Why do people refuse to get hearing help?

I have been hard of hearing since I was 4 years old. Most intelligent people have no problem when you inform others that you have a hearing loss. I moved into a nice neighborhood 58 years ago. I told my neighbors I was hard of hearing and immediately some classified me as dumb. These folks are gone but they were ignorant at that time. I graduated from The Ohio State University and work for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Consumer Analytical Laboratory for 35 years as a microbiologist.
Hermine Willey

You might want to see another audiologist hearing aids keep getting better and the fitting and tuning of the hearing aids is critical. As Julie mentioned in another post getting a custom mold can vastly improve your hearing aid experience and they aren’t that expensive.
Just remember you get what you pay for. Over the counter hearing aids are really only good for mild to moderate hearing loss and even that is questionable.
TruHearing and other companies are out there that can give you incredible discounts on the major brands of hearing aids. If you are on Medicare some Advantage plans can cut your cost in half.
Long story short do the research and be your own best advocate.
Good luck to everyone.

Yes many people are dumb. Based on what has been happening lately there are more dumb people than there are smart people.
Congratulations on you accomplishments.

Thank you for sharing your feelings and experiences. Hearing loss can easily isolate a person. When you're left out, isolation is a reality. Our personalities are unique. I have met some people with profound hearing loss who manage well because they accept what they can do and avoid what is difficult. Avoidance may be good or bad, depending. Obviously, the age of hearing loss onset makes a difference in the development of one's personality. If you've always lived with hearing loss you don't have to adapt, you have never known anything different.

It's different for an outgoing person who enjoys socializing who suddenly cannot participate in ongoing conversation or in events they have always enjoyed. Obviously, hearing aids, cochlear implants and assistive technology help, but they do not give a person their old life back. This is a reality for most people with adult onset hearing loss. Acceptance matters and so does the need to adjust to what may be a different lifestyle. Being open to learning about hearing assistive technology also eliminates some barriers.

The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that hearing assistance be available in public venues where one must hear to be able to participate. The ADA also says that those who need hearing assistance must ask for it in advance. It also says that small venues may not need to provide it if it's cost prohibitive. Think about that. Should a small theater have to provide hearing assistive technology? If it is requested in advance, how far in advance is needed for the venue to be able to provide it? On the other hand, if people who benefit from this technology work together to educate the public and the 'owner' of a venue on this, it might be a financial plus to the venue because it will draw more people. Large venues are expected to provide it, but many don't. Why? Because those who need it don't ask for it.

This all relates to being open about our needs, which also means being open about why we have these unique needs. If you are not willing to speak up the odds are you will be left out.

Regardless, you have to know what is available and what works for you.

If you can, consider attending the national HLAA convention in June. You'll be amazed at what you learn there. http://www.hearingloss.org

I can sense your frustration in the questions you’re asking. Here are a few thoughts from my experiences that might provide some insight into living with a hearing problem:

1. My daughter had hearing loss as a child. She adapted by learning to lip-read because she wanted to "fit in." She was very resistant to wearing hearing aids. As an adult and a mother, she has adapted, thrived, and is quite successful, having even earned her PhD.

2. It's important to recognize that there is a distinct culture surrounding the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. You can find more information at https://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/article/view/344/435

3. As someone who developed hearing loss later in life, I would like to share a few points. First, the financial burden is significant; hearing aids are often not covered by insurance. Additionally, they can make my inner ear itchy, which is quite uncomfortable. Lastly, when your normal sound experience is muted, the world can feel overwhelmingly loud.

The bottom line is that things may not always be what they seem.

Come on Julie that opens a whole new- And For the record no not everyone is tired of hearing aids they have other- Did you ever think it could be the money? They need to change if the one they purchased, doesn’t Support There’s specific need- Hearing aids all have different processors - etc etc etc
Do use the term everybody please rephrase that thank you

Well, unfortunately, my microphone is cutting Cutting out some of my verbiage and I did not have time to review therefore take it for what it is

Not sure what you are pointing out. Reality is that hearing loss is complex. It affects people differently. Hearing aids help but don't cure hearing loss. Technology that goes beyond hearing aids such as cochlear implants and hearing assistive technology can help even more.

Hearing aids cost a lot of money and are not covered by Medicare. Few insurance policies cover them. This is a sad reality that leads to many people having to go without them. Statistics show that only 20% of people who could benefit from hearing aids have them. Cost is a big reason for that, but so is denial that comes from stigmas associated with hearing loss.

A few comments ago, someone referred to the term 'dumb'. Deaf and dumb is a common, but very degrading cliché . Dumb in that sense once meant 'mute' or silent as many who were born deaf did not speak. Some who are of Deaf Culture choose not to speak. Regardless, the word dumb is an outdated and derogatory word in this regard. Please do not use it.

I have lived with hearing loss for 50+ years. It changed my career dreams and my life in many ways. It has cost a great deal to get hearing aids. It has been fascinating to experience how hearing aids have improved. Still they are not perfect. I was blessed to qualify for a cochlear implant 20 years ago. I was also blessed to discover HLAA 40 years ago. Learning from other people with hearing loss who could validate my concerns, feelings, etc. gave me back my life.

Do discussions in MCC provide that kind of support?

Thank you for sharing the link that explains Deafness from a cultural perspective. This is a very important topic when it comes to understanding hearing loss across the board.

It's important to understand that people who identify as the culturally Deaf represent a small minority of people with hearing loss. They receive a lot of attention because they are visible due to manual communication (American Sign Language/ASL) and are very proud of their deafness. They have lobbied against medical research to cure or remedy hearing loss. They do not want to be 'fixed'. This has gotten a lot of media attention over the years.

The majority of people with hearing loss are those who want to remain in the hearing mainstream. For lack of better terminology, they are referred to as the 'hard of hearing population'. These people were the forgotten population until HLAA was founded in 1979. HLAA, which was then called 'Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH) gave hard of hearing people an identity and a voice, not a culture. For the most part, hard of hearing people do not identify as a culture or even as a community. We are PEOPLE with Hearing Loss who value the development of technology and hope a cure for all types of hearing loss will be found some day. We want to remain in the hearing mainstream.

It's an interesting topic. While Deaf (culturally) people do not want a cure, they do demand and qualify for services related to ASL interpreters, access technology they choose to use, etc. They do not consider themselves 'disabled', but do consider themselves eligible for services mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Yes, it's complicated.

Thank you again for sharing the link in your post. I encourage others to take the time to read it.

Julie, in all due respect my insurance covers $900 per pair -

Consider your source when receiving / providing information-