-- hearing assistance.., assistance...

[ron l edmiston]

-- i have been just to damn vain to do anything about my hearing loss over the years..
-- born with partial.., missed so much in school.. more loss in paddies of rice and continued decay at the drag
strip with the nitro monsters & no ear plugs..
-- i know that a "pita" to my friends to repeat everything and so much of a loss to me as the world goes by
with me wondering why..

don't want to try the shuck/jive shit or carnival man audiologist --- if "you" or a friend has hearing assistance (aids) --
please point me to the path..

thank you for your time..,

ronnie with a smile & "it's never to late" (mackenzie phillips)

[Too Tall]

Same same. I've had severe tinnitus in my R. ear for 20 years. That and working in noisy industrial environments did me no favors. I've been too vain to do anything about it until and after several stern words from some guy in PA who makes bikes. One of his daughters is a crack audiologist who says that the earlier you do something about it than the progression is considerably lessened. Early intervention = better outcomes. Thru that connection I got in touch with one of her classmates located locally. Working with really nice people who know their really helps.

There is some good news boss. In the last couple years the microprocessors have increased in speed to a point where fancy hearing algorythms can do such a good job that these new generation aides are outtasight. I'm now able to actually hear discreet conversations where there is background noise which is something I can not remember being able to do, it's been that long.

I have Oticon Opn which are also bluetooth and work great with iphone. I've had them since October. Nobody ever notices I'm wearing unless I take a phone call and talk into space ;)

Ask me anything.

[dashDustin]

I'm now able to actually hear discreet conversations where there is background noise

this is what's killing me. right now there are 5 people conversing 20ft away. i can't 'hear' the person that is 2' away from me, talking directly to me...all a jumble. also realized that i can't hear the 'ding' of our door bell at home. i thought it was broken. Wifey was like "what are you talking about...it dings and dongs. you can only hear the dong?" yep. mine is mostly in my left ear. i swear it's because i wear an earbud in my right ear when riding.

long story short....subscribing to this thread. curious to see what folks have to say.

[bigbill]

I spent 27 years operating steam plants (nukelar) with high speed turbines and ended up with 30% loss in both ears and tinnitus. In one particular situation on a submarine, I slept 10 feet from a 120db fan for months at a time. I just got used to it by losing hearing. Since retiring and starting a new career still in noisy environments, I've been better about wearing earplugs and since I don't live around the noise as well, I've recovered to around 20% loss. But I still have tinnitus and have to sleep with a fan. For now it's ok, I still have some high range clarity but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

[Saab2000]

I have Oticon Opn which are also bluetooth and work great with iphone. I've had them since October. Nobody ever notices I'm wearing unless I take a phone call and talk into space ;)

I think this is the same one my mother has. It's been life changing for her.

[rec head]

I've had the tinnitus for as far back as I can remember - like 1st grade. TT can you explain more about early intervention? I'm obviously far past that but curious.

Also, anyone's health insurance cover hearing aids?

[Clyde]

Costco $1699 hearing aids for me 2 years ago should have done it sooner.
As recommended by my ENT since I’m paying out of pocket. Control volume and settings with my iPhone also.

[bironi]

Good thread subject. Thanks.

[Too Tall]

Rechead - You should talk to a Doc. I got the riot act from a good friend with aides and his daughter because this is what the smart docs are learning in school. In brief as told to me, if you wait several (bad) things happen. Hearing loss degrades faster than if you did get aides. Also, negative cognitive effects real. In my own case I was often disengaged from human contact because I was not able to parse conversations at and around me. This was very very apparent to me the first week I had the aides. It was a holy moment to realize that I had literally given up on fully engaging people around me. This is really a bear when you are in a small group and realize you are the only one nodding your head and not really understanding the conversation. Ouch. So basically everyone who said anything nice to me in the past 10 years when it was noisy, thanks I'm not sure what you said but it was appreciated.

I might as well take my pants off and go for a walk around the hood since I'm laying bare the issues eh? LOL.

[rwsaunders]

Ronnie...my Dad suffers from tinnitus having worked around turbines for 30 years or so...he recommended this particular brand. I know that when he doesn't wear them, phone conversations are always interesting.

Smart hearing aids and wireless accessories | ReSound

[NYCfixie]

I grew up with a great family friend who was born legally deaf; his younger brother and some of his cousins too. It is genetic. I watched over the years as his hearing aids got smaller and better. He said it was life changing. It was nice to see that over time he could stop reading my lips and be fully engulfed in a conversation. He and his brother eventually broke from deaf culture and got cochlear implants. They were good candidates, it worked well, and they both said it was worth the surgery risk.

Also, my wife's Uncle who is a very proud man, finally got hearing aids in his late 60s. He is less crabby now because he can actually hear almost everything. He was never a crabby man in his younger days. Always good spirited. It's nice to have him back.

Get hearing aids.


If you want to read a great book by my friend mentioned above:
The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa

[mnoble485]

Ronnie and I riding together in the groves, “I’m sorry, what did you say?...”What was that? ...What kind is it? Almost 9:30.”

