did you hear that? well I do now!

jch364

Registered
Wanted to share a quick story. My hearing has been getting worse little by little over the years. The Tinnitus I have is pretty bad. I finally went to see about getting hearing aids. It was getting to the point that it was becoming a safety issue at work. Anyway. I went for the hearing exam. ended up getting tubes in my ears first and that helped some. Didnt sound as much like i was talking in a tunnel. That did not help my mid and upper range hearing. The problem was that if i were in a room with people and everyone would be talking i would not be able to hear what anyone is saying. i guess the problem is that when you loose the middle and upper range of hearing then the brain cant filter out conversation. you can hear the group noise but not a specific voice. sounds kinda like the teacher on the peanuts cartoons...:laugh:
Anyway. i needed 2 hearing aids but since i cant afford but one right now. and i say afford with a little laughter behind it, i got one for my left ear. So i go in and get it fitted and tuned in and when she turned it on and started speaking to me i was shocked. I could not believe how clear it was. almost too loud i thought at first. I could not believe all the sounds that i could hear again. and thats just the left ear. The hearing aid i got was the cheapest one i could get that addressed my needs. cheap at only $1500 each. The next step up is only $2500 each. ...Of course insurance wont cover it. So Maybe next year i can get the other one for my other ear. I cant even imagine what that would be like.

My point in sharing this is so that if anyone of my brethren riders out there have hearing issues and are debating on getting hearing aids please go and get them if you can at all afford to do so. You will be amazed at how much you have been missing. Please do it before your hearing loss starts to affect you mentally and socially. It can believe me. I know how much it negatively affected my father, God rest his soul, so please go if you can and get them if you need them. Its not embarrassing to have them either. Mine is so small that you cant really see it even though its behind the ear. And they make some that go directly in the ear depending of course on your needs.

Well thats it. I hope that this helps if there is anyone that has been in need and has been putting it off...
 
Good for you bruddah hope it stays good for yah, the hearing aids have came a long way in the past few years
 
I am glad you got at least one. My step dad had needed them for years and was always yelling when he talked. Now that he has his aids he can hear a pin drop and almost whispers when he talks sometime. I am not sure if he can adjust his or now but another friend of mine has some as well and he can turn his up and down. He turns them way down when we play pool and then he has to yell at people. It is so funny. I guess he does not know he does it. I sure hope you can get the other one soon. :thumbsup:
 
I've been around race cars, air guns and other not safe for hearing things for years and my ears have rung almost constantly for near as long as I can remember. PSA here kids, it's cool to wear hearing protection!

Glad it's working for you! I'm not to the point of terribly bad hearing loss yet and can keep up with conversations in crowds still but it's hard sometimes. I can't imagine the elation you had when you got the first one. Makes you want to whip out the old credit card for the other doesn't it?
 
I'm headed down that road. Years of being around heavy trucks and equipment and dragstrips are taking their toll. I guess I'm putting off the inevitable cuz I refuse to face my own mortality.
Eventually I will have to get hearing aids, but I'm holding out as long as I can!
 
has ur hearing deteroiated over the years from riding ur motorcycle without hearing protection? my fathers hearing went as he got older and as soon as he got his hearing aids my mother stopped screaming at him:laugh: it was definately wearing on their relationship.

he did say that it was nice to go out to dinner and turn it down so he didnt have to listen to all the unwanted chatter. he says it wasnt all bad losing his hearing and now he can control it. and yea if u have the money to buy the really expensive ones they fit right in ur ear and no one would even know they are there. they do get VERY expensive tho. surprised insurance doesnt pay for them.???

I have chronic Lyme disease:banghead: and my ears ring a lot but I dont even notice it any longer. I hear fine tho.
 
almost no insurance will cover them. thats the bad part. mine has gotten worse over the years little by little. Not sure about the bike. possible that it may have contributed to it some. i dont wear ear plugs for shorter rides so it may.
 
drag Racing cars and working on cars with open headers, shooting with out having hearing protection on when I was real young. You know when your young nothing can hurt you, it only happens to the other guy.
 
Sad that insurance doesn't cover that, but not surprising I suppose...insurance, can't live with it, can't live without it...

I'm just glad you are on the road to better hearing!!! I can't imagine not hearing...best of luck getting both hearing aids soon!! I'm sure it's making the biggest difference in your daily life :thumbsup:
 
Hey Jeff,
So glad it's working out for you. I Lost my hearing in my Left ear years back. (Sudden Hearing Loss Syndrome)Tried the hearing aid at that time, but I just couldnt get used to it. It was cool though. I'd walk from my office into the shop and it would Mute out the machine noise! I'm sure Tech. has come a long way since. Maybe I should revisit it. Tinnitus did finnaly go away (or maybe I got used to it) but I still can't have a conversation in a Noisy Restaurant.
Best of luck Jeff. Hope you get that second one soon.
And you Youngsters out there, PROTECT your Hearing!
 
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