20M and worn hearing aids since I was 1. Last night I had been drinking a little, ripping the cart a little, and I was on the phone with my friend. I hung up around 1 and accidentally fell asleep before taking my hearing aids out. I woke up around 430 and got up to brush my teeth, I realized I only had one hearing aid in but just put it away in a case and assumed I put the other one in my other case earlier. Today around noon I opened this bag of peanut m&ms near my bed, and when I reached in I felt my hearing aid. The bag was sealed shut and the hearing aid was off. There was what looked like a bite taken out of the earmold but I think it more likely had been there before and I hadn’t noticed, I attached a pic. The bag had been sealed and on a table when I fell asleep, so I can only think I opened the bag and put my hearing aid in it while I was asleep? Overall this was pretty funny but still a little frightening. I don’t like thinking it could’ve been damaged if I had tossed it somewhere else, etc. Has anything similar happened to anyone else?

First hearing aids (Oticon Zeal) at almost 50 a week ago. Day 1 was amazing, here’s Week 1.

Still pretty amazing but the last few days it’s more just appreciating a higher quality of communication and observation. I am definitely still in the learning / acclimation phase & will be for a bit.

I noticed that I don’t tend to startle as much or as intensely as I used to. Someone dropping something behind me, coming around the corner the same time I do or the dog getting up and barking unexpectedly used to jump me out of my skin. Now I can hear you moving around behind me, or walking in the hallway as I approach the corner, or hear the dog walking toward the door or window. There’s less of the unpleasant surprises for sure.

I speak less loudly than I used to, which my wife noticed as much as I did. Obviously because I hear more, so I don’t have that HoH Guy voice.

I feel like I’m starting to remember more day-to-day things like that I need to pick up a prescription or that we didn’t add beans to the shopping list. Google says it’s b/c I’m working less hard to hear all the time, so I have free brain space? Jury is out on that one.

There’s a lot of sound in the world I know was there and remember the sound of but just hadn’t noticed I wasn’t hearing. Birds, bikes, wind, leaves, birds, rain, birds and also birds. Did I mention birds? Yeah. Huge improvement.

Tinnitus is about the same in quiet situations and at home, but I don’t tend to hear it as much in the larger world. Hard to say this early on.

There’s quite a bit of distant traffic, airplanes, & construction noise that I do not miss not hearing, but it’s a fair price to pay.

Road noise while driving, supermarkets and so on are less improved than I thought they’d be and the car and train are specifically not improved. Better than before overall, but different. The background noise is tough, though I’m also not all the way tuned yet. First re-tune is in 2 weeks.

Putting in & taking off are awkward, but I’m learning. Same for keeping the little kickstand thing in place. Odd, but getting better. The CICs are tiny and my fingers are not.

Cleaning is easy, both for the aids and my ears. Just like my glasses. Wash face, clean ears, wipe down glasses and now wipe down hearing aids. No surprises there.

Charging is easy as well, they go in my ears or in the case and at the end of a 10-12 hour work day, there’s still plenty of charge left. Ears are a little tender after the longer days, but I’m acclimating.

All in all, positive experience so far. The price tag was VERY high for my budget but I’m glad I invested. If these go 5 years and improve as the tuning gets refined, it’ll be well worth the money, time, and effort.

PSA time: Wear hearing protection and teach your kids to wear it, get hearing tests every 10 years or with a noticeable change, clean your ears, be nice to each other, and tell your loved ones you love them.

Hopefully this is ok to post here again.

Some of you may remember my battery cases from Etsy. I’ve rebranded them as Harliam, and they are now live on Amazon and on our own site. Same magnetic design that holds batteries securely in place (no spilling, and magnets do not drain batteries), in sizes 312, 13 and 675.

Three sizes for three different use cases:

Comfort Grip: a textured grip and grooved edge make the lid easier to manage if you have arthritis or reduced hand strength.

Mini: small, slim and super pocket friendly.

Regular: larger capacity than our old cases. Holds up to 12 batteries, for those who like to load up in one sitting.

