I’ve been wearing hearing aids for about 9 years now. Most of The new ones have blue tooth which is the cats meow if you use a cell phone or watch a smart tv. To me the phone Bluetooth alone is worth it. I still have a problem in a big meeting room or if someone is say 6 ft or more away and speaks softly I just can’t make it out. I can sit at a table and no problem unless they start that soft talk crap. ALSO…these little girls at a drive through that love to talk real fast, string their words together, and use a high chirper tone is a big problem. They think it’s cool to talk like that but I have to say what about 3 times to get my order done.
Remember Bluetooth is a must!!!

Congratulations, Todd! You did it!! You have begun a new chapter in managing your life and hearing. You are correct in not expecting your hearing loss to return to normal...it is still going to be a challenge and your brain needs time to accommodate to receiving sound differently. So be sure to wear your hearing aids all day every day to help that happen. I hope you have a good audiologist who can help you make adjustments along the way as you become more familiar with how your HAs work. There is a lot of extremely helpful information available out there and its very helpful to become informed about assistive technology (bluetooth!) that is helpful as well as aspects of programming, not to mention educating those whom you are trying to hear about the conditions that help you. Check out the Hearing Loss Associating of America's national site (hearingloss.org) for resources and to see if there is a chapter near you for personal help. Its hard to know what to expect when one first gets hearing aids. This is why talking to your audiologist, researching online, and HLAA can all be part of educating yourself and those around you. Good luck and come back with questions and to let us know how its going.

Support from others who live with acquired hearing loss is priceless. So glad you have found this support group within Mayo Clinic Connect.

It pays to learn everything you can about hearing aids and other technology that can make a huge difference for you. I have learned more from people with hearing loss themselves than from the professionals who diagnose and fit hearing devices. I don't mean to badmouth them because they are very helpful too. They simply do not have or take time to do the kind of aural rehabilitation and education we need. The people who live with hearing loss themselves learn coping strategies and ways to help themselves that those professionals do not share with us. The reason is that it takes time.

I started using hearing aids in the 1970s. Technology has come a long way since then! I've had to learn as I've moved forward. BlueTooth (BT) is wonderful for TV and cell phones. However BT doesn't connect with sound systems in public venues. I still find telecoils to be worth insisting on. They do not add cost to the products, and they can connect you to sound systems in places where BT can't. I encourage everyone who uses hearing instruments to insist on having both BT and telecoils in them.

Checking out HLAA is worth your time. HLAA's mission is to share unbiased information, to educate, provide peer support and to advocate for communication access and the availability of the technology people with hearing loss need to remain in the hearing mainstream. http://www.hearingloss.org is worth exploring.