Hi Terost, I don’t want to take this too far off topic but wanted to say I am completely with you. I thought I was having issues with development of dementia. I failed to recognize my “I don’t remember that” was actually “I am so HOH I didn’t hear it in the first place.” What a critical distinction! I applaud the OP for being aggressive about gathering information and pursuing comprehension in whatever approach works best for them.
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I’m 100% with @Neville here along this line of thought. To be honest, ever since I retired about 5 years ago, I don’t really have a need to wear hearing aids all day long like before, so I wear hearing aids less often when I’m at home, because I can understand what my wife says 90% of the time at home anyway. I don’t feel the slightest hint of dementia onset, because I’m not really inside a cocoon of silence all day, I still have full awareness around me, just not as much with hearing aids on. But sometimes I don’t care to hear the environmental sounds at home anyway, like the fridge, the AC, the fans, and other machines, etc.
Because I’m an experienced hearing aids user, not wearing the aids often enough doesn’t throw me off when I put them back on again after a period of not wearing them. It’s like riding a bike, instant recognition of something very familiar.
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Dementia is not the only concern. Loss of word understanding is a biggie. I can say it happened to me then it takes a lot of effort to get it back. Granted I stopped wearing aids for about a year. My speech understanding fell badly.
Yep, word recognition is for sure going to suffer without hearing aids. But in my individual case it’s not a big issue with understanding my wife at home, so I don’t really need hearing aids to understand my wife well anyway.
But we’re arguing about not wearing hearing aids being a main cause of dementia, which @Neville and I don’t necessarily fully agree with, that’s all. There’s some truth to that, but I just don’t think it should be used strongly to scare people. I’m not advocating for NOT wearing hearing aids. Wearing hearing aids is of course always better than not wearing it. But if you don’t feel like wearing hearing aids at home because you don’t need to and don’t want to all the times, then don’t be too scared that by not doing so, you’ll get dementia for sure. Nothing is that black and white. It totally depends on the individual situations.
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Would she agree with that assessment?
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Well, she rarely ever complains about me not understanding her, otherwise I would have worn hearing aids around the house more often already. And mind you, I do wear hearing aids when watching TV or listen to or play music, so it’s not like I don’t. But I don’t need them to have a normal conversation with my wife. I also don’t need to wear them when I read or surf the internet. Of course if I already have them on for watching TV, I wouldn’t just take them off because I’m done watching TV. But like, in the morning when I wake up, putting hearing aids on wouldn’t be the first thing I’d do. I can eat breakfast and talk with my wife, and go online, etc, without them. Then when I want to wear them to watch TV or for music, that’s when I’d put them on.
The whole point is that I’m not scared about having dementia just because I don’t wear hearing aids all day long. Whenever I need to hear well, I put them on. So it’s always available for me when I need good access to sounds. My point is that if I have a lazy day of just reading, or doing activities around the house or the backyard where I don’t need clear access to sounds (sometimes yardwork machineries can be too loud as well), I’m not worried that I’d develop dementia just because I don’t constantly have access to sounds that I don’t care to hear. As long as I have access to sounds that I care to hear when I want to hear them, I think I can keep my mind sharp enough.
Another point I want to make is that it depends on the language of the speech. The English language has a lot of dependency on the high frequency sounds, like the fricatives, in order to have good word recognition. My wife and I don’t conversate in English, and our own native language is not highly dependent on high frequency speech components at all, like the English language is. So that’s probably why I can get by understanding what she says much more easily than if she would be speaking English to me 100% of the time. Anything not clear from her, I can guess pretty easily thanks to us speaking in our non-English native language.
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I do see the point you’re making.
It’s just that I can’t count the times my patients say “I hear fine at home and don’t need them” while their spouse gives me sad eyes in the background. So… I’m sure it really is fine, but also just check in with her if you haven’t lately. Spouses play a big role in hearing loss, for better or for worse. In a lot of cases I wish spouses were better with communication strategies, but others are regularly playing phone interference and acting as interpreters and it does place a new communication burden on them.
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Haha, yeah, you indeed bring a fresh perspective as an HCP about seeing clients in denial that they need hearing aids even though the spouse thinks otherwise and you can see it in their face if they accompany their husband to the session. I have a genetic history of hearing loss (my last 2 siblings were born deaf, my maternal grandmother, my mom, my older siblings and myself all need to wear hearing aids as we got older), so I don’t have any denial issue about needing to wear hearing aids at all.
On the other hand, I also can see the point if somebody simply say they don’t need hearing aids at home. I’m sure a lot of it is indeed denial, but there can also be cases where people do know that they need hearing aids, but there’s just not many things at home they want to hear, except for maybe their spouse. But who knows, some may even develop “selective” hearing and only hear what they want to hear from their spouse. 
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My brother does this. Doesn’t wear them unless he has a meeting. And complains that his wife just speaks too softly- “it’s just her voice doesn’t project”. Exactly. It’s called hearing loss!!
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My brother, too! He only wears his hearing aids for work. At home he takes them out. His wife does complain that she has to repeat things. But he wants his selective hearing when he’s at home.
Anyway, I probably shouldn’t get off topic anymore than this already. So I’m going to stop here.
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- ed by the hearing aid. Additionally, the device is amplifying sound, including your voice. Over time, most people adjust to this sensation. However, the fit and programming of the hearing aid can impact how natural it feels. Since you only tried it for 15 minutes, your experience might improve once you wear it longer or after fine-tuning by the audiologist.
- Number of Channels:
Channels in hearing aids refer to how sound is divided into different frequency bands for processing and amplification. More channels generally allow for finer adjustments and better customization to your specific hearing loss. However, the actual benefit of having a higher number of channels depends on the severity and type of your hearing loss. Beyond a certain point (e.g., 15-20 channels), the practical difference may not be as noticeable, especially with modern sound processing. - Technology (Starkey Livio AI 2000 vs. Widex Moment 110):
- The Starkey Livio AI 2000 is an older model but offers 20 channels, which can provide better sound customization, especially if your hearing loss is complex. Starkey aids also focus on features like health tracking and fall detection, which may or may not be relevant to you.
- The Widex Moment 110 has fewer channels (6) but features newer technology, particularly its “PureSound” processing, which aims to reduce delay and provide a more natural listening experience. Widex is often praised for its sound quality, especially in music and natural environments.Which to Choose?
If your hearing loss is complicated and you need precise adjustments across frequencies, the Starkey (with 20 channels) might be a better fit. However, if natural sound quality and a more modern design are your priorities, the Widex Moment 110 could be the better option.
- Final Decision:
Since you don’t have access to trials, prioritize follow-up care. Ensure the brand you choose has good local support for programming and adjustments. Sometimes, the success of a hearing aid depends more on the audiologist’s expertise than the hardware itself.