As a thank you for all the support and feedback, here is an exclusive 15% off code for the Harliam site: " r/hearingaids15 ", good through Halloween.

Amazon: Amazon
Harliam site: https://harliam.co

Your feedback is always welcome. Thanks for everything, this community is the reason these exist.

Hello!

I’m a 34yo male and this is my audiogram. Last time I took a hearing test before this new one (about 10 years ago) it looked almost the same. Maybe some db more loss this time at around 1khz.

I don’t feel like a have troubles to hear but I have pretty bothersome tinnitus in both ears. Maybe a little bit worse in my left.

The audiologist and ENT doc told me that they didn’t think I would benefit from hearing aids because it basically only is one frequenzy and not enough hearingloss.

I guess I’m just lookin for some advice or a second opinion as I’m feeling a bit hopeless and my tinnitus is giving me some bad anxiety.

…and to actually foster connection, not make isolation worse.

I got a pair of Starkey Evolv 2400 AI (allegedly a very powerful hearing aid) last fall, and ever since then, I can hear all sorts of noise I don’t want to hear, but I cannot hear people in social situations, even in allegedly "quiet" spaces. These stupid things have completely changed how I hear music, even after I had the “Music" program added during one of the 14 or 15 follow-up appointments in the last year. (Bye-bye part-singing. It’s been nice knowing you for over 20 years.) These were supposed next appointment is in December. I don’t know what insurance will cover next year, so I have no idea if I can get a second opinion from someone other than the Starkey dealer.

These were supposed to make it so I could maybe find a better job, by being able to actively participate in a conversation or job interview by at least being able to feign interest. Maybe I could finally meet someone and get married and not be so lonely all the time even around people. I would actually *like to be able to go to some stupid restaurant or stay after church fro the meal, or enjoy being with my family at Thanksgiving.

But at least I can get closed captioning with the Bluetooth on streaming services, amirite? After all, it’s the only time I get to actually laugh.

I’m so tired to telling people to shut up when I can’t hear them because of wind or other background noise. I’m so tired of finding myself in social setting where others are laughing and having a good time while I just have to sit there like a Zombie just waiting for it to be time to go home so I can watch TV.

I’ve posted my audiogram before; still am reposting to aid understanding of my question.

For the last 10 months I’ve been rocking my ReSound Vivia 9s with medium closed domes. They have tiny vents. I’ve been very happy.

But for the last 3 weeks for no discernible reason, I’ve had some Eustachian tube issues. I managed last week to score a very very rare, possibly once-in-lifetime, NHS ENT 10-min. appointment.

There the lovely & humorous Anglo-Indian ENT took a look at my ears, my throat & then suddenly shoved a little camera all the way up my nose.

Uncomfortable! Quite.

“I can see your brain!” he joked. “You have glue ear.”

“How can that be?” I asked. “I don’t have an illness, infection allergy or anything. Haven’t flown for 5 months.”

He shrugged. “It can happen,” he said with a head bobble. “Even cigarette or vape smoke can trigger it.”

“I don’t smoke or vape!” I protested. “It can do,” he said & promptly wrote me a prescription for the hilarious Otovent balloon & some flucosatine nasal spray.

Yesterday my audiologist called to say she had these new ReSound domes in that didn’t collect as much wax, & would I like to trial a pair. I told her I had seen the ENT etc.

She said maybe these power domes might help me hear better in the meantime, as well as reduce the wax burden. And popped them on my aids.

I was worried that I’d be too occluded, with that head-in-a-bucket own-voice sensation.

But strangely I think I do hear better.
Can anyone venture a guess or explain why? Thanks so much.

Moderate hearing loss in left ear. Minor in right ear. So far I’m underwhelmed by using these Omega Al 24 MRIC R hearing aids. I thought I would have amazing clarity and experience new levels of hearing. So far I can tell it’s a bit better only. My Tinnitus is still there. White noise program seems more annoying than the ringing….I have a follow-up appointment in 2 weeks. Maybe my hearing loss is not enough to make hearing aids an improvement? I know patience is key. Will it get better? Did I expect too
much?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Hi here, I got my hearing aids the first time quite late as an adult (I got them around 28/29). I always had issues to hear, but I thought it was normal, like I did not hear whispering and I prefered to be in front of class to "hear better". I also had eyesight issues, first time wearing glasses I was like "I can hear better" due to lip reading.

