Friday, 16 July 2010
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Update, kinda
As i said a couple of days back, that i would tell you all how that night went whilst wearing my hearing aids.
Well it went so-so. It could of gone better only if i did kinda properly wore them for longer.
As previous times i put the hearing aids in my ears and left the hearing aids in for a couple of minutes but i couldnt really stand them being in my ears because i can feel the hearing aids in my ears, they feel weird in my ears, my ears dont wont them there, all the other reasons that i have put in a previous blog as well as they are starting to hut the back bits of my ears. I left them out for a bit then tryed again. until in the end i gave up and went to bed.
Right now, im on summer break.
Well it went so-so. It could of gone better only if i did kinda properly wore them for longer.
As previous times i put the hearing aids in my ears and left the hearing aids in for a couple of minutes but i couldnt really stand them being in my ears because i can feel the hearing aids in my ears, they feel weird in my ears, my ears dont wont them there, all the other reasons that i have put in a previous blog as well as they are starting to hut the back bits of my ears. I left them out for a bit then tryed again. until in the end i gave up and went to bed.
Right now, im on summer break.
Monday, 28 June 2010
Trying
So, earlier today/yesterday (Monday)i had college. I brought my hearing aids with me to college, they were safely in my baag the whole day. The reason why i brought my hearing aids into college was if i wanted to walk through the park on my way home from the bus stop and if i wanted to try wearing them in the park i could. Ok, i know i know. that i am supposed to be wearing them all day att college and all the waking hours. the thing is i havent got myself to that point yet.
Anyways I had my day at college was the usual day at college. After college i caught the bus back home. Once i arrived at my destination i got off the both and decided i would walk through the park on my way home.
In the path entrance from the village to the park, i stopped so I could put on my ears (hearing aids). One at a time i got them out from my bag and inserted the ear mold into my ear and put the bte part of the hearing aid behind my ear, so i did that twice.
Once i put both of them in i heard the traffic through the village which was coming from behind me.
I walked into the park from that footpath, everyfoot step i took my heart raced a little faster until i got into the park. Once i got into the park and started walking through i was very nervous and i was looking around continously. My ear was tied up, so the hearing aids were on show. And the park was busy, there was football practise (which i find weird for it be on a monday at like 6pm)anyway the football practise was next to the other entrance, then i could see a couple heading towards me on the footpath and to the right of me was a group of around 6 guys these guys werent young but i am not going to try and guess their ages.
When i wore the hearing aids for a couple of mins i heard so many new and old sounds i couldnt tell what was what from what. The only one i could make clear was the guys talking to each other but i couldnt make out their speech.
I heard this group of guys talking to each other but they were talking on top of each other so i couldnt really make clear speech from that. I also heard this rushing noise i dont know what that was still need to try and find out what that is, this high pitch kind of squelling or something i dont know what it was, and i heard other new sounds that are hard to distingush. Once i reached the pond, i took my hearing aids out because my heart was racing really fast when i had them in, i felt really self concious and thinking people would look and stare at my hearing aids, i was nervous whilst wearing them, everything was a lot overwhelming for me with a lot of sounds at once that i could barely distingush, and also for the reasons i mentioned in previous post.
Anyways, i am going to put my ears (hearing aids) on now to see how long i can wear them/keep them in for and i kinda promised a friend that i will try wearing them tosday.
So here it goees. a post about now will probably put up 2moz or later.
Anyways I had my day at college was the usual day at college. After college i caught the bus back home. Once i arrived at my destination i got off the both and decided i would walk through the park on my way home.
In the path entrance from the village to the park, i stopped so I could put on my ears (hearing aids). One at a time i got them out from my bag and inserted the ear mold into my ear and put the bte part of the hearing aid behind my ear, so i did that twice.
Once i put both of them in i heard the traffic through the village which was coming from behind me.
I walked into the park from that footpath, everyfoot step i took my heart raced a little faster until i got into the park. Once i got into the park and started walking through i was very nervous and i was looking around continously. My ear was tied up, so the hearing aids were on show. And the park was busy, there was football practise (which i find weird for it be on a monday at like 6pm)anyway the football practise was next to the other entrance, then i could see a couple heading towards me on the footpath and to the right of me was a group of around 6 guys these guys werent young but i am not going to try and guess their ages.
