I did it! Am getting HAs.

julysrain

julysrain

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So I finally got brave enough - I'm getting a hearing aid!

I've needed them for a while but because I was too nervous and didn't have the support of my family (well still don't) put it off for a long time. I finally got sick of having to ask people to repeat themselves and getting really annoyed when people would talk to me without facing me. When I couldn't understand my mom talking to me from three feet away, facing me, and she had to repeat herself three times and I still couldn't tell if she was saying "car, cart, card, etc", I figured it was time to do something.

I did go with the completely in the canal style. And because of the cost only ordered one for my right ear which is worse. Ah, vanity :X

But I'm so excited. I was outside earlier and realized - maybe I'll be able to hear the birds again! How cool would that be??

But I wanted to ask - what is it like when you first get them? I have a moderate loss in my right ear, a mild loss in my left ear. Will I be able to hear the birds? What about traffic? What about speech?

!!!
Excited!!! It should be in by Wednesday :)
 
Way to go!!!! I am proud of you.... No matter what you do.. You do for yourself!!.. Keep it up!!!..

Have fun and enjoy the sounds.. but.. give it time to get used to it, it might give you headaches or confusions.. hang in there.. :hugs:
 
Congratulations! :thumb:

The first time I wore a BTE (behind the ear), taking the sounds was far greater than what my old body aid took in...sure enough, I ended up having a big headache for a couple of days...so, a suggestion to take, is to have a handy dandy bottle of aspirins nearby and you'll do great! Glad to see that you're quite excited and looking forward to this, do share with us once you're settled down with your new HA! ;)
 
Since you're gonna hear better with hearing aids..You might be irritated at first with all the sounds going on around you.. Just be patient and keep wearing it. You'll get use to it. If I were you, I'd keep the volume on the hearing aid down and learn to pick up sounds and when you get used to that then turn it up a little.. just whereever you're comfy with the sounds.. leave it like that. Good Luck with it!!!
 
I did go with the completely in the canal style. And because of the cost only ordered one for my right ear which is worse. Ah, vanity :X
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Actually, my advice is to experiment. Take advantage of the trial period and experiment with all different styles. BTEs are DAMN amazing! You really don't want to go through thinking that you can hear with baby aids, and then discover that you can hear WICKED well with BTEs! Trust me....the cosmetic factor isn't even that big of a deal.....
 
Thank you all so much!

2 1/2 days....I already have something planned for that night - trip to the park and a small outdoor concert. I can't wait!!

I will be sure to have aspirin in my purse though LOL

:wiggle:
 
did you get one that has a manual override for the volume ???? I know in my first days that was a life saver !!!


Though I LOVE my BTE ( I personally prefer it to CIC or ITE) - I know a number of people ( espeically if they have mild/mod loss) who have CIC or ITEs and love them ...it's really about what works best for you.
I do agree that if you're able to, you might want to try a BTE ( they should allow you a free trial) just so you have a good comparision. It's really what you feel comfortable with though. HAs don't work worth beans if you're overly selfconcious about them , and leave them in dresser drawer ;)

about people seeing your HAs .... I have long hair which I have pulled back in a french braid at work for safety reasons ( it's of course 100% invisable when my hair is down ) , and it STILL took people 2 weeks to notice my BTE - which is tan colour to blend a bit with my hair colour. I certainly wasn't trying to hide it , in fact I mentioned it to everyone I bumped into, so they'd feel comfortable approaching me about it if they had any questions ... and STILL people didn't see it LOL ...
 
julysrain: Congratulations on your new hearing aid! :)

I started wearing HAs age age 15. One of the things I still remember during my first few weeks wearing them was how loud everything was. If that happens to you, don't be overwhelmed. This is normal and it will take time for your brain to become used to this new way of hearing. You will be hearing sounds that you've never heard before or haven't heard in a long time, so keep that in mind.

It might be helpful to write a journal about your hearing experiences with your new HA. What do you like about the sound of your hearing aid? What don't you like? (For example, sounds are too sharp, too much bass, too much echo, own voice sounds like it's in a barrel) These observations will help your audi program your HA so that you can hear the best you possibly can.

When you receive your HA you may want to wear it for shorter periods of time to avoid exhaustion. When I started wearing HAs (BTEs), I wore them for only an hour/day, then 2 hours, 3 hours, etc. and gradually worked my way up to a full day. If you think you can tolerate wearing them for longer periods of time (i.e. half a day), by all means, do so. If you're tired, remove your HA for awhile and give yourself a break. Remember, it will take time for you to become used to the new sounds you're hearing!

