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Yayyy!!

agreed not to mention the humidity and having to stick your hearing aids in the dryer more often

I always loose my attention lol then I gotta ask what they said 😂

Awesome ❤

Hello Ma'am...God Bless you

EVERY. DAY. I fake it. And I hate it but I don't know how else to function. My hearing has deteriorated to 'severe' in both ears and my hearing aids just don't help like they used to (despite the audiologist updating them to my current hearing profile). I get such crazy anxiety since I am in a demanding, high-stress job, so every day is stressful. I often don't want to socialize outside of work because I used up all my mental stamina getting through the day. If I ask someone to make accommodations for me they either do it for one second and then revert back to their soft speaking voice, or I still don't get certain key words of phrases so it's absolutely exhausting to continue to talk. I usually am ready to exit out of any conversation as quickly as possible unless it's one-on-one in the right quiet conditions. I have immense shame bc of the hearing loss (I know I shouldn't) and I think a large part is because of how certain people can be cruel when you mention it and ask them to repeat. Usually they speak at you like you are mentally slow in a big booming voice. Um hello I am not slow I just need you to enunciate a bit better. My brain actually works 3 times as hard as a normal person (according to an article I read - if that's accurate) to comprehend what you're saying. Nobody understands how hard it is except those of us with this struggle, no matter how much we advocate for ourselves. Even my spouse really doesn't get it and he lives with me). Thank you for this video it makes me feel less like an outcast when I am doing coping methods like the faking it one.

Thanks for caring and sharing all you do. There are a lot hard of hearing folks out there and normal hearing folks will never understand the struggles we go through. Thank you!

Yes! After years of saying pardon? or what? I have gotten bad about faking it. Even with hearing aids I struggle to understand words and just get tired or embarrassed? asking people to repeat themselves. I too worry that I nod yes to things I shouldn't be agreeing with or out of context. Sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat.

Personally it gets exhausting repeatedly advocating for myself. I'm not very social to begin with, so I don't deal with this very much. But please don't be too hard on yourself for faking it - it's a strategy of sorts similar to autistic masking. Even if we'd like to be our most authentic and upfront about how our needs aren't being met, that doesn't work in every setting. I think you're right to focus on individual relationships.

I'm with you, I regularly fake it. If I don't get it by the second "pardon?" I move on and forget about it. Many of my work colleagues know about my hearing problems and hearing aids, but very few actually make any allowance, such as speaking louder and/or slower; in those cases I just drop out of the conversations. In fact, I think I'm considered unsociable as I rarely take part in group conversations due to the difficulty in making anything out. Not too unhappy being a loner.

Thanks for bringing this up, April. This subject is very dear and close to home for me. I do it all the time, even with new hearing aids. One reason is, as you brought up, I get tired of asking soft-spoken people to speak up all the time. Other times, you're in a group conversation with a noisy background. While everyone else in the conversation hears the person speaking, I don't want to be the odd one out asking, "can you repeat that, please?" I do know it's a tough habit to break.

That’s a hard one! If the person you are talking to is not aware of your hearing loss (absolutely love that term!) then you’re in no mans land. Then there’s the other side too. That’s when you pluck up the guts to ask them to speak up and what do they actually do? They speak lower 😂 I do what my dear departed Father used to do when his deteriorating hearing (at 100 years of age no less!); He’d say this: “I’m not following you.” The sudden transformation of the speaker was so funny to witness. Worked every time. No mention of hearing loss or anything. So maybe there’s a lesson there somewhere?

I use to fake until I got a pair of Haring aids

Thank you for this. Completely agree that showing the full spectrum of hearing loss is so important - my own hearing loss experience mirrors this exactly!

That’s so cute!, but also bare in mind that whispering does put strain on your voice, and should be avoided as much as possible

I had surgery almost 3 and half month ago, Right after surgery, when packing removed, i have much improved hearing, But right now i have again feeling gradual hearing loss, reason?

Yay 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 love this keep up the awesome work 👏

Thanks for inviting someone with a different journey. I went with the bone anchored hearing aid route and was freaked out by the stapedectomy procedure. It's refreshing to see and hear someone have such a different story than myself. Keep up the amazing work! your page reaches and influences so many in the otosclerosis and hard of hearing community.

Ok

I was gonna watch this but I honestly don’t care

Whey were they even watching?? You have been so helpful to my journey. Bc even doctors don’t tell you what’s going on.

There's no excuse for hurtful comments like that, especially directed at someone like yourself, who is making content that is really helping people. But yeah, shrugging it off is the right thing; there are folks out there with problems. (Still makes me angry, though.) Love your channel!

Imma be honest hearing aids are great make sure you get the right one tho so you can listen to ghosts new single the future is a foreign land

The term "Hearing Impaired" was invented to avoid using the word "deaf." Sign language students object when "Hearing Impaired" is said. I prefer "deaf." Use any term. No one is wrong.