When i wore the hearing aids for a couple of mins i heard so many new and old sounds i couldnt tell what was what from what. The only one i could make clear was the guys talking to each other but i couldnt make out their speech.
I heard this group of guys talking to each other but they were talking on top of each other so i couldnt really make clear speech from that. I also heard this rushing noise i dont know what that was still need to try and find out what that is, this high pitch kind of squelling or something i dont know what it was, and i heard other new sounds that are hard to distingush. Once i reached the pond, i took my hearing aids out because my heart was racing really fast when i had them in, i felt really self concious and thinking people would look and stare at my hearing aids, i was nervous whilst wearing them, everything was a lot overwhelming for me with a lot of sounds at once that i could barely distingush, and also for the reasons i mentioned in previous post.
Anyways, i am going to put my ears (hearing aids) on now to see how long i can wear them/keep them in for and i kinda promised a friend that i will try wearing them tosday.
So here it goees. a post about now will probably put up 2moz or later.
Sunday, 27 June 2010
My hearing loss explained
I have bilateral sensorinueral (also known as nerve deafness) hearing loss. which means i have hearing loss in both ears and hearing loss due to problems within the inner ear/hairs in the cochlea. Hearing loss is the inabiity to make sense/aware of the normal range of sounds audiable to someone with normal hearing. The hearing loss can be greater at some frequeinces than others or all frequiences can be the same. I have a moderate hearing loss in my left ear and around a severe hearing loss in my right ear. Right ear has always been the worst ear. Sensorinueal hearing loss is permanent. Which means I have permenant hearing loss/deafness.
Your pobably thinking what can and can't I hear. And the answer is this:
With both ears i can't keep up with a conversation. And if mulitple people are talking at the same time i can't understand what any of them are saying. I cant hear clearly or understand speech properly with both ears. With both ears it is hard to hear someone in background noise. I have a lot of difficulty following speech that is with both ears.
Right (without a hearing aid): I can hear loud things such as sirens, fireworks, aeroplans taking off (when i am near to any of those things), etc and other loud sounds and if someone is shouting at me from 1 foot away but i won't be able to understand them..
But i can't hear whispers, birds chirpping, water coming from a tap, myself chewing, my footsteps, etc and i cant hear th,f,t,s,sh,ar,or,ee,m, p, k, and cant hear everything else that is in the speech banana. I have incredible difficulty what people are saying to me and understanding without my right hearing aid. When i dont have my hearing aid in i rely on lip reading and that doesnt always help.
Right ear (with hearing aid): If someone whispered to me i won't be able to understand it and probably some other things i wont be able to understand or hear but i havent thought of them yet.
With my hearing aid i can hear a lot better and clearer and i can hear myself chewing, myself typing, traffic, people talking, etc. I am hearing some and understanding some words in speech, etc but not all. With my new hearing aids I probably could hear everything in the speech banana including ee, s, sh, th, f, p, k, etc but im not hearing them clearly enough to understand them yet. I need to go back to my audiologist to help me get a better understanding of speech with my new hearing aids. and also i would have to wear them more.
Left ear (without hearing aid): I can hear loud things i.e. sirens, fireworks, etc. I also can hear people talking but it seems to be quit mummbles to me thus i cant hear clearly and properly to understand what they are saying, can hear or, ar but can easily get mixed up between the to because they sound very similar in a way cant hear them clearly enough to understand each one,traffic, etc
I cant hear the fridge, whispering, my footsteps, birds singing, f, th, s, sh, etc
Left ear (with hearing aid): There is very little I can't hear.
