lv decided on no hearing aids or operations.

lloveparis

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l was told last week that l'm losing my hearing fast in my right side good ear. lm waiting appointment to see specialist to see why it's happening. l have very little hearing in my left ear after having had 2 mastoid ops and was told l would lose most of that hearing. in that side anyway. So over the years iv been hard of hearing and coped really well. Now this past week iv made the decision not to have any more ops and no hearing aids. l just dont want to put myself through any more discomfort etc. And here is the clincher..l actutally like the 'quiet' . My question is..does anyone else feel that way about not wanting hearing aids, ops etc..or is it just me ? My children and my husband have accepted my decision that l made last week and fully respect that choice.. Im taking lip reading lessons now but l was automatically lip reading anyway over the years and will learn sign later...But l wanted to ask on this forum, am l alone in not wanting hearing aids etc, plus would you have them if you had the choice? lv a feeling my sibblings are going to think im very selfish, but l dont think l actually dont care .Am l selfish ?
 
I like the quiet too, that's kind of a unseen bonus, people like us can literally turn our hearing off.

I like quiet evenings sometimes, so the aid comes out for a peaceful evening, yes I have noisy neighbours, always slamming doors & kids screaming, drives me mad sometimes.

Paris, I don't think you're being selfish by not wanting hearing aids anymore, I think your family will understand, there's other ways of communicating.

For almost 2 years my brother & sister used notepads which were in every room of my home, because I refused to have hearing aids, but they understood my decision.
 
I am looking into the cochlear implants , but not sure about it a lthough I am reading about it online ..
I was born hard of hearing , but became deaf in one ear many yrs ago ..I am losing my hearing in my other ear and been using hearing aid since was 8 yrs old ..
I have a classmate has the cochlear implants , she's happy with it ..but the more I read bout it the more I read the negative side more than the positive side .
I'm not ashamed of being wht I am ..and none of my family members or friends knows sigh-language ..
Few wants me have the cochlear ..even my late mum wanted me do it even though she never said it out loud ..
So I am gonna keep reading about it ..the pros and cons of it ..
But for now am looking into things I need to keep me going ..I have a Speech to Text on my cell phone .in case ..
Right now I just want a new hearing aid , my old one is almost 30 yrs old ...
 
l was told last week that l'm losing my hearing fast in my right side good ear. lm waiting appointment to see specialist to see why it's happening. l have very little hearing in my left ear after having had 2 mastoid ops and was told l would lose most of that hearing. in that side anyway. So over the years iv been hard of hearing and coped really well. Now this past week iv made the decision not to have any more ops and no hearing aids. l just dont want to put myself through any more discomfort etc. And here is the clincher..l actutally like the 'quiet' . My question is..does anyone else feel that way about not wanting hearing aids, ops etc..or is it just me ? My children and my husband have accepted my decision that l made last week and fully respect that choice.. Im taking lip reading lessons now but l was automatically lip reading anyway over the years and will learn sign later...But l wanted to ask on this forum, am l alone in not wanting hearing aids etc, plus would you have them if you had the choice? lv a feeling my sibblings are going to think im very selfish, but l dont think l actually dont care .Am l selfish ?
I don't put mine in unless I'm going out or expecting company. Those hearing cannot begin to comprehend what we go thru every day!
 
I do not wear much hearing aids anymore, There is a prescription pair thats been waiting payment to come home soon. Buried in surgery. I literally use a 20 dollar walmart voice booster that is generic. And happens to be in my hearing range anyway. I lost everything above 5000 hertz anyway on the recent audiogram at my age. The closer to very low you can go I still have natural hearing equal to a hearing person or a little better. What that means is I dont hear birds. But I dont need to know that they are out there on the feeder pile.

Its a form of quiet. I spent a life time dealing with big old rigs and massive engines fighting nature, weather and mountains. Now that I put them on when I go to see a doc I dont need them that much if at all. I do keep them around. But I will not be buying anymore prescriptions after this pair in this lifetime.

