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

986 replies

flamingo40 · 04/09/2021 17:45

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

OP posts:
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purpleme12 · 22/09/2022 21:57

I'm sure most hearing aids don't have a mould?
I was first issued one with a mould.
Apparently that was the only one I could have that fit my ear.
Thankfully I moved house so moved hospitals and they told me this wasn't true. It was much better not having the mould and just having the tube.
But yes I am guessing it might depend on the hearing loss maybe? But as shown from my experience I do think some trusts are better than others.
But you should definitely enquire
I'd be interested to know

purpleme12 · 22/09/2022 21:58

And yes I'm going to watch that programme on catch up.
I really want to learn sign language but the cost makes it impossible.
There was one course which was a bit cheaper I believe but that was on a day I couldn't do. But I'm a single parent as well so it's not like I can leave her with the other parent and go

greenhousegal · 22/09/2022 22:02

I have Phonak. Got meningitis in my 20s and together with advancing age (yikes!) I am deaf as a post without them. They are fantastic, great clarity and all the bells and whistles. I just have a tiny "dome" in ear (receiver behind ear) and they are not visible and very comfortable, I only realise they are there when they are not!

I am so fortunate to have these now, previous attempts were not successful. I would be lost without them.

Going to have a chat with audiologist at some point to check out the Phonak Lyric. If they work for me I'll have them. They are fitted by a trained audiologist deep in the ear canal, require no maintenance, batteries etc. can be worn 24.7 for months. Can shower and swim with them too. Sounds to good to be true, but no harm finding out if they will work for me. If they don't the ones I have are absolutely fine. Great thread.

purpleme12 · 22/09/2022 22:06

greenhousegal · 22/09/2022 22:02

I have Phonak. Got meningitis in my 20s and together with advancing age (yikes!) I am deaf as a post without them. They are fantastic, great clarity and all the bells and whistles. I just have a tiny "dome" in ear (receiver behind ear) and they are not visible and very comfortable, I only realise they are there when they are not!

I am so fortunate to have these now, previous attempts were not successful. I would be lost without them.

Going to have a chat with audiologist at some point to check out the Phonak Lyric. If they work for me I'll have them. They are fitted by a trained audiologist deep in the ear canal, require no maintenance, batteries etc. can be worn 24.7 for months. Can shower and swim with them too. Sounds to good to be true, but no harm finding out if they will work for me. If they don't the ones I have are absolutely fine. Great thread.

Oh wow these sound swish.
Is this private or NHS the potential new ones?
They sound really tiny.

greenhousegal · 22/09/2022 22:11

I will get them privately. I am not in UK so NHS is not an option for me! I don't know if NHS offers them. They look amazing, but I have to be cautious and find out if they are suitable for my level of hearing loss.

Have a look here...

www.phonak.com/us/en/hearing-aids/lyric-invisible-hearing-aids.html?utm_guid=268b-5ccf-4196-92e3-a16c6d0a067d&utm_campaign=null&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=Google

purpleme12 · 22/09/2022 22:13

Oh ok I thought they sounded a bit good to be NHS 🤣

purpleme12 · 22/09/2022 23:45

I always feel like my right ear is worse than my left one, almost as if it's a bit underwater if that makes sense.
This is even when there's no infection there.
At my last test there wasn't too much difference between them both from what I can see.
I don't know if it's happened since then or not really.
It's hard to tell to be honest.
It makes me think I'm imagining it cos it didn't reflect this in my last test.

Violinist64 · 23/09/2022 19:00

I have a mould in my left ear as I have had a lot of surgery on it and a mould was the best fit. My new right aid has just the tube and bulb device - they have now made one that is small enough for my very narrow ear canal.

Stormchaser1502 · 25/09/2022 21:18

Can I join you?

I posted here a few months ago saying I struggled to hear things and felt frustrated. I was often told I was just being difficult. So I kind of ignored it and carried on.

recently my hearing has really got to me. I can’t hear people when they speak to me in the car, everyone sounds muffled. I also can’t ‘Hear’ people when they speak with their hands in front of their mouth. So maybe I’ve been lip reading?! Who knows!!
generally I’ve been struggling but too embarrassed to do anything about it.

the last week it’s really got to me. I feel locked in my own world due to my hearing.

I tried to book a hearing test online at Boots. They make you do an online hearing test first. My results were that I probably have some hearing loss.
I don’t really understand the results but overall it’s mild to moderate.

so I’ve now booked a hearing test f2f tomorrow. I’m fairly nervous but equally so so fed up of feeling like I’m walking around with my fingers in my ears.

has anyone any advice, or indeed an idea of why this is happening?!

Hempy · 25/09/2022 22:21

My parents thought I was away with the fairies but no, it was high frequency hearing loss.

I don't know why this has happened in your case but do press ahead and get hearing aids if you need them.

Stormchaser1502 · 25/09/2022 22:26

Hempy - thank you.

what do the following results mean…..I don’t understand the different frequencies etc. This is all alien to me!

Thread for those of us that are deaf/hard of hearing?
Hempy · 25/09/2022 22:31

😬 I don't know Storm as I'm not knowledgeable but the preliminary test doesn't seem so bad to me. Are you eligible for NHS hearing aids? I've two lovely Oticon aids which I'm delighted with. Hearing loss can be isolating so I think it's worth getting the aids.