I can hear the majority off things. Which include speech still not got the grasp of understandiing it all yet need to go back to audi to help me understand speech a lot better with my hearing aid, water coming from a top, whispers, my hair brushing up against my hearing aid, the fridge making a noise, myself typing, etc
I need sounds and speech loud enough/amplified for me to hear them properly and clearly before i can understand what someone is sayong or what a particular sound is. That is why i need (to wear my) hearing aids because of my hearing loss/deafness. I need hearing aids to help me hear better, clearer and properly to understand speech and sounds. And i would need to rely on my hearing aids to help me do that
Hearing aids do not cure peoples deafness/hearing loss, hearing aid sare there to help the people hear and understand better by ampliying the sound (makinging sound louder) for the wearer.
A good description of a hearing aid is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_aid
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/hearingaid.asp
Here is a link where this guy talks a bit about his deafness: http://www.open.ac.uk/inclusiveteaching/pages/understanding-and-awareness/what-is-deafness.php
If you want to know what its like to have a hearing loss here are a couple of sites that give you some demos: http://www.phonak.com/com/b2c/en/hearing/understanding_hearingloss/how_hearing_loss_sounds.html
and
http://hearmehearmenot.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/what-does-a-hearing-loss-sound-like/
Your pobably thinking what can and can't I hear. And the answer is this:
With both ears i can't keep up with a conversation. And if mulitple people are talking at the same time i can't understand what any of them are saying. I cant hear clearly or understand speech properly with both ears. With both ears it is hard to hear someone in background noise. I have a lot of difficulty following speech that is with both ears.
Right (without a hearing aid): I can hear loud things such as sirens, fireworks, aeroplans taking off (when i am near to any of those things), etc and other loud sounds and if someone is shouting at me from 1 foot away but i won't be able to understand them..
But i can't hear whispers, birds chirpping, water coming from a tap, myself chewing, my footsteps, etc and i cant hear th,f,t,s,sh,ar,or,ee,m, p, k, and cant hear everything else that is in the speech banana. I have incredible difficulty what people are saying to me and understanding without my right hearing aid. When i dont have my hearing aid in i rely on lip reading and that doesnt always help.
Right ear (with hearing aid): If someone whispered to me i won't be able to understand it and probably some other things i wont be able to understand or hear but i havent thought of them yet.
With my hearing aid i can hear a lot better and clearer and i can hear myself chewing, myself typing, traffic, people talking, etc. I am hearing some and understanding some words in speech, etc but not all. With my new hearing aids I probably could hear everything in the speech banana including ee, s, sh, th, f, p, k, etc but im not hearing them clearly enough to understand them yet. I need to go back to my audiologist to help me get a better understanding of speech with my new hearing aids. and also i would have to wear them more.
Left ear (without hearing aid): I can hear loud things i.e. sirens, fireworks, etc. I also can hear people talking but it seems to be quit mummbles to me thus i cant hear clearly and properly to understand what they are saying, can hear or, ar but can easily get mixed up between the to because they sound very similar in a way cant hear them clearly enough to understand each one,traffic, etc
I cant hear the fridge, whispering, my footsteps, birds singing, f, th, s, sh, etc
Left ear (with hearing aid): There is very little I can't hear.
I can hear the majority off things. Which include speech still not got the grasp of understandiing it all yet need to go back to audi to help me understand speech a lot better with my hearing aid, water coming from a top, whispers, my hair brushing up against my hearing aid, the fridge making a noise, myself typing, etc
I need sounds and speech loud enough/amplified for me to hear them properly and clearly before i can understand what someone is sayong or what a particular sound is. That is why i need (to wear my) hearing aids because of my hearing loss/deafness. I need hearing aids to help me hear better, clearer and properly to understand speech and sounds. And i would need to rely on my hearing aids to help me do that
Hearing aids do not cure peoples deafness/hearing loss, hearing aid sare there to help the people hear and understand better by ampliying the sound (makinging sound louder) for the wearer.
A good description of a hearing aid is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_aid
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/hearingaid.asp
Here is a link where this guy talks a bit about his deafness: http://www.open.ac.uk/inclusiveteaching/pages/understanding-and-awareness/what-is-deafness.php
If you want to know what its like to have a hearing loss here are a couple of sites that give you some demos: http://www.phonak.com/com/b2c/en/hearing/understanding_hearingloss/how_hearing_loss_sounds.html
and
http://hearmehearmenot.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/what-does-a-hearing-loss-sound-like/
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Thursday and Friday
Thursday - k. So on thursday i was giving myself a chance at trying the hearing aids yet again. And seeing how long i can keep my hearing aids in for. Knowing me its hard to keep them in. If i took them out i made myself put the hearing aids back in my ears again.
