For Those of us who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Part 2

[Violinist64]

The original thread is almost full and I have found it extremely helpful so have started this new thread.

I’ve got a new pair and they said might take a few weeks for my brain to distinguish some noises as receiver is on top on aid - so If wear glasses it sometimes goes off

Do you mean the hearing aid turns off?

I did.
I got my NHS aids upgraded to "snazzy". Bluetooth for Audi, media and calls.
I have low frequency hearing loss.
I realised after a few weeks I was getting feedback and whistling, I wondered whether it was the domes as they were different. Saw the audiologist who tweaked them and they are 99% better. I do get occasional whistling but it's manageable.

No they squeak /squeal. Tho getting better

only got this pair thur so brain still adjusting to them

That's a physical thing - it's caused by sound leaking from the tube/dome/speaker and being picked up by the microphone end. It could be that the tube doesn't fit properly and/ or is cross threaded, hence why it improved.

I'd be wanting new tubing and smaller domes - they don't have to be huge.

My new domes were open instead of closed and my theory was that there was "sound leakage". I thought closed domes would solve it but the audiologist said these aids must have open domes and she managed to fix it with the machine thing.

She turned down the levels a bit. Maybe not the overall volume, but could be the gain on a particular frequency that was creating the sound.

FWIW, I was an audio engineer before my genetics got the better of me (I was exceedingly careful to protect my hearing, for all the good it did me) and spent a lot of time preventing feedback in live rooms, on stage and with in-ear monitors.

Feedback loops are created when the sound that is being generated/amplified/transmitted (select whichever word you prefer) is picked up by the microphone and further amplified, then the amplified sound played through the speaker/dome is in turn picked up by the microphone and amplified, etc, etc, etc.

I can make my open dome feedback by cupping my hand over my ear and the HA, especially if the tube is slightly out of place or is brand new and not quite fitted into the curve of my ear - because the amplified sound is bleeding backwards to the mic and starting to create a loop. Cheap and simple to resolve; remove and reinsert carefully so the dome is in the correct place or replace tube and dome with a better fitting set.

If the level was too high at the HA itself - where the tiny speaker is located - it's just as possible for feedback to start there - sometimes a switched on HA without a tube to carry the sound away can also feedback, for example. Alternative fix - reduce the volume so that the microphone can't pick it up.

The third way of creating feedback is that the gain - the amount that the sound entering the microphone is amplified by - is set too high so that it's loud enough to be picked up by the mic even when everything else is set perfectly.

And then there's feedback that's actually tinnitus being a bit special. That one's really annoying as you can swear blind it's the HA for months, but eventually you realise that on one particular occasion, it's continuing despite you not having the HA in.

Spent my working life avoiding the sound of dead air. Now it follows me around hissing at me all day and bloody night, with the occasional whistle and whine to give the sound of feedback where there's none at all, it's just my stupid brain inserting those sounds to fill in the gaps.

Just an update from me.

I had a further hearing test over the summer which established further loss in both ears. Hearing aids adjusted but were never quite right. I could hear distant sounds very loudly and had lots of whistling and screeching.

However I woke up two days ago and my left ear feels fine and my right only a little muffled. I don't need my aids. How on earth can this happen?

Do you hear better with them tho ?

I can hear stuff without but also miss a lot of stuff esp high pitch noises like oven or smoke alarm

or when with lots of people

i can’t imagine you would suddenly get your hearing back

I’ve had this new pair a week now and def not quite right so will ring tom and hopefully get an app next week once dd is back at school

@NeverDropYourMooncup that's really useful thanks.
I can make my open dome feedback by cupping my hand over my ear and the HA, especially if the tube is slightly out of place or is brand new and not quite fitted into the curve of my ear - because the amplified sound is bleeding backwards to the mic and starting to create a loop. Cheap and simple to resolve; remove and reinsert carefully so the dome is in the correct place or replace tube and dome with a better fitting set.

