Drying your hearing aids

It is inevitable that your hearing aids will get wet.  Unfortunately, if they get wet enough (and it doesn't take much) they will stop working.  The good news is, that the electronics are resilient enough that they will not stop working completely, but you will need them to dry out for a while before they start working again.

I have gotten my hearing aids wet many times throughout my life.  I've been caught in rain storms, I've forgotten to take them out when I stepped in the shower or jumped in a pool, and most commonly I've forgotten to protect my hearing aids from my sweat while I work out (I discuss working out with your hearing aids here).  Each time, I've been able to dry my hearing aids and they returned to normal function.

There are a couple of ways to dry them, but it takes time for your hearing aids to dry so you need a lot of patience.

First, Start by taking the battery out (if you have a battery) and opening the battery compartment completely.  Then separate the tubing (if you have tubing) from the hearing aid.  The key here is to expose as much surface area of the hearing aid to air as possible.  Then dab the hearing aid and battery dry with a towel or tissue.  

Second, If you have access to a blow dryer, I recommend using one of those.  However, it is important that you do not let the hearing aid heat up, as the electronics are extremely sensitive to heat.  So use a low heat setting.  

If you do not have a hair dryer you can also blow on the hearing aid or use a gentle stream of compressed air.

Gently blow air onto the hearing aid for a minute or two, and then let it rest for a little while.  Then repeat.  After about 5 minutes, test the hearing aid to see if it works.  If it doesn't, then repeat with the air until it does a few more times.  

Third, If the hearing aid doesn't resume working after a few attempts with blown air, then leave the hearing aid in dry rice, or a desiccator for several hours or overnight.

Finally, if the first three steps haven't gotten your hearing aid back to working order, then call your audiologist for further recommendations.  They may have some options for you, including giving you a loaner hearing aid which will allow you to get the wet hearing aid fixed without any further interruptions to your regular hearing.

Again, getting your hearing aid wet is inevitable, but fortunately hearing aids are resilient so don't panic, and be patient while you restore your hearing aid to its normal function.

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Protecting Your Hearing Aids While You Sleep

My family adopted a small, Cairn terrier (Shadow) when I was in elementary school (Kindergarten or 1st grade) and she would regularly sleep with me in my bed.  I remember that my mom was very insistent that I put my hearing aids in a place that would prevent Shadow from getting to them and eating them.  My mom claimed that animals would love to get a hold of my hearing aids and eat them or chew them up.  Growing up I was always skeptical of my mom's claim, but I listened to my mom and I never had a problem with Shadow trying to eat my hearing aids.

I usually stored my hearing aids in a bedside table drawer, and then as I got older and started playing sports and needed to dry my hearing aids out more often, then I left my hearing aids in a desiccator (a device that dries out the air and anything in them).  While I was at college, I kept my hearing aids in a drawer or on my desk since I didn’t have to worry about an animal eating them, and my roommates never showed any interest in wearing my hearing aids.

After college, I had a roommate with a kitten and I had forgotten about my mom’s warnings regarding protecting my hearing aids while I slept.  One night, the kitten did what it seems most kittens do and he knocked my hearing aids on the floor.  Fortunately, that is all he did and there was no damage to my hearing aids.  After that night though, I kept my hearing aids in a desiccator.

Throughout the years I have met people who were not as lucky as I was that night with my roommate’s cat.  In one case their dog completely ate both hearing aids and they only know because  the batteries caused the dog to throw up, and they found the hearing aid parts in a wet, sticky pile on the floor.  In another case, the dog shredded the hearing aids and left parts lying all over the bedroom.  In both cases, their hearing aids were destroyed and they had to get new hearing aids.  Turns out my mom was right!

I am fortunate now to have a dog who has incredibly good manners and doesn’t take things off of counters or tables, so I don’t keep the hearing aids protected when I sleep.  But, I do occasionally keep the hearing aids in a desiccant and I think as a general rule it’s good to store your hearing aids in a desiccant while you sleep.  Now that I have a daughter, I’m curious to see if I need to take more extreme measures to protect my hearing aids once she enters the mobile and curious stage of her life.

If you’re considering hearing aids, I do recommend that you assess your situation and take the proper measures to protect your hearing aids from children and pets.  If you’re in doubt, invest in a desiccant and then you can sleep in peace.

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's OK to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Thank you for making it easier

Thank you for repeating what you just said.  Sometimes more than once.  I realize that it’s frustrating, especially if you need to repeat everything you say.  I’ve been there, with people who wear hearing aids and with people who need hearing aids.  It’s not easy to be patient, it’s not easy to repeat yourself so many times, but you have been patient and you have repeated yourself.

I spent this past weekend with some friends and I noticed that every time I spoke with one of them I asked her to repeat herself.

Every. Single. Time.

She didn’t get frustrated.

She didn’t say ‘Nevermind’ and end the conversation.

She didn’t stop talking to me because she was tired of repeating herself.