Thursday was a so so day. Because i took my hearing aids out more times than i put them back in. And i took them out longer than i left them in.
I probably left both hearing aids in my ears for probably at least a hour each time they were in. But when i took them out i took them out anywhere between an hour and 30 mins to 2 hours. After that i made myself put the hearing aids back in my ears. that happened constantly throughout the day. It seems i may slowly be getting used to them, etc but idk yet.
Friday - On friday night (last night) before i went to bed i decided to put my hearing aids in my ears because my tinnitus is getting bad/worse and i cant manage it. That night i felt mega sleepy and tired so i just went straight to bed. the only thing that i forgot to do was take my hearing aids out. the things is i felt that they were there all the way through the night and my ears felt weird. i only realized i left my hearing aids in was when my alarm went off at 5am this morning. If i didnt have my hearing aids in i wouldnt of heard my alarm clock alarm thing on my phone. The onl good thing about leaving them in is that they masked my tinnitus all through out my sleep. And why did i set an alarm on my phone for 5am you may ask. cz my friend Glenn said he would be online at that time (that isnt he local time at the time) and he wanted me to be on. So thats when i woke up at 5am to go on the com p but he wasnt on :( i took my hearing aids out before i went back to bed.
Thursday was a so so day. Because i took my hearing aids out more times than i put them back in. And i took them out longer than i left them in.
I probably left both hearing aids in my ears for probably at least a hour each time they were in. But when i took them out i took them out anywhere between an hour and 30 mins to 2 hours. After that i made myself put the hearing aids back in my ears. that happened constantly throughout the day. It seems i may slowly be getting used to them, etc but idk yet.
Friday - On friday night (last night) before i went to bed i decided to put my hearing aids in my ears because my tinnitus is getting bad/worse and i cant manage it. That night i felt mega sleepy and tired so i just went straight to bed. the only thing that i forgot to do was take my hearing aids out. the things is i felt that they were there all the way through the night and my ears felt weird. i only realized i left my hearing aids in was when my alarm went off at 5am this morning. If i didnt have my hearing aids in i wouldnt of heard my alarm clock alarm thing on my phone. The onl good thing about leaving them in is that they masked my tinnitus all through out my sleep. And why did i set an alarm on my phone for 5am you may ask. cz my friend Glenn said he would be online at that time (that isnt he local time at the time) and he wanted me to be on. So thats when i woke up at 5am to go on the com p but he wasnt on :( i took my hearing aids out before i went back to bed.
why i dont like wearing my hearing aids
I know i havent been trying to wear them every day. At least i have tryed a couple of time though.
Since i got them i have kinda have a love hate relationship going on with them.
The only reason why i would like them and wear them would be because i would need to and have to rely on them to hear clearly, properly, well eough to understand speech and sounds and know what sounds are, etc. they also help me with masking my tinnitus.
apart from that i dont like wearing my new hearing aids.
I dont like wearing them because:
1. they feel uncomfortable (when in my ears)
2. they feel weird (in my ears)
3. my ears don't want them there
4. i can feel them when they are in my ears
5. they are loud probably cz of the power and cz otherwise i wouldnt be able to hear sounds well with them if they were normal or quiet. maybe normal but idk
6.the earmolds bung up my ears
7. my ears feel stuffy when i wear them
8.my ears thump when the hearing aids are in my ears
9.and more recently strating to make my ears itch.
10. when there is too many noises going on it can be overwhelming.
11. because it is summer and its getting hot. my hair will be tied up all the time. and the hearing aid is a pearly silvery white type colour which is going to make them stand out and im scared that people will stare at them/my ears
and there might be some other reasons why i dont like wearing them but i cant think of them off the top of my head
Since i got them i have kinda have a love hate relationship going on with them.
