Bone Conduction "Ear" phone

[malus handle]

7 long years ago, I was struck down by a load of granite slabs, but survived, by the Grace of God.
I woke up in the hospital, and along with the broken bones, (which would heal) I was unable to hear the slightest thing in my right ear, but a "tinnitus" like sound, coming from the spot where some of the granite hit. There was a small, "closed bone fracture", just above my right ear.
Other things I woke up to, is, no sense of smell, or taste, and a "Vertigo" situation.

As far as one ear goes, .. .here's what I've found:

I can no longer "triangulate", ANY sound that comes. any loud sound, instantly freezes me, and the sound is coming from 360 degrees .

I can only understand a conversation if they're in front of me and speaking directly to me. if they turn their head while speaking, their voice fades away into the noise, then they turn back to me , and say "didn't you hear me"?

Experiment:

T.V. on, room fan on, tread mill on , and C.D. music on.
While I'm walking (carefully) on the tread mill, I twist up, and insert, an expanding foam , ear plug, and put it in my only good ear, and as it is expanding, every sound, depending on its frequency, fades away, to only the sound of ME, walking. It takes about 25 seconds to fully expand ( it takes a trick to get it in tight). The first sound to go was the fan, then the tread mill, then the T.V. but the cd music lingered. Kinda nice.
Then came the "Bone Conduction Ear phone", and for the first time, I could "understand the world again, and quickly de-code all the things coming in, phone calls, music, videos from my Kindle Fire in my back pocket. I have Bluetooth, paired directly to my bone phone, sorta like an implant I guess, and its not in my ear canal. I can simply move the bone phone slightly to adjust the (mono) fidelity. farther from the ear, more treble, the closer more base, and as the phone simply touches the lobe, the full range of tones come in. I Have even put the phone speaker directly on the fracture, and listened to music, it's amazing how I can understand stuff without using my ear canal. With a roomful of sounds, I put a plug in and pull up some music, and one by one , the voices fade almost completely away, and the music is clear in my ear.

well I'm long winded, but I thought I would pass on some my experience, maybe some one can relate.

submitted respectively to you, T Y

Craig

 

[Old Analog]

Interesting, welcome aboard

 

[deerheart12]

Hi
Thank you for sharing your interesting story. That is cool that you are able to hear with a bone ear phone. Wow that some rock story that you survived. Welcome

 

[malus handle]

Hi
Thank you for sharing your interesting story. That is cool that you are able to hear with a bone ear phone. Wow that some rock story that you survived. Welcome

thank you deerheart12 for responding. It's a lonely, confusing place here in my half deaf world, and I can 1/2 imagine being deaf, but trying to give space to my brain to make new pathways is the most important thing now.

I have a question(s) can a deaf person understand, or even get a sense, of words and music, through "bone conduction"?, Like I can,? (we should experiment.) I can experience and understand sound from anywhere on my skull, by pressing the phone tight on my skull. can a deaf person feel this? through my bone conduction phone. Not being able to, instantly identify, where a sound (especially a loud sound) is coming from, is the most disabling thing, It "freezes" me for a moment, where as a deaf person would not be aware of it. or?
A helicopter flying overhead should be easy to spot once it's heard, right? In my situation, I rotate my head like a radar dish until I can pinpoint the location, and sometimes I can not locate the helicopter in the sky, so very strange.
thanks again for taking interest in my "rock" story. I am a Colorado Master Plumber in the San Juan Mountains, and for 40 some odd years , I've dug allot of rock, but this one "got" me for sure .

craig

 

[deerheart12]

thank you deerheart12 for responding. It's a lonely, confusing place here in my half deaf world, and I can 1/2 imagine being deaf, but trying to give space to my brain to make new pathways is the most important thing now.

