I got my hearing aids about a year ago but never wore them because they wouldn’t stay on my ear. I learned it was because the tube is too long and needs to be trimmed.

The issue is my audiologist won’t be able to see me for at least 3 months to cut the tubes.

I wear Philips HearLink 9050 miniRITE, is there anyway I can trim them at home?

Not sure if this is the best place to post or not but here goes.

I am a speech-language pathologist (SLP) who works in a public school that has a Deaf and hard of program. The teacher of the Deaf (TOD) has made it very obvious that she finds SLPs to be worthless for her students. I do not feel like I can really talk to her or try to collaborate with her. I explained to her that my main priority is LANGUAGE and that I don’t just work on voicing (I’d actually prefer not to) but she believes that she’s the end all for her students.

To add to the frustration, I’m literally a hard of hearing person who is active in the Deaf community and trying to support the language/communication needs of students and she is a hearing woman with no personal connection to the Deaf community aside from her students.

I had wanted to stay at my school long term but I think I might end up leaving.

Also to note: I am the first signing SLP that they have ever worked with and if I leave they will go back to having an SLP who is ignorant on Deaf culture/experience

I’m just frustrated and needed to get this out to the ether.

I’ve been hard of hearing my whole life. I like to think I have good speech, in terms of grammar, I’m really good at English but obviously hearing impairment comes with speech impediment.

Is it possible that speech therapy can help improve the way I talk? Like for example, I don’t hear the C’s and T’s the way non hearing impaired people do, and when I pronounced it, people can hardly tell what it is I’m saying (but then again they have a hard time understanding me in general anyway). That’s why I don’t like to spell my name when people ask, I just write it down because I know they’ll have a hard time understand most of the letters I’m saying.

But my point is, is this how it’ll be for me or is it possible for speech therapy to improve my speech?

I lost my hearing at the age of 3 and grew up with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. However, thanks to speech therapy and the use of hearing aids I grew up being able to communicate coherently and hear though not always perfect. I rely on speaking and don’t use asl (though I am learning it now) and I work in customer service at my job but I know I am always going to have hearing loss. I really feel passionate about this field and want to pursue a career in it but I’m wondering how I can manage to work my way around it having hearing loss and performing tasks like hearing tests where audiologists have to use headphones or other tools where they use their ears to listen to the devices to ensure they work properly. For anyone who has hearing loss that is pursuing or trying to pursue this field, how do you or did you navigate it? Any advice would help and be greatly appreciated!

Hi, sorry in advance as I think this is my third post in as many weeks.

If you have hearing aids that are fairly obvious to others at first glance, do you ever worry that you’ll be defined by your hearing (or lack thereof) to anyone you’re meeting for the first time?

I had fairly visible BTE + mould hearing aids when I was about 10/11 and wore those for a good few years. Hated it. I thought I could escape them by buying the most discreet ones out there last year (Phonak Virto Infinio Titanium, I think they’re called). But that type of hearing aid just doesn’t suit my degree of hearing loss, unfortunately. I think I knew deep down that the ITE ones just weren’t as powerful, but I was just desperate for that not to be the case. A good 4 grand down the drain. So I’m now, at 25, about to trial the Eon Sphere. BTE with a mould.

It’s pretty crushing to be back here again, if I’m honest. With people instantly being able to spot your hearing aids from pretty much any angle… I know that getting the ones that work best should be all that matters. But I don’t want to be defined by my hearing loss. I’d rather people didn’t know I had hearing loss at all. Now I’ll basically be back to wearing the equivalent of a flashing neon sign telling the world I can’t hear properly.

Just wanted to type this out.

Has anyone had any success selling their custom hearing aids on online marketplaces or hearing aid forums by the way?

So im getting surgery to finally fix my perforated eardrum the cost before insurance is around 50k after insurance it comes to around 5k. I feel like thats alot for a simple surgery thats so common like taking out a wisdom tooth or tonsil removal. I feel like it would be cheaper to fly to bogota columbia and get it done there an pay cash out of pocket for 1/2 or less the price in the US

Hi all. I was originally implanted with a C1 in ‘97, got a revision on 10/5 and activated on 10/13. It’s only been a few days but I am admittedly frustrated with progress. I’ve been wearing the implant all day, doing audio books, Hearoes app, and sitting with family members doing 1:1 exercises. While I know everyone’s experience is different can anyone speak to the recovery timeline and how long it took to get back to “normal”. Again, it’s only been a few days but I’m already worried about going back to work (procurement manager, lots of talking in person and phone).

Hi all,

I have a hearing issue, so I depend on a speaker (not headphones) for my daily Zoom meetings.

Even a single speaker is fine — I don't need stereo.

What matters most to me is clear, loud speech without distortion. Bass is not important.

Right now I use a JBL Go 3. It sounds fine at normal levels but distorts at high volume, which is exactly when I need it.

I have tested many speakers, and JBL was the best of them so far.

Budget: under ₹10,000, available on Amazon India.

I'll be connecting it to my [laptop / PC — Bluetooth or wired].

If anyone with hearing loss has found a speaker that stays clean and clear at high volume for voice calls, please share your experience.

Thanks in advance.

So, I just became a student recently, this is my third time in school. I can barely understand what people are saying. Unless they are annunciating clearly, I can see their mouth, or the room is quiet- which its often none of these three is happening in a big classroom- I have to focus really hard on what is being said. If I go to take notes, or do a test problem, I have no idea what anyone's saying. I can tell people are talking but i miss lots of words or the whole thing.