Nobody cares

I would like to share my story. I am about to have this surgery but still feeling kind of worried at the same tiem of being super positive about the outcome.

Sybylla is my daughter. She is a beautiful, amazing woman. Im so grateful for her and so grateful that this surgery worked for her❤❤❤

I have felt self conscious about a lot of things about myself but my hearing aids aren’t really something that I have stressed about. I was struggling so much with tinnitus and a mild to moderate hearing loss and by the time i got hearing aids,i wanted to hear better so desperately that i would worn them regardless of how they appeared to anyone else. I have a few physical flaws that i do stress about like my height, my ethnicity, my weight and slight scoliosis that makes me wobble a little when walking any distance. There were so many benefits i gained from wearing hearing aids. I do have good and bad hearing days and stating that i wear hearing aids is not the way i choose to introduce myself or start a conversation. Still, i have come to realize that my hearing loss is part of the whole package and I should not be stigmatized by something that has added so much to my life.

Is it comfortable wearing earrings or ear jewelry comfortable with hearing aids? I'm getting my first set soon, and was curious.

I have always been self-conscious about wearing hearing aids since 2007. People see the hearing aids and automatically think you're old. The stigma attached to hearing aids is that only old people need them. Of course, this is very sad and untrue. Now, I just try not to care about what other people think. BTW, I like the guitars in the background. Do you play?

It happens to me all the time.

I have had a hearing aid in my left ear since I was four. I used to get bullied about it a lot because I grew up in a school district where being different was viewed as a bad thing.

Why would you be self conscious? I wear Deaf metal , hearing aid jewelry and.. if I could get color custom molds, I would. I am proud of my hearing aids and.. if I don’t reveal that I’m hearing impaired, then, people don’t know how to communicate with me! It’s very frustrating, being in noisy rooms , or when people don’t look at me., so that I can read their lips! I wear a button that says, “please look at me when you speak to me and speak slowly”. Hearing loss is an invisible disability and,. If you don’t let people know that they need to accommodate your needs (if they care about and reflect you), then, how can you expect them to know what you need? You’ll just be isolated and sit in a corner, listening to noise and air. No fun

Is that CIC?

I started losing my hearing when I turned 18 and it became steadily worse as the years rolled by. For me, it was FRUSTRATING having a hearing loss, and each day I lived with it... it seemed the frustration level increased as much as my hearing decreased. Being unable to understand people on the telephone became the ultimate frustration. I wore hearing aids for 25 years at least and eventually they did next to nothing for me. I now have bilateral cochlear implants and am able to understand over the phone with minimal effort. Still, it is frustrating when I take them off...

Yes. Deaf in left ear and hoh in right. My left hearing aid transmit to my right ear so very difficult for me to determine directions. :(

Yep this happens to me too!

My husband and I were in the bed watching a movie. After what seemed forever, I asked “what is that sound”. I couldn’t take it anymore. Well it ended up being the rinse cycle of the washing machine. I had never heard it in the bedroom. Makes me feel crazy.

when i first got my hearing aids i kept hearing a chhh chhh chhh sound. i realized that i drag my feet when i walk.

I can so relate to this!

Fans drive me crazy! Keep my aids on" crowd" 😮😂

Yes. All the time.

I have a reminder on my app to change them at least every two weeks whether they need it or not.

I understand why the hearing aids are expensive because of the technology and service required but why are the accessories like the tv connector so overpriced when there is no service envoled?

Dj Demers is an amazing comedian ! would love to see him in person one day and by the way "one more time" is a pretty awesome show .. found out my ASL teacher was in the episode "Mis-Interpretation" :D

I also include " Please look at me when you talk to me" or I have to see your face when you talk to me!!

Hi April, It may be that the hearing aid wires are a bit too short. I had the same issue. The domes are normally pushed into the ear canal very snug to ensure maximum benefit of the hearing aid speaker. However, if the wires are too short, they ride too tightly over the ear, which can cause discomfort. I asked my audiologist for a slightly longer wires on my hearing aids and it resolved the issue. I hope this helps!

I have only had my hearing aids for a year. My ear canals have gotten very dry. The wax inside is like cornflake texture. They were dry before but not this dry. The thing i think i will most likely manage to do is lose the wax traps inside my ear. I manage to drop the old trap on the floor when i remove them. One video on CZcams that dropped into my recommended playlist, the nurse removed 20 from one man’s ear. I spoke with my audiologist about this and he said we could replace the wires. There’s a different wire that uses a improved wax trap system. It is easier to feel the wax trap click into place. Now, i just need to fix the color. The casing can be changed but i am not really impressed by the current color choices.

Y

Yes they are!!