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

When i use my iphone to listen to podcasts as I'm driving I find the volume on the loudspeaker on the phone isn't loud enough sometimes.
I know I could use my apple ear pods but sometimes I forget them. Car is old - no Bluetooth. 🙁

My Bluetooth doesn't work in the car but I connect my phone to the car stereo with an aux cable

Thank you for the link to this thread. I shall have a read through tomorrow 😊

Thank you for making this thread :-)

I'm early 50's, some mild hearing loss since I was very young but not a big problem, but have had to wear two HA's since my late 30's.
I get by for the most part but it's so frustrating when I go out, cannot hear a thing anyone says and none of the solutions for noisy places (Roger receiver etc) help as they all amplify background noise too much. I come home with neckache and lower back pain from craning forwards to hear. Thank goodness for WhatsApp and social media where I can chat and not rely on being able to hear!

Very happy to still be working from home, as the office disables me due to acoustics, background noise and not being able to hear colleagues talking. At home, with video calls and no background noise I can use a good headset or have the sound bluetoothed to my NHS aids, and hear fine.

I also find EarCalm helpful and yes it can be bought over the counter.

Hello all you aid-wearers with itchy ears. Can I ask, do your aids have see-through ear pieces (eg a mould linked to aid with a tube, or an in-canal aid where you can see the innards?
I ask because I had years & years of itchy, weepy ears with intermittent bacterial infection. The in-canal shell is supposedly 'hypoallergenic' - but, clutching at straws, we asked them to make a transparent shell and hey presto! Problem gone.
The aids went off for a refurb, with new ear impressions, came back tinted and - all started up again. So I'm quite convinced the coloured shells can generate a low level inflammation in some people.

This has been an interesting post for me.I now have to wear nhs hearing aids this year after years of gradual decline in tests on my hearing.
I have the Oticon aids which are good, a bit fiddly and a nuisance sometimes with glasses.
I visited a large chain of stores today that do hearing tests and aids, a pair I love that look just like AirPods or similar were great but nearly 2.5k!
Has anyone bought similar? Is it worth it?
Atm I’m trying to adjust to putting the aids in and remembering that it’s now part of my life, like putting in aids as final part of getting ready.I’m finding it a worry of how I’m perceived at work by my much younger colleagues ( although am only late 40s) who already probably think I’m a dinosaur!
Has anyone felt the same? And as I asked before up post has anyone invested in the airpod type aids?

I just had an audiology visit - I am getting new moulds (finally!) and new Bluetooth hearing aids!! I can't wait - I'll be able to connect to my phone without having the faff of putting my receivers on and making sure my Roger pen is charged. Got to wait a month or two but it'll be worth it!

Also got referred to ENT as my right ear has levels that are essentially the same as 5 years ago, but my left ear has gone down again. I am nearly in the zone for meeting cochlear implant criteria in that ear. Not that I think I ever would have one, but it seemed of some concern to the audiologist. So hopefully they'll be able to figure out why my left ear is degrading but not my right.

I'm not sure what you mean - do you mean in-the-ear as opposed to behind-the-ear? I have behind the ear aids with see-through moulds that go in the ear canal and, while they're sometimes itchy, those times are not too often.

I've never thought about colours affecting itchiness levels before. With BTE heating aids, all kids I teach have coloured moulds that sit in the ear canal. None have ever complained about being too itchy! Must be different plastic or different colourings, which I suppose is obvious.

@SuziLikeSuziQ, I've had various aid types over the decades, from the old-style plastic ear mould for BTE aids, through 'CIC' (completely in canal, for those unfamiliar with the jargon) and now the type with a receiver in the canal piece, connected to a BTE aid with a tiny wire in a tube.

Whenever the incanal part is flesh coloured, the inflammation starts up. Took me years to make the connection. Now, my earpiece is always clear and colourless, and I have no problem.

I both love and hate these!

@Soubriquet I know what you mean! Etsy and similar are full of them. In general I suppose we should be pro anything that makes wearing hearing aids a positive and helps kids not to be embarrassed.

It's amazing still how much glasses are a totally accepted fashion accessory but hearing aids are still to be concealed as if they are some dirty little secret. And are marketed as such. 'invisible' 'discreet' etc. Unless...look at the pic below! Blingtastic!

I always look at them and think they must be heavy on your ears??

There were things around when I first started wearing aids called hearrings! Similar idea, I suppose, where they covered the mould and a bit of tube.

I'm not sure I'd wear something that clips onto the tube, just because I already have pierced ears and it does the same job. Maybe something spangly for a night out, but not attached to an earring.

For itchy ear sufferers.. I’ve been using this product for about a Week, and trying very hard not to use cotton buds, and it’s definitely helping. It’s an oil based product, not cheap, but it’s working. I initially used it three times a day, but now just at night. My ears feel a lot better.

I’m also trying to clean my aids more often with alcohol wipes.

So, after having to cancel my appointment due to having covid, I finally have an appointment again on Tuesday. Still gotta wait for the w risk hearing aid mould to be made but it’s a step closer and I’m hoping the tech can help me. My ear is bloody killing me

If NHS offered funky colour hearing aids I so would take them though.
But they only offer them for children!

I hope you get sorted soon

I have had my aids for a few months but I think my hearing has got worse recently. How normal is this?

To be honest, I think there's a time when your ears have become used to the aids that perhaps it feels like your hearing is worse.

When I first got mine, or when I have them adjusted to a new audiogram, I always get a kind of "Ooh, I can hear my trousers rustling" phase. But then after a while my brain adjusts to those noises and I don't notice them as much, so I suppose it could seem as though my hearing is "worse".

So it may be your hearing is worse, but I think far more likely you've just adjusted. But if you find you're constantly turning up your aids or switching to a louder setting to hear comfortably, please do make an appointment with audiology to check.

@SuziLikeSuziQ thank you.

Hi @frisfriskybivalves - that's amazing, can I ask where you saw that? Looking for something to wear on my wedding day...

Is it possible to put a hearing aid in incorrectly? Mine works some of the time but sometimes when I put it in I hear the start-up chimes very faintly but then it doesn't amplify sound at all. I've taken it back three times and every time they tell me it's working. I don't see how the tube could get lost in my ear and I'm giving myself a sore ear trying to jam it in further but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

If I get the Bluetooth hearing aids how do I connect them to a phone set I use at work?

Has anyone done this?

I don't understand how it works

Half of the phone at work.

Do you think I should go back and ask for Bluetooth? I'm wondering if I should

And how would it work?
Do you still have to wear the headset or do you not even have to wear the headset if you have Bluetooth hearing aids?
Can someone please tell me how it works cos I'm not great at technology