Thread for those of us that are deaf/hard of hearing?

[flamingo40]

I've looked through the health topics and can't find any particular areas for those of us who are deaf or hard of hearing to turn to if we are after advice or just fancy a chat with people who are in the same situation?
I guess I'm asking firstly if I'm missing something or secondly if there isn't an area we can go to would this be something Mumsnet would think about adding?

Having been hard of hearing for years and now a permanent hearing aid wearer I'd love you get help and advice and talk about experiences to other people

Perhaps if we all keep saying when its not working a change will come and everyone will check their loop systems? That would be great!

Well I came out of my audiology appointment a lot more sad than I went in.
The 'senior' audiologist just wasn't very nice. Well actually no she was a weird combination of lovely on some subjects and really patronising and impatient on others! She generally made me feel a nuisance though and if my daughter hadn't been with me I'd have cried when I came out.

My hearing has deteriorated since my last test, apparently with enough of a drop in tones in my right ear that she is writing to my doctor; who may or may not refer me to ENT. She didn't say what that would lead to though?

She batted off my questions with vagueness and said well I'm not medical to one of them. In the past when I've had appointments they've taken the time to tweak the aids for maximum help but she just set them, trundled us off and said right come back at Easter! She put different domes on than I've had before but she wouldn't give any spare tubes or domes - said she wasn't allowed and she's 'senior' so she should know. When I pointed out they'd given me some at last month's appointment (also a senior 🤔) she just shrugged her shoulders.

So as she was absolutely no help with my hearing aid questions I wonder if anyone on here might be.?
I have Oticon Engage bluetooth aids. Does the Bluetooth work all the time or can it be temperamental - they just seemed to lose connection to my phone the other day and it took a lot of faffing about to get them to reconnect.

How many devices you can pair them to?
Also how can I connect them to the TV?

I am so happy to have Bluetooth ones but I don't want to miss out on any functionality through ignorance.

Thanks 😊

ah i can't help i don't have these bluetooth ones but i'm so sorry you had experience like that
that's horrible and it shouldn't be like that

I have Bluetooth ones and they connect using an App and access code given to me by the hearing aid provider. I asked for a second code so I can use them connected to two different phones, my work one and personal one. I can’t connect them direct to my iPad as I don’t have a code/app on them. When I asked for a second code the provider said ooh “not had anyone ask for a second code” I didn’t want to push asking for a third code as they are NHS ones. They don’t drop out the signal only once I had to disconnect and reconnect them after an issue. I’ve always been given extra set of domes it does sound like you got poor service, is it worth requesting another apt? Or a complaint

They can send you domes if you email the audiology department. I do this all the time

I got 'blue tooth' aids, but they need a separate mic to work, which I have to buy ☹️. This is not what I was hoping for.

Does anyone feel that their hearing loss is not taken seriously?

I have been severely deaf in one ear since childhood and now my good ear is deteriorating with age.

I remember my mother trying to get me help at school and the teacher dismissing her concerns because my right ear was normal.

Even now, because my right ear is only mildly impaired, people don't seem to understand that background noise completely drowns out anything I am trying to listen to and things like accents and speech clarity make all the difference between being able to hear or not.

Another thing that challenges me is the phone . I find it very difficult to concentrate on a call if there is any ancillary noise and can't cope with long conversations because I can't switch ears. As for workplace headsets, forget it. I can either listen to people talking irl or remotely, not both

Fatabdfifty
background noise completely drowns out anything I am trying to listen to

I am always reminding DH it isn't welcoming to have background music when it means I can't hear the guests, particularly my mother who also wears a hearing aid and can't stand background noise.

Oh yes, music unnecessarily loud in the background, along with clanking plates, knives and the general hub bub of conversation.

A particular bugbear I have at the moment is that, at work (a busy shop), we have been supplied headsets in order to communicate better and I am constantly having to explain to colleagues why I am not wearing mine - i.e. 'Yes, I can hear it (in my good ear) but if I have it on constantly, I cannot hear customers trying to get my attention because I not only have the background noise of the shop to contend with but also the constant chatter in the earpiece in my only useful hearing ear. Then I get, 'well, I can't hear it either', which brings it on to 'well, if you struggle with normal hearing, imagine what it is like for me.' Really terrible idea.

It seems a constant theme in my life from untrained people thinking the hearing won't make a difference when it does and feeling a bit like I'm making a fuss over nothing because I'm not profoundly deaf in both ears

I find if I'm listening in the car to podcasts on my iPhone , the max volume in the phone just isn't loud enough. The noise of the car and traffic impacts on it.
If I put air pods in then it's ok, but sometimes I haven't got them with me.
I wish my IPhone volume went a wee bit higher.

My phone broke so in the meantime i bought one of those nokia phones - not a smart phone- just i could received calls and ring out til i get a new one. but my god it's sooooooo quiet. i really struggle on it and always have to put it on loudspeaker - just to get it to a volume i'd be able to hear in my ear. it's ridiculous
i'll be so glad when i get a smart phone again!

I think smart phones are louder. I can't hear my landline

It just makes me laugh that on this nokia simple phone when you press loudspeaker it gives you this warning saying loud activating are you sure?
and it's not loud in the slightest!!