I can tell you that I was frustrated.  I wouldn’t blame her if she had said ‘never mind’. And I certainly wouldn’t have blamed her for finding someone else to talk to.  But she didn’t, and for that, I’m eternally grateful for such a wonderful friend.

It’s not easy to need hearing aids.  It’s not easy to ask people to repeat themselves so many times.  It’s not easy to depend on my friends, family, and co-workers to help me hear.

There have been many days and even weeks when I’ve been frustrated and angry about needing hearing aids.  There have been many times I wished I didn’t need them.  There have been times where I’ve felt ashamed of my disability.

And you know what?  That’s ok.

It’s ok to feel frustration, anger, rage, and shame.  It’s not easy.  I wish I could say it gets easier.  Surrounding myself with people who support me and who care make it easier.  Being patient and utilizing the tactics I discuss in this blog make it easier.  Wearing my hearing aids makes it easier.

To my friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances, THANK YOU for making it easier.

If you find yourself in my situation, realize that having hearing loss is not easy.  But getting hearing aids is a tremendous first step towards making life just a little bit easier.

Sweat and Hearing Aids

I have found that keeping my hearing aids dry is one of the most difficult things I must deal with (second to a dead battery).  It is very easy to keep them dry when I'm showering or swimming because I can simply take them out.  If I get caught in a rainstorm, I can also protect them using a raincoat, umbrella or by taking them out and putting them somewhere out of danger.  But, keeping my hearing aids dry when I sweat while I work out is not easy.

Because I wear behind-the-ear hearing aids (that aren’t waterproof), when I sweat, the electronics of the hearing aids are exposed to water which causes the hearing aids to stop working.  Then I must go through an extensive drying routine (which I’ll go into in a future post).

I have used several strategies to prevent my hearing aids from getting wet when sweat.  The first strategy is to have my hearing aid hang on the outside of my ear (instead of resting on top of my ear between the helix/antihelix and my head).  This way, the sweat accumulates away from the hearing aid.  This is an excellent way to keep the hearing aid dry when no other protection is available.  Unfortunately, this isn’t a very good way to keep the hearing aid protected from the physical impact that might knock the hearing aid out of my ear, so I do not recommend relying on this strategy very often.

The second is to put them into a hearing aid sweat protector like this or this (or google ‘hearing aid sweat protection’).  These protectors prevent sweat from entering the hearing aid and causing it to stop working.  I used these for years playing sports when I was a kid and I never had a hearing aid stop working due to sweat.

Finally, the third option and my most preferred option now is to wear a headband.  The headband sits between my head and my hearing aid and it stops any sweat from getting into my hearing aid.  I also like it because I don’t have sweat running down my forehead into my eyes or dripping off my head.  I realize that headbands aren’t necessarily stylish but looking weird is a small price to pay to keep my hearing aids dry so I can continue to hear while I work out and play sports.

I’m sure there are other strategies out there to keep hearing aids dry while working out, and if you have any to share please do so!  Keeping your hearing aids dry is important, not only so you can hear while your sweating, but I’m certain that it improves the performance and longevity of your hearing aid over time.

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

What It's Like...to Not Have Hearing Aids

Guest Post - I've known Derek since 2002.  In that 16 year span, we've both grown up, matured, found our footing, harnessed our sarcasm, and transitioned from high school kids to full blown adults with careers and mortgages and, for one of us, children.  A lot of things have changed, but one thing that hasn't?  Derek still has hearing aids...and I still do not.   

I’d like to say that, when I first met Derek, the last thing I noticed was his hearing aids.  I’d like to say I never picked up on the slight differences in the way he spoke, in the tone of his voice. I’d like to say I saw past the obvious, that didn’t register at all.  I’d like to say all of these things…but I can’t.  Aside from the fact that Derek was tall, witty, and handsome, I noticed Derek’s hearing loss right away.

Initially, I probably did all the things people do when they notice someone is hearing-impaired or deaf:  I overcompensated.  I spoke and e-n-u-n-c-i-a-t-e-d my words differently– a bad habit I picked up from years of trying to communicate with my hearing-impaired grandfather. I was hyperaware of the way my lips moved when I talked, thinking about all the ways I shaped vowels and consonants in a way I thought Derek could hear them. I worried about saying the wrong thing, thinking a question or unrelated sarcastic comment would halt our friendship in its tracks. I thought about Derek differently, both as the person he was but also as a person who is hearing-impaired and navigating what I assumed to be a more complicated world.

I did what we all (probably) do:  I saw the hearing-impaired person, not the person with hearing aids.  And I saw this hearing-impaired person through the lens of my own imagination and biases and allowed that to be the first filter I applied to the friendship.

Then the cliché:  I got to know Derek. The whole Derek. And the whole Derek was hilarious, sarcastic, mischievous (emphasis on that one), engaging, friendly, competitive, and…”a typical teenage boy” in a way most other typical teenage boys were. Because of course he was. But let’s be honest, Derek was that way from the start.  It was I who had to peel back my own self-made barriers and reflect on judgments I had created to see it.

