Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Cliff's new hearing aid

Cliff can only use one hearing aid; the hearing in his left ear is so impaired, and so bothered by tinitus, that nothing can be done for it.  He's had a hearing aid for the right ear for ten years or more, but it's been seldom-used.  It magnified background noise to the point that it overcame whatever he wanted to hear.  For a long time he'd use it a few minutes until it drove him nuts, then put it in his shirt pocket; and twice it ended up in the washing machine because he forgot about it.

His hearing hasn't been good for years, but I've noticed in the last six months things were getting worse, and he was even having difficulty understanding me when I was right in front of him.  So against his protests, I made an appointment at the ear doctor's.

I had thought perhaps since his hearing was so bad, he might be a candidate for a cochlear implant.  Insurance will pay for that.  It does not pay for hearing aids. 

But that isn't an option for him, so we ended up with what you see in the picture; I placed a penny there so you can see the size of it.  The lady who fitted and adjusted it to him said it's actually a tiny computer.  The working part of it doesn't go in his ear, but above/behind it.  You really have to look hard to even see he's wearing it.

It cost $1,900.

It seperates background noise from conversation, and magnifies only the wanted sounds.  No longer does he have that strained look on his face from trying to make out what I am saying.  He doesn't have the desire to remove it and put it in his pocket, so hopefully I won't end up washing it (but it's insured for two years anyhow). 

I do believe it's a bargain.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow Mo....and oh Cliff....best of luck with the new aide...hope it does for you all that you hope that it will.....Love and hugs....Ora

Anonymous said...

Neat!

Anonymous said...

Woo Hoo!  If this really works well, I have not a few friends who will give up some of their "wants" for this kind of help.  Be blessed, Penny

Anonymous said...

How wonderful !  There are a lot of people that probably don't even know this is available to them.  Thanks for sharing ! 'On Ya'  - ma
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Anonymous said...

That is wonderful!  Hopefully it is insured against washing machines!  Anne

Anonymous said...

John got a hearing aid a few years ago, wore it a few hours, took it off to never look at it again. I just read this to him, but he didn't make a comment. The price probably scared him. I would pay any price to hear what is being said. Thanks for sharing. Paula

Anonymous said...

That is so cool... and TINY! Isn't technology wonderful?

Anonymous said...

That is awesome...I know you both enjoy it....b/c you can communicate better.  

Anonymous said...

Wonderful news!

Anonymous said...

I can just imagine how frustrating it is to not be able to hear clearly, and then when you do use a hearing aide, it just doesn't seem to do the trick!  I hope this one proves to be the hearing aide that works like a charm!

Jackie

Anonymous said...

That looks like a good one. Someday I might get another one. I do not have the best of hearing. It is hard for aids to fix it because there is nerve deafness and conduction deafness combined.