Geeze, I never thought the OP was clinical. I still don’t. Apparently the need for peace and quiet is relatively unknown these days. It’s not at all strange to find the constant bombardment of stimulus that bluetooth and the internet etc. allow to be disorienting.
I think the desire to leave off that sort of bombardment to be a highly sane, healthy response.
Studies have shown that to avoid sound stimulus can lead to cognitive deterioration. It’s certainly easier to run from your problems that it is to stand tall and confront them. But I also support an individuals right to choose to do whatever they want. I feel like
my life is fuller trying to deal with my loss as terrible and as frustrating as it may be
If y’ask me, this is the problem with just about ALL social media! It may keep us informed, but the non-stop deluge of information really IS tough to process or even make use of.
Now me? I’d keep the BT ON - but then I have cinderblock ears and really WANT to hear as good as I can. However, I have ZERO social media accounts, never have my TV Connector connected to my laptop, cringe from even watching an occasional Youtube show, and detest texting!
There are only so many/few hours in the day, and you need to set limits, but ALSO make sure you are hearing to the best level possible. Otherwise, a wad of cotton in both ears is my sound Rx. 
Turn off the TV. Turn off the blutooth. None of this sounds to me like a healthy way to deal with life. But that’s just me
I doubt it’s the Bluetooth, but it’s worth turning it off to verify that.
I initially was concerned not with the Bluetooth, but more about when they communicate with each other as in changing programs or volume levels and whatever else they exchange. The path between them seems like it would be straight through the hippocampus. They’ve been doing that for several years, though, and if there were issues, then someone would have brought it up. There are risks involved everything and I don’t even think about it now. Bluetooth, Cell phones, WiFi, and other radio frequencies are everywhere, so you’re brain is getting exposed to them regardless.
Did you by chance have a new fitting for a decline in your hearing? The reason I ask is that even though you may not be able to hear some frequencies as being loud, your eardrum is still getting hit with them at the higher levels. I know when I do intensive listening to music through large over the ear headphones (which sounds great on my Music program setting), I can get ear fatigue if I don’t take breaks or go too long. Even people with normal hearing that work as sound engineers can get ear fatigue when they do long sessions at reasonable volume levels. I usually turn mine down when using headphones and when I don’t need the higher frequencies for speech.
Oh, and there are definite links between hearing loss and mental decline or at least mental stress. It has a lot to do with both all the extra brain processing to try to piece together what’s being said via sight and context in addition to what you’re not hearing well and also may play a role because not hearing well can also cause a feeling of social isolation especially at public events. This is especially true for people who went many years with hearing loss before getting checked for it. I think the average person can go at least several years or much longer in that stage of denial. That’s a very strong case for people to have their hearing checked and get fitted for HAs if they need them. If your HAs aren’t helping you enough and might need more adjustments, then that could also be something to consider.
Yes, the sound on my hearing aids is amazing. That makes everything so much more immersive and much easier to practice this form of mental escapism I’m thinking is what is giving me headaches.
Yea, “over-listening” is the closest to what I think is happening. I’m not sure if it’s really an issue.
Oh no! You’re certainly missing out on the golden age on television, IMO. I understand that you value your time though.
To be clear, and this adds to @Psych1’s comment, I think that both audiovisual media and information can be consumed in a healthy way. It’s OK to watch a film or a TV show every once in a while, but it’s something else to be wrapped in artificial sound all day.
I don’t know anything about physics and I will defer this to my hearing specialist, who I trust. I don’t think she would have recommended me bluetooth hearing aids if she thought that the radio signal was harmful. I also think that the FDA would have some qualms about these sort of products being on the market, which is not the case. Consider also that in recent years there has been an explosive increase of bluetooth connected headphones and earbuds, and there has been enough opportunity for multiple people to say something about it.
cc @mike_g
This is interesting too, the new levels of intensity can be quite draining. However, it can also be mentally draining to try to listen to into a conversation without proper hearing aids.