When we first meet someone whose differences we can see, who triggers something in us, the challenge isn’t in failing to see those differences or building a wall around personalizing something that clearly is not ours to own.  The challenge is taking those components in with the entire picture, of not seeing the parts but the whole.  Because to pretend that Derek doesn’t live in a world different from my own would be ridiculous – of course he does.  But to pretend that Derek’s differences define our every interaction is worse. 

In this vein, I can’t, and don’t, pretend my friendship with Derek is without specific differences.  I have be aware of what direction I’m facing when speaking to him. I have to be more mindful while communicating in situations that challenge verbal communication.  I have to be more purposeful in the way I say things like “Manu Ginobili sucks” or “I hate CSU” (wouldn’t want him hearing those things as “Go Spurs go” or “I’m proud to be a CSU Ram.”). But I have to do all those things not because I’m trying to place Derek in a separate box or treat him differently or coddle him. I have to do those things – choose to do those things…want to do those things…just do those things - because doing those things allows me to be a part of Derek’s life. 

I can’t speak to how being hearing-impaired has affected Derek – only he can do that. What I can speak to is how having Derek as a friend, and therefore befriending someone who is hearing-impaired, has affected me. And truly, aside from the initial predispositions (which were clearly all mine and served as a good self-check and life lesson) and the slight variation in the way we communicate, the rest is…well, delightfully boring. Because in the end, people are great friends because they become great friends and are incredible people because they become incredible people. And as we well know, incredible people, like Derek, aren’t defined by their disabilities, their challenges…by their separate parts – they’re defined by the sum of their being, which in Derek’s case, just happens to include hearing aids.

Closed Captioning at the Movies

A few months ago, I wrote about closed captioning.  In that article, I mentioned that I don’t like to go to the movies because of the options available for hard of hearing people aren’t very good.  In my experience, the movies which had closed captioning on the screen weren’t played with any regularity or at very convenient times to make that a viable option.  Also, the closed caption devices which displayed the dialogue on the screen through a device which is held only by the person that needs it were not very good at keeping in place with the dialogue.  For example, the captioning would either be a few seconds ahead or behind of the actual dialogue playing in the movie, which is incredibly difficult to deal with.  Because of this experience, I have avoided going to movies and have opted to skip seeing the movies in the theater and to wait for them to come out on DVD or streaming service, which have closed captioning.

Well, this spring and summer have a massive lineup of new releases which I would love to see on the big screen. I decided to test the closed captioning devices out on two movies this weekend and I’m thrilled to report that in both cases the closed captioning devices work without a glitch and now I’m to see all the movies I’m anxious to see on the big screen!

I began by asking the ticket counter where to get a device which in both cases was the ticket counter.  They asked me which theater I was going to be in so that they could give me the right device.  The devices they gave me have a screen attached via a long, flexible arm to a piece that fits securely into a cup holder.  I had to apply a little effort to get the device into the cup holder, but it didn’t budge for the rest of the movie.  I then positioned the captioning screen so that it was just below the bottom of the movie screen in my field of vision.

I will admit that it did take a while to get used to moving my eyes from the movie screen down to the captioning screen, but the movies I saw contained dialogue from people with strong accents which I’m certain I would not have heard or understood if I hadn’t had the captioning device.  Using the device was well worth the adjustment and greatly outweighed any inconvenience.

I give many kudos to the companies that have made this captioning device functional and simple to use. I was also incredibly impressed with the staff at the theaters who made sure that I was familiar with the devices and had employees test a device when the movies started to ensure that they were working properly. That’s incredible attention to detail! These devices will greatly enhance my movie-going experiences and I no longer must wait for movies to come out for home use to be able to see them!

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Reading Lips

I have written before about advocating for yourself, what to do if a hearing aid battery dies, and meeting new people.  I also try to mention in every single post about the realities of wearing hearing aids and how you 1) You need to wear your hearing aids, 2) Your physical location will help you hear better, 3) Water is not your friend and 4) It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids.  Well, the skill I want to talk about today is an extremely powerful tool to help you hear and covers items 1, 2 and 4 I listed above.

That tool is Reading Lips.

I am not an expert on how to develop this skill because I don’t remember how I did.  I suggest that you search the internet, talk to your Audiologist and to a speech pathologist about things you can do to develop your lip-reading skills.  However, I do want to impress upon you that it is a skill that is invaluable, and I’d like to give you a couple of examples of why it’s important.

When I meet new people, besides acknowledging that I wear hearing aids and answering their questions, I usually tell them that I read lips and if I am not looking at them, they should assume that I can’t hear them. Also, maybe they could wait until I look at them before saying whatever they need to say.  This is especially true in restaurants or places where there is a lot of background noise.  Hearing Aid technology has come a long way with regard to reducing background noise, but they aren’t perfect and the background noise can interfere with regular conversation.  The cool thing is, in loud situations with a lot of background noise (restaurants, concerts, bars, sports events, etc.), I’ve found that being able to read lips means that I can ‘hear’ my conversation partners better than they can me!

