Oh my gosh!!

julysrain

julysrain

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Is that what the world sounds like??????????????

I ended up with a trial of an ITC aid because my ear canal is too small for an CIC or mini canal but OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is that??????????? Everything is so freaking loud!!!!!!!!!!! How can people stand that???????????

:) I'm so excited but stunned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
OK I'm over the initial shock. I'd forgotten what summer sounded like ~ all the birds, locusts, the sound of the wind from an open window, the sound of people talking across a parking lot. This is amazing.

I kept taking the aid out and then putting it back in to compare LOL In a strange way though I'm grateful for the relative silence when the aid is out. I've gotten so used to it I don't think I could stand all that noise all the time! But it reminds me of childhood ~ I didn't even realize I couldn't hear those things anymore. There are sounds my car makes that I've never heard before! LOL The one thing I can't figure out is my voice ~ I can't tell how loud or soft to talk with the HA in ~ people always tell me I talk too loud without it in, but now I feel like I'm yelling!

The aid is made by Audina, and it's a half-shell ITE aid (it's made as an in the canal aid but my ears are apparently shaped strangely and it won't fit all the way in the canal; it takes up about half of my ear LOL). It took a while to figure out how to get it to stay in my ear; I learned how to clean it and stop the feedback whistling. I also ended up with it in my left ear instead of the right; my right ear would need a BTE aid because of the shape of the ear canal; none of the ITE or ITC aids will fit it, but it's likely a custom earmold would allow a BTE to fit. So once I start my new job, and find out if my new insurance policy will cover HAs, I'll be looking into a BTE aid for that ear. The ITE aid I have now is comfortable but I'll bet the ear molds for a BTE are more comfortable.

The aid is also an "analog" aid but I like it ~ I like the fact that it amplifies everything rather than just speech ~ there is so much to listen to! It's definitely not like my hearing used to be, but it is close enough that I love it.

Thank you all so much for your support :) I'm so happy! I drove around for like half an hour with the window down and the radio OFF ~ I wanted to listen to everything. I didn't even realize how much I wasn't hearing until I put on the aid. This is amazing. I don't care about what people think a bit anymore. I LOVE my HA.

:dance2:
 
I have the weirdly shaped ear canals too....that's good that we've convinced you to get a BTE for your other ear....the smaller aids are mostly good for mild losses, and generally aren't powerful enough for more then mild losses....
 
oh, and that's cool that you have analogs.....digitals are so overrated!
 
deafdyke said:
oh, and that's cool that you have analogs.....digitals are so overrated!
Click to expand...

I keep hearing this about the digitals. I always had analogs and I thought they were extremely reliable and I could get 5 to 10 years out of one (it depended on my age) :D

What is the deal with the digitals?
 
Digis are supposed to be more "cutting edge" but a lot of people either don't like the sound quality and they tend to break VERY easily...
Oh, and I know exactly what you mean.....I love the way I can hear with my aids....never realzied that the world was such a noisy place!
 
Yeah that's why I'm thinking BTEs might be the way to go for the next one. Since my loss is progressive within a couple years the tiny aids won't help a whole lot.

Thanks!! :dance2:
 
deafdyke said:
oh, and that's cool that you have analogs.....digitals are so overrated!
Click to expand...

Hey, shut up!*slaps you* I LOVE MY DIGITALS!!!!!!!! lol, i'm kidding! I love my digitals though! i will admit, that some sounds that are really amplified, don't sound real at all, or they sound sharp. It is amazing at how much you realize you miss once you get them!!!!!!! But it is nice to return to silence!!!
 
Hey....have you tried top of the line analogs? My buddy has a mixed severe-profound loss and she says that top of the line analogs are jsut as good as digitals!
 
My Phonak MAXX is digital and I really like it.

I have SN loss, and my other side is unaidable ( more than 110 db loss)

When I was shopping for HAs I was told ( by a number of different Audies ) that for my type of loss digitals would be more suitable for me.

I know a number of people with conductive loss that like the Anaologs much better though ... so as with most things - it depends on a million little things ( and some trial and error) what works best for each of us
 
I dont know what I would do without my hearing aids. Sometimes silence is good when you want some peace (or just to ignore your parents lol) but for me I would probably get lonely, not being able to hear the winds, the birds chirping, kids playing, all those wonderful things that makes life wonderful(except for the guys upstairs banging on the floor...sighs)

At least now i wear digital in both ears (before I could only wear digital in my left ear and analog in my right ear). I think it was because the digital in my right ear needed an adjustment.
 
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