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 never think it's loud in the cinema now

I always think it's got less loud compared to years ago

But yes I did see glasses incorporated with hearing aids advertised at an opticians the other day

I get my hearing aids free on NHS so wouldn't be applicable to me but it'd be interesting to know more about it!

Was it loud during the adverts at the beginning? Last time I went to the cinema, I complained about the volume as my children had their hands over their ears. But the member of staff I spoke to said it was only louder during the adverts and it would be okay for the movie.

You're right, @StuntNun definitely much louder in the adverts and trailers, and slightly painful, then the movie wasn't quite as bad as that !

It's one of those things I am adjusting to - If I don't wear hearing aids, I miss some detail in the quieter bits. If I do wear hearing aids, the loud bits would be too loud. My aids sync to my phone app but I didn't really want to be fiddling around with my phone in the cinema (and maybe disturbing other people).

It really annoys me that you can only adjust it on the app now

I used to be able increase the volume on one ear on the actual hearing aid - useful if someone at work to my left for example was saying something at that particular time.

But no, now they've changed it so you have to get your phone out to do that! I mean for one, that's not immediate and two I can't really do that at work!

I can't fathom why they took that function out

You can increase the volume on both hearing aids through the hearing aids but not just one particular one

The cinema is very loud yes but that doesn’t help with all the dialogue sadly and all the music is too loud as well. However, I inadvertently went last week to a showing with subtitles! It was amazing!

It would be good to see one with subtitles

@purpleme12, @PeskyandIknowit, @PotOfTulips there’s an article in today’s Telegraph (link should work without subscribing) The idea of wearing a hearing aid horrified me so I tried these £1,000 glasses instead
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/9a2ccb4500dff3c6

i think maybe it’s worth watching and waiting, often early adopters of new technology iron out the glitches and then costs should come down too 🤞

I often turn down my ha for live theatre, cinema or concerts and avoid live music venues. However I often feel hungover/migraine next day, almost like a sensory overload with aggravated tinnitus. Not sure if just me and whether should see gp.

It's interesting that they are now promoting the idea of incorporating hearing aids on glasses as it is not a new idea. This was being done in the seventies and eighties - the actor/comedian Eric Sykes, who was very well known at that time, sported a pair. A few years ago, we enquired about hearing aids on glasses for DH because he was being very silly about wearing hearing aids and were told that it was not really done any more as modern technology had superceded it. I would imagine that even with the most up-to-date technology they would only be suitable for a few people; probably people with a mild to very moderate loss in much the same way that in-the-ear aids are. Even though I wear glasses - three pairs: distance, reading and middle distance (playing the piano and other musical instruments) - although not at the same time!, I don't think they would suit me because my loss is complicated and too large. I also genuinely do not understand the vanity around conventional hearing aids, which, in any case, are very discreet these days.

I mean I wouldn't get them even if they were cheaper when I get mine for free on NHS but reading this article it actually says 'they're not finely tuned to the user's specific hearing needs', not prescription fitted.

Coupled with the rest of the article, it doesn't sound convincing to me...

I've just read the Telegraph article, which confirms my original thoughts.

Same @PotOfTulips. When a programme doesn’t have them - rare - or something I went to watch on demand /alibi and reliese how very deaf I am 😢 and how much I do need /depends on subtitles

Has anyone ever had a hearing aid for an ear with no hearing loss? I have lifelong unilateral hearing loss in my left ear, my right ear has no loss so I have only ever had one aid. I was chatting to a friend and he said he previously had an aid for an ear with no hearing loss because they work better as a pair. I was wondering whether that might be something I could get as I have absolutely no directional sense. So if someone calls me I can’t tell where the noise is coming from or even if it’s coming from upstairs or downstairs in the house. I also have very poor speech discrimination if there’s any background noise at all so, for example, I can’t carry on a conversation in the car.

I have a pair with total loss one side and normal age related loss on “good” side. The aid in loss ear bluetooths sound to “good” one.

Did anyone else read Liz Jones’ article in MOS(sorry!) about her hearing loss?

It's behind a paywall, but the opening paragraph online looks exactly like an advertorial.

Basically it was her story of living with hearing loss, which resonated, and the new fancy hearing aids she has (£5k!) . I could take pics but don’t think it would come out clear enough.

I got my new hearing aid today! It has Bluetooth so I can connect it to my phone. It’s sooo cool

I just got a new phone, a Samsung S25 and it won't stream anything to my Oticon Engage hearing aid. Do I need to go back to my old iPhone 11?

It's fantastic isn't it!
Wait until your phone rings, you'll jump out of your skin. Even cleverer is the fact that you can answer the phone by touching the hearing aid and it has a microphone so you don't actually need to hold the phone up. When someone rang me in the car and I had a conversation with my phone in my bag DH was impressed.

I've just re-joined the gym after a few years of being unable due to health. I thought it would be great to listen to music on my hearing aids. Unfortunately they have a radio on so loud I need noise cancelling headphones on top to drown it out.

I was told that Oticon only stream to iphones and not android phones.

I don’t think mine is quite that high tech.

I need to physically answer my phone but it helps that it now rings directly in my ear so no more missed phone calls

Are you sure?.
I only found out I could answer my phone on my hearing aids by accident one time. I must have been fiddling with the hearing aids. No one told me I could do this on my hearing aids.