The only reason why i would like them and wear them would be because i would need to and have to rely on them to hear clearly, properly, well eough to understand speech and sounds and know what sounds are, etc. they also help me with masking my tinnitus.
apart from that i dont like wearing my new hearing aids.
I dont like wearing them because:
1. they feel uncomfortable (when in my ears)
2. they feel weird (in my ears)
3. my ears don't want them there
4. i can feel them when they are in my ears
5. they are loud probably cz of the power and cz otherwise i wouldnt be able to hear sounds well with them if they were normal or quiet. maybe normal but idk
6.the earmolds bung up my ears
7. my ears feel stuffy when i wear them
8.my ears thump when the hearing aids are in my ears
9.and more recently strating to make my ears itch.
10. when there is too many noises going on it can be overwhelming.
11. because it is summer and its getting hot. my hair will be tied up all the time. and the hearing aid is a pearly silvery white type colour which is going to make them stand out and im scared that people will stare at them/my ears
and there might be some other reasons why i dont like wearing them but i cant think of them off the top of my head
new hearing aids
Ok. I got a pair of brand new hearing aids at the end of last month/begginning of June (this month). I got a pair of Phonak Savias. I managed to get them fitted, etc on the day. And was told before i would get them that they are very powerful than my last hearing aid. My last hearing aid was an analoguue hearing aid and Phonak Savias are digital. On the day as well as recieviing a brand new pair of hearing aids I got all the paperwork to go with it(and its thick), i also got, an earmold air blower, a battery tester, couple of different hearing aid cases, a whole load of batteries for my new hearing aid plus some for my old one, ottoease gel stuff for the earmold to go into the ear nicely, user guide for the hearing aids, magnet reed switch activator for auto t-coil, dritech plus box where my hearing aids dry and cool off, tube riders,and a crutter clip and a cleaning tool to clean my hearing aids with.
My appiontment to see the audiologist was around lunch time. So i had my lunch early on that wednesday. My feelings running up to the appiontment were anxious, nervous, scared, excited, etc. I was excited because i was getting new hearing aids and getting a hearing aid for my left ear. Nervous, scared and anxious because i dont know what its like to wear a hearing aid in my left ear and didnt know what the outcome was going to be. It was a day of mixed emotions.
On that wednesday i left home earlier to be there early so I wouldn'y be late for my appiontment. Whilst sitiing waiting in the waiting room, i was more scared and nervous than ever because I knew it was nearly time for me. My audiologist finished with her pervious patient 5 mins early so she saw me 5 mins early.
So i walked into my audiologist office and sat down at the seat i normally sit down in. So she explained everything to me and what she was going to do. She also wrote it down because she knew i cant understand much (speech ad sounds). So i read what she wrote down. After i fiished reading it, i gave her the thumbs up for the go ahead. Ok, so i was sitting in a chair next to her desk, my heart was beating fast because i was nervous and scared. She wrote done also not to expect much from the hearing aids in the beggining.
The first thing that she did was look in my ears to make sure nothing was wrong with them. after that she gave them a good cleaning to make sure all the wax is gone. Then it was time. She put the right hearing aid on/in first then the left hearing aid. Both of the hearing aids had wires connected to them which then those wirse are connected to her laptop so she could programme my hearing aids for me. There were 2 types of molds that i could have, personal fit earmolds and power domes. We tryed with the personal fit earmolds first. Before any of the hearing aids were turned on she programmed the hearing aids from her laptop. The first hearing aid she turned on was the right hearing aid. And OMG that was so much louder than i had been previouslly hearing with my pervious hearing aid. It sounded so powerful but loud at the same time. She said wrote down things as we went along. SHe wrote down that i would get used to that. When the right hearing aid was on i couldnt make out clearly what she was saying. So she turned it a couple of notches down on her computer but i barely hear anything. So she put it inbetween, in between is ok but it isnt loud enough still. After that she turned that hearing aid off and she turned on the left hearing aid once it had been turned on it seemed really quiet and i couldnt hear or understand anything so she turned it up a coouple of notchs until it was at a volume where i coould hear stuff. After that she turned the left hearing aid off and switched both hearing aids on stimiltainously. so both were on around about the same time. With both hearing aids in and on all i heard were some noiese and i didnt know what they were. then my audiologist started talking and all that came across to me was mummbles still but clearer mummbles than before.