What I am doing however is using powerful headphones to keep the music enjoyment. Working on external computer soundcards that boost and amplify the noise. Shakes the house sometimes. The Television however, is essentially crappy programming. I have one channel I keep on from Little Rock for bad tornado weather and trucking related shows. Its free. Or use the blu ray Dvd with subtitles etc.

Its a little different in my point medically if i have too much lighting or too many people too long I get migraines so I go somewhere really quiet. And that will be enough for that day.

I suppose when I go in for surgery like the last time they would just have to shout. However they have learned me now and just point and learn a few signs actually. I tease them and say the medicines are no good, get a big hammer and give me a whack and get it over with. They will appreciate the peace and quiet too.
 
I do not wear much hearing aids anymore, There is a prescription pair thats been waiting payment to come home soon. Buried in surgery. I literally use a 20 dollar walmart voice booster that is generic. And happens to be in my hearing range anyway. I lost everything above 5000 hertz anyway on the recent audiogram at my age. The closer to very low you can go I still have natural hearing equal to a hearing person or a little better. What that means is I dont hear birds. But I dont need to know that they are out there on the feeder pile.

Its a form of quiet. I spent a life time dealing with big old rigs and massive engines fighting nature, weather and mountains. Now that I put them on when I go to see a doc I dont need them that much if at all. I do keep them around. But I will not be buying anymore prescriptions after this pair in this lifetime.

What I am doing however is using powerful headphones to keep the music enjoyment. Working on external computer soundcards that boost and amplify the noise. Shakes the house sometimes. The Television however, is essentially crappy programming. I have one channel I keep on from Little Rock for bad tornado weather and trucking related shows. Its free. Or use the blu ray Dvd with subtitles etc.

Its a little different in my point medically if i have too much lighting or too many people too long I get migraines so I go somewhere really quiet. And that will be enough for that day.

I suppose when I go in for surgery like the last time they would just have to shout. However they have learned me now and just point and learn a few signs actually. I tease them and say the medicines are no good, get a big hammer and give me a whack and get it over with. They will appreciate the peace and quiet too.
Hi x1heavy, would you mind giving me a little more information on the $20 walmart voice booster that you use? Thank you!
 
l was told last week that l'm losing my hearing fast in my right side good ear. lm waiting appointment to see specialist to see why it's happening. l have very little hearing in my left ear after having had 2 mastoid ops and was told l would lose most of that hearing. in that side anyway. So over the years iv been hard of hearing and coped really well. Now this past week iv made the decision not to have any more ops and no hearing aids. l just dont want to put myself through any more discomfort etc. And here is the clincher..l actutally like the 'quiet' . My question is..does anyone else feel that way about not wanting hearing aids, ops etc..or is it just me ? My children and my husband have accepted my decision that l made last week and fully respect that choice.. Im taking lip reading lessons now but l was automatically lip reading anyway over the years and will learn sign later...But l wanted to ask on this forum, am l alone in not wanting hearing aids etc, plus would you have them if you had the choice? lv a feeling my sibblings are going to think im very selfish, but l dont think l actually dont care .Am l selfish ?
i was born deaf & told to (have) hearing aids as a child, however the older i got science deveopled more powerful hearing aids that gave sev/to profound hearing people, a relatively normal persons hearing range....and my eyes a rest from lipreading. But the older i get the more disoriented by sounds i get. Hense my balance is getting worst...& i made a mistake of always wearing no-hearing aids in the house but when i went out shopping i put them back on and this is where my mindset begain to crossfire.Its hard to give anyone advice and one should not because everyones hearing range is differnt as well as the coping skills. I dislike sounds but in the outside world a hearing aid gives you the protedtion esp.if you face people with masks on (covid) & you have no one else to ask what did they say...? signing is good but again for me i have got so compicated as the older i am getting the more i forget what sounds are ie. A PLAIN IN THE SKY or A GARDEN LAWN MOWER? vibrations are odd and your natural inate skills of senses that can highten your awareness just becames more tired. So i would continue to wear a hearing aid esp... If you want to hear birds singing-a song playing-to join in conversations with your family & not worry about your added balance weakening (if u'r like me) or the spinning sensation plus a dislike of certain sounds forming when you get headaches forming. Please,REALY think about what you want from the rest of your life...silence which is a natural way of being but to them disregard the option of a hearing aid that can enhance your life....?
 