When I was younger, my family and I agreed that if they wanted to talk to me and I was in another room in the house, that they or I would move to the same room so that I could see them when they wanted to talk to me.  This follows ‘assume when I am not looking at you, I can’t hear you’.

Reading Lips comes in handy in situations where you find yourself unable to wear your hearing aids.  For example, at the swimming pool, in hot tubs, sauna’s, the shower, or most occasions involving water.  I plan to write about water in future posts, but for now, know that water and hearing aids don’t mix (unless they’re waterproof).  I’ve been able to participate in many water-based activities in part because I can read lips and because I have wonderful friends and family who understand that I can’t hear them unless I’m looking at them.

Some things make reading lips more difficult: Heavy facial hair (especially mustaches), people who talk without moving their lips very much and people talking with their mouths full of food.  In those situations, I usually find myself asking people to repeat themselves more often or to slow down when they talk.

Conclusion

It takes time to develop the skills necessary to read lips.  However, I strongly believe that reading lips is a huge part of my hearing.  While my hearing aids are wonderful at helping me hear, reading lips provides another way for me to hear the subtle nuances of speech which I cannot hear even with my hearing aids.  I suggest that you talk with your audiologist and a speech pathologist and make a deliberate effort to develop those skills.  They will immensely improve your interpersonal quality of life and help you when you’re in conversation with your colleagues, friends, and family.  Don’t forget to advocate for yourself and make sure that your conversation partner knows that you can’t hear them unless you’re looking at them.

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Meeting New People When You Wear Hearing Aids

Here at ‘Iwearhearingaids.org', I have a couple of overarching themes which I consider to be ‘The Realities of Life with hearing aids.'  Those realities are 1) You need to wear your hearing aids, 2) Your physical location will help you hear better, 3) Water is not your friend and 4) It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids.  I have chosen these four realities because most situations experienced by hearing aid users fall generally into one or two of these categories.

I wrote earlier about advocating for yourself, but I want to go into a little more detail about what to keep in mind when you meet someone for the first time.  Essentially, I want you to feel comfortable and confident enough to make strangers aware that you have a hearing loss.  Simply making most people aware of your hearing loss is usually enough to make sure that they accommodate you as much as possible.

In a face to face situation, if you’re wearing your hearing aids, chances are really good that your new acquaintance noticed your hearing aids.  Etiquette rules suggest people don’t point out someone’s disability but many people will ask.  I have found that if people ask before I mention my hearing loss, they’re coming from a place of genuine curiosity.  I really only remember one time in my entire life where someone pointed out my hearing aids with the intent to hurt my feelings (I was a kid and he was a neighborhood bully). 

Generally, the conversation is always the same regardless of who brings it up (me or them).  Almost invariably they ask 1) If I can hear anything without my hearing aids (I can, but not very well) and 2) How long I’ve had to wear hearing aids (my whole life).  Then I steer the conversation towards things that will help me hear them better. I tell them that if I’m not looking at them chances are good I can’t hear them.  After that, most people turn the conversation towards other topics.

Surprisingly, getting help from the person I am meeting for the first time isn’t too difficult if I am on the phone.  The best route to go is to let that person know up front so they know I may ask them to repeat themselves.  The other option is to say that you’re having trouble hearing them and ask them to repeat themselves.  I’ve found the majority of people adjust their phones so they get much louder and clearer as a result of that statement, and then I don’t have to go into all of the details about my hearing loss.

Conclusion

I recommend that you control the conversation with anyone you meet by mentioning your hearing loss early on in the conversation.  It not only allows them to help you hear better but it also satisfies their curiosity and alleviates any discomfort you, or they, may be feeling.  Tell them what you need from them, answer any of their questions as much as you’re comfortable with, and then move on to getting to know them.  Fortunately, most people are willing to accommodate us but may not quite know how to and having that conversation early will help them do that!

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Using the Phone While Wearing Hearing Aids

Here at ‘Iwearhearingaids.org', I have a couple of overarching themes which I consider to be ‘The Realities of Life with hearing aids.'  Those realities are 1) You need to wear your hearing aids, 2) Your physical location will help you hear better, 3) Water is not your friend and 4) It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids.  I have chosen these four realities because most situations experienced by hearing aid users fall generally into one or two of these categories.

Tactics for talking on the phone

If you are wearing hearing aids, chances are that at some point in your life you will have to talk to someone on the phone.  I personally talk on the phone many times throughout the day and I’ve tried a million separate ways to hear on the phone better.  Fortunately, with advances in technology, such as facetime, skype, email, and text messaging, we don’t have to rely solely on our hearing to communicate.  But, if you can’t do one of those things or meet in person, talking on the phone is necessary.

Advances in hearing aid and speaker technology have greatly enhanced phone usage.  When I was a kid, phones had 1 or 2 volume settings, low and lower.  Then came various attachments which you could plug into the line that raised the volume significantly.  I remember when my parents got one, suddenly my world got a whole lot bigger!  I also found that by taking my hearing aid off, I heard the conversation better and I still use this trick from time to time when I find myself using a phone I can’t hear on.

