Anyone else here about deaf?

[Bill in Oregon]

I was told five years ago I would benefit from hearing aids, but it has gotten to the point that with any background noise at all -- even a radio down low -- I cannot make out hal the words my honey says to me. (No need for wisecracks, fellers, although she does say "many" words. ) Brother-in-law wears Phonaks. Other friends swear by the Costco sets. I just don't know if they are worth messing with as I hear a lot of complaints.
And yeah, yeah, I am paying for not wearing protection while shooting in my younger years, working in factories, etc. That water is so far under the bridge it has reached the ocean, and possibly Japan.

[JimT]

Huh? Waddiya say?

[rock-steady]

I hear you.....and I also hear a high pitched ringing constantly.

When I was a teenager, I fired many hundreds of full powered 357 magnums through my Ruger Blackhawk revolver without any ear protection.
Rifles or shotguns did not seem too loud, but the old 357 would ring them ears.

Back then, I don't recall ever seeing anyone using any kind of hearing protection, whether shooting or running chainsaws, etc.

[fourbore]

My take on hearing aids is probably never. It is just one more example of people around you trying to make them selves feel better, While pretending this is for you.

You want to talk to me then take your nose out of the phone and look me in the eye and talk. If at the dining table chew swallow, think then look at me and speak. Loud and clear. Otherwise keep it to your self. Simple.

[bgmkithaca]

Six years of jet engines and shooting without ear protection got me back in the 60's. The high pitched ringing has been there ever since also.

[fourbore]

One more tid bit to consider. When my mother was my age her hearing was worse than mine now. She never fired a gun or worked in a noisy environment. Those little hearing bones wear out and no need to look for excuses or reasons beyond old age.

I guess what goes around come around. I got her a pair of hearing aids. She threw them out. So who was that really for, me or her? Now it is my turn to be stubborn.

[gamekeeper]

I had my hearing checked in my 20s and was told I would be deaf by my 50s well I'm 76 and yes I'm still asking folks to repeat themselves, a lifetime of shooting and factory noise without hearing protection has left it's mark. My son keeps nagging me to get hearing aids but I know a lot of people who have nothing but trouble with them, and when my doctor recently asked if my hearing was a problem I said not to me it ain't... :lol

[COSteve]

The main gun on my tank was LOUD! Also, my Ma Duce was too. Back then no one wore hearing protection as the comms weren't that good and you need to hear the rest of your tank crew. Even though I could tap the back of the head of my gunner with my boot, without comms he'd never hear my fire command. So, tinnitus has been a constant with me for some 30+ years and my left ear (closest to the breach) is much worse than my right. I've tried hearing aides and for me they increase the volume of the tinnitus along with the other sounds so it's a zero sum game.

[Grizz]

I was told five years ago I would benefit from hearing aids, but it has gotten to the point that with any background noise at all -- even a radio down low -- I cannot make out hal the words my honey says to me. (No need for wisecracks, fellers, although she does say "many" words. ) Brother-in-law wears Phonaks. Other friends swear by the Costco sets. I just don't know if they are worth messing with as I hear a lot of complaints.
And yeah, yeah, I am paying for not wearing protection while shooting in my younger years, working in factories, etc. That water is so far under the bridge it has reached the ocean, and possibly Japan.

suggestion box >>>
.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hearing+horns ... gmax%3D800

.

no batteries. no noise. selective sensitivity. etc.

[Farmerjohn]

HUH..... DO WHAT?????

[GunnyMack]

At 55 mine is starting to go but it's not from shooting so much as the power tools I've worked with the past 40 years. Now I always keep foam plugs in my watch pocket. I blame circular saws.
I've got a pair of Walkers Game Ears, they are ok but I prefer my Sig earbuds. Both are Bluetooth capable, block gunshots.

I suppose if a guy had the electronic ear muffs he could wear those out to ear, just turn down the volume or even off. Of course the wife might be embarrassed

[rossim92]

I was told five years ago I would benefit from hearing aids, but it has gotten to the point that with any background noise at all -- even a radio down low -- I cannot make out hal the words my honey says to me. (No need for wisecracks, fellers, although she does say "many" words. ) Brother-in-law wears Phonaks. Other friends swear by the Costco sets. I just don't know if they are worth messing with as I hear a lot of complaints.
And yeah, yeah, I am paying for not wearing protection while shooting in my younger years, working in factories, etc. That water is so far under the bridge it has reached the ocean, and possibly Japan.

learn to lip read. i was born partially deaf, and was taught in second grade. couple that with hearing aids in both ears helps a long ways. not a perfect solution, but better then nothing. trust me being deaf is better then being blind.only downside of lip reading, is seeing what people say about you from across the room.

[Bill in Oregon]

Will, yes, Skilsaws, Sawzalls, lawn mowers, chainsaws, airshow addictions plus shooting. I certainly have it coming.
Rossi, it is hard to read lips when there a lot of them yakking around the bar at the VFW, or a restaurant.

