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Q. If I think my hearing is getting worse, what are the first steps I should
take?
A. LEARN ALL YOU CAN - from people you meet with hearing aids, from the literature put out by hearing organizations
like SHHH (see list of Hearing Organizations), from web sites like SHHHs and from chat groups where you'll find others with
the same questions you have -- and some answers. You may be surprised at the different kinds of advice you receive because
hearing loss is complex and varies from person to person. So do the remedies.
At the same time DON'T DELAY. Waiting
can lessen your ability to hear - especially understanding speech -- because of LACK OF USE. For this reason, don't leave
one hearing aid in the drawer because the other ear works better. The unused ear will decline faster.
Q. Should a
person start with an audiologist or a physician?
A. The law (in Connecticut) states that you can go right to an audiologist
or a hearing instrument dispenser, but you must be informed that it is desirable for you to see a physician and you must sign
a waiver if you don't see a physician.
Children under 18 are required to see a doctor and younger adults should because
some causes of hearing loss -- that only a doctor can detect are very serious and delay can be critical.
However,
90% of older people have a hearing loss that can't be helped through medical treatment from a physician.
Q. Do hearing
aids have to be expensive?
A. It is hard to tell what is going to be EFFECTIVE for each person. If you are older and
your hearing loss is slight, you might try the comparatively inexpensive one-size-fits-all amplifier available in retail stores.
This kind of aid MAY improve your hearing, especially if the loss is slight and consistent over all frequencies (pitches).
It will not help you hear better on the phone, however.
If you go to an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser, hearing
aids will run at minimum approximately $800 each -- and you should ask your audiologist about the benefits of fitting both
ears with hearing aids. Even if one ear has a loss that is less than the other, it will deteriorate faster without an aid.
But remember that the $800 usually includes a hearing test and audiogram (test results graphed on paper) and the expertise
of a licensed audiologist who then orders the aid s/he thinks best for you. Usually, the ear mold is extra.
If your
audiogram shows that your loss is greater at a certain level -- say, at higher pitches (often true if exposure to loud noise
is the cause of loss), then a programmed aid that can adjust sound to your individual needs is likely to be more effective
and more expensive.
Q. I'm a hearing person - what's the best way to talk to someone else who has hearing aids?
A.
That's a difficult question to answer because no two hearing losses are the same! The best source of information about a person's
hearing is THAT PERSON. S/he may help you right away by saying, "If we talk over by the window, I'll be able to see your face
better because I speech read (lip read). Please speak slowly and clearly." It's also possible that the person's hearing loss
is slight and s/he can understand you well with the hearing aids alone, especially if you speak slowly and clearly. Or perhaps
the hearing impaired person will attach a mini-microphone to your collar to help carry sound better.
Q. What about
a digital hearing aid compared to an analog hearing aid?
A. Thats also a hard question to answer, especially when
the word "digital" implies technology that is more advanced -- and more expensive. In order to KNOW which is better for one
person's set of ears, s/he would have to be tested with an analog aid and a digital aid -- a comparison that is rarely done.
One test found that people said they preferred whatever aid was labeled "digital" - even if it was analog, so psychology plays
a part.
Some say that a person with minimal hearing loss might be able to benefit from the nuances afforded by digital
sound because s/he can still pick them up. But only a comparison can tell. Those with moderate-severe hearing loss probably
would do as well, possibly better, with analog aids. Both analog and digital can be programmed equally well.
Q. Is
it true that hearing aids can't help if you have greater hearing loss?
A. This isnt necessarily true -- in fact, with
many people they are the key to understanding speech. At the moderate-severe level of hearing loss, a hearing aid will make
it possible to hear many of the sounds of speech that would be very difficult/impossible to distinguish without aids. However,
these sounds - when COMBINED WITH SPEECH-READING can make speech intelligible. It takes practice. Speech reading alone --
without the hearing aid -- would not be enough nor would the hearing aid without speech reading. TOGETHER they work!
Q.
Are there ways to get help in paying for hearing aids?
