New to Hearing Aids, Life is too Loud!!

I am on day two, about 12 hours, of wearing Hearing Aids for the first time. (Thank you US Navy and Submarines) I was told to keep with them and keep them in and adjust, give my brain time to learn to hear again.

Ok, I will give it time.

Clearly I now understand why, after spending all the money that he did, my Father took his out and put them in the drawer, never to wear them again! Dad, I am sorry for all the blunt things I told you, I could have been supportive rather than blunt.

Everything is just too loud! Even the clicks of the keyboard are loud and have double or triple clicks with each stroke.

I am not dizzy, however, I have stumbled twice now, kinda like I was drunk. (Same problem I had at first with Progressive lenses on my eye glasses) I am guessing my equilibrium is off a bit.

I hear water running, faucets dripping, ticking clocks, my sneakers have a squeak in the left foot, children talk too loud, traffic noise and fire engines are way loud, I hear my own voice echo in my head as I talk which throws me off and must be odd for customers to see, chewing is loud and I even hear myself swallowing.

I have had to oil 3 door hinges today because of a loud noise, I have a bearing going out on the A/C fan, I can hear it plain as day, and now I turn the TV down to the point my wife cannot hear it.

I have 3 settings to set them to and I now have them at the lowest point possible.

I am scheduled to go back in 4 weeks to re-tune them. Should I go now or give it time?
I hate to bother people, but I just do not know if I have this all wrong now or should I give it time?
(I also hate my eye Dr. when he asks, which is better, this or that? And I can not see any difference. So I pick one so I do not sound stupid and get an Rx that does not see that well.)

Oh, two days now and no one, not even staff have notice that I have them in both ears.

Later, Da
George

Sorry but you are making me laugh. My boyfriend just got them a few months ago and went through the same things you are going through and still is sometimes. All those little noises you hear now are noises you have not heard in a long time. The traffic, water faucet, etc. You learn to tune them out over time just like "normal". But right now they are extra loud. I can give you pointers from what I learned after going with him to get them tuned. My boyfriend wants to know what kind you have @jgberkeley?

Go back to the hearing center where you bought them, you can have them adjusted now and should, if they are bothering you that much. My father got hearing aids decades ago but never used them because they were too loud -- he said he didn't want to listen to himself chewing!

What you are describing sounds overwhelming to me. If the lowest setting is not low enough, ask them to calibrate so you can take them down a notch. Then promise to try them at higher settings from time to time to try to adjust.

My mother went through a period last year with new hearing aids where she couldn't stand having them in because they were so loud. But she is so deaf that without them, she couldn't hear people talk. We took them back and had them adjusted down a bit, and she does much better with them now.

I have no advice to offer, but how stupid is it that they make 3 discrete volume settings instead of a continuous analog range from quite loud to no sound at all? The human voice alone can modulate to way more levels than just 3. Ridiculous.

In any case, I'd give it a couple more days and see how it goes, then call.

I can see two reasons. Rheostat-type volume controls are much more prone to noise, due to contamination and/or corrosion, even with gold contacts. OTOH, programmable digital hearing aids can be more precise in correction, but the minimal human interface is crude, and the preset levels are inevitably judgment-based by the audiologist.

PeggyC is right. Go back now and have them adjusted.

When I received my hearing device (not really an aid but rather a device that relayed the sound from the non-hearing ear to the hearing ear) I was startled by the sound of the keyboard! A lot! But eventually I did get used to them.

The key may be putting them in first thing and the a.m. and keeping them in for as long as you can stand and then, that's that. Don't go back and forth throughout the day since your brain will need to adjust each time you put the in or take them out.

Good luck.

Have them adjusted, then let your brain 're-learn' the sounds you are hearing... The first time I heard the washing machine or my puppy chewing treats literally flipped me out.

Another informative MOL thread. Several years ago my husband was told by our internist that he likely would never adjust to hearing aids because the constant noise in his ears....both tinnitus ringing and other noises. I get the impression that hearing aids are much improved. Do you think this should be checked out by professionals?

The opposite of George's problem of hearing everything, last week I lost a lot of my hearing when I returned from Europe with a bad head cold. At last I realized why hubster has been so reluctant to pay attention to my complaints about all the odd noises our car has been making. When you cannot hear much the car sounds like it is purring!

ellenlynn said:

My boyfriend wants to know what kind you have @jgberkeley?

Siemens, Pure, 7mi.

Blue Tooth and miniTek® to stream audio from Theaters. I am not ready to turn all that on yet.

Very small units that even my wife had a hard time seeing. She thought I had taken them out and had them in my pocket.

