# Hearing Difficulties: What Interventions Are There? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 27, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301 "2009-10-27T15:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/21 "2009-10-28T10:50:16Z")
> [@StarsApart](#): > > Age doesn’t really have anything to do with wearing a hearing aid. I am 23 and wear two (I have since I was 4). I have experienced zero stigma regarding aids. If something simple like earwax is ruled out, hearing aids could really help. My particular kind are [Oticon Epoqs](http://www.oticon.com/com/ourproducts/consumerproducts/epoq/overview/index.htm) which have Bluetooth functionality - I can answer the phone and listen to music through them, which is awesome. I wouldn’t discount aids right away. Wow, that is very SFony! I remember reading in a novel about that [I think it was Fahrenheit 451, the wife always wore her earphones and they were music, tv, telephone, the whole shebang] I am making a note, as I have hearing issues, in case my hearing goes south enough to require help! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/22 "2009-10-28T13:10:56Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > If I bump it, will she respond? Probably not; she doesn’t look in here much any more. But if you have a question, I can pass it along and let you know her response. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/23 "2009-10-28T13:54:32Z")
I just don’t understand that mindset at all - my dad is the same way. Why would you rather not be able to hear than have to, oh god, wear a hearing aid? Seriously? That little thing that goes in your ear that nobody even notices that a bazillion other people wear kind of like glasses? That could make you _hear again_? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/24 "2009-10-28T15:26:42Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > [Au contraire!](http://www.alldeaf.com/153966-post13.html) That’s a TERRIBLE example of a stigma- if anything that’s just a case of a simple misunderstanding/ miscommunication. Now I’m not saying that the stigma doesn’t exist at ALL, though it certainly has dropped away for me the older I get (and away from the middle school years). Though people are people, and there ARE all kinds of people out there, so of course you’re going to meet a few outliers and such, but for the most part, I believe people have been getting better about it as more and more people become informed. That’s pretty much the key: just to fight the ignorance and let people become more aware of hearing aids (which by now plenty more people know about than when I first started w/ them about 20 years ago or so). Plus, that’s an old joke [anyways](http://www.explosm.net/comics/207/) anyways. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/25 "2009-10-28T15:34:57Z")
> [@ToeJam](#): > > …and hopefully she’ll get a nice pair for herself. Trust me, she’s already got quite a pair! [http://www.instantrimshot.com](http://www.instantrimshot.com) ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/26 "2009-10-28T23:44:58Z")
Got my first hearing aid at 6. My understanding is that most surgery is of very limited benefit, and is usually done only on people with very severe hearing loss, much worse than mine (80%/50% loss in left/right ears). Tell your friend to see the audiologist and take the hearing aids if they’re recommended. The ones they have now are pretty inconspicuous for the most part, and aren’t really that noticeable. I would think her hearing is bad enough to need hearing aids, she’d face more stigma from the loss itself than from the wearing of hearing aids anyway. People are assholes, if you are having difficulty understanding people, the reaction you get from most is not “hmmm, this person must have difficulty hearing”, but “hmmm, this person’s a f-ing retarded idiot”. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/27 "2009-10-29T00:38:41Z")
On the other hand…I thought that otoscoloris was kind of common? > [@](#): > > Just curious (I’m a layperson with normal hearing and have no dog in any fight), but who is pushing cochlear implants? The CI companies. I believe they’re even being investigated by the FBI for unsavory business practices. There’s really NOTHING wrong with someone who’s a right off the bat canidate getting an implant, but there’s a lot of iffy business practices going on there…Hey…I’ve even been randomly IMd by someone going on and on about why I should get an implant (I have conductive loss that responds very well to aiding) ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/28 "2009-10-29T00:56:06Z")
