dont know what to do anymore!

Alice,

Your ENT mentioned hearing aids before you did? That's great! :)

Try not to worry about your mother's reaction. It's not uncommon for friends and relatives to be in denial -- especially if they do not understand the extent of your hearing loss and how it affects you in different situations. Once your mother sees how much better you hear with your hearing aids, she will realize how much you need them.

The reaction of your friends is completely normal. I received my first pair of hearing aids (BTEs) when I was 15. My friends didn't know what to say either, so they reacted in a similar fashion. Once they saw how much easier it was to communicate with me (especially in the cafeteria during lunch), my friends were the ones who had to convince *me* to wear my HAs! :)

Be sure to let us know how your hearing test goes!
 
Thanks.. my mom asked me this morning if she thinks i really need them and i told her for sure for my right ear if not my left as well, since my right ear is worse..I think she is most worried about other peoples reaction..and quite frankly i dont care if it helps me out in the long run especially with the hearing probs and the tinnitus...now all i have to do is get her to fully understand that. My hearing test is at 10 on tuesday morning instead of this week...my ent also said ite aids..i dont think id like those too much, they remind me of older ppl aids and i would be scared of not being able to get them out...:s
 
Alicia,

You might want to ask your audi if you can have behind the ear (BTE) hearing aids instead. ITEs are nice, but one of the difficulties many people have is keeping them clean. Also, because of their small size, they are prone to needing more repairs due to wax accumulation. The components of an ITE aid are much smaller than a BTE and thus (in many cases) require more maintenance.

Some of the advantages of BTEs include:

* Larger controls for easier manipulation
* Ability to add more amplification if hearing becomes worse
* Ability to use direct audio input (DAI) for use with FM system, iPod, portable CD player, etc.
* T-coil for telephone use
* Longer battery life
* Less repairs needed compared to ITE and CIC (completely in canal) aids
* Less expensive than ITE and CIC aids

When I received my first pair of hearing aids, my audi would not give me ITE or CIC aids. (I didn't know they existed. My audi simply gave me BTEs.)

BTEs have worked out really well for me in the past. In fact, I still have an analog pair of BTEs (Oticon 380Ps) that still work perfectly after 16 years. (For those of you who may be wondering, I'm holding onto them for sentimental reasons since they were the first pair of HAs that allowed me to hear on the phone, use an FM system, etc.)

Good luck on Tuesday! :)
 
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BTE's are better on cost as well, no? Also if im not mistaken they are the only aids that you can use telecoil and fm system with too? oo and if i do end up getting ha's how do they do the whole process, like choosing which is best, molds, etc...I like to know everything to possibly expect lol:giggle:
 
Yeah they tend to be cheaper. ITE aids tend to not have as much power as BTEs.
For hearing aids......you gotta experiment. Take advantage of the 30 day trial period and see which ones you like best. Don't automaticly rule out analog aids just b/c they aren't state of the art. Avoid places like Miricle Ear and Beltone. They are just sales offices. The European brands are good....like Phonak and Oticons. But then again, you really have to experiment.
It's awesome that you want BTEs...........are you getting COLORED ones?
 
Alicia,

Your audiologist will take a look at your audiogram to determine which HAs are best for you. As DD said, be sure to take advantage of the 30 day trial period. If you're unhappy with one set of HAs, you can always exchange them for another. I also wouldn't rule out analogs. I've worn HAs for over 20 years and have had great success with analogs. In fact, one pair that I own (Oticon 380P) have worked flawlessly for 16 years without requiring a single repair. :)
 
There are advantages and disadvantages of all the styles of hearing aids (CIC-BTE). The only advantage the BTE's have is that they tend to last longer, as I have removed the electronics from your ear, which is a warm/moist place that produces wax. Yes BTE's will be more powerful, but you may not need that much power given your hearing loss. A telecoil can be fit on any hearing aid from a Half-shell and up. BTE's being the only that can accomidate a FM system should you ever need to use one. Given your hearing loss in the left ear, I would suspect you don't have too many problems on the phone. The reason why many have BTE's if they have congenital hearing loss, is because as a child you are still growing. So the earmold that accompanies BTE's can be remade much cheaper than reshelling a in-the-ear hearing aid when the person grows.

Today's hearing aids are designed to be fit completely automatic. Put it in your ear and go. No messing with volume wheels or program buttons. The hearing aid will control the volume for you. Unless a patient has a particular listening environment that is so different from normal everyday hearing (ie....they play the violin), then I prefer to make them automatic.

There are inherent advantages of digital hearing aids over analog for someone who has never worn aids before. The signal is reproduced cleaner, thus they allow for better speech clarity. It is a digital hearing aids that can be made fully automatic, where as analog aids are more fixed. The only reason analog hearing aids are still around is for those that have worn them for 10+ yrs. If I fit someone whose worn analog for a considerable length of time, with a digital aid, I know I have a 20% chance that they won't like them. Why? Because their brain is used to the analog signal, which is a boomy boomy signal. Digitals don't have the boominess quality to them, therefore 20% of the time they come back stating the digitals are too soft (no matter how loud I make them). However first time users tend to do exceptionally well with digital aids.