Happy new year to you all.
Thought I'd pop on to see how everyone's doing and how we've all coped during the festivities?
For me it was a mixed bag.
London a few weeks before Xmas was fantastic but so very noisy. I found I had to constantly adjust my hearing aids. That being said my husband was great at supporting me and I had a wonderful weekend being touristy.
I did get an awful migraine a few days later and knew I needed quiet. Just to take them out and shut myself away definitely helped.
Then the last day at work with Xmas music blasting was lovely but a major overload I found.
A family gathering was difficult whilst playing a game. I decided not to join in because part of the family I'm not close to don't understand and I couldn't hear everything being said so it would of been impossible to play properly; usually I'd not let it bother me but with the particular group I don't have a good relationship so just buddied up with my husband.
Lots of noise, people that mumble and don't direct speech in my direction so that was a difficult night.
I can say there's been a sensory overload this past week, lots of situations I've found difficult but I've Taken myself off to a quiet place frequently and listened to my body/ears. Pardon the pun!
It's very tiring at times isn't it?
How did we all find it?

I always find social situations tiring. I've been deaf in one ear since childhood but, since the good ear has deteriorated, I have found it really difficult both on a practical and emotional level.

I feel I am not taken seriously enough or I am playing on it and it is quite triggering from childhood when I repeatedly tried to tell my mum that one of my ears wasn't working properly and being dismissed as having wax. Then I remember school teachers saying it should make no difference and I wasn't paying attention or just didn't understand the lesson.

My good ear is not that bad yet but it's getting worse with each test and I have hearing aids on both ears now. They do help but they bring their own problems

What jobs do people do here?
And for example is it in a busy office?
Is it on the phone/headset or face to face?

Social situations are always difficult aren't they?
I'm a housekeeper. Previously a travel agent and teaching assistant. I couldn't do those jobs now I'd find it too difficult.
I'm fortunate all my clients understand and speak clearly to me when they need to

I work in a call centre
I've had thoughts creeping in more recently how it might be more and more of a struggle
Sometimes it is a struggle on the phone but it's normal life to me and I think I don't think about it but sometimes I've wondered if other people noticed it about me more recently

I work in a shop

I work with children - the sound of toys dropping is horrendous. However ... the children are really good at speaking clearly and making eye contact before speaking, which I think is a good life skill. If I don't have my hearing aids in their speech is much less clear, so my aids definitely help, even if they are uncomfortable and magnify some noises.

I ;was working as a receptionist in a GP surgery which had its challenges. Now I work in the same place but in a different role as a prescriptions clerk. I do spend time on the phone and have a headset which is useful as it blocks out background noise. I do really really struggle with people wearing masks though which is tricky as I work for the NHS and we have to wear them. I do worry a lot about what will happen if my hearing deteriorates further though.

Hello, I have found my people! Please can I join in?

I have bilateral hearing loss and wear hearing aids. I rely on lip reading which is a nightmare at the moment with covid and masks.

I'm going to read through the thread now and get to know you.

I find I am really struggling at work at the moment. I should really be used to being deaf as I lost most of my hearing in my left ear at the age of 12. In the past 3 years, my right ear has deteriorated a lot. I can still hear but everything is dull and muffled and everyone sounds as if they are mumbling.

Today at work, I was in the canteen and three of us were sitting together, although the tables are slightly distanced due to COVID. I found I couldn't follow the conversation at all even when I was leaning over and really tried hard to concentrate. I am finding the only time I can hear is when someone talks at normal volume (not speaking quietly) while right next to me.

I have had two hearing aids for 3 years now (they chose not to aid the left ear years ago but, with digital, it's all changed and they are considered more beneficial). They do help a lot but clarity is still an issue. I had them adjusted and they are much better but I find hearing in noise still an issue. Tonight I watched a TV programme and found I couldn't follow it without text - otherwise, it's just like trying to understand a foreign language.

I dunno. I am just feeling a bit down tonight. I could manage with my right ear being normal - I even managed to learn two languages - but just cannot get used to the deterioration and it has deteriorated twice already since I got the aids and all of this has coincided with COVID and the distancing and masks. The audiologist says it's nothing I have done and that it's just bad luck as I am susceptible to hearing loss. I am only 51 and my 78 year old mother has better hearing than I have

Sorry to hear you've been struggling mutts, it can be tough and lonely dealing with hearing loss can't it

I'm so glad to have found this thread and hope it's ok to join. I have moderate hearing loss in both ears and have phonax nathos aids. I've recently moved areas and the nhs audiology service here is provided via specsavers and they're moving me onto new aids. Interesting to read the comments about Bluetooth and will be enquiring about this.

It's comforting to read that I'm not the only one who struggles from time to time. I've had hearing loss for a while but only worn aids for 3 years or so. Masks have made interactions so difficult and I really struggle in work meetings. Plus a colleague and my sister are both very softly spoken and I feel like I'm constantly asking them to repeat themselves. I know my DH can find it frustrating too although he's getting used to remembering that if he's not facing me when speaking there's a good chance I won't fully hear what he's saying! At least with masks I have become more confident telling people I have hearing loss when asking them to repeat themselves, because I miss so much!

There's some further options I'll be so discussing at my next appointment so will be back to ask about peoples experiences with some of the equipment.

Thanks for starting this thread