KRNL, hearing aids have improved a lot, but I don't know if they will be able to help your husband hear around the tinnitus sounds. Is the tinnitus in both ears? I find the tinnitus in my left (dead) ear distorts every sound I hear somewhat, although like Fiche I have a hearing aid that simply transfers sound from my bad ear to my good one, without any amplification. The difference is like night and day for me, BUT it doesn't make the tinnitus go away, so I still have enough distortion to interfere with distinguishing sounds. It's even more fun on the days when I have high-pitched squeals in my right ears to decorate the low roar in the left ear.

But it could be worth checking in at an audiologist! There's a lot they can do these days.

A good starting point for George might be to tweak it all down a notch, then let him adjust to that, then tweak it back up at the end of the four-week period originally set. Although Fiche's idea has merit, too: put them in your ears in the morning, wear them for awhile, then take them out and leave them out for the rest of the day. Increase the amount of time wearing them gradually? It's a tough adjustment; I feel for you.

I'm also with you, George, about the eye exams. But don't lie to the doctor to save face... if you don't see a difference, say so. You might end up with glasses that don't help you much if you say something is better if it really isn't.

George, have been wearing aids for about 8 years. They take a bit of an adjustment period, yes. It's weird hearing sounds you haven't heard for years, but I'm sure glad I got them, only wish they were perfect, but they're not.

Give it some time. If it's really bothering you. Go now, but I would recommend giving it at least two weeks. As someone posted up thread, you'll start to get used to hearing things you haven't for years and start ignoring them again.

Good luck.

Thanx, I will hang in. Although I have already asked the staff to stop shouting so much.

because that's YOUR job, right? ;-)

What you might find, George, is that when they readjust the sound, they can attune hearing direction better for one direction and not all, so that (for example) you hear better for spoken word in front of you and not as much of ambient noise beside or behind you. That will make life easier. But until you've had at least a week, and unless you write everything down, the audiologist won't know which kinds of adjustments suit you best for your life and your soical interactions.

You might also find, after some time, that it suits you best to only wear one aid at especially busy or noisy times of day/in noisy places. Lots of people do that, then go back to two when they are back home again.

FWIW, the keyboards used at the front counter in your store are the "clicky-clackety" types that DO make a lot of noise compared to most keyboards. So, it's not just you....we all hear them, too.

Interesting, I tried the only one ear thing. Got an odd weerp, weerp in the ear. Put it back the sound goes away.

I called the VA center and they told me to use both or none. Never just one. These units talk to each other and what I am hearing is the messages that one lost connection with the other.

Wow, They talk to each other, I wonder what they are saying?

@jgberkeley - I would also add, that by getting these hearing aids you will not only have enhanced your experiences, but those of everyone else around you. I can't tell you just how much of a difference my partner's relatively new hearing aids have done for our relationship. It wasn't until he got them that I realized just how frustrating some situations were for me. Dinners out now include conversation. I am no longer having to repeat everything that I say. It really is a win, win for both of us! Hang in there.

ictulips02 said:

@jgberkeley - I would also add, that by getting these hearing aids you will not only have enhanced your experiences, but those of everyone else around you. I can't tell you just how much of a difference my partner's relatively new hearing aids have done for our relationship. It wasn't until he got them that I realized just how frustrating some situations were for me. Dinners out now include conversation. I am no longer having to repeat everything that I say. It really is a win, win for both of us! Hang in there.

Totally agree. I got so tired of having to repeat myself 3-4 times I would just say never mind or I wouldn't talk. Do hang in there though. Nothing is perfect but by using them and writing down what you are hearing and all that will help the tech adjust them. When my bf went for an adjustment the tech told him when he is in a dinner situation at a restaurant, sit where your back is to a wall or where most of the people in the restaurant are in front of you. This way, you don't hear the background noise and can actually hear the people at your table. The first day with the hearing aids, we went for a walk in the park. While we were walking along the street he says to me "do you hear the tires on that car?" When he pointed it out I heard it. That I think is one of those things you learn to tune out once you get used to your new hearing. DON'T GIVE UP !!!

:-D

Yeah - you can't do the one-ear thing straight up, only after the adjustments have been made (you may need to retweak or change the models), and anyway the brain has to learn how to adjust and re-hear/rebalance.

When I first got glasses, I didn't realise that everyone could read street signs, and my sister told me she didn't realise that stars shone all night. Aftger my car accident, when I lived with mono-vision and tghen got stereovision back, I had to relearn how to use depth and perspective again. That was really scary - had no idea where gutters or stairs began and ended, and whether a line on the ground was an edge or just a line. Still affects me sometimes. Sound is a bit like that too: your brain is learning which sounds are more important and which aren't.

ictulips02I said:

can't tell you just how much of a difference my partner's relatively new hearing aids have done for our relationship.