After that she turned both of them off andswitch the earmolds for power domes. When she tryed the power domes with both ears both seemed really wquiet and i couldnt hear anything from neither hearing aid. So she had turn it up quite loud for me to acutally hear anything from either of them. After that she turned the hearing aids off and returned them to my audiogram. Then she reattached the customised earmolds to fit my ears. I wore them until i got out of the office and all i could hear was the cars/traffic is was quite loud and overwhelming. I couldnt stand it. So i took the hearing aids off straight away.
After getting my new hearing aids, i have only worn them a couple of times and it was like 5-10 mins each. One time it was like 40 mins.
My appiontment to see the audiologist was around lunch time. So i had my lunch early on that wednesday. My feelings running up to the appiontment were anxious, nervous, scared, excited, etc. I was excited because i was getting new hearing aids and getting a hearing aid for my left ear. Nervous, scared and anxious because i dont know what its like to wear a hearing aid in my left ear and didnt know what the outcome was going to be. It was a day of mixed emotions.
On that wednesday i left home earlier to be there early so I wouldn'y be late for my appiontment. Whilst sitiing waiting in the waiting room, i was more scared and nervous than ever because I knew it was nearly time for me. My audiologist finished with her pervious patient 5 mins early so she saw me 5 mins early.
So i walked into my audiologist office and sat down at the seat i normally sit down in. So she explained everything to me and what she was going to do. She also wrote it down because she knew i cant understand much (speech ad sounds). So i read what she wrote down. After i fiished reading it, i gave her the thumbs up for the go ahead. Ok, so i was sitting in a chair next to her desk, my heart was beating fast because i was nervous and scared. She wrote done also not to expect much from the hearing aids in the beggining.
The first thing that she did was look in my ears to make sure nothing was wrong with them. after that she gave them a good cleaning to make sure all the wax is gone. Then it was time. She put the right hearing aid on/in first then the left hearing aid. Both of the hearing aids had wires connected to them which then those wirse are connected to her laptop so she could programme my hearing aids for me. There were 2 types of molds that i could have, personal fit earmolds and power domes. We tryed with the personal fit earmolds first. Before any of the hearing aids were turned on she programmed the hearing aids from her laptop. The first hearing aid she turned on was the right hearing aid. And OMG that was so much louder than i had been previouslly hearing with my pervious hearing aid. It sounded so powerful but loud at the same time. She said wrote down things as we went along. SHe wrote down that i would get used to that. When the right hearing aid was on i couldnt make out clearly what she was saying. So she turned it a couple of notches down on her computer but i barely hear anything. So she put it inbetween, in between is ok but it isnt loud enough still. After that she turned that hearing aid off and she turned on the left hearing aid once it had been turned on it seemed really quiet and i couldnt hear or understand anything so she turned it up a coouple of notchs until it was at a volume where i coould hear stuff. After that she turned the left hearing aid off and switched both hearing aids on stimiltainously. so both were on around about the same time. With both hearing aids in and on all i heard were some noiese and i didnt know what they were. then my audiologist started talking and all that came across to me was mummbles still but clearer mummbles than before.
After that she turned both of them off andswitch the earmolds for power domes. When she tryed the power domes with both ears both seemed really wquiet and i couldnt hear anything from neither hearing aid. So she had turn it up quite loud for me to acutally hear anything from either of them. After that she turned the hearing aids off and returned them to my audiogram. Then she reattached the customised earmolds to fit my ears. I wore them until i got out of the office and all i could hear was the cars/traffic is was quite loud and overwhelming. I couldnt stand it. So i took the hearing aids off straight away.
After getting my new hearing aids, i have only worn them a couple of times and it was like 5-10 mins each. One time it was like 40 mins.
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