Back in 2014, I went to an ENT and got a hearing test. More or less typical ski slope loss.
Went again in 2017. Not much had changed. Then, I had a couple done by the VA. The latest, done in March, the Audiologist said no change, but I thought I had gotten worse. So, I went back to the same ENT I used before. They had a new Audiologist this time. My hearing thresholds had gone down by about 20 dB in the lower frequencies. High frequencies about the same. They did a word recognition test and the results were worse, but I dispute them. The older test was done with a recorded voice at 80 dB. The new one was the Audiologist saying the words at 90 dB. His voice was loud and muffled. I still do pretty well in conversation when it is one on one in a quiet setting. Noisy settings with masks, not so good. The ENT said I need to be wearing my aids. They don’t really help. The ENT said that VA aids are proprietary and can only be programmed by the VA. Which is wrong, of course. When I told her that I had Target and had programmed my aids myself, she said to keep on trying until I got them to where they helped. The last time I went to the VA, I was told not to ever program my aids myself, that only they were competent to do that. So, I don’t wear them anymore. I noticed that my local VA clinic is going to be offering Audiology services. When my 4 years are up, if I am still around, I think I will go back one final time to see if the aids available then will help. Other than that, I am through with the VA, and aids in general.
My whole experience has been very disappointing.
John_Green hearing is so important. I’m sorry you/vehad such bad experience. I hope that you can find a way to improve your hearing. It doesn’t sound right that you’ve had such bad luck
Seems to me that when I’ve had issues it’s because of the person setting up the HA’s. I hope you get them fixed.
Hearing someone wearing a mask can be challenging for anyone and should not be a factor as far as speech comprehension goes. All the speech comprehension tests I have had was from the audiologist speaking. But before he had started, when he was setting up the volume he would ask beforehand whether is was too low or too loud, etc… You could always ask to have another audiogram done . You don’t mention how much your speech comprehension has declined. But you do say your hearing has gotten worse. Looking at your audiogram, testing your comprehension at 90db doesn’t seem out of line. But like I said I’m always asked beforehand if the settings are comfortable
That’s too bad John. Quitting never seemed like you.
Your lower frequencies threshold drop by 20 db is part of your word recognition degradation along with not wearing your aids.
Good luck John.
Went back to the VA today to get new aids and a Roger On. Word recognition test was much different. Audiologist said I was at 78% at 80 dB. Since a recent diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, I have decided that I have to wear my aids whether I want to or not. I am hoping that the Roger On will make a big difference.
My strategy when I’m tested is to do the best I can. If I’m not sure, I guess.
I think that this strategy doesn’t help me get the best set-up on my hearing aids. I think it motivates the audiologist to stop looking for solutions.
Next test I’ll try this!
When I have hearing test, tones I never guess anymore. I don’t acknowledge until I definitely hear the tone. Now the word recognition test I do my best and guess at words
Very wise!
After all lucky guesses will make for different settings and will affect how our hearing aids work.
If I don’t hear it I put my hands up in the air. Why take the test if you don’t believe the results. Do the test again to confirm the results. Guessing makes the test a waste of time. This isn’t a pass fail test