I am getting HEARING AIDS on Wednesday ~~~ Are there any other DEAF MNetters???

[RTKangaMummy]

I am so chuffed that I am getting hearing aids as I have been lipreading for years

My hearing has got worse recently and they have said it is MODERATE/SEVERE hearing loss

Are there any things I should know about?

Thanks

Hi haven't really got anything useful to say except hello as I am completely deaf on one side (result of an operation) but have good hearing on the other so manage fine apart from in noisy restaurants with wooden floors!

I hope somone else comes along.

Congratulations!

I suppose the first thing is to give yourself time to get used to them. When you're used to only a little sound it can be really weird when you can suddenly hear noises from all directions.

The other thing is to watch out when you get so used to them that you forget they're in your ears. The number of times I've almost had a shower or washed my hair with mine still in is unbelievable.

Are they the digital ones? If so, they're a lot easier to use than the old analogue ones.

Thanks

I am not sure if they are digital or analogue

I persuaded them to let me have the OPEN EAR ones as I want to still use the hearing I have rather than have the moulded ones which would stop the little hearing I still have

They said that I could and see how I go with them.

They are NHS ones

AFAIK the NHS have phased out the analogues, so you should be getting digital ones.

Mine are the behind the ear ones.

You're about to discover a whole new world.

I did wonder if I would end up in the shower with them in

Mine are sort of a hook bit behind the ear and then a thin tube going into the ear ~ hopefully if we understood correctly

Hello

I am wondering what happens at the first appointment when they give me the hearing aids

How do they see if they are working?

Is it done with the tone machine ~ which I hated

or is it done differently?

if so how do they do it?

???

Hello!

Good luck for tommorow, it will be an amazing new dawn for you, I have severe hearing loss in one ear and have had my hearing aid for about 6 months, I nearly fell over in the car park of the hospital the first day the world is so LOUD! (but don't get me started on birds, they're amazing!)

They rig the hearing aid up to a computer and balance it that way, you put it back in and see what you think of the balance. Don't remember any of the horrible tone machine pressure/noise, seemed very easy.

Only downside is I found them uncomfortable at first after 1-2 hours, and when you take it out you feel increadibly deaf and remote in comparison but I can now wear mine all day.

Good luck!

oke doke thank you

It was the sound booth hearing test with all the tones and different frequencies that I hated with the headphones

So what do you mean they put it with a computer ~ how do you then know if it is ok?

Do they play you tones or beeps etc ?

It is distinquishing what people are saying that I find the hardest ~ I have lipread for years but now find it hard in a room with more than one person speaking IYSWIM

congrats

im deaf as born deaf so got profound loss hearing in one ear and severe loss hearing in other ear. You will have digital hearing aids as the analogue ones are no longer available cos they were crap!!.

You will have a hearing test and the computer will tune in the aids for your hearing that is suitable and also you will need new ear moulds which they will make it whilst ya there and it will be posted to the hearing dept to make them hard. it usually takes 2-3 weeks before you can actually wear the aids.

also make sure you ask for a background reduction - ie when you are in a pub, you need to able to block the background noises to hear the person who is talking to you.

i find i go back to the audiology 2-3 times before im totally happy.

so will I have to have the whole bleeping tone headphone thing in the sound booth again?

Cos I found it so hard to concentrate listening for the tones while wearing the headphones

mine are hopefully going to be the OPEN EAR ones without the moulding

I want those ones so I can still use the hearing I have ~ while I still have it

They have a hooky thing behind the ear and then a thin tube that goes into the ear

how long ago did u have the hearing test in the sound booth?

I had hearing test at ENT at beginning of October ~ so about a month ago

That was the one in sound booth with all the beeps

well i shouldnt think so as it only been a month ago. have u got your ear moulds made for you?

tomorrows appointment is for 1 hour

hee hee....it been years i last was in one of those sounds booth

IIRC for mine I just sat in an ordinary office and had the earphone things in which were wired up to the computer.

The computer starts off by reading your previous test results and gives an assessment of what it thinks your settings should be. After that the audiologist tweaks it to improve it based upon your individual needs.

So, for example, my hearing is worse than the typical user of the aids I have. This meant some of the settings were tweaked above the optimum level. I find hearing aid loops difficult to get on with so the audiologist switched that particular setting off for me. It's basically a case of balancing what you need and what the hearing aid is able to do.

An hour sounds about right for the fitting/programming.

oops sorry didnt see youre having a open ear mould.. yeah an hour is right.

Thanks

Hopefully I won't have to be in the booth again then

I want to be able to use the telephone with it and to have the directional thingy turned on so I can hear people talking

ok then make sure you ask them if possibly for a telephone loop too

The one I have does the switch to directional all by itself. It can take a bit of getting used to at first but I've found it really good.