A. Yes and they vary somewhat from one state to another. In
Connecticut, individual and group health insurance policies as of October 1, 2001, are required to provide coverage for hearing
aids for children under the age of 13 years. That coverage is limited to $1,000 every twenty-four (24) months. There are also
a number of programs that are State supported:
BIRTH TO THREE SYSTEM: Covers ages from birth to three for any children
with developmental challenges, and for those with hearing loss provides hearing aids, cochlear implants, speech rehabilitation,
parent involvement and play groups. State and federal funds pay for the majority of the services; private insurance is billed
or family is charged on a sliding scale starting at $25 per month for income of $45,000. 1-800-505-7000 web site: www.birth23.org
TECH ACT: Provides individuals with disabilities with assistive technology devices, defined as any equipment or system
that can be used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities. The applicant meets first with a peer technology
counselor who helps locate potential funding sources or assistive technology loans,
1-800-537-2549 cttap@aol,com
Disabilities
Network of Eastern Connecticut (DNEC), North Franklin: 860-823-1898
HUSKY HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAMS: Offered by the
State of Connecticut for uninsured youth under the age of 19, who are residents of the State of Connecticut and citizens of
the United States. Plans may provide for hearing tests and hearing aids, depending on the plan. Questions are asked about
personal finances.
1-877-284-8759 www.huskyhealth.com
BUREAU OF REHABILITATION SERVICES (BRS): Part of the Department
of Social Services, receives federal dollars to assist individuals in obtaining work or continuing employment. Therefore,
this option is viable only for individuals who are or could be in the job market. There are income requirements for this service.
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION (VA): According to Hearing Loss, July/August 2000, The VA has changed its rules for serving
veterans. Veterans no longer have to prove that a hearing loss is service-connected to receive VA Medical Center audiological
services (including hearing aids or assistive devices). Contact local VA office. 1-800-827-1000 www.va.gov
SOME PRIVATE
ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP FUND HEARING AIDS AND COCHLEAR IMPLANTS:
Alexander Graham Bell Association
3417 Volta
Place NW
Washington, DC, 20007
V/TTY: 202-337-5220 toll free:800-HEAR-KID
web:www.agbell.org AGBELL2@aol.com
HEAR
NOW
9745 E. Hampden Avenue, Suite 300
Denver, CO, 80231
V/TTY: 800-648-4327 www.leisuelan.com/~hearnow
jostetler@aol.com
John Tracy Clinic
806 West Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
213-748-5481V, 8-4pm,pacific time; 213-747-2924TTY
toll free:800-522-4582 www.johntracyclinic.org
mmartindale@johntracyclinic.org
League for the Hard of Hearing
71 West 23rd Street
New York City, NY 10010
917-305-7700V 917-305-7999TTY
www.lhh.org postmaster@lhh.org
SOME
LOW COST/DISCOUNT HEARING AIDS AND ALD'S
A Hearing Aid
Pioneer Bank Building
1155 South Telshor Blvd. Suite 306
Las Cruces, NM 88011
800-468-9298 info@ahearingaid.com
www.ahearingaid.com
Hearing Planet.com
209
10th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203
800-866-6240 www.ahearingplanet.com
Q. What is ADA - can it get me a
job with hearing loss?
A. ADA - the Americans with Disabilities Act is landmark legislation passed in 1990 that prohibits
discrimination against qualified applicants and employees with hearing loss or other disability. The Act defines a disability
as "a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more life activities."
ADA does not guarantee
a job because a person has a hearing loss. The key word is "qualified": If a person has the skills that a job requires (is
qualified) -- as a pharmacist, for example -- hearing loss should not prevent the person from taking the job. "Reasonable
accommodation" for the hearing impairment must be carefully negotiated as the employer may not be accustomed to working with
someone who is hearing impaired and so needs explanations and understanding.
Q. If I am losing my hearing, should
I learn sign language?
A. Learning sign language is a big advantage and adventure whether you are hearing impaired
or not; many learn it for enrichment. You will need friends to sign with you so you can practice and expand your vocabulary.
Alone, it takes more patience and persistence to learn it.
However, if you are losing your hearing, sign language
probably won't be the primary way you'll communicate. You will turn to hearing aids and other assistive devices that allow
you to continue the conversation and speech patterns you are accustomed to. But combining sign language with other means of
communication is becoming very popular and practical.
Q. Why can't deaf people speak? Or can they?
A. If someone
has been deaf since birth,* s/he has never heard the sounds of speech that babies imitate through their first years when they're
learning to talk. A deaf infant never learns what speech sounds like and cannot hear the sounds s/he makes. Most of us hear
our own speech, and when we lose hearing often increase the volume of our speech to compensate.
A deaf person with
speech therapy can learn to make speech sounds, but usually not as well as a person who once had hearing.
* In Connecticut,
every newborn is tested for hearing loss (by law) and if found impaired helped immediately so that the period of speech development
is not lost.
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