Hi x1heavy, would you mind giving me a little more information on the $20 walmart voice booster that you use? Thank you!
I sent you a PM.

Here is the device I am using temporarly has been for a few years. Its pretty disposible because sometimes you get a bad one that burns up and can be replaced cheaply. If it works for you.

As stated in PM it has a hearing range of 250 hertz to 3500 hertz and likes the 1000 hertz voice very much. Music not so much. Boosts about 30 db.

I do not endorse or any support for this item, for me it is strictly a temporary which I have no problem buying a few extra once a year and throw away the bad ones in due time. They have lasted between 4 months to three years for me. Ive gone through 5 of them so far.

The best part? no batteries. That is also the worst part. Sometimes they burn up when recharged too much.

 
What I am doing however is using powerful headphones to keep the music enjoyment. Working on external computer soundcards that boost and amplify the noise. Shakes the house sometimes.
Hi x1heavy, can you share the headphones and sound card info you are using? I have not been able to find anything that is loud enough for me. Have tried many headphones and amps and all so far are disappointing.

OP, I also prefer silence most of the time. Only exception is occasionally I try to listen to music. I sign and my family has learned enough to have good conversations so being off most of the time is not an issue. With them on I don’t hear much anyway.

I don’t think it’s selfish. I think most hearing people don’t understand how much effort we put out to accommodate them. It’s exhausting.
 
I understand how you feel, l couldn't do it myself because l love music and l want to hear ppl's voices especially someone l love. My 89 year old Mum is profoundly deaf and cannot see too well , she has more or less given up her aids but it is very difficult to communicate with her . That leads to her getting very cross and nasty with us and her getting things wrong. It's very frustrating tbh with you & l know how it feels to be deaf my whole life . I think as long as you don't get angry and others can communicate and you with them . then you do what you want to do .
 
Hi x1heavy, can you share the headphones and sound card info you are using? I have not been able to find anything that is loud enough for me. Have tried many headphones and amps and all so far are disappointing.

OP, I also prefer silence most of the time. Only exception is occasionally I try to listen to music. I sign and my family has learned enough to have good conversations so being off most of the time is not an issue. With them on I don’t hear much anyway.

I don’t think it’s selfish. I think most hearing people don’t understand how much effort we put out to accommodate them. It’s exhausting.
At the moment without getting too technical speaking, I build my own computers. The current machine is based on the old ASUS Rampage II Black Edition.

It has it's own "Republic of Gamers" sound card and software which is capable of overboosting and setting the equalizer to where I can use what hearing i have left. For example. My hearing is good until about 5000 hertz. So on the equalizer I leave everything above 5K to 20K at zero. I reinforce the frequencies down to 31 hertz which is pretty close to the bottom of the headphone's 20 hertz. With bigger and more professional headphones I can try to get down to 8 hertz but that low is essentially a earthquake. Shaking the very floor. (And your bones)

The headphones I use is Oneodio. These are the only ones that can withstand 31 hertz off the 1/8th plug off the soundcard via the top of the thor computer case without buzzing or burning. I make sure the Oneodio's bass speakers are a minimum of 50mm. And that the padding is large and covers the entire ear.

I have to replace the oneodio every few years and keep extra cables as spare. The reason for that is my big Yamaha Keyboard Organ. Its amplified again between me and the keyboard which kinds of burns the oneodio out a little faster. As a deaf person playing Organ? Thats not exactly a match but when you get enough power you can play anything provided you can read music.

