Can you cope without your hearing aid?
If you are a hearing aid wearer, can you go without them? Do you feel comfortable leaving the house if you haven’t got your aids in?
I have a severe hearing loss in both ears – if I am not wearing my aids and somebody wants to speak to me then they have to be close and have to be talking loudly and straight at me. I don’t feel comfortable talking to people if I don’t have my hearing aids in and I wouldn’t even think about leaving the house without them. It’s OK if I’m at home, my Wife and Daughter would know to shout if they needed to. Outside, it would cause too many problems for me, I would be constantly asking people to repeat themselves.
I wear my hearing aids every waking minute – excluding shower time of course! Can you go without yours?
Related posts:
Subscribe via RSS
RSS via Email
I do wear hearing aid, but i hate them. I wear them pretty much full time due to fact that i live in a hearing world full time. but when i am all alone at home i take off my hearing aids and live in peace… not worry about anything… when i am with my deaf friends, i don’t wear my hearing aid cuz no need to use it.
Interesting topic! I was talking with my co-workers recently about this very same topic yesterday. For many years, I was the same way- always felt I “had” to wear my hearing aids. I felt lost without them. Then about two months ago, the tube of my hearing aid molds broke. Yes, both of them! Interesting. It’s a pretty cheap and easy to fix, but I just didn’t feel like doing it. Either I felt too lazy or just never found the time. For the first two weeks, I had that “lost” feeling- like going swimming for the first time without flippers on my feet. It felt weird. By the third week I realized I didn’t need them. I functioned just fine without them (understand that I’m profoundly Deaf, I can’t hear anyone without my aids). I ended up signing more in stores, ordering my food in ASL at restaurants for example. To my shock, people managed to understand me through gestures. All this time I thought I had to meet hearing folk’s needs by talking. When really, I get better service and more communication if I use ASL. Which now, makes total sense because hearing folks have to communicate WITH me as equal participants. One thing that helped make my transition/process easier is that my home already is a signing environment as is my work. For the holidays, I’ve started to insist on interpreters for family gatherings. You know what I realized? Not only do I function just fine without hearing aids, to my shock, I realized I never needed them in the first place!!! I look back and think of all those years of buying expensive hearing aids and for what? To fix something that was never broken! It makes me laugh now to think how “dependent” I was on a piece of technology that honestly, didn’t make much of a difference in my life, although I was certainly led to believe it did. I can still work, having meaningful relationships with my loved ones, function in the “real world”, whatever that means, drive, go to stores and restaurants… whether I’m wearing or not wearing a hearing aid, none of that has changed. I’ve made no major lifestyle adjustments or changes other than using ASL to communicate more with hearing people, which is my preferred mode of communication anyways. If they don’t know sign language, I feel bad for them, but I can still manage to have two way communication without needing to write or talk. I haven’t had any bad experiences with “stupid hearing people” – quite the opposite… my experiences have been much more positive now than when I tried to talk/write. Changing my attitude, being more positive, believing that I wasn’t “lacking”, and using the language I communicate best in all had something to do with my positive interactions with hearing folks.
I have been wearing my hearing aids for 15 years now and i am completely dependent on them.I became deaf when i was 7 yrs old and then started wearing hearing aids.I dont like them much due to the plugged up feeling..but without them it becomes very difficult to communicate with the hearing world.I dont know ASL so have to rely on speech.once when both my hearing aids conked out it was terrible,I couldnt hear as I am profoundly deaf now,couldnt talk on the phone,or listen to tv ,wasnt able to communicate with neighbours,friends or colleagues ..it was really nightmarish.I wear my hearing aids at all times and really feel “lost”without them
I found that to be an odd question but that’s me. I realize there are people who like their hearing aids. I’m not one of them – I despise hearing aids. I’ve not worn them for almost 20 years and I don’t even miss them a bit. I’m very much happy without things stuffed up into my ears.
With that said, I understand there are others who do like their aids for reasons I will never understand but to each their own.
I don’t need hearing’s aid (help).
Since I’ve begun to learn ASL I feel comfortable in public without hearing aids, especiallly when I am with friends who use ASL. I simply tell waitress or customer service people I am deaf. I find it relaxing not to be bothered by hearing people. I have a hard time hearing them even with my hearing aids in anyway. If I am alone, and not with others, then I usually wear my hearing aids in public. I always wear them at work. I almost never wear them at home. I find the noise distortion uncomfortalble.
Yeah, I wear my hearing aids when I know I need to hear and understand everything I’m hearing. I’m serverly hard of hearing, and I’m in college, so I need then as a means of communication with my professors. Oh how I wish that everyone used sign. I feel much more relaxed using sign because I don’t have to lip read or focus on the conversation. I usually take them out when I’m in a crowded place because the noise makes me nervous, but I’ll put them in when I absolutly have to. Sometimes I’ll just keep them in my ears with them turned off for most of the day, and turn them on when an oppertunity arises.
That is defintely an individual preference and choice depending on many factors. I do depend on them, simply because I’ve worn mine since I was five years old. I love music. I take advantage of whatever I can hear with my aids. Without them, I hear sounds but do not understand words well. I used to refuse to go to mainstream school or public school when my aids broke, my deaf mom would scramble to get my appointment with the audiologist asap! nowadays, if battery is out or HA is not working, I just tell my co-workers that and they manage to communicate but I can see big differences in most of their behavior. WOW, their true colors shows! lol Some are themselves, others don’t know what to say and they actually wait till my HA is funtionable before they talked to me again… hmm It is a turn off, really. I’m addicted to HA, I think. But, ASL was my first language, can’t beat that.
