Hearing aids

[colly]

, but he looked like some sort of grotesque teddy bear.

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They are the very worst sort Doug. Did he have a bow tie as well ?

 

[Andy_R]

I found that sticking my fingers in my ears didn't work as well as a hearing aid.

I bet that's because you weren't going "lalalala" at the same time

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

They are the very worst sort Doug. Did he have a bow tie as well ?

No, but he was Asian and the right colour and everything!


..... What?? He was!

 

[Smurfy]

I have always had problems with hearing in that I have had hissing, ringing or sometimes a strange throbbing sound in my ears for as long as I can remember. I find it difficult to make out things if there is more than one noise, and even if there is only one sound, the hissing/ringing can get in the way!

Going into a crowded room, everythingusuallyjustbecomesonesolidblockofnoise, and don't ask me to tell you the lyrics to a lot of songs!!

I went to the Doctor a few years back, had a hearing test, passed it all because they didn't test me for what was wrong, and the so called specialist then told me I just had a cold.
A COLD??!! ALL MY LIFE??!! Do you want to phone the Guinness Book Of Records or will I?

It annoys me to think about it even now and have never been back. I KNOW I have a problem, but this guy just treated me like some sort of moron!! It wouldn't have been so bad, but he looked like some sort of grotesque teddy bear.

I am finding this thread quite interesting and would like to find out more about it all.

You could try going back to your GP, explain the problem (omitting the teddy bear bit), and get a referral for a different ENT clinic.

 

[ayceejay]

Recently I went almost totally deaf in one ear and it was finally diagnosed as 'sudden deafness' cause unknown after a lot of testing , things stuck up my nose the sound proof room the full Monty. The only solution was to have cortisone injected into my ear drum (yes you heard that right) that was two injections each time and three visits to the hospital. Let me tell you that compared to any pain I have ever suffered before this was horrendous and the improvement to my hearing is zero. DO NOT TAKE THIS OPTION. So after all that we get to hearing aids.

 

[Smurfy]

I have the same issue with the hearing aids I've been using for some time, and they're pretty high-end hearing aids, which cost me about $5000 for the pair about 18 years ago.It's quite possible that more recent hearing aids don't have this problem, though - hopefully, like all devices they improve with time.

This is correct, but you have it the wrong way around, as it is the user that needs to 'improve'. Apparently, after years of being deaf or hearing impaired to some sounds, your brain/consciousness needs to adjust to the new normal. A friend who is hearing impaired told me the instructions he received were that you have to wear them at least 10 hours a day (preferably more) for quite a few months to help your brain/consciousness adjust to the new level of sounds.

Recently I went almost totally deaf in one ear and it was finally diagnosed as 'sudden deafness' cause unknown after a lot of testing , things stuck up my nose the sound proof room the full Monty. The only solution was to have cortisone injected into my ear drum (yes you heard that right) that was two injections each time and three visits to the hospital. Let me tell you that compared to any pain I have ever suffered before this was horrendous and the improvement to my hearing is zero. DO NOT TAKE THIS OPTION. So after all that we get to hearing aids.

 

[byegad]

Could that be explained by a change from analogue to digital?

No the first one was digital, but had no controls, typical NHS do it on the cheap approach. To be fair it was a big improvement and the TV volume went down from 37 to 17 as soon as I got it. Sadly I could also here Lady Byegad when she spoke to me. Loss ot the higher end of the hearing range, which happens with age , means you lose the ability to distinguish consonants in the normal female speech range.
I paid for the new ones and got mode choice, volume control and command acknowledgement beeps. Plus I had 4 more years of hearing loss to compensate for.