So, Jennifer and I were just shopping at the Farmers market. We talked about how she wanted to marinate the squash before I came home to grill it tonight. The bag was too heavy so she split the stuff and gave me a bag to take to work and bring home later when I close the store, while she had the stuff she needed.

I get into the store and see the squash. I text Jennifer and told her to loop back she gave me the wrong bag.

She text me that she changed her mind, and told me that I can cut them when I get home.

I reminded her that I now HEARD every word and that comment was not said.

I did not get a text back. Perhaps I should get the Blue tooth option turned on so I can record what I hear on my iPhone. That would a useful app.

Guess I blew that chance to enhance our releationship!!

Later, Duh,
George

) I guess it takes time!

My hearing is not quite as good as it used to be. I don't know whether to assign it to the aging process or the fact that I've been exposed to the horrendous NY Subway noises (and sirens on the streets) on almost a daily basis for the past 15 years. Does anyone know if that kind of exposure has an impact on hearing? I haven't been to an audiologist yet, but I probably should make an appointment.

I thought I was losing my hearing, but then when I had a test done it turned out I had only had some minor loss in the high range, but my hearing was otherwise normal. I've decided that I haven't lost any hearing, my husband just mumbles. A lot.

You should have yourself tested. It's good to have a baseline if your hearing loss becomes progressive.

I tried a hearing aide over 20 years ago for my congenital mid range hearing loss. It amplified everything and didn't help me distinguish speech any better. I was told hearing aids really only helped with high-range loss (often caused by damage from loud noise/music) or overall range loss from age. Basically I was SOL and returned it. Does anyone know if they can target mid-range sound now?

Exposure, from what I learned, time heals a lot. In my case because of a specific equipment noise pattern that I was exposed to for 12 years, I damaged specific Frequency ranges, much more in the Right ear over the Left. When I left the Navy that was recorded and I was to give it time to heal.

Well things were just fine until I hit the 55 mark and then started to notice. Last summer I went to the SO free Health day event and they had an Audio Screen test. I took it.

It was suggested that I have an in-depth test. I went to the center in Millburn and the result indicated that most of the damage has healed over time, however, I did still have a specific loss in the same range as when I was discharged from the Navy and add to that with age, I could now see the result.

I contacted and signed up for the VA program.

I had several exams with state of the art equipment and a very nice Dr. and Audiologist team, and I am very comfortable with the exam process. In my case it turns out that I could not hear certain female vocal patterns and could not pick out certain words.

So, back to your question; random noises will tend to harm in ways that tend to heal. Stick your head next to a base speaker at a rock concert for 20 years and you will have problems that do not heal so quickly.
See an ENT Dr. first then a Audiologist.

NizhoniGrrrl said:

You should have yourself tested. It's good to have a baseline if your hearing loss becomes progressive.

I tried a hearing aide over 20 years ago for my congenital mid range hearing loss. It amplified everything and didn't help me distinguish speech any better. I was told hearing aids really only helped with high-range loss (often caused by damage from loud noise/music) or overall range loss from age. Basically I was SOL and returned it. Does anyone know if they can target mid-range sound now?

Oh the system I have is very targeted and can be programmed to fill in just the spots you need. The process I went thru had a real time display of what was being broadcast, what I my new hearing aids heard, and what the machine heard.

All were tweeked until I could hear it all.

Ah, regarding hearing loss and relationships, my husband has had to learn to watch himself. He is given to muttering rude things when he thinks I can't hear him. But when I have my hearing aids in, I catch way more of what he's saying. That can be a good thing AND a bad thing.

I should probably check back with an audiologist. Hearing in meetings at work can sometimes be difficult. We have some serial low talkers. Plus have you noticed how some people actually talk softer when you ask them to repeat themselves??! If I say I can't hear you, talk louder. :O

I have been wearing hearing aids since I turned 50, 7 years ago. I also try and read lips at the same time so I can distinguish words.

The change in the technology in those last few years is amazing. Go slowly, figure out the best volume and noise setting, and give yourself time.

I have also found, that by giving myself a break, I do not wear them one day a week and it makes the rest of the time more bearable as I wear mine 15-18 hours per day

Wiith today's 'smart hearing aids' you do have to wear the pair, each one communicates with the other.

Thanks for posting this, George. Son had been buggin us to get going on this and you gave us a smile and encouragement.

I don't get what you mean by 2 tho. When I google the device you mention, it looks like a totally independent piece, sold separately. Do you have that controller thingie behind both ears?

Deanne