Mild hearing loss and occasional empty holes in my memory

If you can't hear well and don't respond appropriately to those around you... the likelihood of people not staying around you or conversing with you decreases because you can't talk to them in a normal manner. Hearing, answering , understanding and conversing in a normal manner is difficult if you have any degree of hearing loss. If as you say you have to ask them to speak up in order to hear them, then I would suspect you have some degree of hearing loss and need to see a hearing specialist or audiologist/doctor. Putting this off or denying you have any hearing loss, does not allow your brain to work to it's full capacity. Our brains are meant to be elastic and to work at thinking, learning, processing, listening and understanding. But if we don't at least investigate and see what is going on with our ears/brain, we allow our brain to atrophy...sit dormant and this is the isolation you refer to. We stay away from others and our brain becomes non-elastic and can contribute to changes that are not good for you. Studies have shown early signs of mental illness, dementia and other pathological problems. SO, if you feel like 56 years old, then contact your doctor and an audiologist and set up and apt. Get a hearing exam to see what is going on with your ears. Get the full story so you know how much you can actually hear and what you can do with what you can't hear. THEN, do something about it.
There is so much out there now a days for everyone - including you! NO ONE IS EXEMPT - NOT EVEN 100 years old or even 6 month olds. Technology and advancements in hearing aids, assistive listening devices, cochlear implants, as well as free caption telephones, and other hearing loss services that are there if you are willing to Step into our world. IT can be scary and difficult but did you know there are some 40 million Americans with some degree of hearing loss? That's alot of us but not everyone does something about it. So, we/I am out there to help one at a time to have a better life today.
Take the first step today/tomorrow and learn about YOU. Do it for you and for your husband,,,your family and me. It will be worth it for your brain too! Eloise

Thank you for responding to me.. My doctor sent me for a hearing check about 2 years or so and I had minor hearing loss, but not enough to need aids.. Then last year I had another test at Costco.. there they put aids on me and had me walk around the store to find out how that sounded to me.. Well, it was too noisy and I didn't like it at all... I have read that hearing loss can cause some cognitive differences, so that's the reason I'm inquiring now.. At home I have earpieces for listening to television and my laptop, and I enjoy using them often.. My husband speaks up when I need to hear him better, which is usually in the car.. My cellphone audio is turned up so I can hear well on it.. I nearly always put it on speaker when I'm talking very long.. I guess what I'm saying here is that having hearing aids would just be another gadget for me to keep up with.. Changing batteries could be a problem for me since I'm a bit shaky and might need a magnifying glass for the job.. Being at home with my husband is enjoyable for me and I don't feel so isolated as it seems I actually am..

What does bother me the most is the women I meet and make friends with don't understand me.. I miss the friends that I had for so many years.. we knew each other well and understood and made allowances for our little quirks and eccentricities.. It does get lonely when you lose old friends... And now I am the oldest living member of what was a very large family that included aunts, uncles, cousins and inlaws.. I guess this is what it's like to get old.... not that I mind my years at all.. but I do miss those folks that I loved all my life, and they loved me... I wish old ladies would just be a bit kinder.... Thank the good Lord, my husband is adorable though...

Do you have some form of dementia? You need to seek a doctor’s opinion on this same statement. Although in hearing loss, you can get dementia. That is more when your hearing loss is very bad. I think you have two health issues. Have you had an MRI of your head. I don’t think that would be a bad idea.
All my best.

Hi Hot foot. I brought Nano over the counter even though unlike you I am in a more severe range . It was brought as a backup in case my hearing aids dies quickly. They are under $500 and they work for me in not being without hearing. Only over the counter I trust. They work with you. Best customer service ever. And the aids are not programmed for your loss yet they work for me . Strange .

High frequency hearing loss, which is where women's voices are located (pitches) are often where loss of hearing is found. You may have that and that is why you can't hear your friends voices. You can hear your husband's voice because men's voices are in the lower tones and can usually be heard.
Having the different devices directly in your ear helps to hear but it doesn't help when trying to hear directionally when you are trying to listen in a group setting or say at church, or a meeting. That is because your ears/brain are trying to figure out what noise/sound is coming from some where and who is saying what and is it related to you!!! Very confusing and exhausting to figure this out. That is why the newer hearing aids of today have built-in computer components in them that help to sieve through that confusion to help you figure out what is a particular noise you don't need to hear and what you want to hear. Instead of spending so much money on individual devices for different places like the businesses would like to think you want...pick out ONE hearing aid that will do EVERYTHING FOR YOU. Hearing in your house, in church, in your ladies group, in the car, listening to music, drowning out your tinnitus if you have it, and so on and so forth. They do have digital hearing aids, cochlear implants and other devices that can do all of these things. Even if you are shaky - your husband can help you with management of the devices. That is what is so great about this that you are not alone in this step in life.
My husband is just as much involved in this as I am. Your husband can be of assistance in caring for your devices as you are, especially in making sure they have batteries, are cleaning at night, etc - just like all of the daily activities of maintaining your home and you.

One note to know: The Hearing Loss Association of America has also been working to educate people and businesses about putting in hearing loops - a electro-magnetic field (wire) that works with your hearing aids's tiny wire called a T-coil (if the manufacturer put one in, and your audiologist/hearing aid specialist told you about it) to let you hear even better in places where a microphone and sound system are located. This system allows you to use your 't-coil' to connect with the sound system and have it go directly into your ears like a WiFi and you hear exactly what is said without any feedback or outside noise. It's a wonderful system when found. We are working to have them put in everywhere so all of us can hear well. Eloise

Hearing loss is isolating and I also have difficulty with a lack of friends. Fortunately I have six kids and 18 grandchildren so it keeps me busy.
As far as trying the hearing aids in the store I don’t think that’s the place to really experience what they’re like. It may be that the hearing aids were not adjusted “fit” correctly for your specific hearing loss or that it just sounds really loud because now you can hear. That’s all it could be. I recently had a slight hearing loss in some levels of my audio gram and after the audiologist adjusted my hearing aids everything really seemed loud for a while but really that is what I’m supposed to be hearing.

I have never had a good memory either and now that I’m older.. 72 it seems like it’s gotten worse. It’s probably a good time to have yourself checked out.