I have a question(s) can a deaf person understand, or even get a sense, of words and music, through "bone conduction"?, Like I can,? (we should experiment.) I can experience and understand sound from anywhere on my skull, by pressing the phone tight on my skull. can a deaf person feel this? through my bone conduction phone. Not being able to, instantly identify, where a sound (especially a loud sound) is coming from, is the most disabling thing, It "freezes" me for a moment, where as a deaf person would not be aware of it. or?
A helicopter flying overhead should be easy to spot once it's heard, right? In my situation, I rotate my head like a radar dish until I can pinpoint the location, and sometimes I can not locate the helicopter in the sky, so very strange.
thanks again for taking interest in my "rock" story. I am a Colorado Master Plumber in the San Juan Mountains, and for 40 some odd years , I've dug allot of rock, but this one "got" me for sure .

craig

Haha, Craig, you sure have some good humor there! That must be challenging to constantly figure out where sounds are coming from and being overloaded.

I do remember having my music headphones really loud and I hold my hands over the headphones and I can hear or feel the music usually the deeper tones of the song or music. I have not tried the bone ear phones that would be interesting to try!

I think people who have learned to speak/hear would probably understand the bone ear phone. I am not sure about people who are fully born deaf.

When I was at the deaf school during a small high school party we had music on really loud and lots of deafs were having fun "hearing" the music well the vibrations by holding a balloon! That was a fun moment! I don't think I had my hearing aids on. During my time at the deaf school I usually left my hearing aids off. It was much better to interact though sign language.

Even I cannot truly pinpoint where the helicopter is.

I wonder if you are able to get cochlear implants? Would that help stop this overwhelming noise? I know implants are not for everyone and you have to be tested to see if you're able to have one. And all the retraining your brain and speech therapy and not to mention the cost too.

Or hearing aids? Sometimes people who have tinnitus or noise sensitivity get hearing aids to help mask out sounds. That seems like what your bone ear phones do.

have a nice day! Annie

 

[malus handle]

Haha, Craig, you sure have some good humor there! That must be challenging to constantly figure out where sounds are coming from and being overloaded.

I do remember having my music headphones really loud and I hold my hands over the headphones and I can hear or feel the music usually the deeper tones of the song or music. I have not tried the bone ear phones that would be interesting to try!

I think people who have learned to speak/hear would probably understand the bone ear phone. I am not sure about people who are fully born deaf.

When I was at the deaf school during a small high school party we had music on really loud and lots of deafs were having fun "hearing" the music well the vibrations by holding a balloon! That was a fun moment! I don't think I had my hearing aids on. During my time at the deaf school I usually left my hearing aids off. It was much better to interact though sign language.

Even I cannot truly pinpoint where the helicopter is.

I wonder if you are able to get cochlear implants? Would that help stop this overwhelming noise? I know implants are not for everyone and you have to be tested to see if you're able to have one. And all the retraining your brain and speech therapy and not to mention the cost too.

Or hearing aids? Sometimes people who have tinnitus or noise sensitivity get hearing aids to help mask out sounds. That seems like what your bone ear phones do.

have a nice day! Anie

Yes, but for me Its "hearing Aid", and I think that my Tinnitus, is an accumulation of "concussive" events, in 1968,

and a few Grateful Dead speakers, in my life.

The last one being 7 years ago, with 5 tons of granite. I can't even imagine football tinnitus.

