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.