I can't take it anymore

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Frustrated one

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The transition from digital to analog hearing aids has been nothing but hell for me. I have tried numerous hearing aids and many hours of adjusting them and none of them have close to what I'm looking for.

The sound quality has been poor on all the aids that I've tried. It's too quiet, everyone sounds like they're mumbling, I constantly have to ask people to repeat themselves, music sounds like crap (in fact I understand music better without my hearing aids, backwards is it not??), there are a lot of sounds that I can no longer hear thanks to the irritating noise reduction feature. Why is is that I should need a separate program for speech and then a separate one for music?? People with normal hearing don't have separate programs for these things.

All the audiologists do is tell you to get used to it. Of course it's easy to say that when they're not the ones who are hard of hearing or have to wear aids. Or they just call me sound junkies. It really pisses me off. I am this close to losing my temper and going crazy.

I thought hearing aids were supposed to help you hear more like normal people. When normal hearing people go outdoors, don't they hear everything around them? Yet with these digital aids, I can't hear a lot of the things normal people say they hear. It's almost like I need additional hearing aids on top of the ones I already have!
 
Were u born hearing, in between, or Deaf?

If u were born hearing, what age start losing hearing?
 
The trouble is that hearing aids do not let you hear like a normal person. NOTHING can make you hear like a hearing person.... It's like 2 dimestional sound, compared to what hearies hear.
 
deafdyke said:
The trouble is that hearing aids do not let you hear like a normal person. NOTHING can make you hear like a hearing person.... It's like 2 dimestional sound, compared to what hearies hear.
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Yup, afraid it is the case. When losing sounds, it just disappeared. Its all about the sense itself, once it is lost, it is lost. For me, I never understand sounds, and will not be able to discriminate any kind of sounds and I don't have issue with that, just live as it is.

This is something I will never understand why hearing people lost their mind when they lose the sense of sounds. Whats so big deal about it, really?
 
Hearing aids pretty much just amplify sound. There are features that help block out some noise and such but for the most part, that is what they do. They aren't a magic remedy to restore hearing. It's just possible that your hearing has gotten to the point that HA's just can't do any more for you than what you are getting now. When I got to that point with my HA's I started investigating cochlear implants. I have to say, I wish I had done the implants sooner!! It might be time to look at other options.
 
ok - I can relate. born hoh. used analogs for years ... got digital. still hate digital. my my digital picks up some sounds i couldnt before but omits sounds that I want and NEED. We played with the settings on the ha and it still doesnt satisfy me. after wearing the same digital for over 12 years, i still cannot get used to it and some sounds from radio sounds awful still . my audiologist says the digitals has changed alot in last 10 years but i am skeptical.
 
radioman said:
ok - I can relate. born hoh. used analogs for years ... got digital. still hate digital. my my digital picks up some sounds i couldnt before but omits sounds that I want and NEED. We played with the settings on the ha and it still doesnt satisfy me. after wearing the same digital for over 12 years, i still cannot get used to it and some sounds from radio sounds awful still . my audiologist says the digitals has changed alot in last 10 years but i am skeptical.
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I got my first digital aids in about 2004 or so. They were somewhat better then the analogs I got in 1996. I got new digitals in 2009 and they were better. They did a good job for me for about 2 years and then my hearing just got to the point that HA's were not going to help. I still couldn't hear a lot of higher pitched sounds but for the first year with them, I heard birds. Music was usually ok if it was loud enough and on good enough speakers. Cochlear implants have been SO much better!!! I sure do not miss the squealing and it's very nice not having something in your ear!
 
diehardbiker said:
This is something I will never understand why hearing people lost their mind when they lose the sense of sounds. Whats so big deal about it, really?
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Stab your eyes. Sure, you can get by with tactile ASL, but it will be nowhere near as efficient as seeing signs. You'll also miss the visual beauty of the world around you. Then someone who has been blind their whole life comes around and goes: "What's the big deal? "

It really isn't that hard to get what the big deal is. Plenty of Deafies do, while being content with themselves.
 
I don't know what your talking about, I am referring the other way.

