Hearing aids or no hearing aids, that is the question!

JennyB · 11-29-2009, 03:36 PM

I have been going through this love/hate time with my hearing aids. I basically went 3 months with only using them for maybe 2 hours a week. This past week, I used them about 4-5 hours a day. Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but comparatively it is!

I have noticed my tinnitus is TERRIBLE after that week. It doesn't bother me a ton, I am one of the lucky ones that can ignore it and sleep. This morning when I woke up, it was the first thing I noticed though.

Part of me wants to just put away the hearing aids for good, but part of me likes the sound every once and a while. People also pressure me to wear them and I hate that. It is up to me! If I just swore off hearing aids I wouldn't have that pressure.

I am not sure the point of this point...I am just confused.

deafdude1 · 11-29-2009, 07:16 PM

It's your choice to wear them as much or little as you want. If you can still hear sounds with them, then HAs still work.

JennyB · 11-29-2009, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdude1

It's your choice to wear them as much or little as you want. If you can still hear sounds with them, then HAs still work.

hearing sounds is annoying as hell. I don't like hearing sounds. I don't like walking outside and hearing sound. Sound is just sound. It isn't speech, it isn't music, it isn't anything - just unintelligible noise. Sound does not mean hearing aids work. I hate the sound.

souggy · 11-29-2009, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennyB

hearing sounds is annoying as hell. I don't like hearing sounds. I don't like walking outside and hearing sound. Sound is just sound. It isn't speech, it isn't music, it isn't anything - just unintelligible noise. Sound does not mean hearing aids work. I hate the sound.

I empathizes with you on this one. I have no use for them if people are not taking to me one-on-one.

cdmeggers · 11-29-2009, 10:17 PM

if all I was hearing were just sounds/pure noise that do not make any sense, but not speech, I'd probably say screw it and go without (and have to live with the tinnitus).

shel90 · 11-29-2009, 10:19 PM

I never had problems with titannus which is odd because so many deaf people I know suffer from it.

I need to wear them when interacting with hearing people or deaf non-signers. Without them, my lipreading and speech comprehension skills are at 0%.

LDNanna · 11-29-2009, 10:36 PM

If my job did not require them, they would be donated to some one who cared for them. I do not.

deafdyke · 11-29-2009, 10:52 PM

Jenny.........maybe it might be time for the CI. Weren't you looking into it? Plus it might really help with the tinittuas.

deafdude1 · 11-29-2009, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennyB

hearing sounds is annoying as hell. I don't like hearing sounds. I don't like walking outside and hearing sound. Sound is just sound. It isn't speech, it isn't music, it isn't anything - just unintelligible noise. Sound does not mean hearing aids work. I hate the sound.

Then you have the right to retire your HAs permanently, perhaps sell or donate them and enjoy the silence forever. Nothing wrong with that. I sometimes go without HAs myself. I do like hearing sounds though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shel90

I never had problems with titannus which is odd because so many deaf people I know suffer from it.

I need to wear them when interacting with hearing people or deaf non-signers. Without them, my lipreading and speech comprehension skills are at 0%.

I rarely get tinnitus and when I do, it's brief. I am able to speak and read lips without HAs. My parents say I talk less loud and clearer with HAs though.

shel90 · 11-29-2009, 11:15 PM

[QUOTE=deafdude1;1470488]Then you have the right to retire your HAs permanently, perhaps sell or donate them and enjoy the silence forever. Nothing wrong with that. I sometimes go without HAs myself. I do like hearing sounds though.

I rarely get tinnitus and when I do, it's brief. I am able to speak and read lips without HAs. My parents say I talk less loud and clearer with HAs though.[/QUOTE]

I get told the same thing! I CANT lipread without my HAs..I have tried it..I end up with migraine headaches and achy eyes.

JennyB · 11-29-2009, 11:53 PM

hmmm...I sometimes lipread BETTER without my hearing aids. Sometimes the sounds I am hearing are that contradictory to what I am seeing...

shel90 · 11-29-2009, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennyB

hmmm...I sometimes lipread BETTER without my hearing aids. Sometimes the sounds I am hearing are that contradictory to what I am seeing...