I know that a blind person can "hear" objects in front of them, can a deaf person see deeper into things?
I tried hearing aids , for awhile, but the doctors couldn't understand why I only wanted one, and , except having it paired up with tv, they plugged up my only ear. And I did NOT need any loud noise. When it comes to loud noise now, ..I wish i couldn't hear it,.. It "freezes" me and sometimes makes me jump. no fun. TO the Bone Phone, With my conduction (keyword) speaker just in front of my left ear lobe, I can hear , "Dark Side of The Moon", which is on my kindle in my back pocket, which leaves my ear canal open to hear my wife say "did you take the trash out?". ha.. I have played around with the speaker and the equalizer, and its amazing how the whole skull is one big conductor, full of air, sort of. water transmits sound in a total different way, than through air (bone). when I move the bone phone towards the lobe, as soon as it touches, the bass comes in and I'm able to really enjoy listening to music again. every other way has been cumbersome, this is simple, and I hope more people take advantage of them . Major surgery to fix my right inner ear was not in the cards , but this new technology is the next best thing . It's not new though, My Dad was a B-25 pilot, and wore a bone phone in front of his ear, and a microphone attached to his throat. Can a deaf person have "a little bit of hearing" and tinnitus too? or just Tinnitus and nothing else? I notice that if I get my ire up, my tinnitus goes up, so i focus on staying calm.
Bottom up and top down breathing does wonders for that. but push it all out.
so many questions...can a deaf from birth person feel any "conduction" going on in the skull? and can you cypher it.?. Is the Tinnitus, a brain wave that is conducting? I use "focus" to combat my tinnitus, and the bone phone really helps me focus on what I want to do, and not let the noise in the ear canal, or the "T", be distracting. It's really interesting to put my plug in, and feel the world sounds go completely away, and I'm left with only the music and talk, that I want, "in my ear". Kinda selfish I guess, but for now , it's working.
as far as conversation goes, when you are looking at me, when you talk, and don't turn your head or mumble, I can totally understand you, but if other voices come in or you turn your head, I can not pick up your voice any more as it fades into the 360 degree noise. It's the hardest thing to deal with. Is it the same for you, that if a person is looking at you as they are talking, its easy to see, and sign language and "body" language is easy, but if they turn their heads away, the communication is broken. The corners of the eyes, the corners of the mouth, are the best indicators of a confident person.
This is great being able to sit down and write to you guys about these things, after all these years.
well i long wind again. Thanks

I have been "experimenting" with a Bone Phone , and an expanding foam ear plug, I have been tested for hearing loss from the VA, and they showed a 50% hearing loss in my left ear, (due to being in the Marine Airwing and Vietnam 1968) and I did not tell her that my left ear was 100% dead. (she finally figured it out , and fudged the report, so I could get some benefits....HOORAY....$350 a month for the rest of my life...Tango Yankee to the VA, finally. From here at home. I have, 1 foam ear plug, 1 Bone Phone (Aftershokz) , and 1 Kindle Fire 7, with Equalizer FX.

 

[deerheart12]

and a few Grateful Dead speakers, in my life.

I know that a blind person can "hear" objects in front of them, can a deaf person see deeper into things?
I tried hearing aids , for awhile, but the doctors couldn't understand why I only wanted one, and , except having it paired up with tv, they plugged up my only ear. And I did NOT need any loud noise. When it comes to loud noise now, ..I wish i couldn't hear it,.. It "freezes" me and sometimes makes me jump. no fun. TO the Bone Phone, With my conduction (keyword) speaker just in front of my left ear lobe, I can hear , "Dark Side of The Moon", which is on my kindle in my back pocket, which leaves my ear canal open to hear my wife say "did you take the trash out?". ha.. I have played around with the speaker and the equalizer, and its amazing how the whole skull is one big conductor, full of air, sort of. water transmits sound in a total different way, than through air (bone). when I move the bone phone towards the lobe, as soon as it touches, the bass comes in and I'm able to really enjoy listening to music again. every other way has been cumbersome, this is simple, and I hope more people take advantage of them . Major surgery to fix my right inner ear was not in the cards , but this new technology is the next best thing . It's not new though, My Dad was a B-25 pilot, and wore a bone phone in front of his ear, and a microphone attached to his throat. Can a deaf person have "a little bit of hearing" and tinnitus too? or just Tinnitus and nothing else? I notice that if I get my ire up, my tinnitus goes up, so i focus on staying calm.
Bottom up and top down breathing does wonders for that. but push it all out.
so many questions...can a deaf from birth person feel any "conduction" going on in the skull? and can you cypher it.?. Is the Tinnitus, a brain wave that is conducting? I use "focus" to combat my tinnitus, and the bone phone really helps me focus on what I want to do, and not let the noise in the ear canal, or the "T", be distracting. It's really interesting to put my plug in, and feel the world sounds go completely away, and I'm left with only the music and talk, that I want, "in my ear". Kinda selfish I guess, but for now , it's working.
as far as conversation goes, when you are looking at me, when you talk, and don't turn your head or mumble, I can totally understand you, but if other voices come in or you turn your head, I can not pick up your voice any more as it fades into the 360 degree noise. It's the hardest thing to deal with. Is it the same for you, that if a person is looking at you as they are talking, its easy to see, and sign language and "body" language is easy, but if they turn their heads away, the communication is broken. The corners of the eyes, the corners of the mouth, are the best indicators of a confident person.
This is great being able to sit down and write to you guys about these things, after all these years.
well i long wind again. Thanks