My next step is to pick a extermal sound card that takes from the motherboard's audio output and then boost with POWER and 10 hertz on up with a minimum of 60 db of boost. At that level of boost which will deafen most hearing I can get into the 120 db profound range of deafness on my ears and get up to about 8000 hertz to hear the birds chirping etc. But the headphones are probably going to be professional models from Steinhauser able to take the power without literally burning up or melting.

Thats the other reason for external sound card. The cooling and its own power requirements need a little extra air conditoning in the summer. My computer is already cooled by radiator, a 6 fan 360mm construct from Thermaltake which roars. When its at full power cooling during gaming I can hear it without hearing aids. I can only imagine the hearing having to put up with that.

My only concern is my neighbors. I have several walls between me and them, thick 6 inch walls that are good for me as a deaf person at home without bothering anyone. But the sounds coming from the headphones are already almost loud enough to be heard through at least one wall. Thats pretty loud.

The oneodio headseats on my exwife she turns the windows volume to like 15% and enjoys opera and other beautiful works of sound online. Her hearing has managed to be perfect but with some age related loss. When I am wearing digital hearing aids with head phones then I can have a taste of what she hears as well. But since the sounds are already powerful and LOUD I generarlly wear headphones without hearing aids.

I cannot emphasize enough to say that you cannot waste money on generic headsets sold in say walmart. They fry, buzz and burn up with actual melting when you try to push that kind of power through them.

I can only remember some of the old sound proof booths that were used by audiologists back in the 60's and early 70's that closed with airpressure and is completely isolated from the hospital its on. (Steel beams shaking, elevators rumbling and people walking around on the same floor. You can pick up all of that when sitting very quietly and concentrate on feeling the building itself. Inside the sound booth in those days was a very very BIG expensive speaker of perfect output. When they play music through those things with you in it it almost makes you cry from the beauty of the sound properly matched to your hearing and boosted into that soundproof by the doctor for a few minutes.

It makes you appreciate whats possible someday. And here we are. Ive had to teach some hearing how to feel the steel beams around the 6th floor rooms shaking as they sit quietly in a small chair in a corner. They are always amazed that we deaf can pick up on that sort of thing.

In Big rigs I depended on Pioneer III radios with a small 100 amp booster. With self installed speakers that are matched to that power on all 4 spots in the cab. I usually had them installed on my own money. And replaced the company speakers back in when I either changed jobs or trucks. With that small amount of power and very good speakers I could enjoy music even in the mountains over the thunder of teh engine.

At some point next year my junker Tahoe will get its own pioneer and speaker installed by the radio shop in town. But not just yet. It has several DOT related items needing fixing to be 100% safe for road driving. I cannot be bothered to buy a used car or a new car ever again. Its not like the old Pre 1996 vehicles back then. one specific reason is that USA is getting ready to mandate automatic radar braking on all new vehicles after 2026. I already know that technology has unsafe problems in trucking now. And do not intend to be a part of that then. Thats why the older vehicles have much value other than money.

In Hearing aids I am known as a power user. Once the audiologists picks a model that is basic digital he or she has to find the exact set that provides the most boost. There used to be companies that made very good very STRONG aids. (Qualitone comes to mind, via Maryland Hearing Aid Service with Mr John Fenema as my doctor there for many years) Nothing else with hearing aids matter. Wireless, fancy gadgets or doodads. Toss em all. Just plain power. I dont care if I need to feed it size 13 zinc air batteries every 3 days I can always get more.
 