Something else that I had forgotten to mention is that the mental disruption created by changes in volume of background noise can also be bothering. Let me explain this:
When I listen to a stream from any device and want to really focus into it, I maximise the noise cancellation. So in “Bluetooth mode”, it’ll completely mute everything in my surroundings. Therefore, when I pause something, I go from a very peaceful setting to suddenly hearing white noise from the AC or the streets, etc. It’s quite abrupt.
Now, on every “session”, by which I mean time that the hearing aids are powered off and powered on, the “Bluetooth mode” background noise levels stay fixed. Therefore, unless I bring background noise back, if my hearing aids receive a stream from any device, it’ll automatically cancel the background noise. I never remember to bring it back to normal; I usually just finish listening to whatever I stream and the hearing aid automatically goes to “Normal mode” (while in the device’s memory, “Bluetooth mode” keeps the background noise settings).
Now, this can be particularly annoying. My hearing aids have this bug with some apps in which even though my phone isn’t playing anything, it’ll activate the “Bluetooth mode” just because there is a video on display (even on mute). What this means is that if I’m going through a feed (like Youtube or Twitter), my hearing aids will go from “Bluetooth mode” to “Normal mode” and back many times which, remember, means that background noise is going in and out many times. It’s very annoying.
I don’t know if it happens to anyone else. I’m using Phonak Audeo P90, iPhone 11 and iOS 15.5.
Whenever I have a headache and that happens, I can definitely notice that being particularly painful.
I’m not avoiding all sound stimulus, only unpairing my hearing aids from devices such as phone, computer and tablet. Now I’m worried that I haven’t made myself clear.
No. You’ve made yourself very clear
When my hearing loss started to affect the quality of my life I realized that I had a decision to make. I could succumb to ever worsening loss and allow myself to become isolated and use my loss as an excuse for everything. Or I could do my best to live with my loss and do everything I could to not allow it to control my life. Is it a struggle. Sure it is. Is it embarrassing. At times yes but not as much as it used to be because I realize that I should speak up and tell people I can’t hear. We all have to make decisions in life. I guess some decide to isolate themselves because they they don’t want to deal with their loss. Others I guess choose to not allow their loss to isolate them from life. To each his own. I’m not judging. Everyone has the right to choose.
Yeah maybe I am a little. But I’m trying to be nice
Boy. I have to show that comment to my wife. Thank you
@hass5744: No thanks required. You earned it … besides - I understand: I’m a big fan of blunt, myself (in case you might not have noticed … it can be pretty subtle).
turning off bluetooth is hardly the same thing as becoming isolated from the world. In fact, too much time spent on social media is a way to do just that–become isolated from the real world of in person experience. It’s also a form of sensory deprivation.
Read the whole thread. Please. Bluetooth is just the latest
Holy smokes. What a thread. (Hi all!)
Congrats on taking charge of your well-being, @hi1.
Personally, can’t even drive well while listening to music - so I turn everything off when I can, to focus on the task at hand. It took awhile for me to really start getting the idea that I am different from others and what works for others may not work for me, and to focus on experimenting and learning what works for me. Eliminating distractions, removing anything that is a feed (FB, YT, IG, TT, even LI) vs. carefully planned and curated consumption - has been good for me. Apparently I am not alone: societal reliance on feeds (including live TV) has been blamed for all kinds of ills, social and mental issues: The Benefits of a Short Attention Span.
Seems to me that in the time since the abolition of compulsory military service and the concomitant disappearance of Boot Camp as a common rite de passage among males, we have lost our capacity to function in the presence of noise, chaos, and confusion.
[Just one old man’s opinion … YMMV.]
It isn’t lost everywhere. One of my boys is at Bragg now, ready to go with pretty short notice. He certainly did bootcamp and more. My other boy did several years working retail food ops and catering. How he survived the kitchens I have no idea.
Society would certainly be different if there were more who had processed through the military and a few things had been learned that aren’t generally taught the public.
WH
Anyone ever hear of the Collyer brothers. They started slowly too. I’m just saying, be careful