That's a great describing your situation. It sounds like you have hyperacusis? I researched a little more about bone ear phones. I don't think I am able to benefit from it as I do have sensorineural hearing loss and I do pretty well with the current hearing aids that I have. It seems like people who have conductive hearing loss and like ear drum damage but the cochlear works just fine. I did see two or three people wear BAHA where it's surgically put in. So that was interesting.

I read some stories about people who have hyperacusis and how it can be truly painful. Wow I had no idea. It's amazing how many different conditions one can get within the ear. Not just being deaf and hearing nothing but silence but the opposite where it's too loud.
Yes I noticed if I don't sleep very well, I get some weird tinnitus sounds. It can sound like a lawn mower constantly mowing. I'm like would somebody turn it off!?

Yep the classic eye contact is so important for us deaf/hoh people, as it allows us to read the speaker's entire facial expressions and lip read too. So yeah I'll have to remind someone new if they keep forgetting to look at me. Though at times, I'll get tired and just say oh uh huh and pretend I heard them. lol! I do that lot with people on a random talking in the store like someone making a funny comment but I have no idea so I just smile, chuckle and move on.

Group conversations are no good either. Unless I have an interpreter, text to voice app, or have someone stand next to me telling me what's going on.

Have you tried Google Live Transcribe? Sometimes it'll help but not always. Especially now with all the masks it makes it harder to pick up muffle speech.

I found a site that has a message board for people with hyperacusis.
https://hyperacusis.net/message-board/

You could also look on Facebook if you have one and do a hyperacusis group search to find other people that have similar conditions as you. Just some ideas.

Anyways nice chatting with ya!
Annie

 

[malus handle]

That's a great describing your situation. It sounds like you have hyperacusis? I researched a little more about bone ear phones. I don't think I am able to benefit from it as I do have sensorineural hearing loss and I do pretty well with the current hearing aids that I have. It seems like people who have conductive hearing loss and like ear drum damage but the cochlear works just fine. I did see two or three people wear BAHA where it's surgically put in. So that was interesting.

I read some stories about people who have hyperacusis and how it can be truly painful. Wow I had no idea. It's amazing how many different conditions one can get within the ear. Not just being deaf and hearing nothing but silence but the opposite where it's too loud.
Yes I noticed if I don't sleep very well, I get some weird tinnitus sounds. It can sound like a lawn mower constantly mowing. I'm like would somebody turn it off!?

Yep the classic eye contact is so important for us deaf/hoh people, as it allows us to read the speaker's entire facial expressions and lip read too. So yeah I'll have to remind someone new if they keep forgetting to look at me. Though at times, I'll get tired and just say oh uh huh and pretend I heard them. lol! I do that lot with people on a random talking in the store like someone making a funny comment but I have no idea so I just smile, chuckle and move on.

Group conversations are no good either. Unless I have an interpreter, text to voice app, or have someone stand next to me telling me what's going on.

Have you tried Google Live Transcribe? Sometimes it'll help but not always. Especially now with all the masks it makes it harder to pick up muffle speech.

I found a site that has a message board for people with hyperacusis.
https://hyperacusis.net/message-board/

You could also look on Facebook if you have one and do a hyperacusis group search to find other people that have similar conditions as you. Just some ideas.

