Hearing Aids in the Outdoors

[KJPFISH]

I haven't seen this topic on here before........so I thought I would start a discussion. I have known for over 20+ years that I needed hearing aids and I just completed my hearing test, which confirmed what I already knew. I was just missing too much of the conversation at work and the jokes on TV were not funny any more (particularly when you cannot hear 1/2 of the words). My HA's are on order and will arrive in about 2 weeks for my 30 day "test drive". They are "high tech", blue tooth, remote control, with likely more "bells and whistles" than I will ever use/need. For those you who do not know HA's are not cheap at $5-8 k per pair. I just hope that my patience holds out until I can get use to them and get them "tuned" to my particular hearing loss. They say it can take many months to get HA's tuned and your brain re-trained to the new sounds. For those of you who have HA's - do you have any advice (i.e. do's and don'ts) for their use in the outdoors? wind, rain, snow, sweating, use with guns, etc. I know they cannot be wet, like in a heavy rain, but I assume that a light drizzle/rain would be okay? I am just looking for more information from similar hearing challenged folks to help improve my future expectations.

Cheers!

[whitetailsheds]

WHAAAATTTTT?...................sorry to side track, KJP.......couldn't resist!

[Homesteader]

Can't comment on the use of hearing aids, but good on you for going out, and doing something about it, instead of just living with not hearing properly.

[Whiskey Wish]

My bro-in-law has worn hearing aids his entire life. I know that one thing that bothers him greatly is ordinary whistling by people. It causes feedback in his HA's similar to a mic too close to a speaker. He has lost a few of them while outside working and I have helped him search for them with a metal detector with no success. There is no insurance coverage for him. When he is outdoors with no cover and it rains he will just pop them out and put them in his pocket. Wind used to give him big issues but I "think" he said his new high tech ones have reduced that problem a lot. When he is shooting he just turns his hearing aids off and uses them as ear plugs. I have tried to explain to him that they don't work that way but he is a grown man with his own opinions.
The one thing that chaps my flaps in a hurry is people that treat him like he is stupid because he "talks funny". He "talks funny" because he has never heard a spoken word properly in his entire life NOT because he is less intelligent that anyone else. :angry3:

Keep Your Powder Dry,
Dave.

[thumper]

I have high-tech hearing aids, and find them useful for a variety of situations. They automatically recognize wind or car noise and adjust to NOT amplify those noises, while still recognizing and amplifying people's voices. They 'sense' when I'm in a meeting, or restaurant, or other social situations, and adjust what they amplify accordingly. Periodically I have them tuned to adjust to my changing hearing, so frequencies that I CAN hear well are not amplified, while frequencies I can't hear well ARE amplified. This makes for a good mix of natural and electronically enhanced sounds - rather than everything being amplified like the old style hearing aids. Loud restaurants, parties or receptions seem to overwhelm them though, and I still avoid those environments. For one-on-one conversations, or meetings, they're great.
For TV, I use wireless headphones so my wife can watch at a normal volume.

However, I find them uncomfortable after wearing them for a few hours, particularly if you're working/hiking and perspiring. It's also very difficult to quickly determine where a sound (or a voice) is coming from - which limits their effectiveness severely when hunting. Although I miss the birdsongs, I never wear them when recreating outdoors. That's my 'happy time', the quiet is good for my soul.

In short, they assist me in my interactions with other people, particularly at work, and allow me to participate socially where I couldn't before. But, they are a distraction in my enjoyment of the outdoors.

Now that I'm retired and am offically a grumpy old fart, I often go for extended periods without wearing them.

Good luck with yours.

[KJPFISH]

WHAAAATTTTT?...................sorry to side track, KJP.......couldn't resist!

Sorry I didn't quite get that.........could you please repeat! And you sound just like my brother (and he also needs HA's).

[KJPFISH]

Thanks for the advice guys - most appreciated!

KJPFISH

[I-Love-Eyes]

What Thumper said is probably the best advice.

My mom and my mother in law both wear hearing aids and they say they same thing--one on one they are fine, in a crowd its just a buzz.

Wind affects my moms hearing aids, as well as sweating. Also she says they get very uncomfortable if worn for long periods of time.

One thing-- make sure to remove the battery when not in use. The HA's tend to be very hard on batteries and they can get expensive.
If you disconnect the battery, it will last about a week, if you forget, you will be replacing them every second day.

Mom said the "mechanical" sound is hard to get used to so persevere and GOOD LUCK!