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Hearing aids in but still not understanding words
I'm trialing advanced Phonak hearing aids that amplify beyond 2KHz tailored to my hearing chart, but still have trouble understanding some words. Subjectively, I feel there is no discernible improvement in understanding, or only minimal improvement. Who else still has trouble understanding words and why is this so?
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Julie the time has come for HLAA to engage with AARP. I am at a loss why the majority of seniors with hearing loss continue to remain silent.
HLAA means well but if we don’t have people speak up nothing will happen.
If everyone on this site contacts their congressional leaders in Washington and contacts AARP maybe something will finally. Until then we only have ourselves to blame.
I like the quote you cited.
Let’s at least get the people on the site to do something.
I serve as a 'mentor' on Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm a long-time member of HLAA.
Advocating and mentoring are very different things.
How do you know that HLAA is not engaging with AARP?
I have insurance to purchase a new hearings but I prefer my old Phonak Behind-the- Ear hearing aids. I wear one in each ear. One of them died and will be going to my audiologist for repair. I am 88 years old and not in favor of the new hearing aids with all their bell and whistles. I also suggest folks with hearing loss join the Hearing Loss Association of America. (HLAA). They have a yearly convention and it is worth attending.
Hermine Willey
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1 Reactionnobody has ever explained to me why my williams pocket hearing assistant sounds clearer / more understandable than my octicon hraring aids?????????????????????? just wondering.
I am making that assumption after talking with a gentleman who works at their Washington DC headquarters who told me they have 15 people working out of that office with maybe five lobbyists.
There are millions of AARP members across the country and yet every time I get their bulletin or magazine I never see anything regarding hearing loss.
As I said I will go to HLAA local chapter this month and sign up. That being said the gentleman in DC said it is more important to write to my Congressional representatives.
Where does AARP stand on this issue? Why aren’t they fighting for all of us suffering from a disabling disability every day.
As I said technology is out there and yet we are paying for overpriced hearing aids. Something doesn’t seem right to me. Why doesn’t Medicare pay for hearing aids and negotiate directly with the major hearing aid manufacturers. I guess the hearing aid companies have very powerful lobbyists just like the pharmaceutical companies.
I would love to be proven wrong regarding AARP’s efforts on our behalf.
Please personal message me. I may be able to explain some of this more clearly. I tried to send you a PM but it would not go through.
I think you may have a Williams Pocketalker? Great accessory.
Pocketalker: You can move the microphone closer to someone and pickup their voice. all pitches are amplified - no customization for your hearing loss (eg customized pitches for a high-frequency loss)
Hearing aids: You can also move closer to someone (eg getting the microphones in your hearing aids closer to the person). Or you can change programs, such as noisy environment or forward focus. Hearing aids are customized for your hearing loss (adjusted for high-frequecy loss).
Depending on your hearing aids, you can also buy an external remote microphone accessory that can clip on the person who is speaking to you. That helps to capture the sound.
I look forward to hearing from you.
The key here is bringing sound direct to your hearing aids, which is what the Pocket Talker does whether you are using it with ear phones of with a neckloop connected to your hearing aid's telecoil components. If the sound you wish to hear, whether it's a speaker or a sound from elsewhere, comes directly to you from the Pocket Talker's microphone as it bypasses the other sounds in the room. That is referred to as the signal to noise ratio (SNR). We all know that background noise makes hearing difficult. In short, the closer the microphone is to the sound you want to hear, the less background noise can interfere, and the more clearly you will hear.
I use a Williams Pocketalker to listen to the TV. I attach the microphone where the TV speaker is and use 20 ft extension cord to my Pocketalker. I also use a headset attached to the Pocketalker along with captioning on the TV program. Using only my hearing aids listening TV is not loud enough. This is why one should join the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), The Pocketalker has a volume control and a control for sounds.