People Hard of Hearing

Probably because by the time you have to shout, you're kind of frustrated, and the hard-of-hearing person can definitely hear that....and that's probably because they're frustrated, too. And self-conscious and a bit defensive.

I've been there with my brother. And I'm noticing I don't hear so good lately, too. :(
 
I'm getting a bit of a taste of what it must be like to be deaf due to a temporary condition I've maybe neglected sorting out quickly enough, (a visit to the local chemist or drug store has me now armed with a range of products I hope will do the trick!). :)
I guess I'd be an awkward so and so if I were permanently deaf therefore!
 

I have hearing aids now for almost ten years.
The latest are in ear buds which allow me to control the sound yet I still have problems sometimes with people and it is not the sound it is the clarity that is the problem. I still have to use captions for most of my TV viewing .
All they do is amplify sound and that can make it worse when in company.
Apparently ( as explained to me by specialist) as we age the brain does not respond as quickly to the spoken word and for that reason yes, I have to ask people to speak slower than they normally would. Then I have no problem. Shouting just makes it worse especially if one has hearing aids.
 
I agree with Mizmo. It does take the brain longer to register the words especially if they are spoken too quickly. Louder does NOT mean better clarity. Best to face the person and speak plainly and clearly. Can you imagine someone speaking loudly while laughing and you are laughing too but you have no idea what the just said. I still use captions for tv because I would never be able to keep up with the speech.
 
Deafness seems to be rampant around here. Almost everyone I see in church has them in BOTH ears and couldn't hear an air horn 6 inches from their heads. The church even had special devices they can use to hear the service. It looks like a transistor radio with an earbud attached.
 
Mizmo said:
I have hearing aids now for almost ten years.
The latest are in ear buds which allow me to control the sound yet I still have problems sometimes with people and it is not the sound it is the clarity that is the problem. I still have to use captions for most of my TV viewing .
All they do is amplify sound and that can make it worse when in company.
Apparently ( as explained to me by specialist) as we age the brain does not respond as quickly to the spoken word and for that reason yes, I have to ask people to speak slower than they normally would. Then I have no problem. Shouting just makes it worse especially if one has hearing aids.
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Very good explanations, there.(y)
Speaking slower is a good suggestion, that often helps more than louder, I agree.
Asking someone to please repeat themselves, more slowly,
often seems like I am imposing on them somehow (do they really not have enough time?:unsure: Or do they take that as criticism?:rolleyes:)
Or does that seem to them, then, that I have a major medical comprehension problem? Well, I do have some of that too, but it starts with deciphering what words they said.:confused::rolleyes:
 
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IrisSenior said:
Best to face the person
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Another great suggestion!(y)
I have to request that from people, too. They don't notice if they have turned sideways or their back toward me, or if they are walking away someplace, while they continue to finish what they are telling me. :oops:o_O:rolleyes:
 
Whattt? :LOL:

My dad was hard of hearing at times. I found my self talking loudly when around him. Or else, I would look directly at him when talking so he could read my lips.
Only thing is, when out, I'd be talking loudly to everyone. It became a habit.
 
I use to accuse my 81 year old hubby of having "selective hearing"...haha...but he really IS hard of hearing and getting worse. He wears 2 hearing aids and he says he has a hard time understanding what I'm saying if I'm turned away from him. Background noise is especially difficult for him (and me because I ruined my nerves in my ears years ago wearing ear buds when I power walked and cranked up the music...remember Heart??), so restaurants, which we don't go to much any more, or stores like WalMart that are large and everything echoes, it's very hard to understand what's being said. It's frustrating for both of us.
 
I have hearing issues and I do have hearing aids; they help a lot. But, if I cannot understand when someone speaks to me, I usually tell them I am sorry, but I could not hear what they said. If the simply speak up and repeat it back to me...we will be good! If they then angerly speak louder to me, as if I had done something to offend them, then I ignore what they say!

It is usually high pitch and soft-spoken voices that I struggle with. Men and some women have deeper voices and more volume (e.g., Lauren Buccal) You can bet I can hear her when she speaks...! I really pay attention....SMILE
 
I'm surprised I can hear as well as I do for my age. I know it's better in my left ear than in my right. I punctured my right eardrum about 15 years ago, which I surmise is the reason. My right ear always has a full feeling. I've been to a few doctors who can't find the cause.

ear trumpet.jpg
 
debodun said:
I'm surprised I can hear as well as I do for my age. I know it's better in my left ear than in my right. I punctured my right eardrum about 15 years ago, which I surmise is the reason. My right ear always has a full feeling. I've been to a few doctors who can't find the cause.
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Just a guess of course (although a ND could tell you for sure),

the cause of your right ear having a full feeling

might be that it is full ?

Some local health practitioners save a lot of people every year from hearing aids they happen not to need,

by cleaning out the ears.
 
When I was young they didn't have decongestions so my Doctor would lance my ears and my sister too. The first time I went to an ear nose and throat Doctor after he looked in my ears he said: "Wow you are going to make me a fortune "In reality, he didn't help me at all.
Just last month I saw a nurse practitioner and she flushed my ears with warm water. I can't tell you all that came out. As soon as she was done I could hear good again. Please don't ask about my husband's hearing, because he will not admit he can't hear well. We have to repeat everything to him. Everyone in his family has a hearing aide but he won't even get his ears tested.
 
Sassycakes said:
When I was young they didn't have decongestions
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They did in Vermont for over a hundred years. The oldest, best help in the country still widely known and used.

Get a copy if you can of "Folk Medicine" by Dr.Jarvis. It is amazing and simple, what the people in Vermont did.
 
debodun said:
I have an ear washing syringe I use occasionally. Even if I wash out some cerumen, the ear still feels full.
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I expect this is quite common. If it is from scar tissue, it may take up to two years / six visits/ with a holistic (not ama) health practitioner or advisor to change that. If it is from built up fluid or swelling in the ear/area, there could be relief in a few weeks. ama methods don't usually help. Look outside the box, with caution and wisdom (don't do anything too fast), but there are potentially several ways of help , some not expensive at all, and no side effects.

Without knowing for sure what is happening there in the ear area, it would be just guesswork to try any more than an ear lavage. (cleaning)

Oh, a lavage might "bring out much more" possibly, even up to four times as much wax or other, than you can get out yourself with the ear washing syringe, so a qualified ear lavage by someone with experience might help a lot. It has in the past with many people from two years old to two hundred years old (haha, or a hundred and two anyway) ...
 
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