That is, after hearing a BORN blind guy speaking his own experience where he claimed that he can NOT handle the eye implants, yes he freaked out and decided go back to blind state. He said he rather remain blind than able to see, mind you, he was blind for 40 years. I understood how he felt perfectly clearly.

I understand the frustration on losing hearing or sight perfectly clearly, BUT to take it as an end of the world, that is... Whats so big deal about it? The bigger deal isn't just about hearing, it is about living the life. Life never is fair, period. It never was, we all deal with all issues. The most peaceful way to approach losing one of sense is acceptance, thus "acceptance" won't work until it is no longer a big deal.

BleedingPurist said:
Stab your eyes. Sure, you can get by with tactile ASL, but it will be nowhere near as efficient as seeing signs. You'll also miss the visual beauty of the world around you. Then someone who has been blind their whole life comes around and goes: "What's the big deal? "

It really isn't that hard to get what the big deal is. Plenty of Deafies do, while being content with themselves.
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Speaking of "It really isn't that hard to get what the big deal is", question.. why is it so impossible for general hearing people understand what it is like to be Deaf? Isn't it hard for them to understand, eh? I am really sick and tired of hearing people saying "Oh, it is impossible to be Deaf, how is it possible that you can not hear?", end up ran into denial mode and so on, whats their problem? Just like that bitch that wrote to Dear Abby about her husband losing his sense of hearing and could not accept and would do anything to fix em... Get the drift?
 
Like others said hearing aides aren't like natural hearing. Hearing aides make florescent lights loud and peoples voices not so much. Hearing aides seem to take all sound around you and make it into virtual sound soap. Normal ears seem to pat down sound you don't want and bring to focus sound you do. Hearing aides can't do this.
They are basically better then being deaf and you can get more conversation at times with them then without them. There are lots of times that they are incredibly annoying and uncomfortable. You have to learn how to use them and accept what they can and can't do. You can learn to work with them and get your brain to help block out some noise and tolerate other. It is a learning process. It isn't normal hearing and you have to grow past the idea that you will ever have normal hearing. Acceptance is the key to happiness.
 
I know your frustration all to well. I just put my old analogs back in and just recently received a pair that were fixed. Spent a hellish summer trying digitals and a hybrid analog digitals that was $4000.00. I got tired of the adjustment and was making myself sick with anxiety. I also experienced deep depression but finally got a diagnosis. I still keep checking the volume wheel and checking to make sure I hear well. Do what you feel makes you happy. There's resources out there for analog hearing aids and places that will fix them. You are not alone in the process. I have worn analog hearing aids and I also find it offensive to have audiologist say we are sound junkies as if it were nothing and saying we just need to get over it. i agree. Not everyone here is the same but we all have difference of opinion to analog, digital, and CI's . Hope you can find something that will help you.
 
diehardbiker said:
This is something I will never understand why hearing people lost their mind when they lose the sense of sounds. Whats so big deal about it, really?
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It's probably a small matter of not being able to hear those you love again, your lost sense of communication, never being able to hear your favorite musicians, not hearing the sounds of nature...you know, small unimportant details like that, that some people don't care about.....

Laura
 
Frustrated one said:
I thought hearing aids were supposed to help you hear more like normal people.
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They don't and I don't know what doctor would have led you to believe that. It takes time to process but it doesn't happen if you don't wear them. It also takes the right brand and that can be a real search for people who don't know what to expect. What you're experiencing is very common but no less frustrating. I went through it myself before finding Widex and I've been very happy with the results. I'd suggest trying different audiologist since yours appear to be not helpful.
 
Lau2046 said:
It's probably a small matter of not being able to hear those you love again, your lost sense of communication, never being able to hear your favorite musicians, not hearing the sounds of nature...you know, small unimportant details like that, that some people don't care about.....

Laura
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Well they are unimportant details if you never had them.

tsk
 
Bottesini said:
Well they are unimportant details if you never had them.

tsk
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True, but I'll bet Stevie Wonder wouldn't be that dismissive of someone newly blind. He might not consider it a big issue never having experience sight but it doesn't mean one should lack empathy for someone dealing with the adjustment. Everything is a big deal for a person going through life altering changes; and when your world changes, and you lose your hearing and the joys that go with it, nothing is minor.
 
