THREE YEARS BIG

It's so amazing to see how resilient young children can be especially if they are born with a hearing problem. I met the most delightful young lady today who is a 3 year bundle of energy. She had soft blond hair and was the most feminine little lady you can imagine. What I didn't recognize for quite some time was that she was wearing hearing aids in both of her ears. She has no stigma about her hearing and what others think. For her, it is a way to understand others and it will be a way of life for her. She does have to pay a little extra attention when you are talking mainly so she can distinguish certain letters and get her pronunciation right. Other than that you would never realize that she had any handicap. Why can't we be more like children??

CHURCH ACOUSTICS

In another area where hearing may be a challenge isa church setting. This is usually more noticeable to me that in a restaurant because the problem with hearing is more noticeable, at least to me. The piano and organ are usually in harmony and balanced. The speaker or person at the front of the church usually has a microphone and if they speak clearly, it is easy to hear them. Some pastors have a soft voice and if they don’t project their voice then I miss out on a major part of the sermon. The time of prayer is usually spoken in a much softer voice and for me that is the most difficult part. Unless someone speaks clearly, I usually don’t hear anything said during this time.

Fellowship times or times when business is being handled is another time that I miss things, especially if the business is handled without the use of a microphone. Very young children who want to share something special can be hard to hear and many times they are so timid that they don’t want to repeat what they said. This is especially true if a child is enthusiastic and tells you something and then is disappointed when you miss out on what is said the first time.

WATCH YOUR SALT INTAKE

I never made this connection until a few years ago when my hearing had declined drastically in a very short time. After checking with an Ear, Nose & Throat MD I discovered that too much salt in the diet can cause a hearing loss over time. I went "cold turkey" on salt and within a few months my hearing had returned to what it was before. Something about the salt crystals build up on the ear and help to retain fluid. With the fluid inside the ear, it masks sounds and you don't hear as clearly.

FIND SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS HOW YOU FEEL

Get support from your spouse if married. Without the support of my husband who cared enough to schedule my initial hearing test I probably would have gone on much longer before been diagnosed as hearing impaired. When I got my hearing aids in and wrote the check to pay for them, I began to cry as I heard the sound of a pen moving along as I wrote a check. I had never heard that before. Later on, I took music lessons and studied the flute because I was intrigued with the high notes which I had never been able to hear before.

THE COST

The cost for hearing aids varies according to the type of aid you or your audiologist selects. Be comfortable with the selection. You will be the one wearing the hearing aids and you want to be sure that they give you the proper volume and clarity of sound. Analog hearing aids are no longer manufactured so everything today is digital. I wear two hearing aids and they cost me around $1500 for both. They are an in-the-ear aid but they are not the small ones. These are a little more noticeable (at least in my opinion) but you would be surprised exactly many people never notice that I am wearing them. It has taken some people as long as two or three years to discover “my secret”.

As far as cost, plan to set aside around $1200 for hearing aids. Some may cost more and others will cost less. This is just my estimate but rather than worry about the cost, concentrate on how much better you will hear after you receive your "new ears".

PURCHASING A HEARING AID

I need to address the issue of hearing aids. A lot has already been said to address problems with hearing. It is not easy to admit that you need help but when the decision to purchase hearing aids has been made, don’t procrastinate. It might sound a little strange when you first read those two words but one reason and probably the most often mentioned reason is the issue of money. There is no way to get around the cost unless you qualify for Medicare or some other program that will assist with the purchase.

A second and just as important reason to get hearing aids is that they will help to prevent further loss of hearing. It may sound strange at first to read that but it is true. I have a deteriorating nerve loss and over the 25 years I have been wearing hearing aids the amount of loss has only dropped slightly. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it except that the hearing aid forces the nerves to respond. As long as the nerves are stimulated they will respond to noises/sounds. If the nerve is not stimulated there is no reason for the nerve to work and the level of hearing drops.

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!!

Perhaps the neat thing about this entry is that it applies to situations before you purchase a hearing aid or something that happens afterwards. Namely, that is don’t try to bluff or pretend that you heard something that you really didn’t understand. It may work at first but eventually it will catch up to you. Procrastinating about a problem only makes things harder. Whether or not you wear a hearing aid, ask someone to repeat something they have said if you did not understand it.

Many people just do not understand hearing loss and think that if they can hear everything fine, then you can too. That is an obvious error in judgment. They just can't relate to being hard of hearing or hearing impaired. If all of a sudden you start missing parts of a conversation, check with your audiologist or physician to check out the problem. It's not a disgrace to ask for help. And it's no fun sitting in a room not being able to understand what is said.

