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

Posted by Julie, Volunteer Mentor @julieo4, Feb 1, 2021

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about hearing loss. Stigmas and myths abound. Let's talk about it. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hearing Loss Support Group.

@faithwalker007

Oh classic! Maybe I should do that! My husband talks to me from another room or should I say scolds? Pet peeve! Of course I can’t answer because he can’t understand me.
And I can’t easily join him to return the favor because I’m disabled and mobility is not a strong suit due to severe pain and he KNOWS IT!

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@faithwalker @julieo4 My Starkey bluetooth Remote Mic really does a great job when my hearing partner is in another room of the house and she wants to talk to me.. It even works when she is shopping in a not too large store and I am waiting by the entrance.. My Hearing Aids and my smart phone with the "Thrive" App make is all possible.. She just wears the Remote mic around her neck on a lanyard or clipped to her clothing.. Selective Hearing excuses are by the wayside.. Ken

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@th1

Try it - can't hurt

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Answer him? Oh I have, and we proceed to get into some heated exchanges...

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@ken82 I use my MIni Mic that way too and swear by it. BUT, it doesn't help much in unplanned conversations as in when I am in one part of the house and he is in another. It takes a bit of planning. Also interesting to make a trip to the restroom and leave the mike on the table. Makes for some interesting hearing. 🙂 Glad you are finding the add on tech worth using. Me too.

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Suddenly, I've stopped receiving any messages from any of the groups I follow. Anyone else having a problem?

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@julieo4

@ken82 I use my MIni Mic that way too and swear by it. BUT, it doesn't help much in unplanned conversations as in when I am in one part of the house and he is in another. It takes a bit of planning. Also interesting to make a trip to the restroom and leave the mike on the table. Makes for some interesting hearing. 🙂 Glad you are finding the add on tech worth using. Me too.

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LOL. I've had that kind of interesting hearing. Actually, I've also had something kind of the opposite. Was dining out with some friends and went downstairs to the restroom, with my Roger Pen. Lo and behold I could hear some of the conversation upstairs. They didn't say any bad things about me! 🙂

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@earscan

LOL, you are a breathe of fresh air! You do have the best! And once you get used to hearing on one side only, it is a monster of rehab/training to get used to bilateral hearing! You are also retraining your brain. I have stayed away from these fittings, especially if it is an older person, because the success rate is poor. If you are functioning well now, you go girl! Not all this new stuff is the answer! Glad you are doing good! Gina

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@earscan @joyces Re having adjusted as well as possible for a lifetime with single sided hearing and the poor success rate of older people to do well with getting used to new technology and a cross hearing aid: I think you guys just saved me a LOT of money and aggravation. Thank you! I'm still going to the audiologist in May (I go every five years for a checkup) and will see what she has to say based on my latest test results. I do not do well with new to me technology, which is old technology to others, OR new technology. Unless the hearing in my good ear necessitates getting a hearing aid, I think I'll carry on as is. I'm SO glad February is over. Nancy

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@sparklegram

Suddenly, I've stopped receiving any messages from any of the groups I follow. Anyone else having a problem?

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@sparklegram Please look in your spam folder. I found several posts from MayoConnect there last week. That's the first time that's happened for me. Nancy

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@arrowshooter

People just don't understand about hearing aids. At my last physical exam the doctor told me to remove my hearing aids so he could check my ears. I removed them and he continued to talk as he went on with the exam and I couldn't understand anything he was saying. I had to stop him and put in my hearing aids so I could understand him. I asked him to repeat what he had said and he didn't. He was so far into technical medicine that he doesn't understand the patient. I won't be seeing this doctor again.

The tiny, invisible hearing aids the industry strives for and advertises do not serve me well. My hearing aids work fine but like many people they do not allow me to understand speech very well. I sometimes wish they were big and orange so I wouldn't have to explain my hearing loss to everyone. I don't mind sharing these things with all you folks on this forum but you are not the people who need to hear and understand this message. We speak this message to hearing folks and they don't "hear" us.

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My hearing aid is blue. I've gone with the colored hearing aids for the last 35 years, once knew they existed. 🙂 And, during most of those years I had short hair. It does help when people know you're trying to help yourself. Let it show!

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@julieo4

My hearing aid is blue. I've gone with the colored hearing aids for the last 35 years, once knew they existed. 🙂 And, during most of those years I had short hair. It does help when people know you're trying to help yourself. Let it show!

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Thank you. This is encouraging. "It does help when people know you're trying to help yourself."

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When I walk into a meeting of a fairly small group (less than 20), I make a point of saying that I don't hear well and read lips, so really appreciate it when people face me while speaking. It works well with some people for at least the first half hour or so. During these Covid times, four of us are the only ones in the Backpacks pantry, and they all know I don't hear well. Sometimes one of them starts to talk from behind my back and then says, "Joyce probably can't even hear what I'm saying," and moves to a better place. I'm still getting used to the fact that now that my good ear has been invaded by the Meniere's Monster my hearing fluctuates, from hour to hour, day to day, which is really confusing for those who know me well. Sometimes, I can understand what the others are saying as we pack food boxes, everyone moving as they talk, but later I can't hear much at all. That's a tall hill to climb for those around me!

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