Anyways nice chatting with ya!
Annie

A couple of stories.
My son Evan and his family retired from the U S Army, after 21 years & 14 daysHe has an Italian family and they came here to celebrate and Transition back to Italy. With the Virus, it kept him here for 55 days, instead of the 15 that they had planned.
My other son Zane, and family live 4 miles down the road, so for 55 days, my whole little family was together again.
as I listened to them talk to each other, as always, it was 360 degree un decipherable words, and so I tried an experiment , that I had tried before. I rolled up a foam ear plug and put it in tight. as it expanded, voices started to go away, first my son's deeper voices, then the barking dog, then the 5 grand kids chatter went away, then the female voices muted, but were clear. It was strange "seeing" them talking, but not knowing where they are, at first, and that hesitation, knocks my conversational skills right out the window. I would walk around nodding my head, and smiling, not understanding a word, unless, as you said, they are standing close in front of you with their eyes. But I didn't really have to hear them, after 40 some odd years. Hand talk and body language works just fine.
Out in Public where it is mega sounds, 2.0, I don't do well. But a crazy thing if I put my ear plug in, and put my conduction phone on, it's much easier to get about, and that Harley that just went by, didn't make jump out of my shoes, and listening to my favorite music on my Kindle in my back pocket, really lessons the tinittus, and the vertigo feelings. Walking a strait line with vertigo, is hard, but with a little music in my ear, my feet seem to no where to go.
Alan Watts said that we were supposed to dance and sing along the way., and in the dance, you don't plan where your foot hits the ground.
still experimenting with new pathways.


It has become quite soothing when I block any noise from my ear. Then with my conduction phones, only let in what I want in, that way, my brain has a much easier time for making new pathways. Staying calm and focus on every project, puts the tinnitus, and vertigo in the back ground.
question, can a deaf from birth person play sounds on an Indian Flute? and then can they feel the resonance of the flute.
My friend is a piano tuner, and when he tunes, he first cuts off all appliances and motors, and evacuates the room. He has perfect pitch and uses his ear. He strikes a tuning fork and bites on to it with his teeth. He says that every bone in his body is resonating, and all he has to do is touch the piano, and it vibrates with him. In a way, that's how the conduction phone has helped me cypher my new world. Q: do deaf from birth people ware any kind of external electronic devices that are not amplifiers ? can they "bite on a tuning fork, and touch things to feel the different vibrations?
You guys are great, Merry Christmas
I am long winded, but my hang glider friend says, "well at least we've got the wind"

 

[malus handle]

Hi
Thank you for sharing your interesting story. That is cool that you are able to hear with a bone ear phone. Wow that some rock story that you survived. Welcome

Hi, was it you that talked about going to a "deaf" party, where they turned up the "vibrations" loud and all had big balloons full of water?
It instantly hit home with me, because I have allot of experience with water,...I've been a Colorado Master Plumber since 1978, and I learned my trade in Telluride, more water, more "disturbed water", which makes for negative ions.
well back to water, whether it's in balloons or the ocean, it is our antenna to the world, and since it can not be compressed, it transmits sound a long, long way.
Putting my Bone Conduction speaker phone on for the first time, was like getting this gigantic balloon full of water. It was/is perfect.
We should experiment with all piano tuner friends, (could a deaf from birth person tune a piano?) and pass out the tuning forks, and water balloons. ha..
stay safe

I told this story to an old friend who has "perfect pitch", and he reminded me, that it is similar to the way he tuned my piano, he strikes a tuning fork, puts it in his teeth, and then puts his hands on the piano, and it "vibrates with him", sorta like your bone phone, pretty cool to see him work, and to start, he turned off all appliances , and radios, etc, shooed' the kids and dogs out, and said "turn off your vocal chords, no talking", which was really hard for me, but it was a process he went through, to "get" in tune, before he tuned. he is interested in Deaf from birth people, and how their bones feel any vibration, and if it could be tuned. a blind person has this sense of where things are. a deaf person is still connected to the environment through his bones, among the other senses.

