r/hardofhearing

I'm wondering this specifically, because in theater I learned how to use my diaphragm and project my voice to an audience without losing the necessary emotions and tone that were needed. And this has come in handy as someone who works in senior care, but also I just know what it feels like to deal with impatient people. Yesterday I had a semi unpleasant experience at a health clinic with a receptionist whose voice was really low and quiet. I could tell he was getting slightly annoyed by the third time I asked him to repeat himself. I self advocate just fine normally (point to the hearing aids and say I'm hard of hearing), but I think I hold people who work in healthcare to a higher standard. He seemed polite enough to begin with, maybe he doesn't know how to raise his voice or lacks confidence?

Hello! My baby is nearly 5 months old and he has been diagnosed with severe hearing loss in one ear. His other ear has excellent hearing.

The audiologist gave us a hearing aid. This brings his hearing in the side with loss to about 40ish percent. He can now hear maybe murmurs instead of nothing at all on that side. Despite us asking, the audiologist hasn’t given us a ton of reasoning why the hearing aid is important beyond language delays… our baby is so talkative and ahead of milestones in this area and I just can’t see this being a problem. The aid is, long story short, frustrating to keep in my baby’s ear for many reasons. How important is this aid, truly? We got so much branded marketing material and learned that the audiologist gets commission on sales and we feel much more skeptical for this reason. My mother has single sided deafness and she does well with it, and tells me not to worry about a hearing aid for my baby until he’s in school. What are your thoughts?

Hi I'm going to be starting a WFH job and I wanted to know if anyone has any suggestions for a headset or **resources** for getting a headset for someone who uses hearing aids. Thank you!!

The OTC hearing aid market opened up and the price range is enormous, from $50 amplifiers that barely work to $800 devices that compete with prescription options. linner shows up in the mid-range tier where the question is whether the sound processing quality is good enough for mild to moderate hearing loss or if it's essentially an amplifier with a hearing aid label.

Is the frequency adjustment granular enough to be useful for different hearing loss profiles, and how does comfort hold up for all-day wear versus devices that start hurting after a few hours?

One morning in 2017 I suddenly lost a good portion of my hearing. As a note, I don’t have any history of extended exposure to loud sounds or anything like that. I went to an urgent care who sent me an audiologist and ENT. They did a hearing test and just went, “yep, you lost your hearing, you can get a hearing aid if you want.” I ended up randomly getting my hearing back just a month or two later and was fine for about a year, in 2018, when I lost a lot of hearing from the same ear. Again I went to the audiologist & ENT, and that time they did a few things - an MRI (negative), a Ménière’s disease test (negative), and sent me to a rheumatologist and an otoneurologist (both found nothing). Everyone basically said, “I dunno, but you can get a hearing aid!”

The only thing of note that happened between then and now is several spells of terrible vertigo in 2023, some lasting just a few minutes, some lasting 1-2 days. I saw my primary doctor about that, she showed me a movement that shakes the crystals loose in your ear (? I’m probably not relaying this correctly) and gave me nausea medication. The movement didn’t help, but the vertigo ended up stopping.

I just lived with my hearing loss until a few months ago, when I noticed it was getting harder to hear certain people/sounds. I can no longer sit with someone to the left of me and have a conversation - I just can’t understand anything they’re saying. I also started having pain in my left ear. Back I go to the audiologist & ENT, they confirm my hearing did get worse and my processing is very poor now as well. The ENT said he’d send me for an MRI (with contrast) and if that showed nothing, then my only option was a hearing aid. While waiting for my MRI, I started researching Acoustic Neuromas and really felt like that may be my issue.

Well, I just got my MRI results back, and they’re normal. I know how stupid this sounds, but I’m upset. The ear pain is still there and is at times very intense (although for just a few seconds at a time). I’ve been having headaches (concentrated in my brow, between my eyes) as well.

Are there any other types of scans I could request, or is the clear MRI the end of it? Is seeking a second opinion worth it? I’m not a hypochondriac or a person who experiences much health anxiety, but this is starting to cause me a lot of concern. I don’t want the doctor to just give me a hearing aid and give up on me. I’m terrified of losing my hearing in my remaining good ear.

I have to repeat nearly everything I say. Ive been doing this for years. Its exhausting and I am reaching my breaking point. I have told him to get his hearing checked 102827363977373 times.

I am starting to get angry and resentful because just communicating with him is a hassle. He says "what" and I roll my eyes, and he gives an excuse... "the TV is on, I was walking away, I was 5 feet away, a butterfly farted in Brazil at the same time you said something". I could be right next to him in a quiet room and have to repeat myself and he would come up with some stupid excuse to why he couldn't hear me. Its never that he CANT HEAR.

At this point I just say never mind, and he gets pissy because I refuse to say it again. After a day of 3 kids, a house hold and work I just dont have the energy to say everything twice. Im getting to the point I would rather not say anything to him.

He refuses to get help for this and it feels selfish that he expects me to have to work double time to communicate when he wont get help to resolve the problem.

Any thoughts on effectiveness of speech isolation in loud environments?

Hello, i've been having difficulties with my hearing for the last year. I realized it when I started getting irritated I couldn't hear anything over vacuums, hair driers, wind and it has deteriorated to any droning repetitive noise. Recently i started a new job at a gas station at night. It's silent there and I keep getting jump-scared by customers when they're standing 5 feet away from me.