Four words "I Can't Hear You" can make a real difference in your life.

YOUR FAMILY PHYSICIAN

This step actually comes before your visit to the audiologist. It is important to rule out any medical problems that could be causing a hearing loss. Hearing loss can be caused by impacted wax that is jammed against the eardrum. Perhaps your problem could be related to some medication that you are taking.

Fungal infections can also cause a problem. They don't seem to bother me but when I get them my hearing declines and I know how to treat for them (which is really easy and doesn't require a trip to a physician if you know how to handle the situation).

Also, be aware that your audiologist has a camera that enlarges the inner ear and shows problem areas. That way you can actually see what he sees.

PASSING THE BLAME ONTO OTHERS

Admitting that you have a problem is the first step of finding a solution. But even at times we try to handle things in a way that we unconsciously transfer the problem to others. It may sound a little strange but here’s what I mean. The rationalization went like this: Well, if you don’t think what you said was important enough for you to speak up clearly then I can’t be blamed for that. I had this attitude and it was easy to dump my inability to hear unto other people.

Many people simply do not understand the struggles we have with hearing loss. Even after all the years (I have worn a hearing aid for 25 years) I am human. When time after time people talk in their regular voice and I can’t understand I get frustrated and pass the blame along.

One time my grandmother was visiting a patient in the hospital and she was either tired or didn’t hear what the patient said. Deciding to agree with what the person said, she nodded her head in agreement. The patient got a confused look on her face and it was only then that my grandmother realized she had missed something. The patient had said “I guess I would be better off dead.” Grandma’s nod of approval wasn’t appreciated. Big oops!!!

CONFIDENCE

You are a special person! Think about that again. You are special. There is no reason to downgrade yourself if you have a hearing problem. When you put yourself in last place, your self-esteem declines and you start to feel like you are not important at all. There are others who care about you and want to spend time with you. Rather than struggle and try so hard to listen to someone else (sometimes so hard that you almost get a headache), realize how you hearing loss is affecting you personally. Seek help. You will feel better and others will enjoy being around you.

TALKING TOO LOUD

Don’t shout!!! I can’t stress how important this. I have a hearing loss and the way it was handled in my family was avoiding the obvious and shouting back and forth to each other. And the problem is just not in my family. Others normally are aware of someone having a hearing loss when they hear them talk extra loud or almost reach a level of talking that is almost shouting.

Maybe you don't realize that you are shouting to others but usually someone in the family or office will let you know that you are talking well above a normal speaking voice. If you are having the hearing problem it only draws more attention to the fact that you can't hear clearly. If you are the one shouting, please take a few minutes to figure out why you are shouting. If you are angry that is one thing; if someone can't hear you take time to see if there is another way to talk to them besides shouting.

I realize that some people can only respond to shouting and if that is the case you will probably have to handle things the best way you can. I determined at an early age that I would NEVER shout at someone who had trouble understanding something that was said. For me, I think shouting is rude but the main issue is really being sensitive of other people's feelings. We all can use some kindness along the way.

SIGNS YOU NEED HELP

1. Unable to clearly understand what others are saying.
2. Trouble hearing in groups where more than one person is talking
3. Blaming others for not speaking clearly
4. A sense of feeling alone and maybe even wanting to stay home where you are in your
comfort zone. Keeping at home means keeping those feelings inside.
5. Increasing the volume on the TV or radio
6. Feeling that you can’t concentrate 100% on lectures, sermons, business meetings or
committee meetings

***There are other things that can happen but for me it was a combination of all of the above.

HEREDITY

For many of you reading this blog you may not have to deal with this problem. But for me it was there staring at me. Within my biological family I have my mom, two aunts, one uncle, my grandmother, and my great grandfather who all had hearing losses. It doesn’t seem much of a surprise that I could have a hearing loss. I knew the likelihood of becoming the person in the next generation who could have to face up to the problem. Did that make it any easier? No. Definitely not. When it happens to you it is totally different. You have to decide what to do. No one else can make the final decision for you. You have to determine the choices you will make and hopefully you will not having problems in hearing to control your life.

MY JOURNEY STARTS

Hearing loss is something that no one really wants to talk about but it is a serious problem in today's society. I was in denial when I first began having problems with my hearing. I knew that there was a familial trend that included a deadening of the nerve that conducts sound to the inner ear. I knew that some day I would probably have to deal with it. What I didn't expect was that I would have to begin at age 36. I felt that hearing was a problem that either started as a young child or something you faced as an elderly person. I was wrong. I had a series of ear infections as a child but other that that I had not been exposed to loud noises or received any hard blows to my ear. I just started my journey earlier than I expected.