I have been hearing impaired since childhood, perhaps a genetic thing, as my mother was profoundly hearing impaired as is my oldest sister. Remarkably, I made it through college without a hearing aid, simply for the sake of vanity. I remember wearing a hearing aid for the first time post college, and the sound of leaves rustling was so new to me, as I had never heard this sound before, as I kept glancing over my shoulder while walking.
When I was a kid, I was teased without mercy because of my hearing loss, and I will always remember this game we played in elementary school, "Telephone." One kid starts with a word or phrase and whispers it to the next person in the circle. Even at a tender age of 6 or 8 I got worked up because I knew I would be unable to hear.
Sadly, my mother ignored the school nurse's recommendations that I get a hearing aid, and she even went so far as writing to the school district ordering them to never test my hearing again.

One other thing that probably sounds horribly offensive at its face, but is not meant to me, is that growing up I made it my mission not to sound like my mother when I spoke. As I mentioned she was profoundly hearing impaired and you could tell simply by the way she spoke. I do not mean this as an insult to the deaf or hard of hearing, but I did have some speech therapy during grade school, and this helped me with my voice. I cannot tell you the number of people who tell me they are surprised at the fact that I am fairly deaf without my hearing aid, as I have a soft voice. Also, it has been my experience that many with a hearing loss have difficulty admitting so. The fellow who lived with me for about a month kept telling me to speak up. Yet when I asked others if they could hear me when I spoke at my normal tone, they had no problem hearing me, at which point I told the fool (he really was one) that the problem with not hearing me was more about him than I. I am not sure people realize how much energy it takes to "shout."

However, things were much different 50 plus years ago, and now hearing aids are almost in fashion, so to speak. Being in large crowds is my most difficult place to hear, and I do the best I can with one hearing aid, as only one of my ears really "works." I lip read, something I have done since childhood. Even though deafness and hard of hearing are silent disabilities that are more prevalent now, I still encounter situations when I cannot hear, and the speaker looks at me like I am a moron. I used to be afraid to ask people to speak up, as I thought it was rude; however, now days with so many important things taking place on the phone, I demand that the person I am talking to "speak up" or "speak clearly."

My sister spent thousands of dollars on the most tech hearing aid on the market, yet she still has a problem. Why? She waited too long to get a hearing aid. Vanity. I on the other hand, was "adopted" by my hearing aid dealer who provided me with a hearing aid at a reduced cost. While it may not have all the bells and whistles that the newer models have, at the very least I can hear for the most part.

While my health insurer does provide coverage for hearing aids, the hearing test is conducted over the phone. Go figure. If you happen to also have tinnitus, every "beep" sounds the same to me. While people with a mild hearing loss might benefit from over the counter hearing aids, I cannot. Besides that, I think everyone should get a hearing test, most of which are free if you go to the right place as I do. There is no longer the shame attached with being hard of hearing. A cochlear implant has been offered to me, however that is not the answer for someone with me. One still has to relearn how to hear, and listening to music is difficult at best, per a friend that has one. She cannot even speak on the phone. However, I understand this is a personal decision, and probably if I did not enjoy music as much as I do, I might have opted for the implant when it was offered.
Coincidentally, I am seeing the ENT specialist this week and plan to revisit the implant idea just out of curiousity, although my hearing is the least of my problems presently.

Thank you for reading this.