Have you noticed that people seem to be muttering and you are missing half of what is said during meetings?
I did and realised that the problem was me and not others (mostly!) so I probably needed hearing aids. So I got an appointment – after about a month waiting – for a hearing test (free) at Specsavers which confirmed that I had reduced hearing at the upper range of what is normal. This meant that I lost some sounds e.g. sh (I think) so couldn’t always pick up what was said. They printed me off a graph of frequency against loudness to show what I couldn’t hear.
The next step was a trip to the doctor at the start of December as I decided that the National Health Service could provide my aids rather than paying for them. I did realise this would take longer! The doctor referred me to the hospital.
An appointment at the hospital came through in February – 3 months, exactly, after the original Specsavers test. They again did hearing tests and examined my ears and a few other things to make sure that I would be suitable for hearing aids. I was! She said I would have to wait about 4 months.
Five months later, in July, I got another hospital appointment where they gave me my hearing aids and explained things like putting them in and cleaning them! 8 to 9 months after I started the process!!
My nephew said that my hearing aids would be a revelation – so are they?
All the high notes are now back – after having been missing for years!
Initially I noticed odd things like the sound of clothes rubbing as I walk. Also I can hear floorboards creaking and doors squeaking – I had no idea that they did!
But – I can now go to meetings and join in (as I can hear what is being said) and I can hear birds in the garden – which I had not heard before. I can’t see the birds but I now know they are there!
However…..
I (still) sometimes have problems getting them in properly and the “domes” do occasionally come out – especially the left one. They do play a tune when I am putting them in though! Also the mixture of glasses and aid does sometimes rub behind the right ear – no problem with the left one!
They give me about an hour of warning when the battery is running out by beeping every quarter of an hour and playing another tune as they die. But why does the battery in the left ear run out a day later than the right one?
So? A revelation in some ways and definitely make my life easier in meetings!