I mostly wear mine at work and to talk on the phone. Listening is exhausting and while I appreciate the fact that hearing aids help me hear, taking them off and not worrying about hearing anything is a welcome relief!
Cindy
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
As my hearing gradually gets worse it is becoming more of a chore to hear in everyday situations and, as many of you said, it’s probably easier and less stressful to go without them. But to tell you the honest truth: I’m scared of doing that. To go without my hearing aids would be a huge step for me but it’s something I am going to have to do in the not too distant future – there will come a time when I can no longer buy hearing aids powerful enough.
There have been times when I’ve been at home and I’ve gone without my aids and I agree with the comments that not wearing them is relaxing – the lack of noise is nice. But, having said that, I did find myself thinking, “have I not heard something important?” and worrying about that – so it wasn’t relaxing in that sense.
Steve.
I used hearing aids from the age of 2 to the age of 12. When I turned 12 and it was time to start middle school (which meant a new school with all new kids) I decided to stop using the hearing aids (much to the dismay of my mother and audiologist) I just had my hearing tested in the last week and found out that my mild-moderate hearing loss has progressed to severe-profound. I have been having a hard time in the hearing world recently and made the decision to use hearing aids and an FM system once again. I should have them in a few days. That being said I have managed to cope amazingly in the hearing world for the amount of hearing loss I have. I am a little by scared because I know once I start using aids again and get used to not having to cope to this extent I am going to lose my ability to do so. Part of me wants to hold on to my ‘hearing’ self, but my marks are slipping because I can’t hear my profs in lecture and work is becoming difficult as well. I also just moved out on my own for the first time and I am very worried about not hearing the fire alarm, or someone breaking in, or anything else that could have a negative impact so I am looking into a hearing service dog for some peace of mind.
I agree with Cindy and Rita above. I’ve worn hearing aids ever since I was four years old (I’m 43 now). I’m very comfortable without them at home and even in my car (it’s noisy anyway). In fact, I have spent quite a bit of time without my aids out in public. I always have them handy but when I know I’m not going to be interacting with anyone, then I feel fine functioning without them. And it feels nice. As a career Paramedic, I am 100% dependent upon them for my job.
I was given hearing aids for my 40th birthday – took a bit of getting used to – but now (ten years later) I wouldn’t be without them, most of the time. My hearing is a ski-slope loss with normal hearing in the low frequencies and severe to profound loss of the high frequencies – so my speech discrimination is crap without my aids. I just got a new pair from the NHS and I’m loving them – not the least because they’re black coloured instead of pink slugs.
However I can’t wear them when I’m paddling a kayak, and I sometimes take them out when I’m at home. And I lose one frequently – so I quite often go without one. I would panic if I had to go to work without any ‘though – I’m a midwife so they’re essential as my lipreading skills are crap.
terri
well….im deciding for my 2 years old if i should go ahead in the hearing aid or not, i was told she has mild hearing loss and needs hearing aid…i dont understand why, i see that she talks and can hear me .
If i decide on having them fitted does that mean after 10 years or so her natural hearing will decrease because of hearing aid? i dont know if i should leave her bacause im happy with her hearing or having them fitted i dont know if i am making the right decision for her, i would like someone to help me and tell me what to do for her,.does having hearing aid effect the natural hearing after so long of having them?
if you have 90% of good hearing and wearing hearing aid will that percentange decrease ?
I AM DESPERATE – Please give me some input to understand and be more patient.
I am married to a wonderful man who was an Engineer as his chosen career, but also a trained musician and played for over 45 years. He woke up after an illness totally deaf in his left ear and his right ear had very bad hearing from sitting behind the band’s blasting sound system to his right! So, our journey began. A BAHA was installed (an abutment screw implanted into his skull behind his L ear and the “processor” snaps on and off) It’s very new and only 25,000 people in the U.S. have this device. It has been 2 years and his “good” ear (R) is getting worse, but he will not get a hearing aid. He SELDOM if ever wears his BAHA.
He is retired, is addicted to TV and his dog. He loves his family, children and grandchildren and is a gentle and wonderful husband and father and grandfather. HOWEVER, living with his refusal to wear his hearing processor is the single most difficult thing I’ve ever encountered. I will be talking (with a raised voice) so he can hear me, and yet, he doesn’t. To make matters worse, he doesn’t tell me he “didn’t catch that”. That’s all I’m asking, let me know if you caught it or not. But what he fails to understand is that we are living a life together and I am talking to myself 3/4 of the time! I never know what he hears or doesn’t. He laughs at inappropriate things on TV, as he has heard them incorrectly and the whole circle of friends, doctors, family store clerks, whatever……are repeating themselves over and over again. By the end of the day I often feel like I am losing my mind! I have tried to explain how difficult it is for all of us, but…….well, I guess I wouldn’t be taking the desperate path of jumping on an internet site for assistance, if it was working!
I know there are other people who are living with people who are going deaf or are nearing that point and are going through what I am. I also welcome input from the hearing impaired. I only want to improve the quality of our remaining lives together and with our loved ones, but at this point we’re all going NUTZ!!! Thanks for listening and appreciate any feedback. Signed: A loving wife
I wear mine mainly. Definitly could not be without them outside. I’ve sometimes not worn them while I’m at home, and I’ve just got comfortable not wearing in my flat when my boyfriend comes round.