hearing loss

[pdfangus]

wanted to inquire of the assembled wisdom here...

I have amassed some hearing loss over the decades.

never bad enough to require amendment but have long had trouble hearing in crowed rooms or in particular higher pitched voices.

lately noticed that I am having problems with the office telephone. part of it is people call here from cell phones and the connections are not quite as good, and part of it is the cheapest phone system on a government bid...

looked around at hearing aids and floored at the prices.

thinking I might just try amplification first....

any suggestions?

 

[D2Cat]

I've noticed phone calls with either low volume or someone talking like they got a mouth full of marbles, or both!

I immediately tell the caller I can't hear them very well. They do something and the volume goes up with the next word they speak. I think some callers are in an office space and talk low so others don't hear. Some just don't know how to enunciate their words.

I often get voice messages I can't understand. I listen several times, then ask my wife what she thinks they are saying.

I'm sure part of the problem is me, but some is also on the other end. Be interesting if there is a reasonably priced solution.

 

[1982vett]

I have constant ringing in my ears. Have had it for years. Have a hard time understanding conversation next to me over any noises of any kind. But I can hear the roar of the highway right now and it's half a mile away yet if I were to get a phone call I have to put it on speaker phone to be able to hear what's said. Dad was opposite, head take his hearing aid out and hear just fine on a phone call.

Would a headset help?

 

[Son of Butch]

Get your hearing tested.

Reputable hearing aid companies do it for free and if it's correctable by surgery will refer you to a medical doctor
for consultation. The hearing test will also help determine if amplification will be enough to help you.
From your description I'm guessing it's a loss of frequency level (trouble hearing higher pitched female voices ect.)
and not a decibel/amplification problem.

 

[Son of Butch]

I have constant ringing in my ears. Have had it for years.
Have a hard time understanding conversation next to me over any noises of any kind.

Tinnitus - me too
Using ear wax removal drops every 6 weeks or so helps to give me some relief.

 

[greybeard]

I've noticed phone calls with either low volume or someone talking like they got a mouth full of marbles, or both!

I immediately tell the caller I can't hear them very well. They do something and the volume goes up with the next word they speak. I think some callers are in an office space and talk low so others don't hear.

They hit the button on their phone that turns it to "speaker". It amplifies the sound coming in and going out. I have to do it with any call from my oldest sister--she has a weak cell sig at her place.
I hate getting calls from people who have their phone synched via bluetooth to their vehicle radio. Can't understand a thing they say because of all the outside noise, but understand it's better than driving while holding a phone.

There is a hearing problem, and I don't remember what it's called but I have it, and like many people, I used to think I was loosing hearing ability. It's the inability to differentiate one sound from another..your hearing is so acute, that you hear every sound in a room or even in a big crowd. It all runs together. I hear the person across the table from me but I also hear the conversations being held at tables clear across a restaurant. In Walmart, the noise is deafening..one giant "HUMMMM" of voices, from several aisles over in all directions.

 

[cowboy43]

I can not hear people speaking on blue tooth in a moving vehicle, too me worst device ever invented.

 

[slick4591]

I have the ringing and I'm terrible in crowds. I also have to tell most young women, and some young men to slow down as their words run together and are garbled. I don't have that problem with most of the more mature ladies or men. Family is always on me to get tested but I already know I have hearing loss

 

[bbirder]

I wear hearing aids , but they were furnished by the VA. A friend of mine use amplifiers and he swears by them. I think he told me he gets them from Amazon for $130/pr. There are several name under amplifiers.

 

[pdfangus]

Young people all have a tendency to talk fast these days....and i have to tell em all to slow down to old man speed cause I cannot hear as fast as they can talk....

then they throw in some of the newest teen lingo and I am clueless.

 

[Ky hills]

I have had hearing issues all of my life, had tubes put in 7-8 times as a child. Had ear aches and infections, right along, until I got to be an older teen and came to the realization that they weren't helping. I have a condition called Meniere's Disease that is fluid build up in my inner ears, that causes dizziness and tinnitus. I stopped going to ear doctors, and try to control my movements and diet to lessen the dizziness and headaches. Have had ringing in my ears nonstop for as long as I can remember. Doctors told me that hearing aids would not help me.