SuziLikeSuziQ · 25/09/2022 22:51

Stormchaser1502 · 25/09/2022 22:26

Hempy - thank you.

what do the following results mean…..I don’t understand the different frequencies etc. This is all alien to me!

Hey. I'm a Teacher of the Deaf so some knowledge of audiograms!

So, very basically, they play different beeps at different pitches (tones) and they play them at different volumes (decibels - db). So the lower pitch tones are 500Hz and the higher pitch tones are the 4kHz or 8kHz.

The numbers 0, 10, 20, 30 etc. are the decibels, so the volume the tones were played at. A person with normal hearing will hear the tones at a quieter volume, so the lower decibels numbers (0-20dB ish). The more your hearing loss, the louder the tones have to be played for you to hear them, so for people with a hearing loss the dB numbers will be much greater.

So, it looks like you could hear the lower pitched tones (1kHz) at 25dB, so not much above normal. The slightly higher pitch tone (2kHz) was 30dB, so indicates a mild loss. And the high-pitch tone at 6kHz had to be played at 45dB for you to hear it, which would be a mild-moderate loss.

However, please remember that online audiograms are definitely not scientific! So tomorrow is important to establish exactly what hearing loss you have. It looks as though you will probably have some high-frequency loss, but whether that's one or both ears remains to be seen.

The audiologist tomorrow will run a similar test, but they'll check your ear pressure and how clear the ears are before testing each ear separately, with tones and possibly mask the other ear with white noise (ears are good at helping each other!). They may also test the bone conductivity, which just means they'll show you how sound can travel using the bones in your skull! (It's painless and my fave test - just requires a different headset is all!)

Good luck tomorrow, but you'll be fine! Let us know how you get on!

ToDuk · 25/09/2022 22:52

@Stormchaser1502 that diagram is a bit rubbish because the boundaries aren't set right but basically it looks like you have a mild loss in the low frequencies and a moderate loss in the high frequencies.

Even a moderate loss can make life difficult. I'm glad you've got a hearing test booked.

The other alternative is to ask for a referral to audiology from your GP.

SuziLikeSuziQ · 25/09/2022 22:54

@ToDuk And then you say it so much more simply!! 🤣🤣🤣

ToDuk · 25/09/2022 22:58

SuziLikeSuziQ · 25/09/2022 22:54

@ToDuk And then you say it so much more simply!! 🤣🤣🤣

😆 not as much detail as @SuziLikeSuziQ though! I'm also a Teacher of the Deaf 🙂

SuziLikeSuziQ · 25/09/2022 22:59

ToDuk · 25/09/2022 22:58

😆 not as much detail as @SuziLikeSuziQ though! I'm also a Teacher of the Deaf 🙂

You've been on this thread before, haven't you? Your username is familiar! Are you d/Deaf too? I find having a hearing loss ans wearing aids gives me a good "in" with some of my pupils!

ToDuk · 25/09/2022 23:02

Yes I think I've been on here before - can't remember what I said though 😆

Not d/Deaf myself - I bet the children love to know that you are though.

Stormchaser1502 · 26/09/2022 16:06

So I went to have my hearing tested at Boots. The audiologist was awful. Firstly told me that due to being under 50, I shouldn’t even be there! Then told me it was a 10 minute appointment so he wasn’t sure what I expected but he will look quickly!!
I felt I was wasting his time before we’d even started.
He plugged my ears and put me in the soundproof box, made me press the button when I heard beeps and that was it!!

He told me I was fine. My ears were ok.

I came out nearly crying. I can’t hear!! If someone’s behind me I struggle, if there’s background noise I struggle! I have realised I lip read a lot, in fact if Dh covers his mouth to talk, I have to ask him to uncover so I can hear!! I’m constantly telling my family they’re mumbling!
It is making me feel quite vulnerable tbh.

So what do I do now?! I’ve booked another test with another place now, am hoping he doesn’t make me cry!

purpleme12 · 26/09/2022 16:10

@Stormchaser1502 I went to my doctor and got referred to hospital for mine on NHS

purpleme12 · 26/09/2022 16:16

Ps , the first time I went to doctor about my hearing he did a tuning fork behind me and I could hear it so he declared me ok and said I didn't need to be referred.

(I did need to be referred. I went to another doctor, they referred me and I lo and behold I had hearing loss)

My point being if you think it's wrong go to someone else to get a second opinion

eveoha · 26/09/2022 16:19

Stormchaser - Honestly I’d stick with the NHS - I’ve had 4 private HA not one was ‘suitable’ and it took me an age to recover money from them all - County Court in one case 😡 now have best HA I’ve ever had 🙏🏽☘️

purpleme12 · 26/09/2022 16:30

Oh that's interesting to hear
So private isn't always best then

Stormchaser1502 · 26/09/2022 16:36

Thank you so much. I only went to Boots for their free hearing test in desperation. I feel so vulnerable due to hearing loss, and he was quite frankly vile.
I will put in an online request to my gp, thank you so much ☺️

Stormchaser1502 · 26/09/2022 16:37

ps: what made you fight to keep going? He’s made me doubt myself which has potential for making me feel even less confident in situations! Feel like I’m going mad!

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