I think my brother is like you and DD..he lipreads better without HAs.

deafdude1 · 11-30-2009, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shel90

I think my brother is like you and DD..he lipreads better without HAs.

My HAs add about 10% to my lipreading score. I wear them mostly to hear sounds.

Hask12 · 11-30-2009, 07:15 AM

Like you said Jenny it's your decision. People telling you that you should wear them are probably, in a lot of ways, seeing it as a convenience to them, and not as much, to you. If I remember correctly you are deaf, grew up in the deaf community, know sign language etc. So it's not like you need the aids to get by. As a matter of fact wearing, wearing them only some of the time probably causes you more problems then not. Is it the end of the world if you stop wearing them, other then the guilt feeling of shelling out all that money for them?

kokonut · 12-16-2009, 09:45 PM

Wow...nice Starkey spam.

Anyways, I love my hearing aid. Each person is different when it comes to hearing aids. Some love it. Some are so so with it. Some just despise it. The benefits for me in using my hearing aid are many and I love it.

LDNanna · 12-16-2009, 11:42 PM

Problem, ears are always irritated due to the hearing aids. Its always meds, creams, lotions - ugh. Even the sanitizer only makes it minimally better. I absolutely must wear them to work. I wish very much that I could toss them. Wearing that does not improve what little sound I have. Oh, and my asl absolutely sucks now. Grrrr

Lissa · 12-17-2009, 04:10 AM

Do whatever you feel best/function better in. Don't let people tell you what to do. It's YOUR hearing, YOUR hearing aids.

Mrs Bucket · 12-17-2009, 07:53 AM

I stopped using HAs when I was 16 years old.

I suffer from chronic tinnitus and take medication for this because I would walk like a real drunk person. The tinnitus does affect my balance.

inspirabull · 12-17-2009, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hearingaid

STARKEY – U.S.A is the largest hearing production alliance with 4000 staffs - doctors, audiologists, engineers and professional technicians. Every year, Starkey spends 400 millions USD for R & D new hearing aids. With these advanced technology, Starkey made small CIC and RIC( Receiver In the Canal) which has complete feedback and noise free and automatic fitting hearing aids to cover 130dB profound deaf patients .

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The new ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) will get more accurate wave with peak and give clear analysis for the patients, especially children.

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ASSR shows hearing threshold for 500 Hz, 1 Khz, 2 Khz, 4Khz which are speech frequencies.

3. Cortical Test
The first test in Vietnam with HearLab
The test will be starting from 2010 when HearLab gets approval from FDA

The tests are following two:
The advantage of this test is to know wether infant/baby understand the speech with hearing aids and what is their cortical threshold. It’s necessary to check whether the hearing aids is weak or too strong or suitable at speech level, 65dB. For ABR test infant should asleep but for this cortical test infant should awake.

* ACA (Aided Cortical Assesment): To check whether infant/baby understand the speech with hearing aids.

* CTE (Cortical Thresold Evaluation): To check the cortical threshold.

4. REM (Real Ear Measurement)
The first special test in Vietnam will help patients get accurate hearing aid fitting. Especially, this test will be necessary for children who can not make oral response to the loudness of sounds whether fitting level is loud or weak.

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Tag: Hearing Aids, Hearing Aid, hearing aids, hearing aid

I don't picture Starkey selling pairs of digital ITE's in Vietnam for 6,500 USD

inspirabull · 12-17-2009, 09:13 PM

The whole business of shelling out enough money to buy a good used car for a pair of hearing aids irritates me to no end. I have to use them and because of the variety of situations I work in the digital ITE with a full on amplifier and none of the other settings works best. All in all my hearing aid experience has been a 30 year pain in the ass of not having what I need and not being able to afford the turnover that happens with them. Ultimately I understand your frustration completely but it is a nuts and bolts kind of thing really If you hear and understand and are able to function better with all manner of people it is practical just to wear them and be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

KristinaB · 12-18-2009, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDNanna

Problem, ears are always irritated due to the hearing aids. Its always meds, creams, lotions - ugh. Even the sanitizer only makes it minimally better. I absolutely must wear them to work. I wish very much that I could toss them. Wearing that does not improve what little sound I have. Oh, and my asl absolutely sucks now. Grrrr

We'll have to work together on that then, won't we?

