Hearing Aids

I just wanted to share a life changing addition to my life.I have had issues with hearing for years. I am not an old guy. I am 53. I had my hearing tested about 12 years ago and though I had hearing loss the audiologist did not think hearing aids would be helpful. Earlier this year, my brother who is 9 years younger got hearing aids. He had profound hearing loss, he has probably had it for years. He had none of the risk factors for environmentally caused hearing loss. He was always the quiet in the corner of the room type of guy. It was probably because he couldn't hear. He had no idea that he should have been able to hear better.
I was the opposite due to my hearing loss. I was the loud guy in the room. After he got his I decided to get retested. I have moderate to severe hearing loss. Hearing aids have come a long way. The hearing aids are set to boost sounds based upon where in the spectrum I have hearing loss. The high frequencies are boosted more than the low. Different programs run depending on the situation. In a crowded room the hearing aids filter out sounds in back of me and focus on sounds in front. In loud places I try to sit so the majority of the action is behind me.
They are tiny. Mine are behind the ear with a tube with the wire leading to the speaker that is in my ear canal.
Phonak Audo V Hearing Aid, Audeo Hearing Aids | Phonak
They are truly amazing. I was talking softer before I even left the audiologists office the first day I got them. My wife and friends don't have to deal with my constantly saying "what", or "what did they say". I can watch tv. Before even if I turned up the volume I had trouble hearing, because everything got louder not just the frequencies I needed. I listen to a lot of music(this also explains why I can not carry a tune). I had forgotten or never knew the depth music has. Music has become even more important to me.If you have hearing issues, get checked. Do not let laziness or pride keep you from enjoying life to its fullest. Wearing hearing aids is not a sign of weakness it is a sign of strength. I told my audiologist that knowing what they do for my hearing I would wear a box on each ear if they helped this much. I don't give a rats ass what people think.The only drawback? My 6 year old son is very loud. My fault I was very loud before I get the hearing aids.My father who turns 80 next year got hearing aids finally after my brother did. He has needed them for years. He is regretting not doing it earlier and realizes he missed out on a part of his life.

Congratulation! I have been wearing them for about 8 years. My first pair were pretty good. They had 4 changeable programs and were connected to each other via Bluetooth, but they did not have individual adjustable volume. The set I have now are much more adjustable.Like you, it is live changing. I took a recording of road noise at highway speeds in my truck with me when I first got my new set. The technician created a program for me so the hearing aids do not amplify most of that noise, I can still hear it but it isn't amplified. It makes listening to music, NPR, or talking in my truck much more enjoyable.The cool thing about modern hearing aids is, they measure your hearing loss with a computer and then use your hearing loss profile to tune them to you.They are not cheap, but mine (bernafon) were ~$2400 at Costco compared to 2-3 times that much at other vendors.

Congrats! I have some hearing loss as well which will only worsen with time. I did not protect my hearing the way I should have and now I am paying the price for it. I hope your quality of life continues to improve as a result of hearing aids.