hearng aids... but i dont want to be made fun of - Hearing Disorders Message Board

GiBz · 05-04-2003, 12:28 AM

okay okaythis may sound stupid but have a hearing loss of about 40- 45 Db in my right and about 70 db in my left ... I am in Orchestra... and SUCk b/ci cant hear what I play hal the time unless its reallllllly HIGH!.... I am a sk8er/punk/goth... I dont know how my friends would make fun of me.... and m parents dont have the money to buy CIC hearing aids... so i have decided just to go on with out it .... I tak signlanguage at school and no one know b/c i can lip read pretty well but the problm is every one wants to turn around and tal ...( they dunt know i have a hearing problem) well thanks fr listenin to me blab on bye.....

zip2play · 05-04-2003, 06:07 AM

GiBz,

It doesn;t sound to me that you should be having that much trouble considering 40-45 db loss in the "good" ear. Cerainly speech will be a problem but an orchestra SHOULD be ok.
However, your life will be made MUCH better, if you fix the bad ear. One hearing aid will help immensely. If your parents cant get a CIC ("completely in canal" job??????) then get one that you can afford, EVEN if it's a casette you have to wear in your pocket- or an EAR TRUMPET-LOL.
Any friend who doesn't understand and mocks you should be shown the IRON gate- life is too short to deal with fools that narrow minded.

GiBz · 05-04-2003, 11:12 AM

thanks for the help

montag66 · 05-05-2003, 01:18 PM

A few observations from an audiologist...

1. A 40 to 45dB hearing loss IS significant. Especially, for a school aged child. You should get appropriate recommendations from an audiologist, not an internet forum.

2. A CIC is inappropriate for a 70dB hearing loss. It would not offer enough power without significant feedback. Also, if you are still growing, a BTE is the only way to go. Otherwise, each time you hit a growth spurt you would have to buy a new hearing aid at $1500-$3000 each. If you have a BTE, you would only need to buy a new earmold at approx. $50 each.

3. The last place a hearing impaired person should be without hearing protection in an orchestra. You should really look into a pair of Musicians Earplugs in you are going to continue with music. The are made Westone. Look them up on the net or ask your audiologist for info.

4. Sign language is a fun language to learn but rather useless if you are not surrounded by others that use sign language. What, are you going to teach your skater buddies to sign?

5. Money should not be an issue. All states have programs to help pay for medical care and prosthetic devices for school aged persons. With your reported degree of hearing loss, hearing aids shouldn't be a choice but mandatory, at least in school.

If you have any other questions, let me know!
Jim

GiBz · 05-05-2003, 02:43 PM

thanks, for your help, yea I didnt even know i had a hearing problem ntill my orcestra teacher asked me hy I didnt fix my notes im like because i didn re wrong and then we had a hearing testat school adnshe referred me to an audiologist. they said have hd it or a while becasue they can tell by my speech imparment. But I uess how i hav gotten by is beinh sort of anti social and reading lips which i dont realize I do. But thank you for the hep.