Just been told that I will have to be fitted with hearing aids - does anyone have any experience ?

[heididrink]

I knew that my hearing was not what it was and I went for a test.I have been told that I have 30% hearing loss in both ears and have been advised to have hearing aids fitted in both ears.
I am devastated as I did not see this coming. I have been told that it will take approx 3months for me to adjust to the hearing aids.
Does anyone have any experience of this . I really dont know anyone else who has experienced this and would appreciate any advice.
btw I am not that old I am 47 !!

bumping for you

Sorry you've had such a shock, Heididrink.

I would be very surprised if it took 3 months to get used to the hearing aids. My own experience was that it took about a week to build up to a point where I felt comfortable enough to wear them all the time. I could possibly imagine it taking 3 weeks but not months.

There was a recentish thread about the actual fitting of hearing aids. I'll see if I can find it for you.

Recent thread about hearing aids

Hi
I have just found the other thread
thanks for answering

If they are giving you digital ones I personally wouldn't say it would take very long at all to get used to them. I don't have experience of any other kind.

I must say, although I don't wear it all the time (I'm getting the second one soon) I love it. I expected it to take some time to get used to it but it felt pretty good on the way home TBH.

I did have to get them to turn it down a little but I didn't have any problems really. And no one can really see it because it's so small.

Oh! And if you feel young at 47, I am 36. Whenever I go to the clinic, I get ignored because everyone thinks I'm either in the wrong place or waiting for my granny.

The only thing I hate is that they always take a sharp breath when they open my file, as if to say, 'Ooo nasty.' Makes me feel a million dollars.

Hi, I am 34 and worn hearing aids since 8yr olds ... most people would never know I wore them and I don't hide them at all.

You may need to have a few appointments with the audiologist to tune them to your specific needs. If you find out what make and model they are giving you then you can look at the maker's website (or ask here) and find out their capabilities and what programmes/functions they have that suit your lifestyle.

If can help if you tell the audiologist what your job is, what type of environments you are often in, situations you struggle to hear in etc so they can set them up accurately for you.

Like LaTurkey the clinic I now go to is mainly full of older people, whereas where I used to live they didn't have a separate children's clinic so there were all ages. I view them as glasses, pieces of equipment that enable me to do what I need.

There are all sorts of models available at your hearing loss - have you asked whether they do RIC's or open moulds, to make them less visible for you. (Mine are BTE's as I have a profound loss)