Hummingbirds are active this morning, fueling up in preparation for the coming migration. Fighting with each other as they do, chatting, squeaking.
One year ago I could not hear them. At all. Nor most other birds, nor my squeaking floors, nor much of what was being said to me and around me. I didn’t know what I was missing.
It’s been a year with my first aids, Phillips 9050. They put me back into the world I didn’t know I had left. Glad I did it, wish I had seen the light years before, and proud to show off the dark colored aids on my light colored skin (my little effort to help destigmatize).
And yet, no one in my circles has gotten tested and every one of them still feels they would look old wearing aids. Even my 80+ aunt thinks it would ruin her look. Complicated creatures, we are.
Thanks for the help everyone. This vibrant community is important. What I’ve learned here has helped immensely, and most of it I would never have figured out on my own.
I too went from being almost deaf and missing life for the most part to hearing everything. My enlightenment was cochlear implants. Hearing aids just were not getting the job done. My family and friends around me we’re having to do so many things to just deal with me. I didn’t realize how much they were having to do just for me!
Speaking of hummingbirds I just filled two extra feeders. We usually just run one 1/2 gallon feeder but a dominant female has been running all the birds away for a few days, black chins and a few ruby throated. Before CI I could not hear any birds for the most part. Now I know just how loud they are!!
Thanks for the post. I suspect it will spark many great posts
Yes I can hear them again when they fly close by. One of the more remarkable things about getting hearing aids is that wow moment when you realize, I hear songbirds again!!
If I’m talking with someone, and I don’t hear that they’re saying, I tell them I’m wearing HAs. I’d rather hear than pretend to hear, and if they know I can’t hear, there’s at least a chance that they’ll talk more loudly and clearly.
I’d rather seem old than be left out of the conversation.
I’m a near-daily walker and birdwatcher around my local park, pond and woods. I’ve discovered that if I use my HA app (Phonak) to set for wide rather than narrow focus, increase quiet sounds, and then (um) goose the volume a bit I can now hear seemingly 75 yards into the forest. I’m usually alone during this activity, without much conversation going on beyond a friendly “Hello”. That simple capability has immeasurably enhanced my appreciation for what’s “out there”, helps me know what to look for, and with the help of the free Merlin app which can identify what IT hears through my phone I’ve now learned all the sounds that my local and migrating birds make. Directionality can be a little tricky that way - birdsong tends to be pumped into both ears fairly evenly, but I’ve also learned to distinguish a seemingly finer differential from one ear to the other over time. And that’s honestly one of my favorites of the many life-enhancing benefits of my HAs.
Other birdwatchers I encounter with age-related or other hearing loss are astounded at what they’re missing without HAs.
I just turned 80 with severe to profound hearing loss. I am always telling people I am hearing impaired they need to speak up. I do this with phone calls, even though they stream to my HA, and I do this in person. I have decided I am not going to be shy about this - I want to hear people. If it makes them uncomfortable that I am telling them this that is on them.
Funny you say that. There was a time when I would silently get frustrated with the “old” people who seemed to take soooo long to cross the road. Now I am one of those OLD people and I take a long time (in my mind) to cross the road because my knees hurt so much. I did not live with my parents as they grew old and did not see this part of their lives. In someways I feel deprive because of that missing experience.
Ha! I am also a new HA wearer, with a mild loss in the high range. When i first got them, I’d put them in in the morning and say to my wife “the birds have started singing”. This after getting a split decision on the need for hearing aids between an audiologist and my Costco fitter. I am glad i decided to 'give them a try" as they have been a measureable help.
Our new record for most in a single photo. It’s crazy loud out there, would probably still say that even if my aids were turned off. Lots of chirping on top of the buzzing.
The most noise I’ve ever heard from them was when standing at the feeders for about 20 minutes. This one was on the ground, motionless, eyes closed, feet clamped onto some vegetation. Probably stung by a wasp. Pulled up the vegetation, bird attached, held it up to the feeder and stuck its beak in a hole. It slowly came back to life and I got its feet onto my fingers one at a time and then onto the perch. But the others weren’t put off at all by my presence and it was quite the cacophony. About 50 of them and yet I didn’t get crapped on that I noticed. I would have switched my aids off if I had a free hand. Never a dull moment.
There is an anxiety, I think, that is irrational and maybe tough to beat. Maybe there could be therapy to overcome it? I think it might be like hair. I used to have a head of hair. On a trip to Haiti I shaved my head, but let it grow back in so it looked like a brush cut when I got home. I was encouraged by another bald guy that I had a “good head for being bald.” On the next trip I shaved it off again, and was again encouraged to just go bald. And I did. 25 years and I haven’t looked back. On my 3rd or maybe 4th shaver. But there was definitely anxiety in the old days about getting botched haircuts & etc.
Strange how life mellows us WH… Up until approximately 20 years ago, I kept my hair long, really long, around the top of my hips!!! I wore it like that for many, many years, until one day in my late 40’s, I decided that’s it, long hair requires a lot of work, brushing it especially, and keeping it clean & tidy… Since that day, I can probably count on the one hand, how many times I have brushed or combed my hair! And yes, I still wash it every day, I get the wife to crop it into the wood every 2 or 3 months, after it somewhat looks like crows nest style but to be very honest, I don’t actually care what it looks like, I still dress smart, if I am going out, but my hair remains unbrushed… Cheers Kev
Human beings, just by nature, are vein. Compound that with the pressures exerted on us through advertising, social media and a myriad of other daily influences and the competition is on.
I am new to hearing aids and couldn’t give a hoot what other people think or say about my age or other visible afflictions. I am so ornery that I refuse to wear name brand clothing unless I am receiving remuneration from the brand. My hair is LEO buzz cut and my tats are placed specifically to not draw unwanted attention.
I am grateful for the HA’s and the ability to hear things that I had been missing.
I would have switched my aids off if I had a free hand. Never a dull moment.
But there was definitely anxiety in the old days about getting botched haircuts & etc.