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I have been online reading bout the cochlear implants , and reading bout wht others said on here ..am just thinking on not wanting it done.
Few of my friends wants me have it done ..but even with all the things going around with the noise , I think it be hard to know wht going on, even now with just my hearing aid is really the same thing ..
I'm 64 Oldman so wht if I go totally deaf ..I am deaf in my right ear ..my family n friends are just gonna have to live with it ..
I think with everyone wearing the mask it's not gonna make much difference ...
I will just have to figure out how to communicate with people ..
But to me within the hearing world most don't care about deaf people ...been there done that ..lol..
Just yesterday I went to a hospital to fine out why I having problems swallowing my food so now I know ..
My friend that was woith me told me when I was still out in the room the nurse was calling my name and my friend told her I can't hear her , he don't have his hearing aid on so he's deaf, she just ignore him and kept saying my name. .I just busted out laughing ..thought it was funny ..
I have had few people that told me they don't like deaf people ...I'm use to thst ...I grew up with people like that. .
Ya wanna know wht my answer to them ...I told them I don't like hearing people ..some are just plain stupid ..
They just look at me and not knowing wht to say ..
Oh well that's life ...me ..I'm like ...live with it or just leave me alone ..
But for now am just looking around for help with stuff I will need and not waiting till I go totally deaf within few yrs from now ..
Well thanks for reading ..
Hope everyone fine their days good ...
I probably drop in later ..
Have a great day ....
 
I was in the hospital recently for almost a week fighting a surprise infection near the eye which turned out to actually be dangerous should it escape into the blood vessal and travel from there. (Blood would make clots, whole thing hits brain stem and thump. Yer dead by stroke) so they fought it with IV antibiotics not used since my teen years when I fought strep A. They think it was staph or strep but not sure yet labs are still working on it.

Covid? Nah. That was not part of my situation at all. They tested me for it twice daily. However. Some of the staff wore masks and would stand near the door in fear way over there. I get out the notebook and pen and tell them just write. And we will go from there. I dont know why they were afraid to work in that place with Covid people dying all round. Even in my pod. Most of the staff would have no problems working with me. Mask off etc. Much easier than writing.

One of the greatest things you can do is yell at a person who is known to be deaf. Its funny to say the least. So they can save themselves the trouble and quit it. Sometimes they go the other way. Speak FAST. Whoa damn it slow down. Part of the problem is they get rushed so I have to calm them down for a minute and stay a while and visit. That solves that. After a day or two all of that is not a problem as they knew me. (Kinda, sorta etc)

They did ask if I am vaxed, I showed them plastic upper arm after a lifetime of vaxes. I explained that God would not approve of the DNA rewriting and other things they are trying to do with the new vaxes that hurt and killed so many. So forget it. (No problem) if they had taken a year to make it the traditional old fashioned way I would be first to take it. We are now about roughly 20 months in and wasted all this time.

We have had deaths in our building recently and some are sick. So... its a interesting time. Being deaf? Eh... not too fun when you have hearing people you dont know ask you questions behind a mask. But they sort it out, some were good voices and they usually get told to go in there and tell that DEAF SOB whats what with the medicines hes about to get. =) Thank goodness the nurses desk is way down there. I can be a difficult patient.

The worst thing about the stay. I stayed in the ER room bay waiting for a bed upstairs, that took 34 hours. However it worked out. And another three days in the new room. Then kicked out asap for another poor person downstairs waiting on a room just as long.

Our hospital is part of Harding in Searcy, and its a good little hospital. They used blue posters showing morning doves flying away on the doors of those who died and are waiting for the mortuary to get the bodies downstairs and processed. More then what I am willing to accept. Especially when everyone understands those images clearly in any language.
 
Think I answered this question in late on set deafness under Our World Our culture, I'm not against aids they give me volume but not comprehension, took me at least a year to get used to, now seldom use, Don t need volume often, what others think ? They can't understand what they don't know, that's there curse or blessing, it has nothing to do with me, unless maybe my spouse, and if truly with me will be with me and I with them :2c:
 
Think I answered this question in late on set deafness under Our World Our culture, I'm not against aids they give me volume but not comprehension, took me at least a year to get used to, now seldom use, Don t need volume often, what others think ? They can't understand what they don't know, that's there curse or blessing, it has nothing to do with me, unless maybe my spouse, and if truly with me will be with me and I with them :2c:
You can have all the volume in the world, however there is a part of hearing test called word comprehension.

