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

If you don't have a telephone loop then how do you hear on the telephone?

Do I need special telephones?

CopperTop what type do you have?

AFAIK mine don't have a specific telephone loop but, unlike the old analogue aids,they work well with ordinary phones and mobiles. It's just a case of getting used to holding the telephone to the aid itself rather than just to the usual part of your ear.

X-posts. I'll have a look to see if I can find a link to them.

They're either the same as or very similar to these ones on e-bay.

They fit behind the ear with a tube linking them to the ear mould.

oke doke thanks

Please forgive me for being dim but how do they tweak it without playing bleeps and tones at you?

Do they kind of say if you have trouble with voices then they turn those up but if you can hear music then leave them lower?

Just had a closer look and they're not exactly the same. Mine are a "Spirit 3 P" model.

What is your diagnosis? Do you have a surgical option to restore your hearing?

It's a while ago now but I think they somehow connect the actual aid to the computer and then put it in your ear. You might have to listen to a few sounds and say if it sounds better or worse but it's nowhere near as full-on as the hearing test in the soundproof booth.

Thanks CT

I feel much better now cos I was dreading the whole booth thing again

They said I will have these hearing aids then as the hearing gets worse I will have the more pwerful ones and then surgery

I've just had a look and this NHS description is a good description of what is likely to happen at your appointment.

deffo brill

Thank you

So would you advise to not have the telephone loop setting?

I also want it for the theatre and my worst place is in a social situation when I can't lipread or hear anything or in a restaurant

So in reality my worse situations are:

telephone
restaurants
social gatherings
family get togethers
meetings
parents evenings with general hubbub of noise
theatre

Hopefully the hearing aid will be able to help me with all of these

I'd say that if you think you might need the telephone loop then say yes to it if it's offered. I'm fine with the phone (depending on line quality, accents etc) but then I don't use it all that much really. I think our monthly phone bill is rarely above about £5.

Again, if you use theatres a lot (I remember Kangaboy's auditions still from ages ago ) and they use loops then I'd opt for those if you can.

Parents evenings, meetings etc are about 1000 times easier with a hearing aid. The digital ones will adjust themselves to blot out the background noise of the other parents and make it much easier to concentrate.

The first few times you use them it'll feel like that scene in Spiderman when Peter Parker realises he can hear the sound of the fly's wings buzzing and hear people talking from across the room.

Thank you so much you have been really deffo brill

Yes, Kangaboy is still acting ~ he is so keen on the theatre ~ sweet of you to remember

My mobile is ok for talking/listening as the earpiece is so loud ~ but it is the house phones that are much harder ~ I need absolute silence in the house to hear and then most of it is guesswork + my ear hurts cos I have pressed the phone so hard into my ear

I have a meeting tomorrow night that I will try it out at ~ cos it is so hard for me to hear the other people there

Thanks once again to everyone who has offered support and help on this thread

MUMSNET is sooooooooooo deffo brill

Good luck!

Thanks

COuld I butt in and ask for your opinions please?

ELderly dad now has 2 NHS hearing aids and insists the lady fitting them said he could wear either one or both as he wishes.

Is this nonsense? Elderly mum cannot verify whether he is just being slippery about wearing them as she was not present at the appointment.

He hates them so much and we think he's trying to wriggle out of wearing them.

Would love to hear your views, thank you in advance
Cat

Kanga if by any chance your diagnosis is otosclerosis I have it too - is that what you have?

Cat - the fitters will say anything to try to get stubborn elderly people to wear at least one aid! Do you know what he has against them? Often the earmoulds are too tight (to try to ensure the aids don't whistle) and need to be filed down.

OP - hope your aids work well for you - don't be afraid to go back to the fitters if the moulds are uncomfortable or you get high-pitched squeaking. You should have a setting to amplify stuff in front of you only which is really useful in crowded places. For the theatre I find that infrared systems are almost always crap even when they work, so calling the disabled booking line and explaining I need to be in the front 4 rows so I can lipread works a lot better. Sometimes you even get a nice discount. Captioned performances are also great and often have tix reserved for people who need them even after a run sells out - I often get friends asking me to see if I can get them tickets!

Induction loops may work well for you or may just give too much hissing in the background, but an amplified phone and your hearing aid turned up should work quite well especially if you turn the other aid off.

If you still have problems understanding one person in a crowded place, a radio aid to work with your aids is really useful - look up 'fmGenie'

NotCitrus, that is an interesting point. He hasn't said anything about whistling but will check. He hates glasses as well. I have some sympathy as I don't see how the little hearing aid tube and his glasses can all hang off his ears properly.
So from what you say, 1 is better than nothing.
I wish he would talk to the fitter properly instead of agreeing, its not helping him.

Thanks

Thanks for the extra info

Crumbs so much to remember

No they don't know the cause but they said it didn't matter cos the result was the same ~ hearing aids then operation

They said my hearing was the same as an old lady rather than a 43 year old ~ I think it is 50 - 70 dbs {iirc}

Great tip about the theatre cos I can lipread quite well

I'll let you know later how I get on

Thanks

I am so upset and angry

I arrived and was taken into a room and the bloke said was I expecting 1 or 2 {surely he should know that shouldn't he?} ~ I said 2 open ear ones

To which he looked in my ears and then get the putty stuff and squeezed it into my ears and then handed me a booklet and walked out

When he returned he took the moulds out I said I thought I was having the open ear ones cos I still have some hearing

He replied they had discussed it and decided I was going to have both BUT that I would have to wait until the moulds came back for them to give them to me

I was soooooooo shocked and upset almost in tears

I said I thought I was getting them today and he basically told me to leave and I would be sent a letter to come back in few weeks

I just sat there in stunned silence he said your husband is waiting outside ~ I came out and walked down the corridor battling back the tears.

I mean they rang me to tell me to come at 5pm instead of 5.30pm{which was the original time when they first said I was having moulds then THEY changed their minds and said I wasn't so wouldn't need the impression taken}

Why didn't they ring me to tell me they had decided I wasn't having them today?

I am sooooooooo upset

the ones they are giving me are called OTICON SPIRIT ZEST ~ MINI BTE

How long do you think it will take for the moulds to come back or for my moulds to come back?

Oh sorry, that must be very frustrating, I remember how eagerly I anticipated getting mine. It sounds like you got a real dud of a guy. The moulds shouldn't take long, maybe you could call them in a week and explain what happened?

earthstar I have otosclerosis too! They have explained the idea of a tiny tiny prosthetic ear bone to me, but with three boys I can't work out how I would get to be somewhere quiet for 2 weeks!

i did mention that it will take 2-3 weeks for the moulds to be ready. (im not familiar with open ear moulds as ive never seen them, but i get my moulds made - a full ear mould and it usually takes 2-3 weeks before i rcvd them).

i do hope they come super quick!