 

[Txpiney]

I have worn hearing aids for the last 3 years. They help me a lot, but are hard to get used to initially. They also help with the tinnitus. I have all the symptoms described without the hearing aids in. Good ones are not cheap. Mine were a little cheaper to buy since my wife is a licensed hearing aid dispenser and owns her own business

 

[Brute 23]

There is a big difference in Bluetooth devices. Aftermarket ones or even the older ones are bad. Plus people think just because its Bluetooth the don't have to talk in to the speaker. They will mumble or turn their head and it's pia. Same with speakerphone. It's all I use if I can but I hold it close and talk directly in to the phone not 5 ft away, doing circles in my chair, eating crackers, etc.

A lot of people have hearing damage. It's very easy to do. You can clearly tell when people need them or when people who usually wear them, aren't wearing them.

 

[pdfangus]

There is a big difference in Bluetooth devices. Aftermarket ones or even the older ones are bad. Plus people think just because its Bluetooth the don't have to talk in to the speaker. They will mumble or turn their head and it's pia. Same with speakerphone. It's all I use if I can but I hold it close and talk directly in to the phone not 5 ft away, doing circles in my chair, eating crackers, etc.

A lot of people have hearing damage. It's very easy to do. You can clearly tell when people need them or when people who usually wear them, aren't wearing them.

NOW THAT IS GOOD INFORMATION i CAN USE.....

I know one guy who has a thing on a chain around his neck and it is the listening device and it wirelessly connects to things in his ears....but I have not seen him in a while to ask him about it...when I last talked to him he liked it...but I have no idea of mfg or price.

 

[Son of Butch]

Family is always on me to get tested but I already know I have hearing loss

A proper hearing test doesn't just confirm hearing loss.
It is the first step in diagnosing the cause and then determining which options will work best for you.

Perhaps all you need is to get yourself a hand held old timey giant hearing horn.

 

[slick4591]

Family is always on me to get tested but I already know I have hearing loss

A proper hearing test doesn't just confirm hearing loss.
It is the first step in diagnosing the cause and then determining which options will work best for you.

Perhaps all you need is to get yourself a hand held old timey giant hearing horn.

Huh? What'd you say?

 

[Ky hills]

Family is always on me to get tested but I already know I have hearing loss

A proper hearing test doesn't just confirm hearing loss.
It is the first step in diagnosing the cause and then determining which options will work best for you.

Perhaps all you need is to get yourself a hand held old timey giant hearing horn.

I wonder if what you are referring to is the same thing that I have heard some old timers call an ear trumpet?

 

[wlamarparmer]

Regret some comments of some on here regarding hearing loss. Have had tinnitus
for 20+ years, now almost totally deaf right ear. Hearing loss one my reasons retire
as DVM (could no longer trust my hearing for stethoscope), even though I used amplifier
for 10 years. tried several hearing aids, amplifiers, etc. Can sit talk to You all day and carry on
conversation, but in restaurant, party, etc,. everything a roar. Basically a frequency issue,
some young ladies, can see mouth moving, but hear nothing. Guys if You hear well good for
You, don't treat those of us with hearing deficits as lesser people. Some of us have done what
prescribed, did not work, so we learn how to deal with it. When my social butterfly wife needs
attend a party. Try to keep her on my left side and spend lots time smiling and nodding. Not
perfect, but she knows my issues and we get by. Could probably blame on military, but actually
just aggravated by more years of hunting and not using hearing protection.
Wilson L Parmer, DVM

 

[Ky hills]

Regret some comments of some on here regarding hearing loss. Have had tinnitus
for 20+ years, now almost totally deaf right ear. Hearing loss one my reasons retire
as DVM (could no longer trust my hearing for stethoscope), even though I used amplifier
for 10 years. tried several hearing aids, amplifiers, etc. Can sit talk to You all day and carry on
conversation, but in restaurant, party, etc,. everything a roar. Basically a frequency issue,
some young ladies, can see mouth moving, but hear nothing. Guys if You hear well good for
You, don't treat those of us with hearing deficits as lesser people. Some of us have done what
prescribed, did not work, so we learn how to deal with it. When my social butterfly wife needs
attend a party. Try to keep her on my left side and spend lots time smiling and nodding. Not
perfect, but she knows my issues and we get by. Could probably blame on military, but actually
just aggravated by more years of hunting and not using hearing protection.
Wilson L Parmer, DVM

I'm like you are, my wife tries to always be to the right of me, as that is my best ear. She knows my issues and tries to help me know what is being said. She can also tell most of the time when my Meniere's is flaring up.

 

[Nesikep]

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