According to mine, 6 of 8 words go in one ear and out the other. Unless its very specfic words. (Like "That deaf SOB..." yah I hear that. All of them)

I cannot tolerate church sermons, theology and court proceedings (Those are the absolute worst) and similar type of boiler plate using words in speaking form. Thats one reason I wanted and got the hell out of schooling asap. If I had known I could just walk at 18 and get the GED later I would have. The work I ended up in does not require much of a paper to go with public education. Such as it is. They made it worse when I aged out and graduated at freaking 20. A old man. It created new problems at the deaf school with the age differences with so many.

I am more than happy to sit and write. Or type in this case. That I understand perfectly. But the output is less than good at times. I have made generations of English teachers cry. Particularly when back home in Baltimore, I summarize a sentence and used instead the word "You aint" =)

I am happy to discover the peace and quiet. However the new hearing aid set is on the shelf fed by a bunch of batteries when I need to go to the doc which is more often than I desire. I remember earlier this year some doof sat me through a required 10 minute teaching on Narcan, a medicine. Its a emergency device to save lives. Only for those who over dose.

Just dont tell the doof the doses I am on are too tiny to matter in terms of overdosing anything. The tight fisted wad docs are another issue entirely. They are more afraid of the State than they are afraid of me. And there lies the rub. The State is making them issue the narcan of which I will have a good attitude about, but leave it in the cabinet. It will never be used. We do not live in a area where people fall down all over on drugging such as this... I am not the issue.



I told that person he wasted 10 good minutes. All I needed to know was this with Narcan, If you dose someone on the floor who is overdosing, that so and so is coming up angry and all out. IF so and so DID NOT come off that floor then its not drugs but brain injury or something serious. Could have save both of us the trouble of speaking in legealese and medical boilerplate that I find difficult to process in English.

Some days Im half tempted to dispose of the hearing entirely. They create more problems unnecessarily. With that in mind I have found doctors to where they understand me perfectly. Show up for appt. They take Xray or whatever and ask me where is hurt? I point and show them ouch. Then they sit and think a minute. And go from there. It can be anything from medicine to surgery. However we understand each other perfectly. Whenever they have a formal diagnosis in big words, I ask them to write it all down so I can look it up online later.
 
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l was told last week that l'm losing my hearing fast in my right side good ear. lm waiting appointment to see specialist to see why it's happening. l have very little hearing in my left ear after having had 2 mastoid ops and was told l would lose most of that hearing. in that side anyway. So over the years iv been hard of hearing and coped really well. Now this past week iv made the decision not to have any more ops and no hearing aids. l just dont want to put myself through any more discomfort etc. And here is the clincher..l actutally like the 'quiet' . My question is..does anyone else feel that way about not wanting hearing aids, ops etc..or is it just me ? My children and my husband have accepted my decision that l made last week and fully respect that choice.. Im taking lip reading lessons now but l was automatically lip reading anyway over the years and will learn sign later...But l wanted to ask on this forum, am l alone in not wanting hearing aids etc, plus would you have them if you had the choice? lv a feeling my sibblings are going to think im very selfish, but l dont think l actually dont care .Am l selfish ?
I AM COMPLETELY DEAF. I have 2 Cochlear implants I have no sound recognition left without them. I don't wear them all the time. I DO WEAR THEM TO GO OUT but when I'm at home I like it quiet like you. On occasion I will turn them on and enjoy sounds from movies but captions are fine for me also.. I enjoy the movies the same way as if I hear them. ITS AWESOME THAT YOU HAVE DECIDED ALREADY WHICHWAY IS GOOD FOR YOU.and am happy for you however you choose to do it
 
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