I have custom orthotics, titanium knees, implants in my mouth and glasses. I’ve needed hearing assistance for several years but vanity stopped me. Thanks guys for the push.

My wife will thank you later.

Mike

[Matthew J]

Depending on causation of the loss, hearing aids may not make a difference.

At eight years old I lost all hearing in my left ear from a bout of scarlet fever. Hearing aids provide no benefit as my inner ear does not function at all. Inner ear surgery was not widely available in the '70s. Recently surgical intervention has alleviated scarlet fever deafness for many.

Nerve damage resulting from blows to the head and other conditions can also lead to uncorrectable hearing loss as well.

[rec head]

Rechead - You should talk to a Doc. I got the riot act from a good friend with aides and his daughter because this is what the smart docs are learning in school. In brief as told to me, if you wait several (bad) things happen. Hearing loss degrades faster than if you did get aides. Also, negative cognitive effects real. In my own case I was often disengaged from human contact because I was not able to parse conversations at and around me. This was very very apparent to me the first week I had the aides. It was a holy moment to realize that I had literally given up on fully engaging people around me. This is really a bear when you are in a small group and realize you are the only one nodding your head and not really understanding the conversation. Ouch. So basically everyone who said anything nice to me in the past 10 years when it was noisy, thanks I'm not sure what you said but it was appreciated.

I might as well take my pants off and go for a walk around the hood since I'm laying bare the issues eh? LOL.

Thanks, I've been to doctors and basically get the tinnitus is incurable story. Maybe it is time to try again. Most of my hearing loss is due to tinnitus. The amount of tinnitus/hearing loss has remained pretty constant and I have always avoided conversation with people that don't enunciate. Lucky(?)for me it is fairly equal in both ears it seems like it would be more maddening if it was only in one.

[Too Tall]

Thanks, I've been to doctors and basically get the tinnitus is incurable story. Maybe it is time to try again. Most of my hearing loss is due to tinnitus. The amount of tinnitus/hearing loss has remained pretty constant and I have always avoided conversation with people that don't enunciate. Lucky(?)for me it is fairly equal in both ears it seems like it would be more maddening if it was only in one.

Tinnitus is incurable. Fact. My pat line when docs ask me how I deal with it is "I pretend not to care" which is the truth. If you can get nice and Zen for a moment, consider it is never going to get better but you can make yourself worse than the Zen approach is quite workable. Relax, think about times when you are 100% not aware of it. These are times when your mind is fully engaged elsewhere right? Oticon offers a "soothing noise" for tinnitus but really that is noise ontop of noise man, you can do this.

[robin3mj]

The audiology profession is the last bastion of scoundrels too stupid to be real doctors, and too greedy to be optometrists. If you can find one you trust, stick with them til they retire.

I have the first gen GN Resounds that were "made for iPhone" and they've been great. I didn't hear birds sing until I was 36 years old.

[xjoex]

Ashamed to say it after Matt's post... my dad is an audiologist and getting up there in years. I help him with his computers now and then. Anyhow I know that they are small, infinitely adjustable (bluetooth!) and relatively cheap. I'd say find an independent who sells Siemens as I understand they won't sell to audiologists who get more than a certain number of complaints per year.

If you are in the Philly area I can set you up.

Cheers,
-Joe

PS He owned a few eye glass stores until the emergence of places like lenscrafters, ticking two of Matt's boxes :)

[robin3mj]

Ashamed to say it after Matt's post... my dad is an audiologist and getting up there in years. I help him with his computers now and then. Anyhow I know that they are small, infinitely adjustable (bluetooth!) and relatively cheap. I'd say find an independent who sells Siemens as I understand they won't sell to audiologists who get more than a certain number of complaints per year.

If you are in the Philly area I can set you up.

Cheers,
-Joe

PS He owned a few eye glass stores until the emergence of places like lenscrafters, ticking two of Matt's boxes :)

I apologize for being overly harsh. Frustration stems from not being able to find a decent audiologist since moving back from Chicago, and my 2 yr old son is now on his 3rd audiologist since he was born. The most recent of which is somehow completely unable to answer a phone call or set up a follow-up appointment to pick up new ear molds.

[Clyde]

Tinnitus : waterfalls are your friend.
Sound
Drowns them out!

[NYCfixie]

The audiology profession is the last bastion of scoundrels too stupid to be real doctors, and too greedy to be optometrists. If you can find one you trust, stick with them til they retire.

I have the first gen GN Resounds that were "made for iPhone" and they've been great. I didn't hear birds sing until I was 36 years old.

Go to "the" source...

Gallaudet University's Hearing and Speech Center



General Information
We offer services to both the Gallaudet community and to the DC/Maryland/Virginia communities. Services include:

Hearing/audiology,
Cochlear implant services,
Hearing aid evaluation & dispensing,
Assistive Devices,
Speech-language evaluation and therapy for Aural rehabilitation services (including individuals with cochlear implants seeking rehabilitation services)
Hearing adults, and
Hearing children (pediatrics),
Aural rehabilitation services (including individuals with cochlear implants seeking rehabilitation services)