Tonight my partner put a song on that we've been listening to lately that we found out about together and I tried to prove I could hear just fine but turns out I couldn't understand anything Blondie was singing besides the famous part of the song (Rapture)

So story told I'm scared to admit I am losing my hearing. I thought I would one day I never really have had the strongest hearing. I never looked into what I can do to make my life easier. I have to say I really don't want to rely on hearing aids. I would like to learn to read lips and ASL so I can feel in control. I really don't know the options though. Of course I have a regular doctor's appointment scheduled I'm going to bring this up at. Im just scared about the reality of this. Any help especially recommendations for ASL lessons online would be appreciated. Thank you all so much for your time

Basically what the title says.

I got my hearing aids a few weeks ago and it wasn’t until they turned on that I realised how much sound I have been missing.

Unfortunately there is an issue with hearing static in them, so I can’t wear them at home at the minute because it’s quiet enough that I can hear the static.

It feels like I’ve gone from vibrant to dull. Like having a glass of ice cold water and then tap water.

I dread coming home because of all the sound I’m losing.

Has anyone else struggled with this?

Is this a good idea, and can anyone recommend a specific on-line vendor with good reputation and reliable post-purchase customer service?

Genuinely asking because I suspect the answer is yes and nobody talks about it honestly.

I'm HoH ((severe high frequency loss, two hearing aids) and I've been reading a lot about how DHH students manage in higher education. The official answer is always "CART service" or "use an app." But from what I can tell, even with CART you're stuck reading a plain text feed in one browser tab while the actual lecture is happening somewhere else on your screen.

What I want to know is: in practice, when you're in a fast lecture and you have to choose between following the content and writing something down, what do you actually do? do you catch up after? do you rely entirely on the transcript? do you just accept you'll miss things?

I'm asking because i think the tools that exist right now are designed around a fantasy version of this problem, not the real one. Happy to be proven wrong.

Wondering if anyone here had some best practices that they employ when they’re in meetings at work or during group discussions where it’s difficult to track what’s being talked about. I’m struggling in situations when people start talking over each other or are giving me a barrage of info/suggestions on a task - it becomes very overwhelming, very quickly and I end up working slower and feeling guilty as a result.
I’m noticing some coworkers get irritated if I ask clarifying questions or if I’m working too slow on a task because I’m trying to fill in the gaps. I’m thinking about sending out an email to my team stating how I need to clarify to ensure I heard everything correctly and that I would prefer emailed instructions over verbal instructions. But any/all suggestions be greatly appreciated.

Side note: video recording meetings is not an option in my line of work.

Hi everyone! I just joined Reddit specifically to connect with people in his community. My hearing has been declining slowly over the last 10 years. I haven’t had a hearing test since I was a child, mainly because I know going to get my hearing checked would confirm what I already know. I have a hearing test scheduled for next week, but I am dreading the possibility of the official diagnosis of hearing loss.

I studied ASL and deaf studies in college because I work with children and love the idea of being able to communicate with children in sign language and helping deaf children feel understood. I have a moderate knowledge of sign language still, as it’s been about nine years since I graduated…so, I have been struggling with the decision to get hearing aids. I am pretty good at reading lips, as this is what I have grown accustomed to doing in social situations, but when it’s with more than just one person, I feel so lost in conversations. I also work with children and it is getting increasingly more difficult to hear my coworkers talk to me over the excessive noise in the classroom.

I would love to hear from someone in a similar situation and how you cope with your hearing loss. I should probably wait until after my appointment to make this post, but I wanna go into the appointment with confidence and knowledge. I think hearing aids could help me, or I could lean more into my current knowledge of sign language and embrace the beautiful community of signers I grew to love and respect. I would love some advice or encouragement from people in this community. Thank you in advance ❤️

Do you know someone who declines to wear their hearing aids? If so, how do you manage the situation, especially when others mistakenly assume you are yelling out of anger, when you are actually trying to adapt your communication style to accommodate the hearing-impaired individual? Please share your insights.

Hello! My name is Jordan and I'm the writer and director of Healing Hands, a short film I made about my experience as a deaf child. It premiered on Omeleto yesterday, and I wanted to share it with an audience who would "get it." Thank you for letting me share!

Hi everyone 🌿

I’m currently trying to transition into data analytics/tech after working full-time in a bakery for the last 2 years.

I recently completed the Google Data Analytics Certificate while studying in my free time, because I’m hoping to build a more stable future and eventually find work that’s less physically exhausting. I also have some hearing loss, so quieter analytical work feels like a better fit for me long-term.

The transition has honestly been difficult and the job market feels overwhelming sometimes, but I’m still trying 💛

Would love to hear from anyone who also changed careers later in life or moved into tech from a completely different field.

Good morning! I just wanted to come on here and share my experience with Costco. I few days ago, I made a post about really needing new molds and hearing aids, but not being able to afford it. I’d never considered going to Costco because I didn’t believe they had hearing aids for severe to profound deafness, but they do! I went there yesterday, and was treaded very kindly. I had phonaks from my audiologist, and while Costco doesn’t carry those specifically, I was able to buy a pair from the same brand, just under a different name. I was also able to get new ear molds! I wanted to post this just in case any other deaf people are in the same situation as me :)

Can somebody please explain if fitting and programming of new hearing aids is really so complex that it must be handled by an audiologist? In the era when a cell phone camera can automatically adjust its settings to the most challenging lighting conditions and take a nearly perfect shot a split second later, why can’t tinkering with a little sound-amplifying plastic box behind your ear be left to a reasonably intelligent user with a manual?