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Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others
Hearing Loss | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (1534)Comment receiving replies
I am in my early 70's and have had hearing aids for about 6 years. They are helpful in general conversations and activities. However, I have never been able to distinguish sounds (death,debt, or deaf...what was said?!?), learn new languages, and am tone deaf impacting my musical talent greatly! We watch a lot of tv movies and shows and I know subtitles aren't always available and are distracting to others. I miss a lot in movies and shows, hate to keep asking for the punchlines, and tend to just fall asleep as I'm lulled into fatigue trying. I've tried using my wireless earbuds but it cuts off the tv sound for others. Sometimes, I'll be watching and hubs opens a bag of chips and all I hear is the crinkling of the bag. Any ideas of thoughts on this. Thanks everyone!
Replies to "I am in my early 70's and have had hearing aids for about 6 years. They..."
I'm popping in to say "welcome @luvsibes". You ask some great questions that I'm confident members like @julieo4 @imallears @cobweb @babarker @editored @maryjax @tonyinmi and others will have some tips from experience to offer you.
While we wait for others to respond, you may also be interested in these related discussions:
- Strategies & Realities - Hearing Loss in Social Settings https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/strategies-realities-hearing-loss-in-social-settings/:
- Loss of hearing clarity: Solutions or strategies anyone? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/loss-of-clarity/
@luvsibes Hi there, welcome to 'Connect'. I hope you'll find the experiences of other people with hearing loss helpful. Learning that I was not alone with hearing loss and all the crazies that go with it helped me learn to live well with it. It also motivated me to learn more about technology that goes beyond hearing aids. My sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) was diagnosed in my 20s, so I've been living with it a long time, as I'm in my 70s like you. So much has changed over the years, and it has helped to be on top of it. I am thankful for my involvement in the Hearing Loss Assn. of America, Inc. (HLAA) for all I've learned. First and foremost, HLAA put me in touch with others who were willing to talk about it, advocate for better technology, and share what they learned with others. http://www.hearingloss.org HLAA is a consumer based non profit organization.
You mention misunderstanding similar words. This is typical with SNHL. We lose our ability to understand specific sounds, primarily consonants. If we figure out what sounds are difficult for us to understand we can gain a slight advantage. You mentioned 'death, debt, deaf'. If can are aware of the context of a conversation, we can usually figure out which word fits. However, the reality is that we will sometimes get it wrong. That's life with hearing loss. It also helps to learn what sounds look alike on the lips. We all lip read whether we realize it or not. Look in the mirror and try it. A good example is P, B. M. They look the same. Pat, Bat, Mat. Mother Brother, Married Buried, etc. It's easy to see how we can get it wrong.
We can get a lot of help from technology that goes beyond hearing aids. Many hearing aids can be fit with hand held extension microphones that make it possible to circumvent a lot of the background noise in social settings. Hearing aids that have telecoils make it possible for us to stream desired sound directly to our hearing aids. Bypassing unwanted background noise helps a great deal. Be sure to find out if your hearing aids have telecoils. Ask your provider to show you how they work. Bluetooth can do this too, but BT adds considerable cost to hearing aids. Telecoils do not.
Most movies do have subtitles (captions). Yes, people who don't need them tend to not like them, but they also don't like having to repeat things to us. My husband adjusted to captioning years ago and it is always on when we watch TV. People get used to it. And, in my humble opinion, the captions should be available on all TVs that are on in public places. Some states have mandated that be the case. In movie theaters there are caption devices that you can check out and use. They are not perfect, but they do work. You have to request those at the ticket office in most places. Have you ever tried those?
In performing arts centers, there should be assistive listening devices available by law. These can be used with headphones. The best way to use them is to have telecoils in your hearing aids. If the PAC has a loop installed, all you have to do is turn the telecoils on in your hearing aids. Viola! It works great.
One other technology that is relatively new and getting better all the time is 'automatic speech recognition' ASR can translate what is being said into text on your phone or tablet. It is amazingly accurate.
If we know what is available, we can help others know how they can help us.
Are you familiar with all these options?
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My audiologist and Dr. Google research says that this is a neuro issue like neuropathy or a loose wire connection from the ear to brain. It is being researched but not understood nor is there a solution. I also have tinnitus but have learned to not pay attention to it or have it bother me but I'm sure it adds to the lack of clarity in language I experience.