I did this one thing and it changed my life…

I’ve just started using hearing aids, courtesy of the Australian Government.  My life has changed!

A couple of years back I thought, oh dear, the birds are disappearing.  No longer could I hear the tweeting of the sparrows in England in the morning when I was back there, nor the Australian birds, although they’re louder!  Must be climate change!  Then I discovered that I could really only hear the male voice on my GPS;  the females seemed to be a bit blurry.  Everyone around me mumbled!  I kept having to ask my man “say again” , or just guess what he was saying from context.  My students were speaking too quietly!  I couldn’t hear the phone or front door… I even had to put subtitles on for TV watching, or turn it up and then it would annoy everyone else.  Going to a restaurant was uncomfortable, so hard to hear what people were saying.  Social events were becoming  a nightmare.

But still I did nothing.  Until I got moaned at by my son, who is getting married at Easter, and didn’t want me to miss anything.  I think he also thought I was going a bit daft!

Muffled voices around me, I finally saw my GP, and then an ENT specialist who fixed some of the problem. My Eustachian tube (that’s the one that makes your ears ‘pop’) was permanently damaged (swimming or skydiving?), so I had a procedure which is quite common, I’d had it before. A grommet, but this time it was a permanent grommet.  My hearing in that ear improved, but still I couldn’t hear the birds nor could I distinguish between “s”, “th”, “f” and “v”, and some tones and pitches.

So I sent off the requisite application form, signed by my GP, to the Office of Hearing Services… Apparently once you are 65 the Government subsidises the procedure and you get a free hearing test plus around $800 per hearing aid.    Made an appointment to see an accredited audiologist/technician.

Boy was that a good move!  He did a thorough hearing test, I discovered that all the above is common!  Next thing I knew, I was back there being fitted with hearing aids for both ears!   Now, this man was a delight.  He didn’t try to “sell up”, he explained the technical issues clearly, and what is more, he explained why it is important to get hearing aids early on, because once you start using it/them, your brain adjusts, the cortex gets exercised, much like a muscle that you strengthen, and as you age you won’t lose sounds that you would if you put off using them.  Use it or lose it!

The hearing aids of today are amazing!  Digital, automatic, programmable.  All sorts of choices, some for in the ear, others that hook round the ear.  Take a little getting used to, my voice feels to me like its loud, there’s a little tinniness, but I was told the brain adjusts after around three months use.

Got back home and the birds were so loud!  Telly is now down to normal level.  No more muffled voices.  My tinnitus doesn’t seem so loud.  What is more, if I find my surroundings too loud or too soft, I can adjust them!  I now have my hair short, but the hearing aids cannot be seen.  Honestly, there’s no stigma with wearing glasses, so why should there be anything negative about wearing a hearing aid?

So, if anyone has been putting off getting tested….just do it!

Have you got hearing aids? When was the last time you had your hearing checked?