Wellness

[Anonymous032819]

I'll just ask you this @halfpint1 , wouldn't your late husband want you to hear everything around you?

[ALRATIBA]

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@DrKelli wrote:

I will also say that most people don't even know I wear a hearing aid--even when I have my hair pulled up in a pony tail.  I think they are very unobtrusive nowadays.

@ALRATIBA  how long do your hearing aids last?  When mine went in for warranty work, they replaced it--so 3 years for me.  What is your experience?  I will have to pay for the next replacement.

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@DrKelli 

I'm on my third set of devices.  I wore my first set about 5 years.  

Second set about the same length of time.  This second set was programmable - came with a remote coltrol.

I got this third set just about three years ago, and I expect to be wearing these for a couple more years   Like everythng else, technology changes so quickly.  

I wear the fitted "in-the-ear" style so they are very visible ... but that doesn't bother me at all.   As I said in my earlier reply .. my mother wore hearing aids and most of my friends wear hearng aids.

I wore Widex for the first two sets and these are Starkey.  Still not sure which I prefer.

[RedTop]

@halfpint1 

My husband and mother have hearing aids; both ignored the fact they needed them until they embarrassed themselves with repeating what they “heard”, which was not at all what had been said.   

We do a lot of interstate traveling to VA appts, and I stressed to my husband the importance of being able to hear the traffic around us.   He has just been retested, learned his hearing has worsened, and is getting new hearing aids.  This will be his 3rd set, which is covered by the VA; they even provide the batteries.   These new hearing aids are set, and adjusted to your level of hearing thru a computer program in the audiology office.   Batteries usually last 5-6 days, and the hearing aid will make a sound in your ear to alert you that it’s time to change the batteries.   I noticed a pack of the number 312 batteries that fits my husbands and mothers hearing aids was $9.99 at Kroger today.   

My mother was diagnosed with dementia nearly 3 years ago.   In the last 2 years she has done nothing but fuss about her $2500 hearing aids, and swears they don’t work.   The hearing aids were checked, they are working, and we asked for the sound setting to be set higher.   The issue is dementia, and as the condition progresses, moms hearing aids will become useless.   Regardless of how high the sound is turned up on the hearing aid, moms brain will not pick up the sound.   For now we are able to guess at how the dementia is progressing by what mom “hears”.    

If we had known dementia was in the picture for mom, we would’ve never encouraged her to buy the hearing aids.   

[Love my grandkids]

I'm wondering if the OP will actually follow through.

[Anonymous032819]

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@Love my grandkids wrote:

I'm wondering if the OP will actually follow through.

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@Love my grandkids 

Doubtful.

I'm not saying that to be mean, truly I am not. But the o/p has a history of coming here with her complaints, and when the the good, decent people try to help her, she chooses to ignore their heart-felt advice.

All I can say is, help is out there for her. But she has to choose to take that help.

But, she refuses to do anything to help herself, to make her life better and easier.

Her doctor has offered her a solution to her problem, if she chooses not to take that solution, then there will be consequences to that decision.

I don't mean that to sound "harsh", I don't, but, it's just that in my most humble of opinions, she will no longer be able to complain about not hearing things, because she will have had the answer to her problems placed in front of her, but she chose not to take that solution.

Also, people will get tired, frustrated really, with constantly trying to help her, only to have her blatantly dismiss their help, and they'll get to a point where they'll stop trying to help her.

I really do want what's best for her. We all do. But there comes a point where she is going to have to either start helping herself, or someone is going to have to come in and start making decisions for her, that will be in her best interest.

Because dementia only gets worse, never better, and the person with it forgets more and more things, basic, simple everyday things, until they can no longer live by themselves, because they are a risk to themselves.

They can forget that the stove is on, and start a fire.

They can be a fall risk.

They forget that they need to bathe. (My dad was like that. He would go weeks without taking a shower)

They forget to take their medication on time and as prescribed.

And the list goes on and on.

All I can say is halfpint1 is going to do what she is going to do, and if the past is any indicator, all of our helpful advice is going to go by the wayside, and all we can do is just "watch" her decline helplessly from afar.

And what's sad and frustrating is, it doesn't have to be that way.

If only she would decide to choose to take advantage of all the help that is available, but she won't.

So, that's just my $0.02 on the whole thing.

[Love my grandkids]

@Anonymous032819  Well said. At some point, as she continues to ignore well meaning advice, people will stop offering it and will start ignoring her.

And it's too bad she ignores things that could help her.

[NickNack]

I just wish @halfpint1  would come back to the threads she starts and let us know what she's planning to do.  I would be interested in knowing how she feels about the suggestions and advice given to her.

[Love my grandkids]

@NickNack I doubt if she'll do it. She usually ignores things she doesn't like.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

Please, @halfpint1 if you need hearing aids (and it sure sounds like you do), get them.  You will not believe how much your quality of life is improved by wearing aids.  I’m 62 and have been wearing aids for  several years. Before I got them, I would answer questions in ways that made no sense because I didn’t hear the question correctly and made assumptions.  All that did was make me look stupid.  Turning the tv volume up to where you can hear it comfortably makes it very loud and uncomfortable for others in the house.  You may not know this but untreated hearing loss has been linked to dementia.  Yes, I realize they are expensive (my two were in the $5,000 range) but I wouldn’t be without them. One feature I really like is the Bluetooth capability, it really come in handy and I use it often. They also have customized programs depending on the hearing situation I’m in.   I take care of my aides by cleaning them regularly and using a drying box at night.  Don’t be stubborn.  

[Anonymous032819]

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@Love my grandkids wrote:

@NickNack I doubt if she'll do it. She usually ignores things she doesn't like.

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She has even said in her opening post for this thread, that she doesn't think that she even needs hearing aids, because if she can't hear someone on the telephone, she'll have the other person turn up the volume, and she'll read the closed captioning on the television.

In other words, it's not her responsibility to be able to hear.

The other person has to adjust to make sure that she hears them.

Not her problem.

Not her responsibility.