When Hearing Aids are a Difficult Fit |

When Hearing Aids are a Difficult Fit

Last week, I introduced the topic of self-esteem and hearing loss. One of the reasons why it’s difficult to maintain a sense of self-esteem with hearing loss is that this invisible condition is so often misunderstood. People see the behaviors of a person with hearing loss and erroneously guess that the person is senile, snobbish, or inattentive.

Once it’s known that a person has a hearing loss, people think that the condition is easily corrected by wearing hearing aids. They erroneously think that using hearing aids is like putting on a pair of glasses - suddenly fuzzy images become crystal clear! The person who has a difficult time finding the right hearing aids (and then getting them programmed correctly) is considered stubborn, vain, hard-to-please, and inconsiderate.

Getting the Right Hearing Aids

Hearing aids can change your life. Many people shudder at the thought of being without their hearing aids. But just as there are many successful hearing aid users, there are also many who struggle to find the “best” hearing aid for a particular hearing loss. Even if you do find an appropriate hearing aid, there are no guarantees that it will be programmed correctly – and wearing a pair of hearing aids that aren’t programmed correctly can be worse than worthless. If you are struggling to find appropriate hearing aids, read Dr. Matthew Bakke’s article describing what’s involved in making a wise hearing aid decision:

http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/audiolog/1996-March/001273.html

Evaluating the Hearing Aids: Your Observations and Feedback
Knowing everything you can about your unique hearing loss and then learning about hearing aid features is only part of the process. The real work begins when you must evaluate the hearing aids and describe to your audiologist or hearing health care provider what is right and what is wrong with the hearing aids. Learning how to talk the same language is a big step forward in getting your hearing aids programmed correctly:

http://www.beyondhearingaids.com/Home/blog/BlogView.asp?BlogID=8

Evaluating the Hearing Aids: A Wearable Computer System �
Anyone who has tried evaluating hearing aids using their own observations understands how difficult this is. Sometimes you just wonder if you’re too sensitive or maybe just plain crazy. Did that just sound like a vampire breathing down your neck? (Relax, it’s probably just the expanders hunting for soft sounds to make louder!) Did the sound just cut out and then come back? Is one hearing aid turned up louder than another? Do trucks really sound like jet engines taking off?

Wouldn’t it be great if evaluating a pair of hearing aids could take place automatically – similar to the way a strap-on electrocardiogram gives the doctor information about how the heart is functioning as the patient goes about daily life?

A wearable hearing computer system is currently under development for this very purpose. A set of microphones records the sounds in the environment and the sounds coming out of the hearing aids. The hearing health care professional then decides how to make changes to the hearing aid based on this specific, computerized information. (Scroll down to the sub-heading “Field Evaluation of Hearing Aids”):

http://gri.gallaudet.edu/Publications/ragu_spring2004.pdf#search=%22Matthew%20Bakke%20Field%20Evaluation%20Fitting%20Hearing%20Aids%22

Some Hearing Losses are an Easy Fit
Not everyone has a difficult time finding hearing aids that work well. People with flat or so-called “plain vanilla” hearing losses are usually easy to fit. This type of hearing loss involves an equal loss spread across the low, mid and high frequency ranges. Problems happen when the low frequencies are near normal and the high frequencies are non-existent or vice versa – the high frequencies are near normal and the low frequencies are non-existent. Take the time to learn about your audiogram so that you can understand why you’re having difficulty being a successful hearing aid user:

http://www.beyondhearingaids.com/Home/blog/BlogView.asp?BlogID=6

Oh, and if someone else wonders why you’re having difficulty being a successful hearing aid user, hand them this article. It will do wonders for your self-esteem.