> [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](#): > > On the other hand…I thought that otoscoloris was kind of common? > The CI companies. I believe they’re even being investigated by the FBI for unsavory business practices. > There’s really NOTHING wrong with someone who’s a right off the bat canidate getting an implant, but there’s a lot of iffy business practices going on there…Hey…I’ve even been randomly IMd by someone going on and on about why I should get an implant (I have conductive loss that responds very well to aiding) This. Last time I went to get hearing aids, which was several years ago, the audiologist kept trying to push CIs on me despite a very cool reception. To give you background, I’m profoundly AND prelingually deaf. That’s about the worst candidate for CIs. IME the best candidates are younger folks who were postlingually deafened, that way they remember what it was like to be able to hear and comprehend sound in a meaningful manner. FTR, the hearing aid I got was a snazzy bright purple BTE, but then the cats dropped it in their water bowl recently. _Overnight_. :smack: They definitely make some very neat hearing aids that might work for someone with moderate/light loss these days – little things that fit into the upper curve of your ear with a tiny whisker that goes into your ear canal. Look up the Siemens Vibe, for example. I’m jealous, I’d totally love to have something like that for the sheer geek awesome, but I’ll be back to a BTE most likely. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/29 "2009-10-29T02:54:59Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > People are assholes, if you are having difficulty understanding people, the reaction you get from most is not “hmmm, this person must have difficulty hearing”, but “hmmm, this person’s a f-ing retarded idiot”. THIS TIMES A THOUSAND! Sorry for shouting, but never have I really heard it so eloquently put actually. Almost all the stigma, harrassment, and such I’ve ever really faced due to my hearing aids has actually been because of this- the hearing aids certainly do help alot, but even then I can’t quite fully hear as well as others, and I Always feel like a dumbass when I mishear things. ☹ That’s shaped so much of my childhood and life… and I never really made that connection. Wow. Damn. Thanks for saying what needed to be said for me to hear. (also, thanks for the pun HH, I needed that smile- well played, good sir. :doffs hat: ) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/30 "2009-10-29T03:44:08Z")
> [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](#): > > The CI companies. I believe they’re even being investigated by the FBI for unsavory business practices. Thanks for the tip. I’ll ask a few questions–not that I can do or recommend anything, but I’m curious. If I learn anything more, I’ll let you know. > [@](#): > > There’s really NOTHING wrong with someone who’s a right off the bat canidate getting an implant, but there’s a lot of iffy business practices going on there…Hey…I’ve even been randomly IMd by someone going on and on about why I should get an implant (I have conductive loss that responds very well to aiding) No, and I’ve heard (sorry!) a few horror stories about, shall we say, unscrupulous practitioners making absurd claims that no aid (or for our purposes, cochlear implant) will ever address. Again, not that any of my enquiries will stop or solve the problem, but they may help put such practitioners or companies on notice. Or at least, help other people and honest practitioners to find what’s right for them or their patients without a sales pitch that may or may not have the best interests of the patients in mind. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/31 "2009-10-29T21:20:01Z")
OK, a question about something that bugs me. We watch a lot of DVD movies, and of late the bacfkground music often drowns out the dialog. I thought it was just me having hearing problems, but when we watch older movies, there is no problem. There was a reason it was called “background” music, that directors evivently no longer understand. If this is not my imagination, then what in the world is the reason for this? If nobody else has noticed this, then i guess I’ll have go get a hearing exam. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/32 "2009-10-29T22:05:55Z")
Are you sure you don’t have your TV or your speakers set to the wrong sound mix? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/33 "2009-10-29T22:10:38Z")
