Those of you who are hearing aid users may possibly experience the same problems that I have when wearing them for any extended period of time.
My ears become sore and irritated after a while and I also develop an allergic reaction on my scalp where the receivers touch the skin behind each ear.
During these past few weeks of lockdown it has been bliss not having to wear them at all.
The only conversations I have are with P, who generally speaks loud enough for me to hear him. He tends to use the 'phone on my behalf so that I don't need to struggle with it. I rarely watch TV and only if it is something with decent subtitles, and the radio is obviously a non-starter.
It will seem strange to return to a world of sounds when I eventually start wearing them again.
I wear hearing aids but mine are small and fit in my ear. I find it harder to hear when people are wearing masks - can't "see" what they are saying. I never realized how much seeing helps me hear!
ReplyDeleteI know. It makes such a difference doesn't it?
DeleteI hate answer phones. I won't speak to them. I much prefer emails and texting.
ReplyDeleteEverything sounds muffled and distorted to me on the 'phone.
DeleteAll that I can relate to is that when I wear earphones, they really make my ears sore and that’s only after 10 minutes or so, so wearing something all the time must be really difficult. It sounds as if you will be able to enjoy your hearing aid freedom for quite a while longer, as Boris won’t be easing down on the lockdown anytime soon by the sounds of it 🙁 XXXX
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I will be bothered to wear them at all after all this. I shall just remain in blissful silence for the rest of my life!
DeleteDo you feel that your level of hearing loss is stable JayCee - or do you sense gradual deterioration?
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a deterioration, although it has been gradual.
DeleteMy grandfather, father, sister, niece, uncle and aunt also suffer from the same congenital disability. I understand that my young nephew is also now displaying the signs. It typically starts to be noticeable in your 30s and gradually goes downhill from there!
I have been deaf in both ears since my mid fifties - not so much then but seems worse now, although sometimes I wonder if I have stopped bothering to listen.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. Sometimes it seems hard to work to concentrate on decoding what I am hearing so it is tempting to just give up trying.
DeleteLuckily I don't have that problem with soreness.
ReplyDeleteThat's good. It can be very uncomfortable.
DeleteI don't get the 'behind the ears' problem but often have to readjust the 'in the ears' little bits (don't remember what they're called). I get tickles inside the ear :)
ReplyDeleteThe transparent moulds that fit in my ears are supposedly made from a non allergenic type of resin but I think it is just the contact or rubbing that causes the irritation. I get the tickles all the time!
DeleteHave you heard of the McGurk effect where lips and sound are mismatched (because the video was altered for experimental purposes)? You don't perceive either what the lips say or what the sound says, but something in between.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of that before but I do experience difficulty following a TV program where the subtitles differ from the actual spoken word. It is immediately obvious that the lips are forming different words to those running along the screen so I tend to lose concentration.
DeleteIt is impossible to follow live captioning, for example the TV news broadcasts. The captions are hopelessly behind the speech and sometimes never catch up. They are still running on the previous news item when the weather forecast is showing.
I felt the same way you do about not wearing my aids - but I wear them all the time now since my audiologist made me aware of the connection between hearing loss and dementia. I need all the help I can get!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.alzheimers.net/the-connection-between-alzheimers-and-hearing-loss/
It's a trade off isn't it? I wore my hearing aids today for the first time in a month but couldn't wait to get them out!
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