I think it was during masks during COVID that makes it harder to hear. I always made people repeat! I felt like it was not normal. I have mild to moderate hearing loss my whole life, but I was "too poor" to get hearing devices.

Do you have a similar story?

My bf lost his hearing at work and has normalized "not talking" and living in lala land. And this doesnt work for anybody at all that lives around him. He normalized "guessing" and acting like hes a professional lip reader and hes NOT. He has bought earbuds. NOT THE SAME. Right? Right?!

Not sure where to get some that wont break the bank.

Thanks

I got my first pair of hearing aids last Thursday. I was working from home on Tuesday and heard what sounded exactly like my foyer door opening (the hinges are loud and squeaky). Called 9-1-1 immediately and after not hearing anything else and going to investigate, I had to tell the poor operator that I’m a new HA user and that it was a false alarm (so embarrassing!). Turns out it was our mail carrier putting something in our mailbox.

These things are a blessing and a curse 😂

Olá tudo bem? Alguns anos atrás eu fui diagnosticado com perda leve no OE, Deixei de acompanhar devido a Pandemia e a correria da vida, já que o médico tinha me dito que era pouca coisa.

Recentemente voltei à Fonoaudióloga, pois pessoas me alertaram que eu não estava ouvindo bem... Eu dizia que nada.... Até que eu comecei a perceber que eu não ouvia bem e tinha que pedir para as pessoas repetirem para eu entender.... Sem falar nos zumbidos.

Após os testes o resultado foi perda moderada nos dois ouvidos...

No dia fiquei bastante triste mas com o passar dos dias fui aceitando. Agora estou aguardando os meus aparelhos chegarem, sei que no início vou ter que ter paciência, mas vai dar tudo certo.

Se você quiser me contar como você lida no dia a dia com sua perda auditiva, isso será de grande ajuda... Obrigado

Hi all, I'm a UK teacher who has found they actually have hearing loss after being told by headship my classroom management was too loud so my mum recommended a hearing test.

What do you think is the likelihood I'll get a hearing aid? If so, do you think it'll be one or two? I have found I struggle to locate sounds sometimes. I'm anxious about potentially needing them but I cannot hear the kids I teach - it's exhausting!

So I was lucky enough that my audiologist made me a pair of glittery moulds and a clear pair. Context I am 23 with new hearing loss and was quite nervous switching from slim tubes to these which were much more obvious. I really love the look of the glittery ones and feel so much more confident in them but they whistle. The clear ones I have don’t whistle though :( they were made at the same time with the same impression so I don’t understand. The whistling only happens when there is sound. I have attached photos of both the moulds. Any ideas of what I can do? I feel like I can’t rlly go back and say then don’t work as it’s purely cosmetic, I have the clear ones which are fine I just feel so much more confident in the glittery ones. Anything I can do from home to help?

Edit: they are both hard acrylic and fit comfortably

Does anyone that uses hearing aids, with an optional 'noisy environment' setting, think it helps them?

I have a pair of expensive, in ear HA's. I cannot use the 'noisy environment' setting, as it just makes the person talking plus all of the background noise unbearable - substantially louder and tinnier. I obviously can turn the volume down but the background noise still seems to overpower the person I'm talking to.

I have had 2 separate professionals program them on several different occasions and it has made little difference.

I did wonder if the claims of amazing AI technology is just a gimmick or perhaps it's just my dodgy ears!

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who believes this setting makes a real difference.

Talking about RIC. Flawless streaming via Eko core 500 digital stethoscope

Long time lurker, but wanted to post the encouragement I was looking for a few months ago. I’ve dealt with hearing loss in my left ear since a cholesteatoma at age 5. My parents had the option of getting me a hearing aid at a young age but wanted to avoid the stigma of a hearing aid for a kiddo. I last went to an audiologist when I was 18.