[jeepnik]

My pretty much typical of our generation. Gunfire as a kid. Military service, then a lifetime spent around loud industrial noise.

I suffer from two results of working in loud environments. Hearing loss of course. But I also tend to speak softly. When you work in loud noise you give up shouting and simply mouth the words. Those you work with can pretty much read lips. But this doesn't help you communicate with everyone else.

[LeverGunner]

I have a soft spoken wife. So I say what a lot. She says I need hearing aids. Shooting some without protection plus woodworking without hearing protection did it for me. Background noise is bothersome for me.

[4t5]

High pitch tinnitus here , working around large trucks was my biggest problem for 34 years, coupled with not wearing ear protection mowing the lawm.

[Bill in Oregon]

4t5, sixty years of tinnitis has compounded the issue for me, too.

[Ray Newman]

Age 78, been wearing hearing aids for about the last 30+ years. Without the hearing aids, I can not hear very much. Whether on the telephone or face-to-face, I tell people to speak slowly and distinctly due to a hearing loss.

My hearing aids are VA-provided behind the ear Phonaks. No problem with them or prior hearing aids, but my hearing has deteriorated some that the behind the ear hearing aids work better.

When I was in the USMC ('64-68), we had hearing protection -- a cigarette filter in each ear.!! However they did not work too well against a 105 muzzle blast/noise, "my Ma Deuce", and a RPG blast.

[Old No7]

Huh? Waddiya say?

Gee, that's what I was going to post...

Good luck Bill, with whatever you decide.

I do know that good ones (hearing aids) are SPENDY -- like 2 or 3 nice Winchesters worth, as my late mother found out. My former boss also has ones he can Bluetooth to his phone, TV, etc.

Old No7

[Bronco]

What you say Willis ?

[samsi]

After 46 years on one airport or another my hearing isn't great, but not as bad as it could be. The tech at my last audiogram remarked that my hearing was actually exceptional considering my work environment - down 15% in the worst frequencies. I have occasional bouts with tinnitus but those go all the way back to my younger days of loud concerts and shooting without hearing protection.

[Ysabel Kid]

Like others, a lot of shooting when I was younger without hearing protection on has taken its toll. Right now I can still hear okay unless I get into a room with a lot of background noise, especially people talking. Can't hear squat then.

Good luck Bill!

[EdinCT]

I have what is termed a profound loss which frustrates my wife to no end. high pitch ringing in both ears. I have had Aides in both ears since my forties and had Phonics Oticon and Widex products and they all aren't ears. But help in one on one no background areas. I have won a settlement against the company I worked for that never provided hearing protection the settlement provides hearing aides every 5 years for life.
The one thing I think is they all have a thirty day try period I believe, ( Please confirm on what I am saying) I had a set that they kept saying we just need to adjust them that never was any good, the next set on the 29th day I returned them even though they were saying they just need to be adjusted, and went to a new audiologist and got a better product.

[AJMD429]

.
One very important thing to consider. If you’re on the fence about getting some kind of hearing aids, is that there is a VERY CLEAR ASSOCIATION OF HEARING LOSS LEADING TO EARLIER DEMENTIA.

There is a lot of speculation as to the cause, and probably a lot of it is sophisticated neurologic stuff, although some of it may simply be that once you are unable to hear, people tend to not bother talking to you as much. That might seem like a blessing if you get tired of chatty people, but, the result may well be less neurologic, stimulation and earlier dementia.

I see this in the healthcare environment all the time, if someone comes in without their hearing aid, it’s just too much bother to ask them very many questions, so you just sort of guess what’s going on. It’s sad, but I see that a lot of times when I am with a patient and there is another doctor or nurse talking to them. I’m sure the same thing happens at home. Nobody wants to try to carry on a conversation with someone who can’t understand half of what you’re saying, particularly when it seems obvious that they are doing that intentionally because they don’t bother to wear their hearing aid. So you either don’t converse at all, or you keep conversations down to the third grade level to minimize words; no doubt that lack of cognitive stimulation doesn’t help any.

[barbarossa]

Only when my wife is talking to me LOL

[LeverGunner]

.
One very important thing to consider. If you’re on the fence about getting some kind of hearing aids, is that there is a VERY CLEAR ASSOCIATION OF HEARING LOSS LEADING TO EARLIER DEMENTIA.

There is a lot of speculation as to the cause, and probably a lot of it is sophisticated neurologic stuff, although some of it may simply be that once you are unable to hear, people tend to not bother talking to you as much. That might seem like a blessing if you get tired of chatty people, but, the result may well be less neurologic, stimulation and earlier dementia.