How it relates to me, this idea of a deaf person holding on to water, in a room full of loud music. Water is the antenna. and the body must get in tune with the music, maybe, the bigger the balloon, the more "good vibrations".
This is what I think about "grey matter". it's about 90% water, and 10% "grey matter". on good authority, I think that the grey matter is using the water as its own antenna .

 

[malus handle]

Yep the classic eye contact is so important for us deaf/hoh people, as it allows us to read the speaker's entire facial expressions and lip read too. So yeah I'll have to remind someone new if they keep forgetting to look at me. Though at times, I'll get tired and just say oh uh huh and pretend I heard them. lol! I do that lot with people on a random talking in the store like someone making a funny comment but I have no idea so I just smile, chuckle and move on.

I have made up a little White Board, that I show pe0ple who won't look at me, that reads, "I am hearing impaired, so please speak up, and talk to me with your eyes, and I WILL understand you" .
With this "set up" that I have developed for myself, I can go out into the world with much more confidence in myself, and be hands free, and hearing aide free, (which I find most important). To Speak with People clearly, who want to speak with Me, which is my #1 goal again, is a God Send.

SANPAKU, is an ancient way, and since my accident, i have developed this better sense. I Lost all my others, so my brain has acquired a "new sense", which serves me well, but it is a "learned" thing. I know, right away, when people are confident, and trying to tell the truth, which "sets" the table. This works for everybody.

stay safe

 

[deerheart12]

I have made up a little White Board, that I show pe0ple who won't look at me, that reads, "I am hearing impaired, so please speak up, and talk to me with your eyes, and I WILL understand you" .
With this "set up" that I have developed for myself, I can go out into the world with much more confidence in myself, and be hands free, and hearing aide free, (which I find most important). To Speak with People clearly, who want to speak with Me, which is my #1 goal again, is a God Send.

SANPAKU, is an ancient way, and since my accident, i have developed this better sense. I Lost all my others, so my brain has acquired a "new sense", which serves me well, but it is a "learned" thing. I know, right away, when people are confident, and trying to tell the truth, which "sets" the table. This works for everybody.

stay safe

that's a great way to tell people by a white board. A Boogie board might be cool to use too but probably gets broken I am not sure. Been wanting to get it.

That's so neat about your friend the tuning fork and being able to tune the piano. I was able to listen/watch some basic music instrument sounds on youtube. And I cannot hear the higher pitches of the violin. I liked the deeper or the lower pitches of the violin or any kind of music.

It's true that many Deaf people enjoy music/dance through vibrations. One time a famous Deaf band came to play for us high school students at night and it was soooo loud! My ribs were shattering! I had to leave! lol. I'm not comfortable in very loud noise or loud concerts. But wow the other guys loved it!! They had a blast!


Q: do deaf from birth people ware any kind of external electronic devices that are not amplifiers ? can they "bite on a tuning fork, and touch things to feel the different vibrations?

there is a electronic vest a Deaf person can wear to feel the music by the bass and the vibrations. It does seem to help them feel more included. It is made for video gamers such as virtual reality experience, but also seems to help out Deaf people too. Here's one by Subpac https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/219070/for-deaf-tactile-sound-system-takes-music-beyond-the-vibe

When I was little I would put my ears on my parents large speakers and would be so amazed to hear something out of it. I loved watching and hearing some Disney movie song. Excat word for word no but just the joy of hearing something even though I had no hearing aids at the time and my mom had to deal with accepting the fact that I had a severe hearing loss.

okay have a nice holiday and stay safe!
Annie

 

[malus handle]

that's a great way to tell people by a white board. A Boogie board might be cool to use too but probably gets broken I am not sure. Been wanting to get it.

That's so neat about your friend the tuning fork and being able to tune the piano. I was able to listen/watch some basic music instrument sounds on youtube. And I cannot hear the higher pitches of the violin. I liked the deeper or the lower pitches of the violin or any kind of music.