Yes I can do the cupping thing. I'll try adjusting the dome.
Incidentally does anyone have tips on cleaning/ prolonging the life of thin tubes and open domes? Mine are NHS and they supply enough to swap them every couple of months. I buy some extra online. Would just like to feel they were really clean. I thought about soaking in bicarb?

I went to the audiologist on Tuesday and he sorted out the problem with the whistling right aid. He put on a new dome and reset both aids. As I have had yet more infections, he tested my hearing with my aids in as he told me that hearing can go down after an infection and it had a little in the right ear. He altered the volume on my aids, too. The actual hearing aids were very expensive but the service and aftercare is second to none. I went to Healthy Hearing, which is a small, independent chain with three branches in the East Midlands and three in Dorset. I am now hearing well again. I have quite a large loss across the frequencies and having hearing aids tailored to my exact needs is a lifeline.

I clean my moulds and tubes in an ultrasonic cleaner.

What is the general opinion on dome versus moulds?
I have lost high frequency sounds and at my latest hearing test it showed that my hearing has deteriorated considerably in the last 18 months. My loss is severe in one ear and profound in the other.
The audiologist suggested I try moulds with a new hearing aid. I’ve been measured and am just waiting a couple of weeks to get fitted. I’ve always had domes and I guess I’m just worried it will be worse?
Mainly I just want to hear more because currently I feel quite isolated and sad about it all 🫤

@Polgara2 as I understand it there's a scale of severity of hearing loss and the necessary domes / moulds also escalate. My sister has severe hearing loss and has to have moulds for the strength of aids.
My hearing loss is classed as moderate low frequency and I use tubes and domes.

I have a profound loss and have always had moulds - they used to be glass 50+ years ago. The "new style ones are so comfortable and also secure. My husband has started to wear hearing aids - a moderate loss with domes and they seem to fall out quite easily which I would hate (well do hate having crawled thru park looking for a fallen aid!)

@Blondeshavemorefun . My hearing loss is caused by fluid build up and it not draining away. I can only assume it has now drained away hence my hearing improvement. My hearing is better without the aids than with them.

I have had no colds or chest infections since this all started in April.

Wondering if anyone has encountered a similar issue. I have 18 month old Phonak cros aids. Two weeks ago the wire on the left aid came apart from amplifier when I was changing the wax and dome, and the aid was replaced. Today the right broke in the same place, as I was adjusting it into my ear, requiring a trip to Minor Injuries as the dome part had fallen into my ear canal. Last time it was implied I had damaged the aid by trying to replace the wire! Do the wires become brittle over time, especially if bent into shape to fit?

I've never had this happen!

Although I always get the hospital to replace my domes and tubes

I don ‘t change the wires as they are integral to the aid and previously the domes were changed by the drop-in where I get batteries. I only removed the left dome when I changed the wax filter but don’t need to on right as it isn’t part of the function of the aid.

Mine are phonak but I've never had a tube break. I do find them difficult to unscrew but I replace them about once a month.

Has anyone tried the new glasses with hearing amplification? ( Nuance )

I recently got hearing aids for moderate hearing loss but am struggling to adapt to having something in my ear canal, and with the sounds of my hair, plus I wear reading glasses which alternate between the top of my head and on my eyes as I can’t read anything (labels, prices, instructions etc) without them - which then irritates me/interferes with the HAs as they go up & down.
I was thinking of maybe getting a pair of these with multi focal lenses and just keeping them in place the whole time. Is that a daft idea? I’ve never had multi focals so it would be a challenge. I don’t get on with contact lenses which would be the obvious solution!

I saw an advert for these the other day and am certainly intrigued. I'd love to read some honest reviews about them

Same here, I'm interested (as I do find wearing glasses, and behind the ear hearing aids, to be a bit awkward)

on a different note, I went to the cinema recently, and was amazed how loud it was (I didn't wear my hearing aids on purpose!) - however I realised how much I still rely on subtitles when watching TV at home....

The film was "The Choral" which I enjoyed a lot. From a hearing perspective, the sound varied between the full music track, and individual actors speaking - I found it occasionally hard to follow the individual actors.