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Hearing aids in but still not understanding words
Hearing Loss | Last Active: Nov 4 4:08pm | Replies (135)Comment receiving replies
Les the tinny sound was my first impression 10 years back and made me think that wearing hearing aids was more trouble than it was worth so didn’t wear them. Wrong I should have. Fast forward 5 years and I started to wear them regularly and eventually the tinny sound decreased although sometimes voices on the tv are not normal. My hearing loss I would say at 83 is severe not for sounds as I can hear the cooking alarm from a distance when my non hearing aid husband can’t but word recognition has plummeted in one ear in particular. Down from 90% to 40 % such that my audio sent me to the ENT to do an auditory brain response test to check for a tumor I presume. He said “nothing” and put it down to an aging auditory nerve. I am wondering whether in fact any newer aids (mine are Phonak Audeo of 3 years ago) would honestly make any difference. When I got the Phonaks I couldn’t say they were any better than my Oticons of 7 years back but they were smaller. I am now at the stage of wondering whether to check out newer ones.
Replies to "Les the tinny sound was my first impression 10 years back and made me think that..."
I want to encourage the people in this discussion who say their hearing is getting worse and worse, even with hearing aids, to consider the cochlear implant option. Cochlear implants, until recently, were only considered for people with profound hearing loss. Due to the success of this technology the criteria for CI candidacy has been lowered to include people with less severe hearing loss, and also for those with single sided hearing loss. CIs are generally covered by Medicare and by insurance, unlike hearing aids. The implantation surgery is far less invasive than it once was and is generally done on an outpatient basis.
In most instances, cochlear implants will provide the clarity that hearing aids don't. After implantation my hearing tests went from 35% understanding to 90% understanding in audiology testing. That is not uncommon. My implant surgery was done in 2005, so it's been a long time for improvements to develop, and they have.
Age is not a factor in determining CI candidacy. I personally know several people in their 80s who have had CI surgery done. Their only regret is that they didn't do it sooner.
Not all audiologists and ENT specialists are well informed about cochlear implants, as it is a specialty aside from theirs.
Has your ENT or AuD mentioned the cochlear implant option? If not, ask about it.
Did that ENT say anything about you qualifying for a cochlear implant? Your 40% word recognition should qualify you.
The idea of surgery can be frightening. Sometimes we express that fear to the point where the CI option isn't addressed. Of course, our state of health is a consideration. I do know several people who have benefitted from cochlea implants in their 80s and 90s. Age should not be an issue in a healthy individual.
It is also important to understand how modern hearing aids can work with remote devices like microphones and cell phones. Was that explained clearly at your appointment?
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Thanks Betty. I'm glad to hear that voices sound less tinny as time goes on. When you started wearing your HAs regularly, did you find your word recognition improved with time, over a couple of months or so? Sorry to hear your hearing has now deteriorated so badly.