HoH - Taking off ITE/BTE/ITC's to exercise nerves?

[naisho]

Has anyone ever been told that they should take off their HA's every now and then to "exercise" the nerves naturally?

Was wondering if this is a legitimate health concern. I have been told gossip around in general health (with no source) that not relying on your natural nerves can lead to further hearing deterioration due to less dependencies on actually trying to work the nerves.

It's just jabber that I heard really, but neither MD's or HA docs seem to have a straight answer to this.

Your thoughts?

 

[Bottesini]

This is just opinion really, but I seem to think stimulation of the nerves is the benefit and hearing aids should be worn as much as possible.

 

[Hear Again]

i agree with bott. in the 20+ years i've worn hearing aids, all of my audis have told me that wearing aids is the best way to maintain auditory stimulation of the nerves. the same thing is true for those who eventually wish to receive a ci in an ear that has not had auditory stimulation for awhile. the nerves need to be "awakened" so to speak in order to be able to interpret environmental sounds and/or speech.

 

[Jiro]

Has anyone ever been told that they should take off their HA's every now and then to "exercise" the nerves naturally?

Was wondering if this is a legitimate health concern. I have been told gossip around in general health (with no source) that not relying on your natural nerves can lead to further hearing deterioration due to less dependencies on actually trying to work the nerves.

It's just jabber that I heard really, but neither MD's or HA docs seem to have a straight answer to this.

Your thoughts?

if you cannot hear anything naturally - that nerves are not going to be "exercising." That gossip is why it's called a gossip. It's a fallacious myth. it's like trying hard to see an object in a dark room. You will not develop a night-vision capability this way. Your eyesight will not get any better either.

 

[naisho]

i agree with bott. in the 20+ years i've worn hearing aids, all of my audis have told me that wearing aids is the best way to maintain auditory stimulation of the nerves. the same thing is true for those who eventually wish to receive a ci in an ear that has not had auditory stimulation for awhile. the nerves need to be "awakened" so to speak in order to be able to interpret environmental sounds and/or speech.

Thanks Hear Again, I'll take your advice up a notch. 20 years of consulting is pretty a pretty solid belt. Did they mention anything about stimulating the nerves like massaging/exercising the temple/lobe area or any extra details like that?

if you cannot hear anything naturally - that nerves are not going to be "exercising." That gossip is why it's called a gossip. It's a fallacious myth. it's like trying hard to see an object in a dark room. You will not develop a night-vision capability this way. Your eyesight will not get any better either.

I see, however that's the thing though. I still have residual hearing and can hear some certain things, others albeit not very greatly - such as toilet flushing or clapping not too far, knocking and cracking my knuckles. Stuff like birds or cat meowing are out of my high pitch range now, whereas they were not a decade ago.
As far as eyesight goes, call it streak of weirdness but pretty much everyone in my immediate blood kin including my family - Father, Mother, Mother's side Bro/Sis*3, Father's side Sis*2, Grandmother, Grandfather all have eyesight impartation, including children like all my blood cousins. I'm the only one who hasn't relied on spectacles yet, nor seem to have the need to. Perhaps it's just a steak of luck, but I'd definitely agree not to follow on that sort of gossip.

 

[Jiro]

I see, however that's the thing though. I still have residual hearing and can hear some certain things, others albeit not very greatly - such as toilet flushing or clapping not too far, knocking and cracking my knuckles. Stuff like birds or cat meowing are out of my high pitch range now, whereas they were not a decade ago.
As far as eyesight goes, call it streak of weirdness but pretty much everyone in my immediate blood kin including my family - Father, Mother, Mother's side Bro/Sis*3, Father's side Sis*2, Grandmother, Grandfather all have eyesight impartation, including children like all my blood cousins. I'm the only one who hasn't relied on spectacles yet, nor seem to have the need to. Perhaps it's just a steak of luck, but I'd definitely agree not to follow on that sort of gossip.

that's why we wear hearing aids to strengthen that and to make most out of it. There are various ways to sharpen the residual hearing but know this - it is residual and you can never regain the lost hearing. It's forever gone and you have to accept that. That's why you have to take care of your residual hearing by not exposing yourself to nosy environment that will destroy your hearing like construction worker or kids who listen to music at full-blast volume. To sharpen your residual hearing - you can listen to music especially classical music. I have been playing piano since little.... although I stopped playing several years ago but it does help sharpen my residual hearing.

 

[Hear Again]

Thanks Hear Again, I'll take your advice up a notch. 20 years of consulting is pretty a pretty solid belt. Did they mention anything about stimulating the nerves like massaging/exercising the temple/lobe area or any extra details like that?

no. all of them basically said that the auditory nerves need to be continually stimulated in order to use one's residual hearing as effectively as possible and to make hearing environmental sounds and speech easier. the more the auditory nerve is stimulated (provided that there is sufficient residual hearing), the easier it is to rely on one's hearing. the less the auditory nerve is stimulated, the more difficult it is to rely on one's hearing. my former ci audi told me that even though i could only hear vowels and environmental sounds with my left ear (which had 8% aided speech discrimination), continuing to use a hearing aid in that ear allowed me to hear more than i would (i.e. vowels and environmental sounds) if i had not kept that ear stimulated.

 

[djchur]

I've worn a HA in my right ear since I was a child. I didn't have one for my left ear then, due to British NHS policy of only providing a HA for your better ear. Now their policy has changed and I have two super power hearing aids. Since I started wearing the left HA I have noticed that I can hear slightly better in that ear without my HA than I could before, things like loud traffic and dogs barking next to me. I think the HA has stimulated and woken up something in my ear that wasn't working before.

 

[Jiro]

I've worn a HA in my right ear since I was a child. I didn't have one for my left ear then, due to British NHS policy of only providing a HA for your better ear. Now their policy has changed and I have two super power hearing aids. Since I started wearing the left HA I have noticed that I can hear slightly better in that ear without my HA than I could before, things like loud traffic and dogs barking next to me. I think the HA has stimulated and woken up something in my ear that wasn't working before.

yep there you go

 

[Hear Again]

I've worn a HA in my right ear since I was a child. I didn't have one for my left ear then, due to British NHS policy of only providing a HA for your better ear. Now their policy has changed and I have two super power hearing aids. Since I started wearing the left HA I have noticed that I can hear slightly better in that ear without my HA than I could before, things like loud traffic and dogs barking next to me. I think the HA has stimulated and woken up something in my ear that wasn't working before.

exactly. i think this is why many audis believe that the use of a hearing aid makes it easier for a person to use their residual hearing since it stimulates the auditory nerve.

 

[Babyblue]

Use it or lose it.

Nerves can not be simulated if it is not being used. By using hearing aids it teaches the brain sounds.
If the nerve is not being simulated then the brain isn't either.