When I talk on the phone now I use 3 tactics. 

1. I press the microphone of my hearing aid to the speaker of the phone.  If you wear behind the ear hearing aids, like I do, you’ll find you position the phone at the top of your ear, not near the entry of the ear.  I do this for 2 reasons.  First, because my earmold is essentially an earplug and the only sound that gets into my ear is through the actual hearing aid. Second, because my hearing aid can magnify otherwise difficult to hear conversations.  If you wear in-the-ear hearing aids, this doesn’t really apply to you!
2. I use the Speakerphone.  When the speakerphone was an option on cell phones I used the speaker option almost exclusively.  The speakerphone option is much louder than the regular speaker and makes hearing difficult to hear conversations infinitely easier.
• I put video calling (facetime, skype, etc.) in the category of speaker phones because your caller’s voice is usually broadcast through a speaker.  Video also has the added advantage of allowing you to see your caller and reading their lips.  Both help with communication!
3.  Bluetooth.  If I have the option to use Bluetooth, either through my car or my hearing aid’s Bluetooth option, I use it.  The car's speakers are nice and powerful, making it easier to hear.  My hearing aid’s Bluetooth is direct to my ear. 
• Note on hearing aid Bluetooth.  You can hear well, but I suspect the person you’re talking to on the other end thinks you sound like you’re at the other end of a tunnel.  Remember when you first got your hearing aids?  That’s what they hear.

Location, Location, Location

Another thing to consider when talking on the phone isn’t the hardware itself, it’s where you are at the time the of conversation.  If you find yourself in a noisy place and you can’t hear on the phone, I strongly suggest you don’t answer the phone!  Otherwise, tell your caller you need a minute to find a quieter place to chat and have them wait.  Then move to a quieter place, there are millions of them, I just don’t recommend trespassing or going into a bathroom (avoid phone calls in bathrooms, that’s just good manners).  Finally, you can always tell your caller you’ll call them back or see if they’re willing to text or email.

Conclusion

Talking on the phone used to be the thing I hated the most about wearing hearing aids and being hearing impaired.  Fortunately, the technology has improved to the point where it’s not nearly as challenging.  For some conversations texting and email are sufficient, but talking is by far the best way to communicate (I include sign language in the same category as talking).  Text messaging isn’t as good as face-to-face or over the phone at helping you build strong connections with other people.  Trust me, the people who you want to be associating with are the ones who will work with you so that you can hear them.

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Hearing Aid Batteries

Here at ‘Iwearhearingaids.org', we have a couple of overarching themes which we consider to be ‘The Realities of life with hearing aids.'  Those realities are 1) You need to wear your hearing aids, 2) Your physical location will help you hear better, 3) Water is not your friend and 4) It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids.  We have chosen these four realities because most situations experienced by hearing aid users fall generally into one or two of these categories.

Let’s say you put your hearing aids on today, and you’re walking down the street when the battery dies!  Do you have a battery?  No? Then you might as well not be wearing your hearing aid!

I recently found myself in this situation, without a battery, despite my extensive efforts to prevent such a situation.  I had gone to my in-law's house with my wife.  We usually keep batteries in our cars and in my wife’s purse, which covers us a majority of the time.  From my in-laws, we went to dinner and would you believe it? My battery died!  Well, guess what? My in-laws drove and my wife didn’t have her purse!  I may as well have not been wearing my hearing aid.

The most common time I find myself with a dead hearing aid and without a spare hearing aid battery is when I got outside for a run.  I use a Bluetooth connection to listen to music and podcasts while I work out, which tends to drain the hearing aid battery faster than normal.  I try to keep a spare battery in my athletic band which holds my phone and hearing aid remote while I run so I can continue to listen with both ears.  Many times though, I find myself listening with only 1 ear because a battery died.

Hearing Aid Battery Laws (HABL)

There are a couple of laws regarding hearing aid batteries which I’ve encountered in my 30 years of wearing hearing aids I want you to know about, and then I’ll discuss how to live with those laws.

Hearing Aid Battery Law #1: No matter how prepared you think you are, your battery will die when you don’t have a spare battery available.

Hearing Aid Battery Law #2: You can never have too many hearing aid batteries.

Hearing Aid Battery Law #3: These batteries are expensive!

I realize that these laws may seem contradictory, but I think you’ll come to find that if you remember these laws, and you work to appease the laws, then you can limit their impact on your daily life and keep your hearing aids working properly and thus putting them to work to do what they were intended to do!  Which, of course, is to help you hear.

HABL1 is by far the most aggravating part of wearing hearing aids.  Chances are you took the effort to put your hearing aids in and you’re probably out and about hearing things and now and then you can’t because the battery died! HABL2 is the best way to get around finding yourself without hearing aid batteries.  Short of never leaving a retail pharmacy, I have not found a way to perfectly prevent myself from being without a spare battery. HABL3 prevents you from buying a thousand batteries and keeping them in every nook and cranny you can possibly imagine.  Even if I were in the top 1%, I wouldn’t spend the money needed to place a battery in every imaginable place to prevent being without one.