I know when I had my HA's, they were "all-in-the-ear" and I kept getting "swimmer's ear" with them. After every shower I went through the ritual of drying out the ears and really making sure they were dry, then putting in drops that had peroxide and alcohol (doctor prescribed) to make sure all fluid was dried, then put in aids. Not 2 hours later I had such pain from "swimmer's ear" that I would have to remove the aids and use the prescribed drops for the ear ache. This went on for the 3 years I had them. Now that I don't have them, I am so thankful. No more ear pain and I can deal with the tinnutis (can't spell that at all). More and more I "hear" a roaring sound in my ears, then it changes to music. Can be kind of nice. Currently I am hearing Amazing Grace played by a flute. Beautiful!!

JennyB · 12-22-2009, 03:56 PM

My aids spend the majority of time out of my ears. I guess the real question will come when it is time to replace them and whether or not it is worth it. I still use them in oral environments like when I am home (like now...I want to rip out my eyes from all of the lip reading) but when I am in Toronto I don't really need them. Anything I do at school I have access to interpreters and I have a "Deaf" job. All of my friends are Deaf or know ASL...I really don't need to hear in Toronto. However, I do like my music sometimes.

11-29-2009, 03:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
JennyB Deaf Activist! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 909	Hearing aids or no hearing aids, that is the question! I have been going through this love/hate time with my hearing aids. I basically went 3 months with only using them for maybe 2 hours a week. This past week, I used them about 4-5 hours a day. Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but comparatively it is! I have noticed my tinnitus is TERRIBLE after that week. It doesn't bother me a ton, I am one of the lucky ones that can ignore it and sleep. This morning when I woke up, it was the first thing I noticed though. Part of me wants to just put away the hearing aids for good, but part of me likes the sound every once and a while. People also pressure me to wear them and I hate that. It is up to me! If I just swore off hearing aids I wouldn't have that pressure. I am not sure the point of this point...I am just confused. __________________ Queer, Deaf, radical disability theorist, feminist, activist, advocate, and linguist. Fear me! Jenny~B http://journysofadeafgirl.blogspot.com/

11-29-2009, 07:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
deafdude1 Getting stem cells soon! Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1,269 Blog Entries: 1	It's your choice to wear them as much or little as you want. If you can still hear sounds with them, then HAs still work. __________________ My reasons for choosing stem cells over CI are numerous. Many thousands have gotten stem cells for all conditions with 90% success rate. I have emailed/contacted stem cell centers, read articles, did my research and know the facts. Chloe got such good results she can hear well without HAs! My hearing loss is the same in both ears. Recent audiogram: 125Hz=55db, 250Hz=70db, 500Hz=90db, 750Hz=110db, 1000Hz-8000Hz=NR at 110db. I discuss my deafness and stem cells in my blog

11-29-2009, 10:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
cdmeggers CD Meggers Join Date: May 2005 Location: Wyoming Posts: 856	if all I was hearing were just sounds/pure noise that do not make any sense, but not speech, I'd probably say screw it and go without (and have to live with the tinnitus). __________________ My Ear Blog

11-29-2009, 10:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
shel90 In a pink and black world Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: In the land of the free Posts: 25,989 Blog Entries: 3	I never had problems with titannus which is odd because so many deaf people I know suffer from it. I need to wear them when interacting with hearing people or deaf non-signers. Without them, my lipreading and speech comprehension skills are at 0%. __________________ Shel~ "A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

11-29-2009, 11:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
shel90 In a pink and black world Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: In the land of the free Posts: 25,989 Blog Entries: 3	[QUOTE=deafdude1;1470488]Then you have the right to retire your HAs permanently, perhaps sell or donate them and enjoy the silence forever. Nothing wrong with that. I sometimes go without HAs myself. I do like hearing sounds though. I rarely get tinnitus and when I do, it's brief. I am able to speak and read lips without HAs. My parents say I talk less loud and clearer with HAs though.[/QUOTE] I get told the same thing! I CANT lipread without my HAs..I have tried it..I end up with migraine headaches and achy eyes. __________________ Shel~ "A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

Today
Deafness	Sponsored Links __________________ This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members. Register your free account today and become a member on AllDeaf.com

11-29-2009, 10:36 PM	#7 (permalink)
LDNanna Phantom member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1,271	If my job did not require them, they would be donated to some one who cared for them. I do not.

