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#378831 02/21/08 11:57 PM
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I've always had an issue if there is a crowd around, hearing just one conversation? Somehow I want to listen to all of them and they all merge together. I have a lot of trouble just focusing on the one in front of me.

Several of my friends have this issue too. I wonder if it can be overcome - usually I try to focus on the lips of the talker and sort of lip-read as I go smile


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I don't think anyone can hear all of the conversations in noise. So you have to choose just one :-)

Background noise is always an issue for the hearing impaired, whether they are trying to listen without an aid, with an aid or any kind of processor for implants (ie: Baha, Cochlear Implant).

One advantage we deafies have over you hearies is that we can usually lip read so in noisy situations we can sometimes 'hear' better than you.

The latest hearing aids (& I include CI processors and Baha in this category) use digital technology. This means there are greater program options and the background noise can be screened out better than ever before. Often it's a quick program switch to achieve this. But some aids/processors have an autosensitivity function which means the aid is programmed to filter out noise in certain frequencies. This is very helpful for sudden loud noise or for walking down a busy street with 2 trucks, 5 buses, a couple of trams, 100 cars, crowds of people and a baby screeching. My processor will dampen all this sound and usually still allow me to hear my husband beside me (without looking at him).

Focusing on lips is an excellent coping mechanism. Most people don't think to do it. But, don't be fooled into thinking lip readers can read lips from miles away and pick up state secrets. It's not like that. You do have to concentrate fully most of the time. You can't turn away or the other person can't look away if you are to get the full conversation.

Listening or hearing is actually made up of a number of things not just the sound you hear. There's the facial expressions, body language, the sound you hear and your experience (familiarity with the subject). Anything you don't hear, and apparently even the fully hearing don't hear it all, the brain makes up for you, usually getting it right!!


Felicity
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I have enough trouble reading lips close up, I can't even imagine doing it from far away! It does help though, I can piece together the words from the murmur of noise and the lip shapes smile

Sometimes on our cable TV the lip and sound is slightly off and it drives me *nuts* - I have to stop watching smile


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An interesting topic and good information.

I am hearing impaired because when I went with my father hunting, as a child, he would shoot the gun near me to see me jump. He thought that was funny. It pretty much destroyed my hearing. I wasn't really aware of the problem tho as my name was at the beginning of the alphabet and I was seated at the front of the class in school. And, unconsciously, I learned to read lips throughout the years into adulthood.

I became aware of my hearing loss when I could not clearly hear the person speaking to me when their back was turned or they walked away from me (speaking) or went into another room. I also became acutely aware when I found myself constantly saying "What did you say?"

Over the last five years I have spent over $7,000 trying to find the right hearing aids to make my work job easier. I've gone from magazine ads, t.v. ads, analog and now digital. Digital is good but not as good as it could be if I could pay for the "state-of-the art" series. Insurance does not cover hearing aids.

My boss is unforgiving for my hearing loss and makes fun of me or belittles me for not "being perfect" in his personal priority for the job I am in. It doesn't bother anyone else, just him. I am not the only one who wears hearing aids in my job position.
I've had to learn to 'turn a deaf ear' to his rantings and go on.
Discrimination is not a path I can afford to pursue. I hope to retire in a little bit less than 3 yrs. and then it will not matter one way or the other. I can hear good enough in a normal setting. I have never been able to hear clearly in a crowd as I was growing up. If I am too far away from a person and they do not say my name before they start speaking, I am not going to be listening to them, as I usually think they are speaking to someone else. I've had to adjust to a lot because of this impairment and I find that too many others (that I work with) are not willing to accept that I am not 'perfect'. As you might guess I work in a male environment and am the only female so I am a target of much male shortcomings:)
I'll retire from the job and then I will be fine and no more stress. The stress of being shot down for something I've never had control of has been difficult to deal with but I am better at it now. I can not afford to change jobs as I have too much invested in my retirement. If I won the lottery, then that would be a different hearing aid:) Thanks for letting me vent:) I really appreciate being able to voice my thoughts on this topic.

