#156

Thank you @1Bluejay… I think we HOH, are all survivors, we adapt as best we can…As for anxiety, I am learning to live with it, although I have (beta blockers apart) no real control over it, my brain randomly releases a chemical into my bloodstream, for no apparent reason, I am not anxious about anything… My heart starts to race (when say) I am sitting rested, I regularly monitor my heart rate, fight or flight mode sometimes kicks in, at one time, I would get the full blown symptoms of a heart attack, with palpitations, 3,4 or 5 times a day, trying to convince yourself it’s not a heart attack is difficult, as panic attacks have just kicked in… Anxiety has hee haw to do with feeling anxious, and perhaps more to do with that chemical imbalance, creating a false cardiac alert… I guess it is the sheer intensity of an anxiety attack that throws you, especially in the early days? Nowadays, I just accept it as part of who I am, being philosophical, and relaxed, perhaps removes the intensity of whole thing… Medication, namely beta blockers, as you know, slow down your heart rate down, they block the chemical imbalance, but they have side affects, chronic fatigue is mine, but you learn to live with that…Anyway, who said life was easy :rofl: Cheers Kev :wink:

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#157

Nicely said! :slight_smile:

You sure have a great philosophy for LIFE!

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#158

Thank you again @1Bluejay :grin: It wasn’t always so TBVH…In many ways, hearing loss was probably the catalyst, in turning my life around… In my early 30’s, Bilateral SSNHL (Sudden Sensory Neural Hearing Loss) reeked havoc with my life, recruitment compounded this, and MD (Meniers Disease) was absolutely devastating,Tinnitus was just thrown in, just to make sure, I got the message :upside_down_face: Fate, tends to kick you in the teeth, especially when you are down… And what a contrast, I went from the life & soul of the party, to a virtual recluse, almost overnight, depression kicks in, you know you are in a hole, unfortunately, you don’t know how to climb out…We didn’t even have a Audiology Department on the Shetland Isles, no private dispensary’s, the nearest one was 14 hours, overnight by boat/ferry to Aberdeen, I had no one to confide in, and worse still, my friends, where ripping the piss out of me (Severe, Karma, Catchup) in another life, I was a complete wind up merchant, it was now pay back time, because, I was deaf, I was the butt end of everyones jokes, you laugh it off, you then withdraw slightly further, it wasn’t their fault, and it was impossible for me to tell them, how bad, I was feeling on the inside, they didn’t understand, nor should they, most folks, have little or no concept of what severe/profound hearing loss entails, and the truth was, neither did I, but I was about to find out…Big Style! Once you bottom out, the only way is up, hearing loss changed everything, including how I approached life, hopefully it made me a more rounded individual, with perhaps the gift of understanding other folks plight… I should imagine, if viral flu hadn’t struck, then I would have been dead a long time ago, to put it mildly, I tended to burn the candle at both ends, the weekend started on a Thursday, and finished on a Wednesday, my hangovers where legendary, but I always made work! Nowadays, we have the information highway, trying to pick the truth from, the fiction on the internet, is becoming more challenging, year on year, but there is good & bad info out there, probably in equal measure… And this site is a Godsend for HOH, it would have made my life, so much easier back then, sometimes ignorance is not bliss…My apologies again, for waffling on, I guess the point of this post is, encouragement to soldier on, when faced with adversity, we humans are pretty special, we adapt to what life throws in our direction, the good, the bad, and the indifferent… I reiterate… We HOH, are all survivors, you adapted, be proud of what you have achieved… Cheers Kev :grin:

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#159

@kevels55

Great respect for you

I’ve been so lucky to have your help here. Dave

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#160

Thank you again Dave :grin: your words are too kind… Much respect to you Sir :grin: Cheers Kev :wink:

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#161

I’m sure the manufacturers invest in research. Bose certainly did.

I fervently hope for breakthroughs.

My life was h*ll for two years because the dispenser didn’t know how to set them up

On topic, I would have insisted on replaceable batteries. Rechargeable ones were provided. Finally, I am so happy I received the hearing aids. I was not due for new ones for another two years

The dispenser protested that not being able to hear behind was a huge danger working on active construction sites.

DaveL

1 Like
#162

CHEERS to that!!! Wow, I also SO wish this forum had been around when I bought my first pair of Starkeys. Since I was born with a hearing loss that got steadily, STEADILY worse over time, my personality retreated way earlier - such a shame. I would avoid anyone with a “soft voice”.

That is what is so amazing about the Phonak Lumity Life aids. My Marvels (still have them) were very good, but these newer aids have given me confidence, independence and socialization.