11-29-2009, 10:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
deafdyke So NOT a Princess! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Trebekistan Posts: 7,736	Jenny.........maybe it might be time for the CI. Weren't you looking into it? Plus it might really help with the tinittuas.

11-29-2009, 11:53 PM	#11 (permalink)
JennyB Deaf Activist! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 909	hmmm...I sometimes lipread BETTER without my hearing aids. Sometimes the sounds I am hearing are that contradictory to what I am seeing... __________________ Queer, Deaf, radical disability theorist, feminist, activist, advocate, and linguist. Fear me! Jenny~B http://journysofadeafgirl.blogspot.com/

11-30-2009, 07:15 AM	#14 (permalink)
Hask12 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 99	Like you said Jenny it's your decision. People telling you that you should wear them are probably, in a lot of ways, seeing it as a convenience to them, and not as much, to you. If I remember correctly you are deaf, grew up in the deaf community, know sign language etc. So it's not like you need the aids to get by. As a matter of fact wearing, wearing them only some of the time probably causes you more problems then not. Is it the end of the world if you stop wearing them, other then the guilt feeling of shelling out all that money for them?

12-16-2009, 09:45 PM	#15 (permalink)
kokonut Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 5,173	Wow...nice Starkey spam. Anyways, I love my hearing aid. Each person is different when it comes to hearing aids. Some love it. Some are so so with it. Some just despise it. The benefits for me in using my hearing aid are many and I love it.

12-16-2009, 11:42 PM	#16 (permalink)
LDNanna Phantom member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1,271	Problem, ears are always irritated due to the hearing aids. Its always meds, creams, lotions - ugh. Even the sanitizer only makes it minimally better. I absolutely must wear them to work. I wish very much that I could toss them. Wearing that does not improve what little sound I have. Oh, and my asl absolutely sucks now. Grrrr

12-17-2009, 04:10 AM	#17 (permalink)
Lissa in my own world.... Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,627 Blog Entries: 3	Do whatever you feel best/function better in. Don't let people tell you what to do. It's YOUR hearing, YOUR hearing aids. __________________ Thanks to superchick!

12-17-2009, 07:53 AM	#18 (permalink)
Mrs Bucket I yam what I yam! :o)~ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: East York, ON Posts: 2,922	I stopped using HAs when I was 16 years old. I suffer from chronic tinnitus and take medication for this because I would walk like a real drunk person. The tinnitus does affect my balance. __________________

12-17-2009, 09:13 PM	#20 (permalink)
inspirabull Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Fairbanks, Cantwell, and Wasilla in Alaska and Longview, Washington. I like it that way. Posts: 343	The whole business of shelling out enough money to buy a good used car for a pair of hearing aids irritates me to no end. I have to use them and because of the variety of situations I work in the digital ITE with a full on amplifier and none of the other settings works best. All in all my hearing aid experience has been a 30 year pain in the ass of not having what I need and not being able to afford the turnover that happens with them. Ultimately I understand your frustration completely but it is a nuts and bolts kind of thing really If you hear and understand and are able to function better with all manner of people it is practical just to wear them and be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

12-22-2009, 03:56 PM	#22 (permalink)
JennyB Deaf Activist! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 909	My aids spend the majority of time out of my ears. I guess the real question will come when it is time to replace them and whether or not it is worth it. I still use them in oral environments like when I am home (like now...I want to rip out my eyes from all of the lip reading) but when I am in Toronto I don't really need them. Anything I do at school I have access to interpreters and I have a "Deaf" job. All of my friends are Deaf or know ASL...I really don't need to hear in Toronto. However, I do like my music sometimes. __________________ Queer, Deaf, radical disability theorist, feminist, activist, advocate, and linguist. Fear me! Jenny~B http://journysofadeafgirl.blogspot.com/

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