Hearing Loss: Come introduce yourself and connect with others

I wish you all the best, and I’ll be curious to hear what you experience when the implant is turned on.

@kmseay Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Over 46 million people in the United States have hearing loss. While it often comes with ageing, it affects people of all ages. Hearing loss creates unique challenges. The good news is that we are living in times when technology is far more helpful than it once was. I have so much to share with you that I don't know where to begin, so will start with a few questions.
1. Have you been able to use technology that goes beyond your hearing aids at performing arts centers, movies, concerts, meetings, etc.? There is much available that people don't know about.
2. Do the hearing aids you are using have the telecoil option? Did your hearing aid provider explain that to you? Do they also have BlueTooth connectivity?
3. Are you familiar with the national consumer organization; Hearing Loss Association of America, Inc.? http://www.hearingloss.org Might there be a chapter of HLAA in your geographical region? If so, connect with them. If not, you might be interested in connecting with HLAA members online as there are a lot of opportunities to learn that way. It's very helpful to get tips on managing hearing loss through association with other people who share your experiences, concerns, frustrations, etc. Because of this organization, 'communication access' is recognized as a necessity under the American's with Disabilities Act. However, advocacy is necessary to get technology in place. It takes people to make that happen.

You mention the value of captioning. Not too long ago, captioning on TV was sporadic. It was not required. People who got involved in advocating and educating changed that. Do you know that your smartphone can use apps that will translate speech into text?

Most important: Acquired hearing loss does not have to take away things you once enjoyed. You just have to find new ways to enjoy them.

Did you manage to get help? I have this problem and I'm very frustrated with my current hearing aids, it's group conversations, TV and certain people's speech that are so challenging and disabling especially for group conversations. I miss so much.

I was just fitted with my Osia processor two days ago. I am hearing static with all sounds. Do I need to go through an adjustment period, or could I possibly have a bad processor. Cochlear suggests that my audiologist contact theirs to remap my processor. Anyone else experience similar static with their Osia processor?

I have had progressive hearing loss for close to 40 years and have learned various "coping" strategies that help. Microsoft has a service called Live Transcribe. When this apps is running, it will transcribe reasonably well. Good for difficult to hear situations like in a group, Skype/Zoom, a soft spoken person, etc.

There is also now a cell phone captioning service that's free - InnoCaption. I have found this to be exceptionally good.

I also announce to people I meet for the first time in a group that I have hearing loss and may miss things they say. Everyone appreciates this and responds accordingly.

There are also very good websites for support. Hearing Tracker is an international one for HA and CI users to share experience.

Stay informed and get creative.
Good luck

Thank you. Helpful information, I had just decided I would announce in a group as you suggested, I hadn't thought to do that before. The Hearing Tracker looks like a great resource. Through that I've located a place near me that appears to have more comprehensive services and a highly qualified audiologist who I'm hoping can assist with my Mid Range hearing loss. Thanks again for your suggestions.

Fitting hearing devices for unique hearing loss takes considerable skill by a well-educated professional. We hear so much right now about over the counter hearing aid products that it's easy to think things have become simpler. Those products are only for people with mild to very moderate hearing loss. While they can be a solution in some cases, if a person's hearing loss is progressive (which is very common), in time that person will need better, well fit technology.

Research shows that people often wait for years before seeking hearing help. By the time they do, their loss may well have passed the moderate stage. Therefore, they will need more sophisticated well-fit technology.

It's not unusual for a person who is fit for hearing technology for the first time to need adjustments by the professional, and also time to adjust to a new way of hearing.

Are you familiar with real ear measurement? That is a must for a proper fit with any external hearing technology.

Dr. Cliff podcasts on YouTube helped me understand the complexity

I'm pretty sure that is what I have, I've had it for 2 months just before Christmas and it's driving me crazy. It's annoying and it's obviously scary. And how do I explain this to a doctor next week? It's worse at night when I'm laying down it's like a turbulent sound of a rush that comes down to my ears or around my ears or in the back of my ears. It takes a while for everything to calm down. It is so strange I just can't take it anymore

Hi, @kicker113640 Welcome to Connect.

Do you wear hearing aids? I have tinnitus and during the day, when I am wearing my hearing aids, I don't notice the tinnitus but at night when I take them off and go to bed I really do unless I am active with something like reading before settling down to sleep.

I believe that my situation is pretty common, that people with hearing aids do not notice their tinnitus when they are wearing their hearing aids because they are hearing other external sounds whereas after removing the HAs things are very quiet.

The sound I hear is like a motor running so when it first started it would alarm me that something in the house was running and I would tell my husband. He would get out of bed and go around the house to find the noise but there was never anything. Eventually, I realized it was tinnitus. I guess I thought tinnitus was a ringing sound and mine is definitely not.

It is a nuisance but if yours is similar to mine you will eventually learn to just live with it. I will be curious to hear what your doctor says about it.
JK