Please, Use Your Hearing Aid Already!

[vejemom]

So this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but why do people who need and/or wear hearing aids use them improperly? MIL and FIL are here. I love them. I shouldn't be complaining since they're helping out with the girls so I can get some stuff done faster. But... FIL wears a hearing aid that he is constantly adjusting. He doesn't seem to realize that some noises are, well, loud to people with normal hearing. There is no need to adjust. So he talks at the top of his lungs. My MIL is so used to having to shout that she's loud. The collective decibel level exceeds The Who in concert. ARhg!!!

[MrsZaz]

As a Hearing aid wearer - in his defense - if you don't hear loud noises on a regular basis - it's freaky! and you want to take the darn things out, adjust them or throw them across the room. Or in my case, take them out all together (he he he) and enjoy the silence.

Sorry to hijack the b%tch.

Colleen
mom to 2 very LOUD boys

[Ceepa]

Even without hearing aids, my parents take a while to "adjust" to the new noise level at my house. :D

I'm jealous that you have free babysitters even temporarily!

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

I wish my FIL would get a hearing aid. The man can't hear but he refuses to believe it. So, you have to sit in a room with a tv that is so loud it hurts because that's a good level for him. And that's all you do on visits so no way around it.

[elektra]

I wish my FIL would get a hearing aid. The man can't hear but he refuses to believe it. So, you have to sit in a room with a tv that is so loud it hurts because that's a good level for him. And that's all you do on visits so no way around it.

:yeahthat: My FIL is the exact same way! TV is always on, LOUD. I think he just can't be bothered with what others are saying anyway. I think he kind of likes being able to tune out whatever he wants to.

[ohiomom1121]

I feel everyone's pain. Before I had DS I was an Audiologist and dispensed hearing aids. It's amazing how many times you hear, "I can hear just fine....everyone mumbles". The TV volume was the single biggest issue spouses would drag each other in to my office.

The good news is that today's hearing aids are MUCH MUCH better than they were just years ago. If your family members are wearing ones that constantly need to be adjusted they probably are analog aids. Most digital ones will self adjust. There are also limits that can be set into them to cut down loud sounds over a certain level. It's a frustrating thing.

Often they just need to go back in to have their hearing retested and hearing aids reset. I was always amazed how many people would come in to my office with 5+ year old hearing aids that hadn't been adjusted since they got them. (BTW the life span of an aid is only 3-5 years!!) Just like your eyes, prescriptions change!!!

Oh, and for those of you who have family with the tv issues who refuse to get aids, check these out. They're awesome!! I think they've saved lots of marriages. LOL
http://www.weitbrecht.com/product/Sennheiser-Set-810-TV-Listening-Device.html

Good luck...I know it's no fun to deal with people who scream at the top of their lungs because they can't hear themselves talk.

[ILoveLucy]

My FIL has one, but it doesn't seem to work. We all have to shout. Lots of times we will have a conversation, then a minute or two later he will start that same conversation, not having heard anything we said.

I didn't know about the difference between digital and analog aids. I'm going to talk to FIL about that this weekend and find out what he has. Maybe we can make things better for him. He's so great and it bothers me that this hearing loss is isolating for him because sometimes we find ourselves not wanting to "bother" to make certain he hears us, as well as he has cut down on his usual activities outside the house because he has trouble carrying on a conversation, especially in a restaurant or similar setting, because he just can't hear.

Thanks for the info on that, ohiomom1121!

[ohiomom1121]

My FIL has one, but it doesn't seem to work. We all have to shout. Lots of times we will have a conversation, then a minute or two later he will start that same conversation, not having heard anything we said.

I didn't know about the difference between digital and analog aids. I'm going to talk to FIL about that this weekend and find out what he has. Maybe we can make things better for him. He's so great and it bothers me that this hearing loss is isolating for him because sometimes we find ourselves not wanting to "bother" to make certain he hears us, as well as he has cut down on his usual activities outside the house because he has trouble carrying on a conversation, especially in a restaurant or similar setting, because he just can't hear.

Thanks for the info on that, ohiomom1121!
No problem...let me know if you have other questions. If he's wearing analog he should book an appt. for a test and digital demonstration!!! One more thing, you mentioned he has one aid. Unless he's got a dead ear (no usable hearing) he should be wearing two. He'll never be able to hear in a group, or when there's background noise if he doesn't use hearing from both sides. Good luck.

[hellokitty]

I wish my FIL would get a hearing aid. The man can't hear but he refuses to believe it. So, you have to sit in a room with a tv that is so loud it hurts because that's a good level for him. And that's all you do on visits so no way around it.

My fil is the same way. You can sit right next to him and talk to him, and if he isn't looking RIGHT at you, he has no clue you are talking to him. The thing is, my mil is seriously an obnoxiously loud talker (she has always been like this), so maybe he doesn't think his hearing is ok, b/c usually he is stuck with mil's loud voice.