It's true that many Deaf people enjoy music/dance through vibrations. One time a famous Deaf band came to play for us high school students at night and it was soooo loud! My ribs were shattering! I had to leave! lol. I'm not comfortable in very loud noise or loud concerts. But wow the other guys loved it!! They had a blast!


Q: do deaf from birth people ware any kind of external electronic devices that are not amplifiers ? can they "bite on a tuning fork, and touch things to feel the different vibrations?

there is a electronic vest a Deaf person can wear to feel the music by the bass and the vibrations. It does seem to help them feel more included. It is made for video gamers such as virtual reality experience, but also seems to help out Deaf people too. Here's one by Subpac https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/219070/for-deaf-tactile-sound-system-takes-music-beyond-the-vibe

When I was little I would put my ears on my parents large speakers and would be so amazed to hear something out of it. I loved watching and hearing some Disney movie song. Excat word for word no but just the joy of hearing something even though I had no hearing aids at the time and my mom had to deal with accepting the fact that I had a severe hearing loss.

okay have a nice holiday and stay safe!
Annie

Hi Annie, learning more and more from you about these things. for me, my right "ear" nerve is 100% gone, so 4 times the sound comes into my left ear, and I can not tell where. quite dangerous actually, and that's why I started down this path of writing about my feelings about building back the confidence in myself, using tec stuff,
The first thing I did, when I received my bone phone, was put some music on and adjusted the headset and volume, and as I pressed the head set in front of my ear, I have never felt that kind of resonance before, and it was coming directly through the bone, to my brain. The music was Pink Floyd, "Dark Side of the Moon"..... .dare ya.
One thing that's most important, is protecting our tympanic membrane at all cost. Loud bass, and loud noise is instant damage on the membrane, so ware ear plugs, your tympanic membrane may be fine, do you know? and is there any vertigo with deaf from birth people? altho I see how vibrations can be felt, and reacted to, in the body, but In the "resonance" of the bone phone, the bass is completely gone, or not, depending how I hold the piece.
the best confidence builder, was having a hands free phone in my back pocket, hooked directly up to my ear, so when the phone rings i do not any longer have to look for it, AND having the advantage of my favorite music in my ear, without having any thing in, or on, my ears. big advantage in public. Hearing aids and bone phones could go hand and hand, the hands are where it's at anyway.
ta ta for now
craig

 

[malus handle]

with me, the deeper tones in my one ear, sorta vibrate the other tones out of the way. sound is soo discombobulating, for me to cypher. Being "hooked up" with my conduction pieces and bluetooth, allows me for the first time in 6 years, to be able to concentrate on the "important" sounds, and push everything into the background. I program my kindle fire, through Bluetooth, with my favorite music, and it's always in "my" background, and it actually has pushed my very loud tinnitus(s) more into the background, AND, help me walk better with my vertigo. Then I have my phone, through Bluetooth, programed to ring in my ear, so i'm hands free, which is the biggest confidence booster for me to be free with my hands, and booth hands. So many people have a phone in their hand, and antenna looking things coming out of their ears, it.s not natural. Another thing I've found is that people are more comfortable with me because I don't have these things sticking out of my ears, and they do not see my phone. They are curious about my bone conduction phone that I ware in front of my ear.
I'm wondering if there is a "half deaf from birth" community, out there? because I think that we are bombarded with sound ALL in one ear, ALL at the same time, and not knowing at all Where the sound is coming from. (which is by far the hardest.) but again, the conduction phones have helped me generally focus on my surroundings, and again a little background music puts a little kick in my "wobbly" step. Another little trick I use, is put my ear plug in and strike a tuning fork, and put it on my forehead, and l can totally concentrate on what i'm hearing, and feel and hear the tone at the same time, and It takes some time for the tone to subside. I can hear the tuning fork longer than my hearing doctor, she thinks it's because my brain has made new pathways, and is always searching for more, if we let them.

T Y

Craig