Forum and/or Support Group for the Hard of Hearing

Hearing loss web is a good source:

http://www.hearinglossweb.com/

This is another good one:

http://www.hearingloss.org/

Here are Florida chapters:

http://www.hearingloss.org/chapters/chapterlist.asp?state=FL

Additionally, of course if she has any specific questions, feel free to ask here and I'll see what I can do...

I'm hard of hearing, so I have a hearing aide that I use only on occasion.

Soz- Thank you so much. My friend is beside herself with concern and questions about what is happening to her.

The interesting thing, is that on your link to Florida chapters, there is one right smack dab in my town. I'll bet she will be delighted when she finds out about it!

I can vouch for Soz's advice. I lost about half my hearing four years ago, and I don't know what I would've done without her. {smooch}

I'm so glad I was able to help, Eva. I know that was a really rough time. (How are things going these days?)

That would be great if your friend could find a support group right away, Phoenix! Hope that works out for her.

Pretty good. There's a new model of the hearing aids I have, with 2 or 3 microphones instead of only 1, and they're directional, too. That would really help when I'm teaching. Insurance will cover half. I can't afford them this year due to the big anniversary trip, but I'm thinking next year. It amazes me how fast the technology is changing. I got these 3 years ago, and they were the latest thing. Now they're old hat.

Oh! And I found a short article you might appreciate. (You and everybody else with hearing problems.) It was printed in a newsletter that was sent to me by my audiologist. I made Hubby and SonofEva read it. It helped.
_________

"You Only Hear Me When You Want To"

People with normal hearing are able to hear and understand much of what's going on around them automatically. They don't have to concentrate or pay close attention. They just hear. Of course, even people with normal hearing don't understand everything -- nobody does.

If you have a hearing loss, you already know that hearing and understanding don't happen automatically. You have to pay attention to hear as well as possible. Hearing takes attention and energy, and you just can't do it 12 or 14 hours a day.

In addition to helping you hear better, hearing aids allow you to hear with less effort and less energy. You can be more relaxed with the people around you. On the other hand, you may not hear as well if you're tired, under stress, or you're thinking about something else. That's why we suggest that anyone speaking to you get your attention before speaking.

So the next time someone says, "You can hear me when you want to," you can correct them: "You mean, I can hear you when I work at it."

Eva- Mr. P. just bought a hearing aid that is so tiny (It lies on top of his ear, with an invisible wire that goes into a plug in the ear canal), that in order to change the program, (he has three, speech,TV, and music). The thing that is nice is that he has a remote control to change programs, so he does not have to touch the tiny aid.

In addition, this particular aid is programmed right from a computer to his ear. It has 15 frequency ranges, so is can really be customized.

He had bought another manufacturer's aid some months ago. It could not be programmed right to the ear, and he never could get a sound that satisfied him. (Remember, he is an audiophile, and is very picky about sound that is not clear and smooth). He returned it. This unit that he had had, had a separate gizmo that worked with bluetooth. Needless to say, he was not interested in that feature, but I would imagine many people would.

Were these expensive? You bet. The thing is, my brother is an audiologist, so he sells the aids to us at a highly discounted price. Then Mr. P. works with an audiologist where we live to make adjustments.

Talking about technology, there is something out now that is really newfangled. It fits deeply in the ear canal. The battery lasts 3-4 months. When it dies, you can get another one. You don't pay for the aid, but there is a subscription price that you pay annually. It is out of the price range for the vast majority of people, but looks interesting.

http://www.lyrichearing.com/

Very good article, thanks Eva.

So glad the new hearing aids are working out. Technology is a beautiful thing...

Good info, Phoenix! At first, I thought it wouldn't work because I tried a CIC (completely-in-canal) model three years ago and hated it. Having something hard deep in my ear was extremely uncomfortable every time I tried to talk or eat. But these new ones you mentioned are soft...so...hmm.

It would be hard to beat these open fit ones I have...in terms of comfort, anyway. The only thing that goes in the ear is a very small, very soft silicone piece about the size of a pea. My ears never feel plugged up, like with the CICs. I honestly forget I have them on.

It amazes me how fast the technology improves, though. My audiologist said there's a whole new generation of hearing aids about every two years now.

Back when I was first losing my hearing, my ENT was fond of saying "when your peers are losing their hearing due to age, you'll be gaining your hearing due to technology."

The two aren't completely unrelated -- the baby boomer market means that innovations will be rewarded.

Let's hope so!

I told all my baby boomer friends, "I'm just going first, so in a few years when you need them too, you'll know who to call!"

Some of them were very put off.

My understanding is that the aids with the bluetooth streamer is very popular with the baby boomers who destroyed their hearing listening to high decibel sound at rock concerts.