The forum here is peerless for information, experience sharing, tips & tricks. You’re a real inspiration to me on how to live with adversity and turn it on its EAR to victory! :smile:

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#163

Thank you once again for your kind post @1Bluejay… Personally, I think we all inspire each other on here, we have a common bond, we empathise with each other, we have all walked in each other’s shoes, we understand… Ultimately, we learn from each other, and this saves us making the same mistakes. Occasionally, we read of successful outcomes, that warm our hearts, in turn this gives us hope, in my eyes, hope is always a good thought, it inspires you to dream of better things… I am obliged for your input, I enjoy your wit, and your logic, I am glad your Lumity aids now inspire you with confidence, and this has a positive impact on your wellbeing… Thank you for sharing your thoughts, it’s good to chat… Cheers Kev :grin:

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#164

That’s a lack of understanding of how directional aids (mics) work. They are more sensitive to the front, but unless you’ve got a system that either ignores speech or creates huge dynamic null spots around you, you’ll hear from most directions to a slightly lesser extent.

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#165

I have Philips mini-rites with a charger that has its own battery, good for three days of charging the hearing aid. Its battery, in turn, is charged by a 5 volt USB C supply, which could be in turn charged by and auxiliary battery normally used for recharging cell phones or tablets.

#166

If our power went off in a storm I would plug my KS10 charger into the USB port of one of my cars.

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#167

Nothing. Power failures are routine where I live. Most important things are keeping the fridge, water pressure, and Internet on. So we have an invisible backup system for outages of up to 24 hrs, and a generator to recharge the backup battery if the outage lasts longer. If the only thing I had to worry about was recharging hearing aids then I’d plug the charger into the car or a computer UPS.

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#168

She’s not home, she needs to be able to hear in order to maintain situational awareness, and her aids are close to dead. They’re rechargeable so she can’t pop in a fresh battery.

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#169

I have often wondered how that is even possible when the mic is on that BTE bean that sits facing the rear - or perhaps a mic or two is near the top of the bean pointing at the ceiling. Perhaps it’s a miracle of manufacturing.

Along these lines, it seemed to me that sound was more natural when I wore the ITE aids in the cup of my ears rather than a more public address type sound coming from the BTEs. Granted, audio quality has increased in the past decades, but I recall being in my 20s, encouraged to wear the big ol’ aids, and just hating the sound quality that bombarded my ears.

#170

These are the kind of scenarios that I think HA makers simply tune out. They’d justify fewer choices by “majority rule” when the lack of that ONE SIMPLE BATTERY OPERATED HA could be a lifesaver - to say nothing of one’s sanity. I’d be beserk with fury. And then I’d write to the Pres of Phonak and other companies to ask, “WHAT WOULD YOU DO?” Cuz climate change is only going to get more extreme, and even tho it will play out over the decades of our lives, it will also swing wildly in some places with devastating effect.

HA makers simply don’t get it. Until the day they have to face it.

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#171

Whoa! How very dramatic! Instead of that, how about plugging the charger into the nearest whatever? 12V receptacles are universal in vehicles, and the adapter to make use of them is far easier to buy than having a mental health crisis or even writing a letter. https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=12v+usb+adapter&crid=2R6QSO8ZK4LR4&sprefix=12v+usb+adapter%2Caps%2C163&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

If you prefer drama, I got you covered. Recently a pack rat decided to make a home in the engine bay of my unused pickup. Stuffed it and the HVAC compartment full with vegetation and chewed the wires off two injectors and the engine computer. About two full days of work to correct, and easily 1000 times worse than having to recharge something by plugging it in. What if I’d needed that pickup to save us from a raging flood or a horde of zombies? Who should I write about that brush with death? :slight_smile:

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#172

You haven’t offered a solution for the problem presented in this thread, which I explained a few posts up. Do you have any suggestions?

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#173

On the surface the problem is how to charge HAs when the power is out. Many people have offered many solutions in many threads.

But deeper down the problem is solving what-if scenarios. In the case at hand, what if there are no disposable battery HAs in future, and then there were absolutely positively no alternative ways to charge rechargeable HAs, and then there comes a life or death situation dependent on functional HAs. My solutions are 1. Do whatever fully deaf people do, and 2. Stop making up unreasonable what-if scenarios.

However, if the point of these discussions is to find readers who agree that there could be some situation in which some people are easily defeated, then I agree wholeheartedly.

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#174

Away from home unsure of exactly what the emergency is, in accommodation that isn’t deaf friendly with staff that aren’t deaf aware, then I think you’ll understand.

Yes I can mention I’m deaf on arrival or even before but that really doesn’t mean they are deaf aware at all.

As I stated many times before, I wouldn’t even put my HAs in at home, in an emergency.

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#175

I have no idea what your hearing loss is as audiograms have disappeared from this forum for me over the last few weeks but I think if you can’t hear anything at all without HAs, then you would have a better understanding. I don’t believe you are profoundly deaf.

I find it quite offensive your comment.

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