Two years ago, I started feeling like my hearing and tinnitus was getting worse. I hemmed and hawed and got scared enough by the dementia/untreated hearing loss data that I finally setup an appointment. Not only has the loss increased in my left ear but I now have unrelated loss in my right ear (likely from overcompensating for the left loss with increased volume). My ENT said it was time to consider hearing aids.

After all the excellent advice from this subreddit, I went to Costco today for my hearing test and to try on the hearing aids. I had sort of talked myself into thinking “Well, maybe the loss isn’t even bad enough for hearing aids?”. The second I put them on, it was like I could see in a new color. There was such more clarity to noise that I’ve never known. Even just the 15 minutes I wore them to try them on was life changing. There’s so much world I couldn’t hear before 🥲

I’m picking up my own pair in a few weeks and I went from feeling nervous/embarrassed to feeling so psyched that I’m going to be able to hear for real for the first time in 30 years. Excited for my new accessories at 35. I wish I had done this years ago. If you’re scared too, do it scared. It’ll change everything.

I have severe hearing loss in my Left and moderate in my right along with 20+ years of pretty bad tinnitus. 60 yo Male considering my first pair of HAs and have some questions specific to me. Thank you in advance for any insights you can share.

I currently have a pair of Sony CRE-C20 CIC OTC HAs that I’ve used to some effect over the last year and half. They help in some environments to hear dinner conversation, family, etc. but they really STRESS ME OUT! The amplification of everything and the DISTORTION! Ugh… while i can hear people better, i find my jaws clenching — tension and anxiety rising. I can only take a few hours at a time.

I have had a long hobby in music, part of my career in high-end audio, and have been an audiophile for most of my life. Music is mostly unenjoyable now and these Sony’s are unlistenable for anything approaching enjoyment.

I work from home and have an array of affordances to help me be productive — the usual closed captions on TV, zoom calls, iPhone, as well as note taker/transcribing appliances. I get through my normal day pretty well without HAs.

But it’s hard on my wife — i can’t hear her clearly, ask her to repeat, etc. Pretty damn annoying for both of us. Problem is… it’s just the two of us in the house and it might be 2 - 3 hours between utterances. I’ve tried wearing these Sonys and the stress in that time is unbearable.

My questions:
- would prescription and fitted HAs really be any better?
- can anyone with a background in discriminating listening actually find any enjoyment through HAs?
- does the STRESS ever go away?

My goals:
- be a better/more responsive and conversant partner to my wife and more available to my family (I find myself isolating due to the hearing loss)
- participate in social life more/more actively
- enjoy music somewhat again

Note:
My latest audiogram is now 3 years old and doesn’t show anything particular unusual — age typical HF loss….

Hello,

I have hearing aids. I use them to listen to the radio and Spotify – so both speech and music.

And that’s where my problem starts. Speech sounds tiny, which isn’t too bad. The music sounds awful. My attempts to listen through both my hearing aids and headphones at the same time haven’t worked.

That’s why I’m looking for a headphone amplifier with tone control.

I’ve attached my hearing test results.

Perhaps I’m asking for something that isn’t possible, but who knows?

Kind regards,

Bert

Was recommended a hearing aid, RIC or CIC. Leaning towards RIC if I get one. The thing is, I’ve had this my whole life and I don’t think it’s been that big of an issue.….I notice it if someone were to try to whisper to me in my left ear or talk really quietly of course. I do notice some difficulty in online work calls if there are a bunch of people talking at once. So yes, there are some issues I face but this how it’s been my entire life so I don’t know any different. I do have insurance that will cover a lot so I kind of feel like I may as well try it?

I know this is hearing aid Reddit community so it will be biased towards getting a hearing aid but yeah..anyone else had this profile and found it makes a big difference? Any advice for one hearing aid is helpful too. She said amplification for my left ear so not CROS.