I'm sure one of those "new sounds" will include birds singing! :) I hope you'll let us know how your new HA works out! One thing you will quickly realize is what a noisy world we live in. LOL! Good luck! :)
 
The feeling might be overwhelming at first. You might end up taking your hearing aids off quickly. Yet, you'll eventually get used to it and enjoy it more. :thumb:
 
deafdyke said:
Actually, my advice is to experiment. Take advantage of the trial period and experiment with all different styles. BTEs are DAMN amazing! You really don't want to go through thinking that you can hear with baby aids, and then discover that you can hear WICKED well with BTEs! Trust me....the cosmetic factor isn't even that big of a deal.....
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Yes i agree with Torri, BTE's are WICKED!!!!! And it is true as well, that the cosmetic factor isn't that big of a deal. You just get to the point where you don't feel them anymore and don't even know you have your HA's in. It's when you first get them that it feels like this massive gob in your ear, and it's really uncomfortable and that's when ppl can tell. But once you get used to them you'll be fine.

I was advised when i first gone mine, to wear them only a few hours a day at first, b/c you will get headaches from sound overload, and things will seem really really loud. As well, when you take them out at night, then put them in in the morning, it can be shocking when you go from not hearing anything, to things being really really loud. Try wearing them for a while, and then when you take them out, you'll realize how badly you needed them!!!!! I know me personally, when i take them out i think, "I don't need these; i can hear FINE!!" then i put them back in and i'm like, "Shit, i'm deaf." lol. They work wonders! Whatever brand you chose, CONGRADULATIONS!!!!!!!!!! Tell us everything!!!!!!

~Bree~
 
Judysrain - Congratulations!

It will definitely benefit you in more ways than you realize. Enjoy it!

I could only use a BTE (prior to my CI) as I needed the power and I didn't give a flip what people thought as I had to have my hearing! Talk about vanity though, while my BTE didn't bother me at all as I was used to wearing it and everybody else got used to it, I had some slight quaims about my CI. I wear very very short hair and I knew my CI transmitter would stick out. That bothered me for about 5 seconds and I decided who cares as I need to hear. Besides they got colors and I'm going to get the color scheme that works for me (I'm in a trial/study so I use plain vanilla skin tone for now). Funny thing, I don't care anymore and nobody else really notices it either.

BTW - I hear they have really radical colors for HAs :thumb:
 
I wear only BTEs and they work well for my kind of hearing loss (severe to profound), with the power it provides. As for the vanity factor, did you know that the majority of people NEVER NOTICED I wear a BTE hearing aid? Not, unless I tell them I wear one...of course having medium length hair helps too. :)
I have never tried the smaller aids (in the ear to CIC aids), and never been recommended for one because they don't provide enough power for me.
 
Thank you all so so much!!!!

My appointment is 1 pm tomorrow ~ I am way too excited LOL!!!
I will tell you what I end up with ~ at this point I'm not sure!

My family doesn't get why I'm excited. They don't even understand I have any hearing loss at all geesh!!! According to my family, the only reason I can't hear things is:

- I can't hear on the phone because someone is speaking softly.
- But I can hear on an amplified phone only because" I *think* I can."
- I can't hear thunderstorms because I'm not really trying.
- I can't hear conversations because I'm not listening.
- I can't hear at work because it is too noisy (well yah LOL)
- I can't hear cars coming at me because "no one can!"

I'm sick of it all! I'm sick of people saying to me, when I've said I can't hear something, "oh, don't start in on your hearing again". I'm doing what I want to do now! And tomorrow maybe I'll hear all those things and I wonder if they'll notice a difference then??

I'm soo excited!! Thank you all again!!! I appreciate it SO much!!
:party: (hehe if I had party hats i'd probably get them out LOL)
 
Oh selective hearing....lol....I've dealt with that many times....one of my away messages on my school computer is:
Sarah to Megan" She's selectively hoh, she can hear perfectly well even without her hearing aids!".....gee looks like my RAs know me a little too well! ;)
 
:slap: :mad: :liar: :bsflag:

That is what I am feeling right now LOL :)
They didn't get in whatever the heck it is they were supposed to from wherever it is they ordered it from and I didn't get my HA today.

She said well probably tomorrow, they'll call me.

Great. I'm so annoyed.

:fingersx: for tomorrow.
 
Congrats on your decision to get one. Any chance your employer could pay for it?

I'm being fitted for a new one myself. I wore it last weekend and determined there are many changes that need to be made or adjusted. Starting with a new mold shot.

I'm back to wearing my old one now and have to wait for them replace it and schedule another fitting appointment. Probably another 2 weeks out.

Be very picky. Write down everything you do and do not like about it to be sure it is adjusted correctly for you.

The number 1 complaint is feedback. I don't stop until it's tuned out.

Steve
 
Be very picky. Write down everything you do and do not like about it to be sure it is adjusted correctly for you.
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Yes,
and also experiment with different aids....you may like the baby aids, but you might be able to hear even better with BTEs!
 
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