Age old stigmas and myths about hearing loss that don't go away

I actually have a genuine ear horn from the early 1900s, that I use in presentations sometimes. You are right, it does work. It brings the sound direct to the person's ear IF the speaker talks into it. Funny, but that is the secret behind telecoils and hearing loops. Those built in t-coils bring the sound directly to the hearing aid while bypassing all background noise. Consequently, most people with hearing loss are able to hear well with that technology. Back in the day, they recognized that background noise was the culprit, even if it was ambient noise that is part of life. Isn't it a shame that the industry has marketed shame and denial for so many decades. Now it's all about hiding hearing loss with invisible devices .Back then when it showed, people knew what they had to do to connect. 🙂 Do you know there are ways to use a hand held or partner worn microphone with your hearing aids? If your son used one of those mikes you'd hear him. PS: Your purchase of that black horn for a friend who was getting older promotes another myth or stereotype about hearing loss: that hearing loss is a sign of old age. Yep, it is more common in older people, but many kids have it and many in their prime have it. I'm 'old' now, but sure wasn't when I was diagnosed at age 21. 🙂

Yes, indeed! It implies old age! The horn I purchased says: OVER THE HILL HEARING AID Directions: Hold small end to ear and hear. As I said, I found out how well they really work. My sister had blue tooth hearing aids. She passed away and my niece gave them to me. I am going to go to the Audiologist and have them fitted for me. I have been there before last February and he said yes! So, now, I have been hibernating for over a year. After I get my second vaccination, I will make the appointment to make it happen. What is your recommendation?

Julie, what exactly is it you do?

How I would love to see a photo of your black horn. I remember well my grandmother having one of those!

I definitely recommend that you follow through on that. Hearing aids will help you if they are programmed for your hearing loss. You are fortunate to have an audiologist who is willing to do that for you. It's a shame to toss hearing aids that can be repurposed. If they have BT, they are fairly new, so go for it.

Hard question to answer. I'm a retired educator and human service provider. I'm a consummate volunteer for The Hearing Loss Assn. of America, and do a lot of advocacy and education through HLAA. I'm the newsletter editor for HLAA Fox Valley Chapter and also for HLAA Wisconsin.

I'll have to see if I can find it. Know it's in the basement with a ton of other stuff I've vowed to go through. 🙂

Every thing you are not supposed to do to a hearing impaired person, I am guilty of! My husband is severely impaired from Vietnam noise exposure, and his highs are gone. I have been in the hearing industry for 40 years, have opened 4 clinics myself, worked for ENTs, been VP of a large HA Mfg, so I should know better! I forget that his understanding of speech on his audiogram, with aids in, is only 60%. I should always speak so he can see me because 20% of a person's understanding of speech comes from sight. He is not going to do better than 60%, but with vision, he does pretty well. Also loudness is not clarity! Turn up the TV - up goes the music and special affects which interferes with speech. We have a TV box that connects thru bluetooth to his hearing aids and he hears better than I do! However, adjustments are important, and as we age the hearing instrument adjustments can help because with new technology come improvements that can be dumped into your current aids and upgraded. Makes it easier to get to the speech but the scores don't usually improve, but it is less exhausting for the hearing impaired person who has to concentrate so hard. Hope this helps, Gina

My personal experience with my #1 pet peeve is for the first 2 years my husband and I were married, he would walk away still talking or just starting to make a comment or something. Even though I repeatedly asked him not to. So, finally my brain kicked into "how do I stop this?" I waited until he was down the hall or away enough so he could still hear me but not know what I said, and I said "mphfff, tsworly", ughmrp". Mumble mumble, loudly. (actually, I put my hands over my mouth and said "Kmart blue light special" because I remembered so many times they would get on the microphone and start out with that in the store but I couldn't understand the rest of it!) He turned around, came back, said "what?". I said "exactly". That's what I get when you walk away talking! It did not happen again!

Sounds like my husband. He’s lost highs and lows, has severe tinnitus, and used his sight to process much of speech. We have to be in the same room in order to have a conversation otherwise it is mere noise to him.