- Joined
- Sep 14, 2006
- Messages
- 14,491
- Reaction score
- 2
I remember wearing body aids till I was 9 years old.
The last body aid I wore was an ELPA. It was sure powerful, and I lost it when it was in the car that got stolen sometime during the 70's.
http://www.hearingaidmuseum.com/gallery/Transistor (Body)/Zenith/info/zenithelpa.htm
My first HAs were BTEs. Never even seen a body aid until I first came to AllDeaf!
In retrospective, I think it may have affected some of the profoundly deaf's communication skills when they stopped wearing the body aids too soon. Like at the age of 10 or below, as opposed to later years when they were older teenagers or young adults, etc.Looking back, I think some of the deaf may have stopped wearing body aids a little too young, particularly during the 1970's when the BTE's weren't as powerful as the body aids were back then particularly for the profoundly deaf...
ummm, I don't think it is the sound quality that made people hate bodyworn. It is how we feel about wearing that huge object especially in front of people. Kids today still wear bodyworn and I'm sure they hate it just as much as we did in the past. Most younger CI children wear bodyworn. Some just wear their BTE CI like a bodyworn too. I know they hate exposing themselves like that as we do.It annoying for one thing (huge, heavy,too much wires, etc), and wearing it front of people where everyone will stare is another. I got stared at all the time in school. It doesn't matter what the sound quality is like. It's worst when a teacher have control of what you can and can not hear although That's something they can't help.. but they have turn the microphone on to force you to listen to them and force you to filter out backgrounds. It is still the same with CI children.
Yes, I used to have two body aids on my chest and would occassionally "lift them up" and say "I'm a girl...!" just to make my friends laugh!Yeah, that is exactly what I had when I had to wear the big hearing aid (the body aid) when I was almost 9 years old. That was in 1954. I only had one ear mold with the cord around my neck. I really hate being worn in front of my chest. When I became a teenager, I feel funny having the body aid like I having three breasts. I felt like a nerd. Then almost close to my 20 years old, I was very relieved to have the behind the ear hearing aid (only the left ear).
Yes, I used to have two body aids on my chest and would occassionally "lift them up" and say "I'm a girl...!" just to make my friends laugh!
When I was young-they didn't exist! Fortunately not required then. My first Hearing aid was in my glasses back in the middle 60s. Then went to BTE in the early 70s.Never had an FM system either. The only thing I can remember about Hearing Aids then -was a large device fit into your ear with a tube going into a large device -guess microphone- and powered by a large battery which was carried in a shirt pocket. This would be over 50-60 years ago.
Advanced Bionics- Harmony Atria activated Aug/07
ooohh that brings back memories!!!
I remember mother being quite handy with sewing machine and made custom pocket harnesses for my body aids to fit in. I had two at the time from 6mths old right up to when I finally got my first BTE's in the late 70's. I used to hate the way body aids would jerk up and down if one tried to run or play chasing around the playground. They would always give me a cut chin cos one would bosh up my chin so hard that my chin would bleed! so my mother had a brainwave and altered the harness a bit, can't remember what though. It was a blessing and was so glad to see the back of them when I got my BTE's.