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That is just so odd to me, that your boss would pick on you for something out of your control!! Never mind the fact that TONS of people have hearing loss. It's very normal! Surely he wants you to do the best job you can - why would he harass you? That doesn't make any sense to me. I guess he is not very good at "being a boss"!

Good for you for not letting it bother you too much - I imagine it must be hard. At least you have a very short term goal to escape!


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I would love to be able to hear just one conversation
I have had surgery on both ears twice, had hearing for a short time but now i have no hearing in my right ear and very little in my left.
when i see these kids n young parent blasting there music in a closed up car, or head phones blasting in their ears. i feel really angry. they just don't get it.
people just take their hearing for granted.


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Hi Rosie
Losing your hearing is horrible. I did have normal hearing for about 20 years then it started to deteriorate and by the time I was 35 I was struggling. I lived deaf for 15-20 years and had my hearing returned with a Cochlear implant 5 years ago. The difference is amazing. Have you checked whether your kind of hearing loss would be suitable for a Baha or Cochlear Implant? If you don't know much about them check out the Baha and Cochlear Implant articles on this site and go toBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!


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Moonsister.
Discrimination comes in many forms and your boss is good at it!! You said you don't want to take up discrimination, but there might be some small things you can do. For instance next time he says something hurtful, perhaps over a small issue to do with hearing, you could say something like ... that wasn't very nice... or that hurt me or something. By taking small steps you might be able to turn his attitude. Only a suggestion!!!


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Do you have a hearing loss? or are your comments simply from a normal hearing person's perspective.


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I was in fact thinking about this thread tonight - we were at a very noisy Italian restaurant with five other people. One was my father who has severe hearing loss. There was music blaring right over our head.

He couldn't hear anything at all, pretty much, unless the one woman next to him looked directly at him and spoke to him. I could hear the person next to me, but when the other people talked with me I had to watch them to help make sure I knew what they were saying.

Surely restaurants should do a better job at encouraging people to stay and talk and buy dessert and coffee and such?

I haven't had my hearing tested in eons, but I imagine in my late 30s that it's not as good as it used to be smile


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At your age Lisa you probably do have a slight measureable hearing loss. Almost everyone does from age 40 onwards.

Why do restaurants and shows and so on have the sound up so loud? Surely no-one, even the people who work there, like it so loud. What can we do start a revolution to get these places to turn the sound down?


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Hi Lisa I'm fairly new to hearing aids (got fitted 5 months ago) and although my aid gives me some benefit when I'm in bars and restaurants etc, I still have difficulty when I'm in a group situation or when there's background noise such as music in these places. My audiologist recommended learning to lip read as well as wearing my hearing aid so that I might be able to follow more of what's being said. I've posted the 'Hearing Aids & Windy Weather' in forums earlier today, because I find trying to hear with my hearing aid in very windy weather extremely difficult, much worse than trying to hear in crowds Regards Ian

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Hi Ian
I have been misreading the forum messages - confusing USA dates and Australian dates and didn't think anyone had posted.

Learning lip reading would certainly help you to cope in noisy situations. You can automatically help yourself by watching lips instead of eyes and faces. Contact one of the UK hearing help organisations to find out who offers lip reading classes over there.

I learned lip reading back in the 1980's and even though I can now hear again with my Cochlear Implant I did a lip reading competition last year and came equal 5th. I thought this was pretty good since I haven't consciously practised lip reading for almost 10 years.


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Hi Felicity Thanks for your last post. I've done a bit of research and have found and joined a deaf club local to me. It's fantastic. Not only do they have a "hard of hearing" club (aside from the club for members who are more severely/profoundly deaf) they offer a lipreading class (which I've signed up for). I've alsobeen able to borrow tapes to play at night when I'm in bed to help with my tinnitus as this is particularly bad at such a time. The social side is fantastic too, made new friends and get lots of tips and advice from more experienced hearing aid use Ian

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I'm pleased Ian, that you've found a support group.


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Hi Lisa How are things with you? Did you have your hearing tested? If so, what did you find out? Did it put your mind at ease about your hearing? Best wishes Ian

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If you want to chat to Lisa you are better off to post to the Low Carb site which she edits.