I see this in the healthcare environment all the time, if someone comes in without their hearing aid, it’s just too much bother to ask them very many questions, so you just sort of guess what’s going on. It’s sad, but I see that a lot of times when I am with a patient and there is another doctor or nurse talking to them. I’m sure the same thing happens at home. Nobody wants to try to carry on a conversation with someone who can’t understand half of what you’re saying, particularly when it seems obvious that they are doing that intentionally because they don’t bother to wear their hearing aid. So you either don’t converse at all, or you keep conversations down to the third grade level to minimize words; no doubt that lack of cognitive stimulation doesn’t help any.

I didn't know that, thank you.

[rossim92]

Will, yes, Skilsaws, Sawzalls, lawn mowers, chainsaws, airshow addictions plus shooting. I certainly have it coming.
Rossi, it is hard to read lips when there a lot of them yakking around the bar at the VFW, or a restaurant.

trust me, a lot o-f what you are missing is not worth hearing anyways, sometimes bein deaf can a blessing. my boss told me i have selective hearing. i told him yep. not hearing you today, tomorrow not looking much better.

[Bill in Oregon]

Thanks for the laughs gentlemen. Grizz, where do you get your hearing horns? Any problems with airport security?

[TraderVic]

I am totally deaf in my left ear (left ear is just an ornament) and my right ear is ok, but no better.
I've been wearing hearing aids for some time now, one on each ear ; the aid that hangs on my bad ear transmits to the aid on my good ear.
Bill......I've found that when I'm in an environment where there's too much background noise (lots of people, diesel engine, etc) I hear much better by taking my hearing aids out and shutting them off.

[Grizz]

Thanks for the laughs gentlemen. Grizz, where do you get your hearing horns? Any problems with airport security? :lol:

2 great questions.
a. waiting for your field report, and
b. waiting for your after action report . . .

i was amazed to learn that those horns were a thing and highly developed. to a point. LOL

[Griff]

The VA provides me my hearing aids... 5"54 guns are darned near as loud below decks as they are above. Open headers, gunfire, rock n' roll... all contributed. I have Phonaks, and like TraderVic, my left one transmits to my right one. Sounds, including conversations behind me overpower the conversation right in front of me... It took a trip to the audiologist with me for my wife to believe me when I said I couldn't hear her... I can't believe how many arguments that simple fact lead to. Having ones that hookup via bluetooth to the computer, tv, phone, etc, really improves my enjoyment of various media that before, left me wondering what I was missing. When I could still hear in the left ear, the first time I got two hearing aids, was actually a deeply moving experience... it'd been so long since I could enjoy a stereo experience, I nearly hugged the audiologist (female), but my wife being there inhibited me...

[mickbr]

i didnt lose too much hearing but got the orchestral version of tinnitus, which can happen. A bunch of sounds, whistling, static, crickets etc,. When I first got it in the army the audiologist asked which type of tinnitus sounds I hear and I replied all of them . When I have an audiogram for work medicals they have to play the tones with a vibrating/warbling effect so I can make them out from the background racket. These days I steer away from short barrels, muzzle brakes, magnum revolvers and public ranges. You can hear more shots fired in a single day at a busy range than a lifetime of hunting.

[Steve in MO]

Somehow, only by the grace of God, my hearing is still as good as it ever was. At 54, I can still hear things long before any of my family does. I made a point of wearing earplugs when we were in the aircraft before jumping out. When shooting I always have plugs or muffs on. If I'm shooting indoors I double up. Household Six, however, is a different story. She was a big concert goer when she was younger and she catches about half of what people are saying.

Now before anyone says anything, I have to have something going for me. I can't smell worth a darn because my nose has been broken 4 times, my eyes are going, arthritis is creeping into every joint, I've got almost no cartilage left in my right knee, my hair is getting thinner and thinner....wait, what were we talking about again?

[flightsimmer]

I have the same problem, if there's any background noise at all it makes it hard to understand what someone is saying when they talk to me.

Without hearing aids I'm considered profoundly deaf but with hearing aids, the cheap ones for $1,000 each it brings me up to 80%.

I was just recently retested and told that the only way I could get any better was to spend more money, haha.
Texting is your friend when you are using your phone.
Mine are Bluetooth capable and work very well when using My phone for anything.

[rossim92]

I have the same problem, if there's any background noise at all it makes it hard to understand what someone is saying when they talk to me.

Without hearing aids I'm considered profoundly deaf but with hearing aids, the cheap ones for $1,000 each it brings me up to 80%.

I was just recently retested and told that the only way I could get any better was to spend more money, haha.
Texting is your friend when you are using your phone.
Mine are Bluetooth capable and work very well when using My phone for anything.

you are lucky. my hearings aids are bluetooth compatible, but only with iphones , i use android phone. not spending 1500 bucks for a phone i don't do work with.

[Bill in Oregon]

I am learning a lot here, guys. Thanks again for taking the time to post your experiences. One takeaway is that the skill of the audiologist who adjusts the devices may be more important than the brand name on the devices themselves.