bad audiologist appointment rant

[SpaceGlitter]

I had my first audiologist appointment in years yesterday and I have to say, I was less than impressed. I was hoping to finally have some info that might be useful, and to finally be taking some steps towards getting hearing aids, but no.

the audiologist gave me a beep test, followed by a speaking test (he said words through a microphone and I repeated them.) he told me that the two tests didn't match up perfectly. I said that made sense since the beeps are difficult & the words are easier to do because I could guess a little bit if I got a piece of the word. he didn't seem to get that. then he went on to say that with the levels of hearing loss I have I shouldn't be able to understand him. I tried telling him that I was relying on picking up every third word or so and lip-reading, but he sort of ignored that? I ended up being told to talk to my doctor about it, and that was pretty much it. none of my questions were answered and I felt like the audiologist either didn't care or didn't believe that my hearing loss is as bad as it is. so annoyed. the nurse who I got my last audiogram from at a clinic was more helpful and empathetic.

this is also the same audi I saw when I was 13 and my hearing was way better than it is now. he didn't take it seriously then either and there was never any follow up. now I'm 20 and this is where I am.

I think I've given up on trying to deal with this audi. he didn't communicate at all and just couldn't fathom that I rely of lip reading/body language/guessing/picking
up a few words rather than just sound. the aids he sells are way out of my price range anyways so I think I'm just going to check out costco. I need hearing aids for work and I can't really wait around anymore. ugh. yeah. I just needed to vent my frustrations about all this.

 

[peekaboo]

I feel your pain. Not all Audi is bad, but I had my share of the good and bad. Sometimes you just got to keep looking for the right one that understands, and that my friend is hard to find. Mine is back where I used to live. I have one here now that is nice but I dont know how she is with the Audiogram testing. I had one done at work, which I think is ridiculous, they say they want to make sure that if you have good hearing, they want to put you in an environment that is not too loud for your ears. ... And knowing I am deaf/hoh... they still tested me when in fact all I had to do was put in frozen chicken in a box... like that is going to make my hearing worse? buwahaha... Anyways, I can see why you feel frustrated. Hang in there.

 

[LoveBlue]

You should contact your state's Vocational Rehab office. They may be able to help you by sending you to another audiologist and also help pay for the hearing aids.