Felicity
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Felicity, Did your doctors ever diagnose your condition? Mine say it's ottosclerosis, a hardening of the bones in the ear that deliver sound. I can hear well if I have a headphone IN my ear but only if it's the kind that actually touch my head (make sense?). The first time I got the nerve up to have my hearing tested, the audiologist put the tuning fork next to my ear and I could barely hear it. As soon as he touched it to my head behind my ear it was so LOUD! I was amazed! You mentioned in another thread how you hear sounds that aren't there and hear a roaring. I have heard that roaring since I was a teenager and thought it was normal "white noise" and maybe I could hear better than most people. Then in my early 20s when I had my daughter, I realized I couldn't hear her cry. I started having deafening ringing in my left ear, annoying clicking, and sharp pains. I thought later maybe it was an infection (and it could have been) but it went on for a year or more when I was without good insurance. I was a teacher at a private school, teaching middle and high school. I noticed more and more that I was irritated by loud noises and when everyone would talk at once I couldn't hear the person standing next to me. I went on to teach 4th grade and found the same problem, even worse. When I finally got good insurance through my DH's job, they allowed me to have an exploratory surgery and attempt to implant prosthetic microscopic bones in place of mine that had hardened and weren't sending signals to the nerves. When the doctor got in, though, he found a facial nerve laying on the main bone he needed to replace, so he cleaned up a lot of scar tissue that he found and sewed me back up. My hearing improved significantly for about 3 months. Then the ringing and roaring started again. Soon I felt the same symptoms in my right ear and eventually the pain and clicking subsided in my left ear. Based on the measurements he gave me 5 years ago, I would say my hearing loss in my left ear is about 70% and in my right ear 40% but more than the loss is the constant sound. It keeps me from hearing things and makes me hear things that aren't there. Most frustratingly, it makes it VERY difficult to hear when anything else is going on - crowds, dishwasher, running water, engine running, tv, etc. Like one of the earlier posts, I tend to hear every conversation in the room equally whether close-by or far away, especially in an enclosed room. The sound seems to travel better from far away than close-by. It makes it very difficult to focus on the person speaking to you. Thank you so much for this outlet and resource! I am so glad to find people who understand what I'm going through. Liz

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Hi Liz
My specialists said I had otosclerosis too, but I really have sensorineural deafness. This is the most common form including age related deafness. This means the little hairs inside my cochlear have died off and so they cannot change sound vibrations into electrical impulses needed to be able to hear in the brain. It doesn't sound to me as if you have sensorineural deafness (or inner ear deafnes) but rather a middle ear deafness which is usually caused by otosclerosis.

Your tinnitus (as the roaring noises are called) sound quite usual for someone with a hearing loss as you describe. I used to say that if only those sounds would stop I would be able to hear properly... but of course they can't stop because there is no cure.

With the level of hearing loss you have you need to get yourself checked by an audiologist/ENT surgeon who deals with implantable solutions. If you still have bone conduction (that's what you have if you can hear when a tuning fork touches your skull) then there are some very simple and effective solutions... far simpler than a cochlear implant and in fact you can try before you buy.

Have a look at c-a-network.com (if the web-site doesn't show up here in the forum because URLs are blocked in the forum then it is http : // c-a-network dot com) then choose stories and select Baha! Baha is a bone activated hearing aid and transfers the vibrations into your cochlear by-passing middle ear problems (ie the little bones). The people I know who can use this find it amazing, can hear wonderfully well immediately they are fitted.

Let me know how you get otn.


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Sorry for the delay. Yes I did get my hearing tested and it tested right in the normal range, not even "low". So apparently whatever my issue is, my ears are working properly. Maybe it's a brain issue smile


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In the UK, problems with hearing in noisy situations is called 'THE COCKTAIL PARTY EFFECT'. If you have normal hearing, you start experiencing this from about 25 years of age!

If you have NORMAL hearing, a tip that works is to put your finger (or an earplug) in one ear when talking to someone in a crowd. It works by blocking sounds coming in from different directions and improves speech discrimination. A fascinating topic!

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That's interesting Joy. I know I found it easier to communicate in noisy situations than my friends with normal hearing because I could lip read.


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