Strategies I’ve used to prevent being without a battery

Ladies, your purse is probably the single greatest invention in history when it comes to carrying spare hearing aid batteries.  Guys, I imagine your egos are like mine and you’re not in a hurry to carry a purse.

When I was in college, I found myself carrying a pack of batteries in my pocket everywhere I went.  This was by far the best strategy I have employed to prevent myself from being stranded without one.  I just kept the pack with my wallet and phone, and anytime I put them in a pocket, so too went the batteries.  Now I don’t do this any longer and I’ll tell you why.  The packages that are small enough to fit in a pocket discreetly are made with cardboard, which over the course of 2 months disintegrate.  I use the term discreetly with a bit of sarcasm because that package is anything but discreet!  I found that they’re not comfortable in a pocket alongside your wallet, phone, and keys.  Also, I found that when I kept a pack in my pocket, I wouldn’t keep them anywhere else, so there were times when I forgot to put the pack in my pocket and therefore ended up with a dead hearing aid!

I also tried keeping individual batteries in my pocket, but I found that they were too small and sometimes I’d forget to take them out of my pocket when they went into the laundry. Then the battery found its way into the wash and dry cycle.  It turns out these batteries are not intended to get wet, then dried at elevated temperature!  Sadly, the battery was ruined and ended up being an expensive mistake.  See Hearing Aid enemy #2.

The strategy I employ now is one that works well, and I recommend it to everyone.  First and foremost, I keep an aluminum keychain emergency pill container which holds around 6 batteries on my keys.  I take my keys with me to most places, and chances are my keys are in my pocket no matter where I am.  This pill container is waterproof and low profile, so it doesn’t add considerably to my keychain profile and is worth the extra space it takes up.  I know there are many options out there, so I suggest starting here (note, I am not a spokesperson for this product).  The second part of my strategy is that I put a pack of hearing aids everywhere I spend more than 1 hour of time. In my house, car, desk at work, briefcase/backpack, suitcase, gym bag and my wife’s purse.  In this scenario, it means I own a minimum of 7 packs at any given time which allows me to maximize HABL2 and minimize HABL3.  I also recommend that you consider putting a pack into your backpack/camelback if you’re a hiker/biker/runner and a single battery into your athletic band which you put your phone/mp3 player into when you work out.

Chances are, if you employ this strategy, you’ll draw the majority of your batteries from the keychain case and replenish it using up the packs in your house and at work before you run out of the packs in the other places.  Thus, you’ll only have to buy 1 or 2 packs at a time helping you minimize HABL3 even more.

Other Considerations

I have found that Energizer and Duracell make the best hearing aid batteries.  I’m not saying that the other brands won’t get the job done, and I’ve bought these brands more than a couple of times!  I’ve also found that the cheapest way to buy hearing aids is through Amazon (keep in mind, you get what you pay for).  They have some selections that provide 5 times as many batteries as a pack or two will provide at a local pharmacy or big box store.

Batteries, just like your hearing aids, hate water, so keep them dry! If you don’t use a hearing aid dryer when you’re not wearing your hearing aids, open your battery compartment all the way, especially if you live in a humid place.  This will help your hearing aid and your battery stay dry and help lengthen their functional lives.

Conclusion

If you wear hearing aids, are having trouble with your batteries dying and find yourself with a dud, give a couple of these strategies a shot.  If you have worn hearing aids and have a strategy which I didn’t cover above, I’d love to hear it!  Please post in the comments below.
Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Advocating for Yourself While Wearing Hearing Aids

Here at ‘Iwearhearingaids.org', I have a couple of overarching themes which I consider to be ‘The Realities of Life with hearing aids.'  Those realities are 1) You need to wear your hearing aids, 2) Your physical location will help you hear better, 3) Water is not your friend and 4) It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids.  I have chosen these four realities because most situations experienced by hearing aid users fall generally into one or two of these categories.

There are many times in life where advocating for and asserting yourself is the most important thing you can do.  For example, asking for a raise when you know you deserve one or asking to have your burger re-cooked if it was under/over-cooked.  You get the idea.  Other times, it’s necessary to have other people help you advocate for yourself, for example getting a lawyer when your landlord isn’t living up to half of the contract.  Regardless of the situation, you need to know when it’s time to advocate for yourself.  When it comes to being able to hear, I can’t think of a single reason why you should compromise.  The good news is, I’ve only been in a very small number of situations where I had any trouble getting the help I needed.  In each of those cases, I was able to come to some arrangement that was satisfactory.  In short, I advocated for myself successfully.

What is Advocacy?

In a nutshell, I think of advocacy as two-fold.  First, putting myself in the best position to hear.  Second, simply letting people know that I am hearing impaired and why I need certain accommodations. 

For example, background noise makes it difficult to hear in a restaurant, so I position myself so that my back is against a wall to minimize the background noise.  Most of the time, I’m able to subtly take the seat with my back to a wall and my dinner companions don’t even know what I’m up to.  However, sometimes they beat me to the best spot, so I explain the situation to them and they immediately let me have that seat.