Do you have surround sound at home? Because sometimes the newer DVDs have setups for those and older movies may not- so if your surround sound is wonky, you’ll get weird effects like the background music being too loud and all- and it just requires you adjusting the speakers in your home. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/34 "2009-10-29T22:37:23Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Are you sure you don’t have your TV or your speakers set to the wrong sound mix? Huh? That’s a new one on me. Never saw anything in the menus regarding that. **ToeJam** , no surround, just the widescreen Sony TV speakers I use. Now and then, i route it through my stereo speakers for films that have musical performances, or ballet. Anyway, as I said, older (1950 and earlier) moves, as well as most foreign films don’t have this problem. And in most British films, the actors actually enunciate properly, while many American actors mumble. Watch their mouths, they hardly open them a’tall. I mean, many films have the music swell to outrageious levels, obliterating the speech completely. I have no other hearing problems. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/35 "2009-10-30T01:27:10Z")
> [@ToeJam](#): > > > [@Apocalypso](#): > > > > People are assholes, if you are having difficulty understanding people, the reaction you get from most is not “hmmm, this person must have difficulty hearing”, but “hmmm, this person’s a f-ing retarded idiot”. > > THIS TIMES A THOUSAND! Sorry for shouting, but never have I really heard it so eloquently put actually. Almost all the stigma, harrassment, and such I’ve ever really faced due to my hearing aids has actually been because of this- the hearing aids certainly do help alot, but even then I can’t quite fully hear as well as others, and I Always feel like a dumbass when I mishear things. ☹ > > That’s shaped so much of my childhood and life… and I never really made that connection. Wow. Damn. > Thanks for saying what needed to be said for me to hear. > > (also, thanks for the pun HH, I needed that smile- well played, good sir. :doffs hat: ) I have this same problem. But it can be fixed by hearing aids. But I can’t afford hearing aids right now. What I do is claim I’m ignoring people. Sometimes it comes across as rude, but it is either that or people thinking you are a moron. **Spoons,** does your wife have any advice how how to get affordable hearing aids? Or at least tips on how not to get ripped off by someone selling them? I live in the NYC area. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/36 "2009-10-30T05:10:01Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > **Spoons,** does your wife have any advice how how to get affordable hearing aids? Or at least tips on how not to get ripped off by someone selling them? I live in the NYC area. I’ll ask her, **Lakai**. It may take a few days to get a response–she’s currently away at a conference–but I will certainly ask. FWIW, I know that in our jurisdiction, there are programs available for those who need a hearing aid but who cannot afford one. I don’t know the specifics, though. But there may be something similar in your location that would help out with the cost–couldn’t hurt to look and/or ask. At any rate, I will certainly ask about affordable hearing aids, and how not to get taken when purchasing them. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/37 "2009-10-30T06:05:43Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > What I do is claim I’m ignoring people. Sometimes it comes across as rude, but it is either that or people thinking you are a moron. . Another way is to constantly have headphones on and listen to music or act like (I just listen to the music). That way it gives you an excuse to get up close and take off the headphones to talk to people, and if people call you out, it’s okay- he’s just on his headphones. Though it does also mean that some people simple will just assume you can’t hear them at all or that you’re busy, and you don’t get as many random hellos and such. But it’s an easy way to avoid the annoying “Person-from-behind-that-says-a-comment” and the HA don’t pick it up so well. That guy is always the hardest! ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/38 "2009-10-30T07:24:09Z")
Thanks **Spoons**. > [@ToeJam](#): > > Though it does also mean that some people simple will just assume you can’t hear them at all or that you’re busy, and you don’t get as many random hellos and such. But it’s an easy way to avoid the annoying “Person-from-behind-that-says-a-comment” and the HA don’t pick it up so well. That guy is always the hardest! I personally hate libraries. Everyone is too embarrassed not to whisper. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301/39 "2009-10-30T07:35:10Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I will say that as I understand things, hearing aids no longer carry a stigma. Not with most people, but evidently with the OP and his wife they do. As for “too young,” there’s people who wear hearing aids since childhood. And as for “should be used as a last resource,” no, they should be used if they’re what will work. A hearing aid won’t help someone whose ears are clogged any more than glasses will help someone with conjunctivitis, but if you’re shortsighted your options are glasses or surgery - eyedrops won’t work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-difficulties-what-interventions-are-there/515301.md?page=1)