Your audiologist will look at your hearing test and should give you a few choices that are available. It depends on the configuration of your hearing sensitivity. Flat, sloping, normal low frequency hearing with a high frequency hearing loss, ect. I personally have had the best success with Oticon and Siemens. Phonak is ok, Widex are overpriced, Starkey just has bad customer service on my end. If they recommend a particular model I would be more than happy to give you some input as to my experience with it. :D

Hope this helps.
 
Steve,

One of the things I've heard people complain about in regards to HAs that have automatic adjustment is that the HA doesn't always choose the correct program for a given setting. For example, the HA will either block out too much or too little background noise. Have you found this to be true with your patients who use this kind of HA?

I've always preferred to have a volume control on my HAs. This allows me to adjust my HA according to the environment I am in. Sometimes I've found that I needed just a tad more volume while at other times I need a great deal more. I've always liked having that flexibility. Then again, I know people who love automatic HAs because they can put them on and not have to worry about setting them correctly.
 
SteveAUD said:
The only reason analog hearing aids are still around is for those that have worn them for 10+ yrs. If I fit someone whose worn analog for a considerable length of time, with a digital aid, I know I have a 20% chance that they won't like them. Why? Because their brain is used to the analog signal, which is a boomy boomy signal. Digitals don't have the boominess quality to them, therefore 20% of the time they come back stating the digitals are too soft (no matter how loud I make them). However first time users tend to do exceptionally well with digital aids.
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That's interesting stuff Steve. I was one of those 20% who preferred analogue over digital, so thanks for explaining why. I felt the sounds were too soft as well.
 
I love how u guys give great input! So my appt is at 10 and ill post n tell u guys how it went...i also forgot to mention i have really small ear canals, when i get my hearing tests i have to use the baby headphones and the smallest ear pieces they have lol...does that matter for ha's?
 
lilitalia89 said:
I love how u guys give great input! So my appt is at 10 and ill post n tell u guys how it went...i also forgot to mention i have really small ear canals, when i get my hearing tests i have to use the baby headphones and the smallest ear pieces they have lol...does that matter for ha's?
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I don't think so. They are going to make molds of your ears anyway for your hearing aids, so it really shouldn't matter. I have very small ear canals myself (my audie said so!) and I wore HAs as a kid. When I was being evaluated for a CI, they had to give me a hearing test in the booth wearing the clinic's hearing aids, and they had to use the baby/kid earpieces for that, too.
 
k so my appt got rescheduled to friday at 8:30 am...My mom is ridiculous she was telling the lady that i need an appt cuz by accident they gave it away etc. and that i need to be referred to a new audi/ent cuz im turning 18 soon n i go to CHEO a childrens hospital...so she tells them that i have tinnitus and ringing etc and doenst even explain it right and then doesnt mention that i also have hearing loss...shes making me mad..its like she's choosing not to believe i can't hear properly..its ridiculous...so im not in the greatest mood at the moment...:(
 
Hear Again said:
Steve,

One of the things I've heard people complain about in regards to HAs that have automatic adjustment is that the HA doesn't always choose the correct program for a given setting. For example, the HA will either block out too much or too little background noise. Have you found this to be true with your patients who use this kind of HA?

I've always preferred to have a volume control on my HAs. This allows me to adjust my HA according to the environment I am in. Sometimes I've found that I needed just a tad more volume while at other times I need a great deal more. I've always liked having that flexibility. Then again, I know people who love automatic HAs because they can put them on and not have to worry about setting them correctly.
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It sounds like your talking about Phonak hearing aids. There are 3 programs set and the hearing aid decides when to switch given a noise imput (GN Resounds are the same way). Yes I have had a handfull of patients complain about it. However, I can adjust (on some) how sensitive the hearing aid is to noise, which would change how frequent the hearing aid switches itself. Other hearing aids I fit utilize one program with directional microphones that are fully adaptive and automatic. When it's quiet, the hearing aid doesn't kick into directional mode, when you step into a resturant, the D-mics kick in and become adaptive (looking for the noise sources from the back and the sides and can reduce them). Really today's hearing aids are designed to be fit automatically. Whereas 10yrs ago everything was fixed. One prog for quiet, one for noise, one for TV, ect ect ect. Most people don't want to be turning wheels and hitting buttons everytime they walk into a room.