Being Assertive

Advocating for yourself requires that you be assertive.  Most of the time you’re not going to need to do anything but explain to someone the situation and how you need to be accommodated.  If there’s resistance, ask them if they have any ideas to help you that would be a good compromise.  However, if the compromise isn’t satisfactory, or turns out to be inadequate, you should continue to assert your needs until you are satisfied.  Focus on why you need something to be done the way it is, usually, that is enough.

Being assertive also requires that you are calm and persistent.  If you begin to yell or attack the people with whom you’re trying to work, chances are they’ll be less inclined to help.  I am very fortunate in that I have never had a situation where it escalated in a negative way.  Only once, while I was trying to work with a particularly arrogant professor, have I had any trouble, which I resolved using the ‘Americans with Disabilities Act.’

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Part of advocacy and being assertive is knowing the law.  The ADA protects you from discrimination and requires reasonable accommodations be made for people with disabilities.  Simply knowing that helps should you ever get into a situation with an employer or a school where people are not being accommodating.  On the job, bring up the ADA to your manager, talk to someone in Human Resources about your needs. Also, check out the services available to you through the government (www.ada.gov) if you feel the need to.  Try searching the ADA website for ‘reasonable accommodations for hearing loss’ if you’re looking for a place to start.  

Please realize that ‘reasonable accommodation’ doesn’t mean ‘whatever you want.’  So, you may have to compromise.

Conclusion

Having a hearing loss requires vigilance, advocacy, and assertiveness on your part to be able to function well.  Usually explaining to people why you need something to be done, is enough.  With practice, you’ll find that most of the time you’ll advocate for yourself silently through where you position yourself and with whom you choose to spend your time.  The people I spend most of my time with at work and at home understand my needs and are genuinely interested in making sure I’m accommodated.  I am truly grateful to them.

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Soundtrack of Silence - Snap Judgement Podcast Episode #903

This particular podcast episode by Snap Judgement is a really wonderful look into the lives of a man, a couple and eventually a family whose lives are touched by hearing loss.  I really hope you're able to take some time to listen to this story!

Snap #903 - Soundtrack Of Silence

https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/snap-903-soundtrack-silence/

Closed Captioning (CC) for the Hearing Impaired

Here at ‘Iwearhearingaids.org', I have a couple of overarching themes which I consider to be ‘The Realities of life with hearing aids.'  Those realities are 1) You need to wear your hearing aids, 2) Your physical location will help you hear better, 3) Water is not your friend and 4) It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids.  I have chosen these four realities because most situations experienced by hearing aid users fall generally into one or two of these categories.

Closed Captioning (CC) falls into the fourth category because despite wearing your hearing aids, the way movies and television are produced makes it incredibly difficult to hear voices which ultimately make it very difficult to hear the dialogue watching TV/Movies. However, it is entirely possible to watch a TV/Movie without your hearing aids using CC!

TV

When I was a kid, CC did not exist (or it wasn’t widespread at all).  Now, it's everywhere, and that's a good thing!  I don’t remember this, but it turns out that as a kid I would ignore cartoons and watch the commercials because I couldn't hear the voices or read the lips of the cartoons, and commercials are louder than the regular programming.  The first tv shows that I remember watching that had CC were ‘Full House', ‘Rugrats', ‘Wishbone' and ‘Arthur'.

Once most television shows and home movies started regularly using CC, my consumption of on-screen media really took off.  But there were a few times when I would go to a friend's house and we'd be watching something with CC, and they'd complain about not being able to watch the show because they were busy reading the subtitles.  And perhaps you feel the same way.  To that, I respond that the benefits to you are obvious.  Your friends and family should be encouraged to use CC when they watch tv or movies with you.  They will eventually be able to watch movies and shows with no headaches or annoyance due to the reading/watching duality.  So will you.

Movies

Movie theaters have gotten somewhat better about making showtimes available with CC for the Hard of Hearing and Deaf community.  Unfortunately, they're not frequent enough or especially convenient. 

I recently went to see ‘Dr. Strange' in the movie theater.  I went to a show which was not CC knowing full well that I'd miss a lot of the dialogue.  But I did my best and really thought that I'd caught most of the plot and activity.  However, when I rented it at home and watched it with CC, I realized that I missed TONS of dialogue and plot activity because I didn't or couldn't hear voices.  I often opt out of going to a movie at a theater unless it's a show I really want to experience on the big screen.  Usually, in that case, I go prepared to miss a lot, and I'm prepared to rent the show when it becomes available, so I can watch it with CC.

Sports and News on TV

There's a significant delay between what's said during sporting events and newscasts on tv and what comes across the screen via CC.  There's a couple of ways to handle this.  First, turn CC off, turn up the volume and do your best.  This is especially handy during sports because CC ticker gets in the way of the plays that are developing on the screen.  Second, turn off the volume and read the CC.  Have you ever been to the gym with a TV showing CC and you couldn't hear the volume?  It's surprisingly easy!  Finally, you can do both the hearing and reading thing.  Do it enough and you'll get pretty good at it.

