Hearing Aids

Hi all! I've recently been struggling with hearing loss and will be getting hearing aids. If any of you who wear them, how long did it take you to get used to them? What do they feel like? Do you feel like people are staring at them instead of you? I'm in my early 20s, so I feel like I have a huge stigma

It only took me minutes to get used to mine. The audiologist doesn't turn them full up at start, but eases you into them.

Mine aren't all that noticeable and frankly, like diaper wearing, wearing them myself makes me observant of others and really it's not all that noticable.
The hearing aids aren't the giant things they used to me. I have Resound Linx 3D and I even got the "larger" variety (better battery life) and it's still tiny. The case comes in a variety of colors so I just got one close to my hair color. I usually have to remove them to show people I'm actually wearing them.

They improvement is startling. I told my wife "I didn't realize we had so many birds in our yard." She says she no longer has to repeat the waitress in the restaurant to me all the time, etc...

When I was at school in the 80s/90s, there was a kid with hearing aids. They were quite big back then, but no one treated him any differently. He had a radio transmitter for the teachers to wear round their neck during class. On one memorable day, the teacher left the room, and he burst out laughing. The transmitter was still on, and the the teacher was flirting with another teacher in the corridor! He turned the volume up to max, so everyone around him could just about listen in! The rumours flew round the school! Ha ha!

I have a friend now who has them. Five or ten years back he got new ones and, with a casual glance, you wouldn't know they were there. And even when you look closely, they're much more aesthetically attractive than the old square-boxy plastic ones.

I've never noticed anyone staring at his hearing aids. I don't know why anyone would -- most people have seen them before, and plenty of people wander round with much bigger Bluetooth earpieces linked to their phone!

I hope you can get over the feeling of stigma towards them. No one thinks any less of someone for wearing glasses (visual aids) so hearing aids should be no different.

My iphone bluetooths right into the hearing aids. Very handy. We were driving around and my wife can't figure out how I know where to go. I just point at my ears and say "I hear voices."

willnotwill said:

My iphone bluetooths right into the hearing aids. Very handy. We were driving around and my wife can't figure out how I know where to go. I just point at my ears and say "I hear voices."

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Definitely cool willnotwill! I have great hearing, but my brother-in-law and his mother have terrible hearing. He goes to these places that have free or almost free hearing aids in a bowl, and that's where he gets his and the ones for my mother-in-law. Of course, they don't work well at all because they aren't calibrated for where their hearing loss is.

I think you get what you pay for. If you buy expensive hearing aids, they're for the most part, unnoticeable and they work well.

I went full tilt with the audiologist (though my insurance paid about half). Once I got my intiial fitting I found the software and bought the hardware necessary to tweak the settings myself.

Thanks, everyone! I am opting for a BTE (behind the ear) model if anyone is wondering. Due to my level of hearing loss, my audiologist says these in the bulkier option are best for me.

If you can afford good ones you'll be fine, good ones are awesome. I'm stuck with el-cheapo "sound enhancers" as opposed to actual hearing aides and they're only useful if I really want to watch something that doesn't have subtitles and for w/e reason can't blast loud, or for having important conversations like with a doctor. The rest of the time I just wind up yanking them out over and over because voices are still quiet but other noises like fans, floors creaking, or worse coughing/dog barking is REALLY LOUD.

What you probably want is a "RIC" model. People confuse these terms all the time. BTE means the receiver (that is the speaker) is built into the part that goes behind your year and a hollow tube comes down to your ear canal. A RIC (receiver in canal) still has the electronics and the battery behind the ear, but the speaker sits in the ear canal with a thin wire connecting them. That's what I have.

I have a really annoying loud ringing in my ears.
I've been tested a few times, and there is no hearing loss. So I'm at a loss as to why there is ringing. Its like its a noise that is overplayed on normal hearing, as such that I can focus on sounds and hear 20/20, ie like focusing on a conversation in a noisy room. I'm not sure what to do about this as no doctor has put forth any good ideas or solution.

MickeyM, I cannot focus on a conversation too well, especially in a noisy room. So you're lucky! But I've heard of other who have that issue you have, I am not sure how it was resolved though.

nezquic66 said:

MickeyM, I cannot focus on a conversation too well, especially in a noisy room. So you're lucky! But I've heard of other who have that issue you have, I am not sure how it was resolved though.

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I would appreciate any info you could provide.

I can "will" it to lower in volume about 5% for only a moment, its a tough struggle to keep it. I'm not sure whats going on. Its volume is not constant, as I usually sit in the same place working, playing the same music, and I can sometimes "mask" the ringing by playing that music with as little as 3% volume or as much as 35% volume on days where it is bad. I've tried to go to a doctor about it, but has not gone anywhere.

Totally unimpressed with the heating aids I spent $4500 on. People who are quiet talkers are still unintelligible. If I try to whistle I gosh awful sound. I often can't tell any difference o hearing with or without. I've had a bad experience. Try them on day one with the audiologist and if you are impressed make them take them back and demand a refund. If I go again I will do that to 100 dispensers until I get a pair that thrills me. Except nothing else, don't let them keep trying you will just get screwed.