Maybe this would clear up on what I really mean. Perhaps I was using little bit wrong phrase. How about this, whats so special about sounds? What are you crazy over with sounds?

Why I am saying this, is that in the last several years I was somewhat awakening about Deafness and Hearing. Yes, this got me somewhat curious about whats the big deal, or whats so special that hearing people gone nuts when they lose them. I am trying to understand why hearing people in general usually are unwilling to accommodate Deaf people. We, the Deaf people lost the sense of hearing and have no idea what these are, have been struggling with accommodating with hearing people that COULD accommodate us but generally they choose not to, Mind you, these hearing people (Excluding blind) have the sense of sight, can't they use it to adapt with us, eh? Lucky them, they got both of the worlds, yet they can't use what we (Deaf) depends on.
 
It's about loss. Something doesn't seem like a loss if you've never experienced it. But if you've experienced something, and then it's gone forever, that's a loss, whether it be sounds, sights, smells, touches, mobility, cognitive ability, a job, a loved one, a skill, or emotional stability. Sure, some of those things might be alleviated by adaptation or replacement but not all.
 
Well, the biggest issue for me about becoming hard of hearing or deaf is that you cannot communicate as easily as before, and you often become isolated in some way. I was used to just sittning together with friends and hear what they are talking about and being able to join the discussion. That is not possible anymore. It is even worse since I do hear what people say when in a quiet environment and when I can see the person talking. People just cannot understand why I suddenly do not understanding what they are saying just because the coffee machine starts working and making a little noise. It makes no difference to hearing persons and the are able to just continue the conversation, while I have no idea what they are talking about. Hearing people have a hard time understanding that sometimes I can follow a conversation and sometimes I cannot. I do become isolated in a way, since when we are having coffee or lunch at work, I do not really hear what people are talking about unless they are talking directly to me. This means I miss information such as a colleague explaining he is worried about his sick child, or someone recommending a good book. The kind of small talk that makes you underdtand and connect with other people. The equivalent for a Deaf person would be suddenly losing the ability to understand sign language. I assume a Deaf person would think that is a nog deal if they suddenly do not understand what other people are signing.

I do not really think it is a big deal anymore. My life is a little different from before but still nice. I am learning sign language, and I have some new friends who understand the need to repeat things sometime, or that we cannot talk in noisy places.

About sound in general. I would say sound is a little like sign language. Sound communicates stuff. This is true for music as well. When I hear music, it most often has mood. Music can be happy, fast, slow, angry, comforting, fun, tentative, or any other emotion. It is interesting and fun just to listen and try to interpret how the music feels. Just as you smell something and it reminds you about Christmas or some other good memory, sounds can do the same thing. I think that listening to music might be a similar experience to seeing ASL poetry.

Honestly, sometimes sound is not a bog deal, just very convenient. It is so simple to just call "dinner is ready" from the kitchen instead of actually going and finding everyone. Or to hear what is going on around you, even when you cannot see everything that happens. Sound is not really needed, it is just convenient to hear at tines.

To summarize, the big deal is often that people do not want to communicate with you kust because you lose hearing. It is too hard to write everything down and you miss information. This can be extremely annoying until tou get used to it and find ways to handle different situations.
 
Reba said:
It's about loss. Something doesn't seem like a loss if you've never experienced it. But if you've experienced something, and then it's gone forever, that's a loss, whether it be sounds, sights, smells, touches, mobility, cognitive ability, a job, a loved one, a skill, or emotional stability. Sure, some of those things might be alleviated by adaptation or replacement but not all.
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That is the difference between a late deafened and a born/early dhh person!
And maybe we should raise dhh kids to have a more POSITIVE view of themselves rather then having a defiect or a loss........Male isn't better or lesser then female, gay isn't better or lesser then straight and so on.....that's the way we should raise dhh kids! So they have exposure to BOTH worlds!
 
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