Online/YouTube, Etc.

Until recently, the online video websites didn't have a CC option, and it's still hit or miss on whether they offer it.  However, this service is gaining in popularity and accuracy.  I believe that most online CC services use tech-based voice translating services, so the accuracy of the translation is mediocre.  I'm sure it'll get better as time passes, but in the meantime, I recommend using it as much as possible, so that the content providers get as much demand for that service as possible.  The more they see there's demand, the more they'll invest in the technology.  Perhaps, you could persuade your family and friends to also utilize these services to increase demand.

Conclusion

Closed Captioning is one of the great technological advancements for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in the past 25 years.  It's allowed us to consume digital media content that was otherwise only accessible to people with hearing.  I have a personal policy not to watch videos on TV or online that don't provide CC services.  As I mentioned above, I also only go to select movies in the theater for the same reason.

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

The Realities of Wearing Hearing Aids

Here at ‘Iwearhearingaids.org', I have a couple of overarching themes which I consider to be ‘The Realities of life with hearing aids.'  Those realities are 1) You need to wear your hearing aids, 2) Your physical location will help you hear better, 3) Water is not your friend and 4) It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids.  I have chosen these four realities because most situations experienced by hearing aid users fall generally into one or two of these categories.

Reality #1 – You need to wear your hearing aids

One major purpose of ‘iwearhearingaids.org' is to help the people who need hearing aids feel comfortable and confident about wearing their hearing aids.  We live in a hearing world with wonderful accommodations for people who can't hear, but I assure you that life is easier for you and your family when you can hear and hear well.  If you need hearing aids, there are no good reasons for you not to wear them (except around water, which we'll discuss later).  In the coming posts, I will begin to discuss various events that you will run into while wearing hearing aids, and how to deal with them.  I will also point you to organizations which can help you purchase a pair if you have trouble affording them (they're much better at that than I am). But for now, I simply want to say, if you need hearing aids, go get some; and if you have hearing aids, wear them!

Reality #2 – Your physical location will help you hear better

I vacillated between putting this reality first or last in the list of realities of life with hearing aids.  Deaf and Hard of Hearing people, with hearing aids and without, function daily very well in the hearing world.  We do this with a lot of effort and a few strategies.  The most important one is how we position ourselves in the physical world to utilize the other senses we have at our disposal.  I also include advocating for yourself within the location category, because by advocating for yourself, you position yourself to be more functional for the people with whom you interact.  Because I don't know what it's like to be completely deaf, I am specifically focused on life with hearing aids, so I will focus much of my posts on how you can approach the physical world with your other senses, minimizing background noise which makes hearing so much more difficult, and advocating for yourself so that the people you encounter are able to help you function better.

Reality #3 – Water is not your friend

Your hearing aids are much like your cell/smartphone or any other small electronic device.  They are not protected very well from water.  For the most part, if your hearing aids get wet, they will short out and you'll either need to dry them or find new ones.  It is likely that you will find this the simplest problem of the ‘Realities of life with hearing aids.'  In a nutshell, don't let them get wet, either from an outside source such as a pool, shower, rain or a less obvious source such as high humidity or sweat.  I intend to discuss in this blog many ways to avoid water and discuss how to minimize the damage and/or dry them should they get wet.

Reality #4 – It is not enough to just wear your hearing aids

There are countless other things that you can do and many tools which you can utilize to improve your hearing beyond your hearing aids.  The reality is, wearing your hearing aids is just the first and the most valuable tool for improving your hearing.  Hearing aid technology has improved immensely over the past 100 years, but so has a lot of other options which will help you hear.  Thankfully, much of that technology is free/cheap, widely available and easy to use.

Conclusion

I created ‘The Realities of Wearing Hearing Aids' to provide some context and continuity between each of the articles you will encounter here on this blog.  I also created ‘The Realities of Wearing Hearing Aids' because by thinking of each reality as something that everyone with hearing aids experiences makes living with hearing loss less daunting.  Ultimately, I created this blog because there are many millions of people who need hearing aids but don't wear them.  I want them to know that they aren't alone and that with a little practice and patience they can do it! 
Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them.  If you need to, send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!

Introducing 'I Wear Hearing Aids'

I have worn hearing aids for as long as I can remember.  Over the course of my life, I have met many people who have wondered if they needed hearing aids, have had questions about how to live life while wearing hearing aids or how to convince their friends or family members that they needed to wear hearing aids.  I have found that I truly enjoy helping people overcome their reservations towards wearing hearing aids and navigating the challenges faced during daily life while living with hearing loss and hearing aids.  I've decided that I wish to capture and share my experiences with anyone who will read them.  I intend to publish on a bi-weekly basis so please be sure to check back regularly for the most recent articles.

Until next time, please keep in mind that if you need hearing aids and don't wear them, you should!  If you know someone who needs them and doesn't, do them a favor and talk to them, then send them to this site.  It's ok to wear hearing aids, there are lots of us who do!