What to look for...and avoid...in a hearing aid.

That's interesting, roger. I can hear movies in theaters MUCH better than on TV at home. And I don't do very well with cell phones, despite having aids that are programmed for it. Everyone is different.

Your hearing loss happened gradually, right? That would allow your brain to make neural connections as the loss progressed. I think it took me longer to process music because my brain was trying to compensate for all the hearing problems at once.

I know why I had hearing loss; when I was in the US Air Force @ Walker AFB in New Mexico, I had friends help me build a high fi phonograph, and we played it so loud, the room shook.

I have a hearing aid, but rarely use it. The reason I chose the behind the ear type is that the audiologist told me the inside the ear ones will create an echo when you talk.

I don't know the whys for my hearing loss. I didn't figure it out until I got tinnitus when I was, um, 44. 25 years of ringing ears can drive ya batty. Maybe that's what they mean by bats in the belfry.

- I never listened to extremely loud music - once in a while in later years driving through the forest with a symphony cd on, but I doubt others would think that all so loud.

- I got hit in the back of the head with a basketball from the next basketball court, never even complained, what a doppus I was. But soz, who knows a lot about all this, says no re that being a cause.

- as most here know, I have the eye disease RP, and that sometimes fits into a syndrome that includes deafness. But the honcho at Jules Styne eye institute said no. Another oddity is that the last time I heard from the Jules Styne eye folks, they sent me a missive to find out if I was a blue baby, as that can be a cause for the kind of RP (pretty much steady state, thank goodness) that I have. And, it happens that I was. So, if that could have been related to the RP, perhaps it twigged some hearing (wild conjecture).

- I've listened to a lot of screeching saws in my life around construction or doing some of that myself... but not all so much until after I was 44. Maybe that's an additive.

Who knows, it's just curiosity on my part.

I guess the loss in my left (and now good) ear was gradual. My right used to be pretty good till I had an endless series of minor colds one year. Everyone else was sicker than a dog; I just got a little deafer each time. Now, they tell me my right ear wouldn't respond to a hearing aid.

Yeah, different for everyone.

I'm getting ready for a hearing aid. My mother was virtually deaf in her late 30s and my father "enjoyed" considerable deafness in his 80s, strange to here that from a musician, but he loved to turn it off when my step mother started nagging him.
My right ear is pretty bad, but when I'm ready to go to sleep it's wonderful to lie on my left side and just pass out. Problem is I still play the violin (in my mid-seventies) and the high notes are less accessible to me now.
But I'm happy to identify with you guys on another dimension...some of my favorite A2Kers.

I hear ya!

Getting used to aid.

But I seem to be in the middle of the brain thing still (did I mention the brain thing?) and am still a bit muzzy about interpreting stuff.

Still, I was able to wear it in the Outback with no trouble.

Had the high frequencies turned up today...they were lowered when the beast was fitted because I couldn't stand them.

It's a bit startling again, but doubtless my brain will adapt again.

My ear itches inside from the plastic thingy!

Any ideas about that? I mean to help with it?

They might have new-fangled solutions now but when I wore a hearing aid, no. And it was annoying.

I just made sure to take it out as often as I could, and to make sure that both my ear and the hearing aid mold were completely dry before I put them in.

By the way, this helped enormously with the effectiveness and longevity of my hearing aid (I discovered it in Florida, home of many hearing aids + humidity):

http://advancedhearing.com/hearing-aid-accessories/dry-aid-jar

I've got a little carrying case with one of those drying sachets.

We don't get too much humidity, thank heavens.

Sounds as though I shouldn't wear it when I am exercising though.....my hair gets wringing wet from sweat...and it's right in amongst my hair.

Yeah, MN isn't particularly humid either (except for some of the summer) and in fact is quite dry in the winter. But the Dri-Aid thingie still helped a lot.

A carrying case with a drying sachet is about the same idea.

But yeah, probably better to not wear it when exercising. I'm sure the ear canal sweats along with everything else, and hearing aids absolutely shouldn't get wet (rain, shower, etc.). It's possible that's changed since my time but in my time keeping it dry was super-important.

It's a useful device, but who knew a dinky little jar of silica could cost ~ $18.00. You can get about a one quart bag of the stuff at Hobby Lobby for around $5.00, and it also comes with the blue dyed crystals to indicate when the stuff needs to be cooked or replaced. The stuff for drying flowers is identical to the stuff that dehumidifies hearing aids.

science project - is rice as good as silica?

Yeah, it had blue crystals too!

I bought mine for $3 or something way back when. Not $18 anyway.

Good to know about alternate sources if I ever get a hearing aid again....

or comes with dehumidifiers.. they have those, or used to, in laboratories, but people uses similar devices to dry fruit, etc. Unless I'm totally confused, which may be, as it's been a while.

Good link, Beth. I was thinking of rice or, hey, dry (not fresh) pasta.

Heh! When I was a boy in South Florida (I was a boy in lotsa places) every home and nearly every restaurant kept a small amount of rice in the salt shakers. Probably don't do that so much since South Florida is now pretty well airconditioned.

Might you????

OHMIGAWD!!!


Hearing aid dropped off my ear and into sink!!! The sink had a few drops of water and aid ceased working!!!


I left it to dry in box with its little hygroscopic gel sachet.

It's WORKING AGAIN!!!

Hooray for little hygro (hygro?) scopic gel sachets!

See, they're important! (In one form or another.)

Dlowan, my hearing is soooo bad that hearing aids don't help, but hearing aids continue to improve and there is some possibility that one might be helpful at some point. Not super-likely, but possible.