| Hi, my name Julie Landry. I have worked with hard of | | | | can be made in most mild or moderate hearing losses |
| hearing people since 1995. During my 15 years of | | | | to minimize this down to almost nothing. Understand |
| experience I have found that many times people are | | | | that even people with normal hearing have trouble with |
| not able to properly explain their difficulties with their | | | | noise at times |
| hearing aids so I have decided to publish this article. | | | | I can hear when I leave the audiologist office then I get |
| The main thing in having properly adjusted hearing aids | | | | home and cannot hear anymore." A few possible |
| is accurately describing the problem. Being unable to | | | | reasons are: the size of your room compared to the |
| describe what is heard will lead to frustration that | | | | size of the office your audiologist is making the |
| causes many people give up. | | | | adjustments in. Most office spaces are about 10ft. by |
| Don't be one of them. Familiarize yourself with the | | | | 10ft. If your room is 14ft. by 14ft., you may not |
| following terms so that you can help your audiologist. | | | | understand as well. |
| - Echo - When hearing aids are too loud, everything | | | | Remember to consider your technology when going to |
| echoes. An echo causes distortion which interferes in | | | | the audiologists to adjust your hearing aids. The |
| your ability to understand speech. If you find the | | | | different levels of technology determine the amount |
| hearing aids either echo or they are too low, most | | | | and type of adjustments that can be made on your |
| likely the power needs to be turned down. | | | | hearing aids. Entry level technology will sound very |
| - Tinny or high-pitched - If you find that voices sound | | | | good compared the sound quality from ten years ago |
| "crisp" then the high frequencies are probably too high. | | | | however, they still do not have the necessary circuitry |
| Does the "s" seem to drag (i.e. - doesss)? Does | | | | to adjust many parameters. New technology can |
| running water sound like glass breaking? When | | | | receive a sound and send it digitally through a sound |
| ceramic dishes hit together does it make you jump or | | | | processor that has been programmed to recognize |
| hurt your ears? Does newspaper sound very | | | | speech sounds, background noise and other sounds of |
| uncomfortable and high-pitched? | | | | daily living. This allows the hearing aid to filter out and |
| - Dull or muffled - These two terms are very closely | | | | clean up the noise while simultaneously helping to |
| related however must be distinguished from one | | | | enhance speech sounds. |
| another. | | | | People who are severe to profound will find that |
| - Dull - are sounds flat? You can still hear them | | | | sounds are amplified and they are able get help |
| however they have no life, they are flat. Does It sound | | | | understanding, however lip reading will still be |
| like people are speaking in a monotone? If you are | | | | necessary. The most common response to this |
| unable to hear the inflections in voices tell your | | | | statement is, "I can't read lips." Everyone reads lips to |
| audiologist that there are no high or low peaks. | | | | some extent. When you squint your eyes to |
| - Muffled - Does it sound like people are covering their | | | | concentrate and look closely at a persons face, you |
| mouth with their hands? Does it sound like they are in | | | | are reading lips. Lip reading can includes the whole |
| the other room? | | | | face and demeanor of a person. |
| - Too much background noise - Does very little sound | | | | These visual clues help improve understanding and |
| drown out voices. This is the number one complaint of | | | | should be encouraged in all hard of hearing people. The |
| hard-of-hearing people. A person with a severe or | | | | chance of their hearing getting worse is likely, |
| profound loss will always experience this annoying | | | | progressing to the point where lip reading may no |
| issue, however often it can be minimized. Adjustments | | | | longer be a luxury but a necessity. |