her being fully aware of my hearing, and always walking on my left etc, I'm still constantly mis-hearing her at home etc.
Are aids any better/smaller than they were 5 years ago? Is there a better aid now than the Oticon one I currently have? Has anyone else noticed that in busy places they can become quite anxious and disorientated due to hearing?
Don`t normally post but,
Investigate Lyric made by Phonak, not cheap but they have literally changed my life.
They are invisible and you leave them in for around two months before getting them renewed.
You can pay for just one if that is all that is needed. As with all hearing aids they take a bit of getting used to but after 3 - 4 weeks, you just forget all about them and carry on with your life, except you don`t keep repeating SORRY / PARDON
No connection to Phonak, just a happy long term user. PM me if you want more info.
ollie uk
Hearing aids can and do sound very different to different people. So where a particular hearing aid could be a game-changer to one person, it could sound utterly terrible to another another.
Honesty, I'm not pissing on chips here :-)
Edited by TheJimi on Friday 9th November 18:51
I`ve been wearing aids for about 40 years,so have experienced quite a lot. I started with the early behind the ear analog ones, went private with in the ear models and now back with the NHS who supplied me with two state of the art digital Phonak aids.The other thing to consider is that the ear molds have to be replaced every two years or so. All I have to do is visit my local NHS hearing aid department drop in centre and new molds are made and posted to me in 2 weeks. Same with an adjustment or fault,its sorted while I wait. All this is done by experts for free.
Edited by Old Merc on Saturday 10th November 15:35
Well this is weird, I definitely have *some* hearing now despite still having the packing in. I was well and truly off my tits on morphine but I recall the surgeon specifically saying they didn't repair it. Well whatever he did has worked or the swelling is temporarily pressing on my TORP making it work.
I'm so nervous in case what I currently have goes, but I've got everything crossed I might actually have some useable hearing in my duff ear
I'm so nervous in case what I currently have goes, but I've got everything crossed I might actually have some useable hearing in my duff ear
WinstonWolf said:
How can you drive to somewhere you already are 
Went to the pub last night
the Mrs was sat on my deaf side yet I could still hear most of what she said despite having packing in that ear. I couldn't do that before the op 
That does sound (!) very encouraging Indeed.Went to the pub last night
the Mrs was sat on my deaf side yet I could still hear most of what she said despite having packing in that ear. I couldn't do that before the op Was gaining hearing mentioned as part of the effects of the operation?
TheJimi said:
WinstonWolf said:
How can you drive to somewhere you already are
Went to the pub last night the Mrs was sat on my deaf side yet I could still hear most of what she said despite having packing in that ear. I couldn't do that before the op
That does sound (!) very encouraging Indeed.Went to the pub last night
the Mrs was sat on my deaf side yet I could still hear most of what she said despite having packing in that ear. I couldn't do that before the op Was gaining hearing mentioned as part of the effects of the operation?
I went in to have my hearing repaired (TORP) but he specifically said they didn't do it. All I've got is the metalwork they put in last year but it *seems* to be working now.
Gut feel is he's somehow fixed a pressure blockage in the ear that stopped the drum from vibrating (and caused the tumour in the first place).
God bless the NHS!
So my '~4 months' wait for an audiology appointment came to an end this week when they rang with a cancellation. Went to local hospital, third hearing test, then booked in for a fitting - today! Never knew the office PC had a fan and I make quite the racket hammering keys. Bit of a loner to have much else to test it on
I've got an Oticon Synergy.
So my '~4 months' wait for an audiology appointment came to an end this week when they rang with a cancellation. Went to local hospital, third hearing test, then booked in for a fitting - today! Never knew the office PC had a fan and I make quite the racket hammering keys. Bit of a loner to have much else to test it on
I've got an Oticon Synergy.
WinstonWolf said:
Well my renaissance was short lived, now the swelling's gone down I'm pretty much deaf as a post in my wonky ear again 
Back to the audiologist in a week or two for a complete retune to see if they can get me some useful hearing on that side until I have my next op.
How the hell does that work? Back to the audiologist in a week or two for a complete retune to see if they can get me some useful hearing on that side until I have my next op.Am I understanding this correctly? You had the op to remove the growth, and afterwards, you could hear surprisingly well but now that it's healed, you're the hearing ability has vanished again?
That's baffling.
TheJimi said:
WinstonWolf said:
Well my renaissance was short lived, now the swelling's gone down I'm pretty much deaf as a post in my wonky ear again Back to the audiologist in a week or two for a complete retune to see if they can get me some useful hearing on that side until I have my next op.
How the hell does that work? Back to the audiologist in a week or two for a complete retune to see if they can get me some useful hearing on that side until I have my next op.Am I understanding this correctly? You had the op to remove the growth, and afterwards, you could hear surprisingly well but now that it's healed, you're the hearing ability has vanished again?
That's baffling.
I imagine with everything swelled up the cochlea was being stimulated, not the swelling has gone there's an air gap which needs fixing (again) in a year or so.
I still feel a bit lucky, the tumour was around my cartoid artery, the balance organs, my facial nerve and I had a brain fluid leak. Going deaf is the least bad outcome if you're being pragmatic.
I had all sorts of weird symptoms for probably twenty years, feeling 'a bit spaced out' pressure in my face and ear when I bent down, these seem to have gone.
Get my HA retuned for my new level of deafness in a week, I'll be glad to have it back
I'm struggling a bit with my week old devices. Had a few scenarios where my hearing seemed no better at all and starting to wonder if the original uplift was somewhat of a placebo effect. Fair bit of white noise in quiet environments. My ears seem irritated by the new inward invasion. Generally looking forward to my review.
22 said:
I'm struggling a bit with my week old devices. Had a few scenarios where my hearing seemed no better at all and starting to wonder if the original uplift was somewhat of a placebo effect. Fair bit of white noise in quiet environments. My ears seem irritated by the new inward invasion. Generally looking forward to my review.
It takes a while, persevere! Mine took about four trips till it was set up to my liking. You'll get used to the uplift in volume, they start quiet and turn it up a bit when you're used to it.If you've got a full mould a thin smear of Vaseline helps as it protects the skin. You'll get a feel for when you need to use it. I tend to pop mine in and out regularly now I'm used to it, I let the air get in often then pop it back in when I need better hearing.
Good luck
Wolfy, meant to reply to your update.
I can sympathise dude, s
t like this is an emotional rollercoaster.
It's weird how the brain works at times. I'm a very rational, logical person. However, when my (remaining) hearing deteriorated earlier this year I panicked a bit, and to begin with, I didn't even consider the idea of getting the aid tweaked to compensate, I just...panicked and thought I was fked.
In the end, the issue sorted itself out, and in the meantime, I did get the aid tweaked to suit.
22, try to relax a bit, and as glib as this sounds (sorry!) try to not focus on the aid and let your brain do it's thing in terms of getting used to it.
I can sympathise dude, s
t like this is an emotional rollercoaster. It's weird how the brain works at times. I'm a very rational, logical person. However, when my (remaining) hearing deteriorated earlier this year I panicked a bit, and to begin with, I didn't even consider the idea of getting the aid tweaked to compensate, I just...panicked and thought I was f
ked.In the end, the issue sorted itself out, and in the meantime, I did get the aid tweaked to suit.
22, try to relax a bit, and as glib as this sounds (sorry!) try to not focus on the aid and let your brain do it's thing in terms of getting used to it.
Edited by TheJimi on Wednesday 12th December 22:09
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff