How to get DH to get his hearing checked?

depglass · ‎03-10-2010

He spent his life working outside with heavy equipment. They supposedly always wore ear plugs. Now he can't even hear the seat belt buzzer, and the TV has to be jarringly loud. Missed words? Its almost comical except that I am running out of patience. I know he lost his hearing working to support me, so I don't push this. Any suggestions?

DrKelli · ‎03-10-2010

I don't know if I can offer any suggestions, but I am 56 and suffered sudden onset hearing loss in one ear and it drove me crazy. I was so off balance because I could hear out of one ear pretty well, but not the other and sitting in meetings was so frustrating because I missed half or more of the conversation.

I did start wearing a hearing aid last year and it has made a big difference. It is so small that no one knows I even wear it unless i say something about it.

I'm a safety manager for a company and I would jump on that bandwagon that the heavy equipment probably contributed to his hearing loss (but in my case--it was a nerve issue). Hearing aids are so much better today--I can control mine from my phone and it also bluetooths with my phone (Iphone) so I hear conversations in my ear rather than have to hold the phone up to my ear.

I would push it if I were you, it should be part of an annual check up.

2blonde · ‎03-10-2010

Explain to him about the new evidence that hearing loss is related to dementia. They aren't sure what the connection is yet, but they think that not hearing things causes the cognitive part of the brain to deteriorate due to lack of input. I know if it were me, that would be enough for me to get a hearing aid!

Laura loves cats!

Zhills · ‎11-15-2011

My SO got his hearing checked, got hearing aids....

refuses to wear them....no help!

$3,500 down the drain. gluuug!

2blonde · ‎03-10-2010

@Zhills Please see my previous post right above yours.......he needs to understand how this may affect him!

Laura loves cats!

geezerette · ‎03-16-2010

I guess there's just something about men and hearing aids. My husband keeps putting off getting tested too. My father was the same way. And I've talked to many friends that say the same thing about the men in their lives too. I don't know why this is, my husband had no problem getting glasses to see, why not get something to help you hear?

KingstonsMom · ‎03-09-2010

@Zhills wrote:
My SO got his hearing checked, got hearing aids....

refuses to wear them....no help!

$3,500 down the drain. gluuug!

We have a next door neighbor like that. He bought them, but never wears them and conversations with him can be pretty funny.

The other day, I mentioned to him that I saw our family of otters playing in the creek behind our houses (they live in a lake, connected to the creek).

He later asked DH if I was sure I saw alligators in the creek, LOL!

We don't have any alligators in the lake or creek.

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

sweetee2 · ‎06-21-2015

Dad said the issue with hearing aids is that it magnified all other sounds also to the point of being a knowing. Every thing was loud, flushing the toilet, cupboards slammed etc... but he got used to them.

But more importantly is they have found that Thier is a corolation between brain function and hearing lose. I don't remember WOW much, but there is a significant percentage lost everything year. And they have come a long way. You can't even see them anymore.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@depglass wrote:
He spent his life working outside with heavy equipment. They supposedly always wore ear plugs. Now he can't even hear the seat belt buzzer, and the TV has to be jarringly loud. Missed words? Its almost comical except that I am running out of patience. I know he lost his hearing working to support me, so I don't push this. Any suggestions?

@depglass

When was the last time YOU had your hearing checked?

Is he now retired? Maybe you should make appointments for the both of you, on the same day, back to back as one of those things "we needed to have this done". Like an annual eye exam ..... or whatever.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

My husband has significant hearing loss, and I too was running out of patience with him not agreeing to a simple hearing test---especially since it was covered thru the VA, and no money was coming out of his pocket.

Since nothing my daughters or I said was making an impact on him being tested, my approach was to point it out every time he didn't hear something correctly. Once my husband was reminded in front of others, how many times he was answering incorrectly, along with me asking him not to answer the phone because I didn't trust him to hear a conversation correctly, he agreed to the test.

He became overwhelmed immediately with his first set of hearing aids because of background noise, and stopped wearing them. By the time I got him to have them checked, and adjusted, they were outdated, so he was retested for new hearing aids. His hearing loss was quite a bit higher than before, but this last time I made sure he fully understands the adjustment capabilities with digital hearing aids, so that background noise is not prominent. My husband is wearing the hearing aids daily, and loves the device he wears around his neck when he watches TV, that transmits sound from the TV into his hearing aids. No more blaring TV!

Having gone thru this with my mom last year, the place to start is with your husbands medical doctor, and a simple hearing test in the office. With that information, the doctors office sets up a referral with an audiologist for a more definitive hearing exam. After the test, my mom was shown two hearing aids most recommended for her degree of hearing loss. I convinced her to go for the lower priced model which was $2500. Having the medical test information from the doctors office meant that mom was not charged sales tax on her purchase of the hearing aids.

Just like with my husband, when moms hearing aids came in, they were set by a computer program to moms comfort level in the office. After two weeks she went back for an adjustment, and has worn them every day since then. Digital hearing aids are set precisely to an individuals hearing needs, so there is greater satisfaction and more success in wearing them.