I can't hear you.
Submitted by earthling1 on Tue, 05/28/2024 - 10:26am
Have an appointment this morning with an audiologist to choose a hearing aid.
My hearing has been going bad for decades which explains why I have morphed to text communications so much.
Even with the TV turned up loud, I still cannot make out some of the words in the dialog.
I use closed captioning a lot.
So, hearing aid it is.
So many to choose from. And the technology is abundant.
I've put it off for so long and I don't have insurance, so I will have to foot the bill.
Good thing I'm a thousandaire..
Thread is open
Will catch up to you all later.
Comments
Oh my!
Good you are doing this. You'll be able to hear the birds chipping, the wind rustling leaves on the trees and all sorts of things you have probably forgotten. I hope your audiologist hopes you find the best device for you.
Thanks Granma
I'm getting a 60 day return policy so I can experiment with different models.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Oh my!
Good you are doing this. You'll be able to hear the birds chipping, the wind rustling leaves on the trees and all sorts of things you have probably forgotten. I hope your audiologist hopes you find the best device for you.
I had a wild experience 10 or so years ago
getting my hearing checked. I was seeing a dr. about some vocal chord issues. Suddenly, a young guy from the hearing aid office wing of the EENT dr. comes in and gives a speech, shows me brochure, and takes me to get my check up at no cost. I was told I needed hearing aids, and the tiny, shiny purple ones were great and my insurance covered it.
I asked in what way was I impaired. Seems I had difficulty distinguishing the letters "f" and "k".
I declined to get the hearing aids, explaining to the staff that I know when the word "fuck" is spoken, as I am good at putting words into context.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
My "disability"
is on the higher end, the "S"s and "Z"s.
Lower end is not a lot better.
I was diagnosed as moderate to severe hearing loss.
Hope you are lucky enough to not get worse.
Thanks for stopping by.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I've been a
rock drummer for 40+ years. I've always worn earplugs, which is why I can still hear at all, but in the last year or so tinnitus is finally catching up with me.
The way I look at it is that there isn't that much I actually want to *hear* anymore, so it is okay with me... (;-)
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
It's frustrating
to not hear many of the spoken words on TV.
It's even more frustrating to not be able to read the closed captioning fast enough to keep up with the script.
Frustrating all around.
Have a good day.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
We've been
using the closed-caption thing for years, even without hearing problems. It certainly does make a big difference, doesn't it? It is also interesting to see how the typist *edits* what is being said...
Sooner or later they'll use AI to do that transcription work, assuming that they aren't already doing so. Then, it'll be REALLY interesting to see what subtle (or unsubtle!) differences are quietly injected, for our convenience.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
AI will be a hoot
As long as it doesn't lose, Lou's, Lew's the script.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
e1,
I hope you can get hearing aids that work a miracle for you. I just received an invitation to be a field test candidate for new digital hearing device.
Meanwhile, we experienced sudden high winds. My secretary has a tree down across the road that comes from her yard. I had an eye dr. appointment that I couldn't get because the office power went out just before we walked into the office. Dear One says power is out at home. Now a tree fell on the roof of my secretary's home. A county cop alert went out to say a drowned body was being recovered.
A long but fairly small limb broke and is on my office roof. I do not anticipate any damage.
Good grief!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I'm back.
Yeah, I sprung for the Opticon More w/ Bluetooth and rechargeable power. I didn't really want it but Bluetooth comes w/nearly all brands now.
So many bells, whistles, and add-ons with these things. They even have one that translates foreign languages.
I bought a last year's model for $2300 a pair.
Will get them in a few days.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
A friend has some of those.
He is not a tech guy, hasn't quite figured out all the buttons. I have called his cell phone and he hits a button, turns me off, but not from his end. Wherever he is or whatever he is doing can be heard by me. I called his law office, told his secretary to help him out, that it was ok to hear what might be going on in court, but if he were in a conference with a client who was telling him where the body was buried, it could be a problem.
So, read the manual!
I am shocked at the price tag. I thought hearing aids were in the $800-$1,000 range. Yours must be gold rimmed!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Actually, they were last years model
marked down roughly 50%.
Didn't have as many bells and whistles.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
That is insane!
And damn cruel considering hearing aids tend to be for elderly on Social Security.
I so hope they improve your life, E1. Play this song loud!
Maybe sometimes I think I heard too much.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Really like that song
Thanks.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I bow
to your greatness, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Wish you luck
My PCP encouraged me to get hearing aids a couple years ago. She pointed out something I hadn’t known (which the audiologist also stated). She claimed loss of hearing eventually affects your brain. I think the fear of dementia was as strong a motivator as the loss of hearing. I must say, though, my father had profound hearing loss for many years but would only put his hearing aids in when my mother handed them to him and insisted he needed to hear something. Yet he had as sharp a mind as anyone I knew until his death at 92.
If you live near a Costco, I can recommend them and have friends who are happy w/their hearing aids. I like the quality of sound as opposed to hearing aids I tried and gave up years ago because voices had such a robotic tone. (I’m sure technology for all hearing aids has improved.) People can’t see that I’m wearing them, though that’s not important to me. One big factor is their return policy. Our state law requires that a full refund must be given if hearing aids are returned within 30 days. Costco goes above and beyond. They give a full refund for hearing aids returned within six months.
Anya
P.S.
After writing my comment, I see you’ve already selected your hearing aids which sound good. I’ll add that my Costco ones do have Bluetooth and are rechargeable, though they cost less ($1,500). But you must be getting very good quality. Let us know if you like them well enough to wear them.
Anya
On the dementia issue
Loss of hearing can bring isolation from human contact, which is dangerous to psychological health.
Thankfully, I have my online friends to keep me stimulated.
Thank you all very much.
Please take a bow.
However, many older folks have little human contact even with poor hearing and are in danger of falling prey to mental decline.
Especially those with no internet access and live alone.
Hug an old person whenever you can, it can mean a lot to them.
Getting along great with my new (2 years old) knees. Will keep you advised with the hearing aids.
Slowly becoming bionic man.
Thanks for the post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
New knees
are the greatest! I’m at 18mo on mine, and I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Having the knees of a 19-year-old is not overrated.
Now, if I could just get an everything-else replacement, I’d be in fat city… But it’ll be nice being able to haul my own gear up the three fights of stairs to our next gig. The joys of being a drummer: the only thing worse is to be a keyboard player with a Hammond B-3 and a couple of Leslies… (;-)
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Hearing Aids
Got an invite to one of those places. I think it was Beltone for a free hearing test. The man was horrible, like a used car salesman. He asked me how much can you afford to pay each month. He wanted me to finance them for 5 or 6 years. They were $4,000 at the time and that was about 6 years ago. He wouldn't show me anything cheaper. Told me that I wouldn't like those.
I found a gentleman who buys used hearing aids, refurbishes them to sells. Only cost me $1200. They're the old kind that you put over your ear. I'm not looking to make a fashion statement. He also told me that he would buy them back for half price if I come back and buy a newer set. I don't care that I'm probably wearing a dead person's hearing aids.
You rock,
enchantress!
I would go along with simple amplification.
I would not want filters. As Anya says, no need for my friends to sound like robots.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I go to antique malls
all the time in every little town we visit.
It's all dead people's stuff. Nothing morbid about it.
I can get a glimpse into what their hobbies and careers were about and what kind of person they were by how well they cared for their belongings.
Glad you found some you could afford.
Thanks for the post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.