Anyway sorry for rambling

I have a doctors appointment on Monday

Hi, I'm interested if there's anyone who had the injection in both ears

I’ve realized that if my hearing aids start bothering me after a few hours, I’m probably going to take them out and leave them out for the rest of the day.

It doesn’t matter how good they sound at that point.

I used to think choosing hearing aids was mostly about finding the ones that helped me hear better. Now I think I’d rather have a pair that feels comfortable enough to wear while I’m just going about my day, without constantly adjusting them or thinking about my ears.

Curious if anyone else feels the same way?

Hi, I'm deaf in one ear and have a hearing aid, but it doesn't really help much. I normally rely on my other ear and lip-reading, which I’m slowly getting better at. I get so tired of trying to listen that sometimes I just stop and let the world go by around me.

Sometimes I miss whole conversations even when I'm trying, and I get lost in big groups or loud crowds. I've been thinking about learning BSL, but I don't currently have the money.

Does anyone else feel the same? Do you have any tips or tricks that might help me?

I only lost my hearing in my left ear last year, so this is all basically new to me. Thanks in advance.

Edit

Thank you all for your suggestions and support. I’ve enrolled in an online BLS course. If anyone is interested, it’s an affordable option available at https://www.british-sign.co.uk/

If one ear is ok and the other is 75 db loss is that considered as HOH?

Hi! I consider myself a hearing person but have a range of sound frequencies with “hearing impairment” that affects my ability to understand people speaking. The funny thing is that for most other stuff I am on the hyperacusis side and I can hear a lot of little things that others cannot. I have found that wearing a badge with a symbol and label and “please be patient and speak clearly” is very helpful. I am a student doctor and work with many different people that are constantly changing over. I have a passion for disability rights (and I also have physical disabilities) and am learning introductory ASL but am not really part of the Deaf community. I know that the phrase “hearing impaired” is not favored by the community, but I am wondering about using it for myself as someone who feels outside of the community. I think the essence is to emphasize that Deaf/HoH people are not damaged hearing people, but there are many people who have “loss” or “damage“ to their hearing, such as from an acoustic trauma or barotrauma, so is it that still offensive? To me, I am a hearing person with an impairment to my hearing.

A little context:
I need people to face me when speaking. I need subtitles for videos and lyric sheets for songs. I need to look at people’s mouths to help me figure out what they are saying. I need reduced background noise to understand.

My mother and I and possibly her mother as well have notched audiograms that do not follow typical patterns of hearing damage. We all have lived the lives of hearing people and have either used or are getting hearing aids. I hope to get a Roger device.

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I still don't understand the anatomy of the ear like I was told by the ent I had an ear infection but then I was also told the etd tube is blocked which he meant middle ear fluid. And I don't understand how did that fluid even get there in the first place and why is it taking so long to drain and why is it affecting my hearing like I just feel like my ear isn't fully open and clear. And I'm still experiencing dizziness. Some days I'll hear cracking in the ear other days not so much. I don't know what exercises or remedy or even nasal spray if that helps would work. Because I've noticed when I can't hear properly on one side the entire left side of the mind also feels blocked. It feels very difficult to concentrate and focus. It's like I just can't think clearly and remember stuff. Even my eyes feel strained.

I noticed something recently that I hadn’t really thought about before. Before I started wearing hearing aids, I think I was avoiding conversations more than I realized. Not in an obvious way. I wasn’t thinking “I don’t want to talk to people.” But I would do little things like: choosing a quieter corner avoiding restaurants because I knew I’d struggle smiling and hoping I responded correctly

I got pretty good at pretending I was following along. The funny thing is, I don’t think most people around me even noticed. I was the only one constantly thinking about whether I heard something correctly. Since wearing hearing aids, I still miss things sometimes. But I feel like I’m participating more instead of just trying to keep up.

It’s a small difference, but I didn’t realize how much energy I was spending before. Did anyone else notice these changing after getting hearing aids?

Life is getting harder as my hearing gets worse, and the loneliness is becoming unbearable.

Being around people who don't understand disability, or make fun of it, makes it even more painful.

I recently visited another town for a couple of days. My cousin owns a café, and I thought I'd spend some time with her. On the first evening, I was waiting for my dinner when some people she knew, sitting at a couple of tables away, invited me to join them. I knew how difficult it would be to follow their conversation, so I smiled and said I was fine where I was. But my cousin gave me a look, so I joined them anyway.

Everyone was talking, asking me questions, and jumping from one topic to another. I couldn't keep up. I kept missing words and struggling to understand. I became so anxious that my heart was racing. Eventually, I got up and left.

I was still hungry, but I couldn't sit there anymore. I waited outside until everyone had left. I ate outside.

Imagine being in your own cousin's café and feeling so out of place that you have to leave just to breathe.

I don't want to be antisocial. I don't want to spend my life hiding in corners. I want to laugh with people, have conversations, and feel like I belong without constantly worrying about what I've missed or how others see me.

The hardest part is that I don't feel like I have people in my life with whom I can truly be myself without feeling left out. I don't have even 1 person not even on online platforms.

I wonder if anyone else feels this way. How do you deal with the loneliness when all you want is to feel like you belong somewhere?