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Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others
Hearing Loss | Last Active: 2 hours ago | Replies (1533)Comment receiving replies
Hi -- I'm Lucky1038 in Santa Monica CA. I am really O.L.D. I think my hearing is OK but I want to get it tested. I've seen my regular doctor for about 20 years. She has never brought up the subject of hearing. So thanks to you here on the internet I'm motivated to get it checked out. Also my good friend has had hearing loss.. he's 90. he's been wearing some kind of a hearing aid. But he's not one to research things. I introduced him to computers when all one saw when turning it on was an amber screen -- you had to type something to load an application. Later on I dragged him into getting a new PC.. and forced him to use email. He loves it. The problem now is that his hearing is worse. I want to find out about tools to make it so that he can use his computer including his email easier.
Replies to "Hi -- I'm Lucky1038 in Santa Monica CA. I am really O.L.D. I think my hearing..."
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Hi Lucky1038. Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect/Hearing Loss Group. First of all, OLD is a state of mind, right? Reality is, that 50% of people over age 65 will test positive for hearing loss, and the percentages get higher with every year that passes. It's extremely common, and it's even more common to deny it or even not realize it's happening to you because it can be so gradual you don't notice the change. Definitely, do get a hearing test. It will serve as a baseline for future testing. Medical doctors do not get much training on hearing loss, yet, they should all ask their patients if they have trouble hearing when they reach a certain age. Do get tested. I you are told a hearing aid would help you, come back and ask questions on this site before buying one (or two).
Your 90 year old friend sounds like someone who is open to learning. E-mail is a wonderful way for people with hearing loss to connect with others because you don't have to hear to use it. If he is using video conferencing or trying to hear YouTube or other things online that require listening, that's a whole different issue. If his hearing aids have telecoils, a simply device called a neckloop can connect him to computer sound quite well. The telecoils are the key, and they are not present in all hearing aids. Sometimes a simply headset plugged into a computer without the hearing aids can be a big help. The only way to know if it works is to try it. Hopefully you can encourage him to try a headset. Let us know if that helps.