Having a social life when you’re hard of hearing.

@Twiceasnice I know what you mean I didn't realise our kitchen clock ticked or how much noise water made being poured from kettle to cup
Though I must admit by about 7pm I'm quite happy to take them out and be deaf again! I tend to watch tv with sound via headphones so don't worry about wearing aids!😃

I paid privately for hearing aids have only been wearing them since Nov. I have several choices for different areas of noise such as outside/traffic, television, automatic (for most normal sounds ) and noisy/party which is great with lots of people. I’m used to them now and don’t miss parts of conversations like I used to . The first day I noticed loads of small noises that I’d stopped hearing the world felt as if it was turned up! The indicator noise in the car was SO loud! Do go back to your audiologist and get them adjusted/ upgraded

betnovate in ears

I only need to use it for a couple of days about every 5 or 6 weeks and my ears are clear and itch free.

@loopyloo.
I had itchy ears all my life. Lots of wax build up as well. I was having microsuction every 3 or 4 months.
Moisterisers had no effect, I tried all sorts, olive oil - not much help. Hydrocortesone cream had limited effect but what was an absolute game changer for me was using betnovate scalp lotion.

vegansrock
A big hug to you and your husband.
That little story made me weep.
🐦🐦‍⬛

Oil of Olay. Every night when I do my face I do my ears too 😬

RedRiding hood, what cleared the eczema up??

The comments about "probation" sound familiar.
When I was first tested they only gave me one aid. When I went back for a review I was given a second one.
I got the impression that they get so many people who get aids and then don't use them that they ration it a bit to avoid waste.

Then I was sent off and told they don't do follow up unless you need it.
I struggled at first because they really irritated my ears and I get eczema in my ears. I've got that sorted now so manage ok.
Restaurants are difficult though.
I have only very basic phonac aids and after five years I decided that I want to try something more sophisticated and willing to pay if necessary. I rang the NHS first and they have said I can have bluetooth but have to be checked first. So I'll see what they can offer before I go private.

30 month wait for an NHS appointment here - the GP can refer you directly to Specsavers who act as agents for the NHS. I was seen there within 10 days of going to the GP, got my aids and walked out wearing them - all free and all in just a few days!

I am sorry that your GP did not plug you in to that system and that you have had to pay - this is iniquitous.

Mind you, aids are not much use if you do what I just did - dropped one in a cup of tea!

I have just connected my aids to the Phonak App, I will see how it goes today as I am off for breakfast withdear friends. Fingers crossed it helps.

My DH has profound hearing loss in one ear and moderate loss in the other. He always refused hearing aids and I got fed up with repeating everything several times and him making wild guesses at what had been said and consequently getting information completely muddled up. I signed him up to a clinical trial a few years ago for the first smart hearing aids you could control with a smartphone. He cried when he first wore them as he heard birdsong outside. He’d forgotten what this was like. He now has bought the latest Oticon ones which are even better. It has changed his ( and my) life.

Thank you Travelsafar, that will be my next stop. I’ve given up on big family events too RosesandLilac, they’re exhausting and sitting listening to constant white noise is incredibly boring. It interests me that people are very concerned and helpful where my poor sight is concerned but, with one or two exceptions, are much less helpful where my hearing is concerned.

Without hearing aids it sounds like I’m underwater…..😵‍💫

Taichinan yes! It’s the utter exhaustion from trying to listen and join in isn’t it?

I’m very deaf, have tinnitus too, and unless I can can lipread too I find conversations very difficult. I have Bluetooth hearing aids, fully programmable which are a big improvement on the previous ones. I bought mine through Specsavers quite simply because there’s a 30 month wait for an
NHS appointment here and I was becoming very isolated.
Lockdown was very difficult because face masks meant I couldn’t lipread and that started the ongoing reluctance to socialise.
I do go to two small art groups where I can join in but the thought of going to the theatre or cinema or a restaurant or party …… I even avoid meeting up with big family events simply because I get so fed up with not being able to hear conversations.
I don’t think people understand just what it’s like, I know my husband doesn’t, he gets very snarky despite knowing just how deaf I am 🤷🏼‍♀️

Teabagwoman....purchased from Ebay.

Tachinan I agree with your post.

Travelsafar can you ask your friend where they got the badge please? I have a lanyard but don’t find it very effective.

I have a friend who wears a yellow badge with the words' I'm hard of hearing' in black. He says its very useful to alerting people. His aids are so tiny they are not visible so people are not aware he wears them. Using the badge he says makes people speak face to face and more clearly when talking to him.

Taichinan I couldn’t agree more about the exhaustion. A meal out with friends leaves me completely drained. Ive decided that, unless it’s a special occasion, I shall be asking people to come to my home for a takeaway or a ploughman’s type lunch that I can do easily, so that I can hear the conversation without so much effort. I think people, knowing I can no longer drive, feel that it’s good for me to be taken out so I may have to fight my corner!

So many people need hearing aids but don’t get them. Not because they can be expensive but because they “think” their hearing is ok.

How many times have you walked past two mature people having a conversation and they are both shouting but don’t know it.

I'd also like to add to what I've written above that people with hearing loss still hear noise. It's the clarity of sound that is lost. I liken it to a radio that hasn't been tuned in to a station properly - the sound is still there but it's distorted and 'fuzzy' and the static is masking the words. If you turn up the volume, the distorted sound is still distorted, but louder. And that's why people with hearing loss will say please don't shout!

My hearing has been deteriorating gradually for years and has got to the stage now where the only hearing I have left is some some reduced hearing in my right ear. So aren't hearing aids wonderful!
There isn't any way round deafness. All the points raised apply regarding where to sit when with a crowd, but really it comes down to the kindness, understanding and tolerance of friends! Of all the places I can go for coffee or lunch there is only one which has curtains at the windows and carpets on the floor and what a difference that makes! To be honest though, I don't think I hear any better, but it takes the tension out of the situation.
And that's the thing that people who haven't experienced hearing loss can't really understand - the sheer, exhausting effort involved in trying to follow a conversation! And the embarrassment (covered by a laugh with everyone else 😉) when you chip in only to discover that what you've been 'hearing' hasn't been what's actually been said. Or that by the time your brain has computed the sounds you've heard into words, the actual conversation has moved on to another topic. Even the action of chewing food can distort the sound of conversation. And as for those coffee machines ..... !!!

I have had Signia in ear pro for about two years.
There is an app where you can adjust the volume and also direction.
However noisy rooms create a lot of problems but as this thread highlights this is an issue the industry claim to have solved but HAS NOT.
Those silly people who refuse to get gearing aids are fools to themselves and their friends and loved ones. Unfortunately this type of thread only attracts those who know the benefits (and the drawbacks)

@teabagwoman, please don't let yourself feel that you are a nuisance - it is not your fault that you have problems with your eyes and ears. It is for other people to adapt to you: it is they who are being the nuisance by not adapting to you. After all, if you were in a wheelchair, no one would expect you to get out of it and walk because it was inconvenient to them to adapt the circumstances for the person who cannot walk. Deafness is a hidden disability, but it is every bit as much a disability as being unable to walk and our needs are as important as anyone else's needs. If you still feel you are being a nuisance, switch the situation around and imagine that you are the person with perfect sight and hearing and it is a friend or family member who has the problem. I would imagine that you would go out of your way to make the other person feel included. Why do you deserve anything less?