Some prefer volume controls. It is very evident when you fit someone who has worn hearing aids in the past, especially analogs. Back then the volume controls could crank the hearing aid up and even turn it off. On today's hearing aids the volume control is programmable as well, and is nothing more than a manual override. I still control 90% of how the hearing aid behaves. You have an 8dB range that the VC can turn sound up or down. I can enable or disable the VC thru the programming. The amount of play or dB you can turn it up or down can also be changed (8,16,32). However, I have found that the previous users who like VC's (the old style), don't like the VC's on todays hearing aids. Why? Because today's VC's the wheel spins non-stop. Meaning you can continually spin it and their is no stop built in. Often previous users would turn their VC all the way up, till they got feedback, then backed it down till the feedback stopped. This is something I warn all my patients about who insist on a VC because that is what they like and are accustomed too.

It basically boils down to your audiologist taking into consideration a patients previous experience, and then counseling them about the differences between old vs. new. If you try and fit someone who's worn analog for 20yrs with something radically different, without telling them how it's different and what they may or maynot like, your asking for trouble. If I can fit a VC on a hearing aid I put it there, that way it's there incase they need it. I disable it thru the programming (1st time user) and let them wear the aids fully automatic. My goal is to get them used to wearing aids and hearing thru them. I don't want them worrying about where the VC should be set or when to press a program button to change programs. It takes time for the brain to get used to processing sound a different way. That's what I want them focusing on, not the 15million different adjustments that they have to execute themselves. When they come back after 2wks and say they have found there are instances where they'd like to be able to turn it up a notch, I enable the VC. :D
 
I ditto Lucia's comments. I also have small ears and small ear canals yet this did not prevent me from being able to use HAs. My former HA audis have always used small headphones with me during hearing tests and it never caused any difficulties. :)
 
Steve,

Thanks for answering my questions. :) I'm going to save your post for future reference.

Many of the observations you've stated describe me to a "T." I've worn HAs for over 20 years and have always preferred analogs to digital as well as having a volume control on my aids. On the other hand, I know new HA users who started with digitals and absolutely love them.

I had the opportunity to try a pair of HAs that had a non-stop volume control, but didn't like the fact that I couldn't get a feel for where the volume control should be set.

I'm sure that if I had started out with digitals and/or HAs with automatic adjustments, my opinions of them would be different.

As you said, much of what a patient prefers or dislikes will depend on their past HA experience.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions! :)
 
lilitalia89 said:
I love how u guys give great input! So my appt is at 10 and ill post n tell u guys how it went...i also forgot to mention i have really small ear canals, when i get my hearing tests i have to use the baby headphones and the smallest ear pieces they have lol...does that matter for ha's?
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Small ear canals shouldn't cause a problem unless you want CIC's. If the ear canals are so small, that none of the electronics that are contained in the shell can be placed in the canal portion, this means those electronics need to be pushed outward (towards the outside), hence making the outermost portion of the hearing aid larger. Which someone who wants and is a candidate for a CIC not so happy. As they choosing it for cosmetic reasons. For a BTE tinny ear canals cause no problems, since is only the earmold thats in the ear.
 
Due to Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) and Meniere's disease - I can't wear my hearing aids often. I got the first diagnosis in 91' . I got it back in 88 which I didn't know.

While wearing my hearing aids, I get vertigo and hear the uncomfy sounds. I get tinnitus without wearing them. It is frustrating. It is very annoying and non-stopping. Right now The digital hearing aids seem to be better for me. The Analog ones are useless for me.

Alicia you are not alone .. I am in the same boat as you right now. I am working on to get a new neckloop (telecoil) to listen the music at my bedtime only. Hopefully it will help me. The Direct Audio Input/Cable is not working -- will replace with the different one. My hearing loss is profoundly. Cut down salt as you can. Drink H20 often -- cut down cheese, soup (high sodium!) and.. stresss too. Good luck .. Next time can you call the doctor office by yourself with the VP or Relay Operator? I am sure your mom doesn't fully understand your tinnitus and hearing loss. My family doesn't but my mom gets the picture bec she has gotten vertigo every now and then due to aging.
 
Hear Again said:
Steve,

I had the opportunity to try a pair of HAs that had a non-stop volume control, but didn't like the fact that I couldn't get a feel for where the volume control should be set.
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:giggle: That was me as well with my last hearing aid! It really annoyed me.
 
Dino65 said:
Next time can you call the doctor office by yourself with the VP or Relay Operator? I am sure your mom doesn't fully understand your tinnitus and hearing loss. My family doesn't but my mom gets the picture bec she has gotten vertigo every now and then due to aging.
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I dont need to use relay i can use the phone..most of the time..i just have to use a good one...(btw anyone know a really good portable phone that has good volume??)...my mom is difficult, she thinks that just the tinnitus is my problem when it is tinnitus+hearing problem...its quite aggrivating too cuz i try to explain and she either says get over it or kinda tries to change the subject...i know shes worried tho..i have my hearing test finally on friday a.m. and if he says i should try ha's im gonna first insist he's right and my mom wont be able to object and 2nd id rather have a bte cuz ite and those types scare me cuz i wouldnt want something that small in my ear...hopefully i can stick to the plan lol
 
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