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I Am Hard of Hearing and Wear Hearing Aids

I have come to the conclusion that the main purpose of the audiologist who fits you for a hearing aid is to convince you to "get used to it" no matter how you feel about it if the hearing aid(s) you've been given are the best sound quality and fit for you and for your budget.

After all, it's the best they can offer you and the alternative is for you to go around not hearing very well which is not good for your social life, your brain or your general well being and safety. So...you will be told you have get used to whatever is bothering you about it if it basically works OK. I've noticed that audiologists seem to develop a firm but weary tone when they explain the "adjustment period." They've heard all the complaints; this the best they can do for you; your job now is to get used to it.

As a patient who has just drained my savings and gone into debt, this is a little depressing. I can hear better now...but I am uncomfortable...and I have to...[i]get used to it.[/i]

I really, really hope all this changes in a few years. I think it will because I've been reading up on all the newer hearing technologies. Who knows, maybe by the time I am out of debt, the technologies will have already improved. And I can stop being uncomfortable. I've read that the newer technologies will be cheaper as well so maybe I won't spend a chunk of my retirement years in debt by then.

Meanwhile, I have an appointment with my hearing aid audiologist. And at least I am mentally prepared for what I know he is going to say when I tell him I am hearing better but hate the feel of those awful little plastic plugs in my ears.

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HootyTheNightOwl

i choose to go without my hearing aids before i ever get back on the bandwagon of back to back ear infections again.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@HootyTheNightOwl Did you have the kind of hearing aids that plug up your ears? That's what I've got. Do you think that can cause ear infections? Any medical opinions or support over it? What does your doctor say about it?

HootyTheNightOwl

@greenmountaingal It was a behind the ear type that tapered off to a tiny little plug that went into the entrance to the ear canal.

i don't think that they will cause ear infections in most cases - though they did and do in my case. i have glue ear, which causes the perfect environment for nasty bacteria to live in within my ears. At first, it wasn't a problem because the ear molds that i had had a tiny little hole in them to allow air to circulate through into my ears. My consultant stated that this was best for me and my ears.

My problems started when they bought out the new, digital hearing aids but no one would admit to me that this was the problem at the time. Fortunately, i still had an old mold (with the hole in it) from before, so i switched the new with the old one and the infection didn't occur in that ear - though the one with the new mold in got infected again in a matter of days of me starting the experiment.

It was ultimately decided that they could no longer make me molds from the old material, so i either get used to the new material (and my ears getting infected every few days) or i accept that there's nothing more that they can do for me and go through life without hearing aids.

There was no way i was living with near constant ear infections and i've had my hearing impairment for my whole life, so i've learned how to lip read, which limits the effect that my hearing loss has on my life so i decided that i'd rather go through life deaf than live with the alternative.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@HootyTheNightOwl I understand. Thank you for telling me your story. This kind of I information is helpful to me although I may not have your particular problem. I appreciate.And I admire you for taking charge of your situation.

HootyTheNightOwl

@greenmountaingal i often hesitate to answer when others ask me if i feel that the molds can cause ear infections, because, i have little doubt that they were the cause in my case, i know that i have family members who have the same type of mold that i didn't do well with - and they've had no problem at all with them - they even went as far as to recommend them to me.

If i was going to go through the process of ditching hearing aids over again, i would take the time to learn sign language and teach my family and friends, too. While you might not need it just yet, it can open doors with communicating with others in the deaf community as well as being something that you can fall back on should your hearing get worse over time. Personally, i have a language that only select few people understand and can communicate with me in to cover such times when talking at my usual volume is inappropriate.

purplepen · 51-55, F

@HootyTheNightOwl That's sad. I wonder if you could make holes in them yourself.

HootyTheNightOwl

@purplepen Not these new ones... the old ones were much harder and made out of a plastic/resin type material.

The types that are currently in use have us over a barrel either way in that both are a softer, rubbery type material. One of which is little bigger than the opening of a pen cap and doesn't have the required space to insert the hole because of the tubing smack in the center of it.

The other is very similar to the old one in design, though made out of a softer rubbery type material, that i've been told by my former audiologist, can carry infection much easier than my old one. i can't guarantee that the mold is free from infection by the end of the appointment to set up my hearing aids and only audiologists have access to the special stuff that they disinfect them with - so, by the time i get home and make the hole, there's a chance that they are already contaminated... that's IF i can make the hole without slipping off the material or breaking the mold.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@HootyTheNightOwl Maybe dip them in colloidal silver solution...?