Hearing Aids that cost less than my car

Hey all,

Two questions:
First - how many of us have experienced your AVM impacting your hearing in some way?
(I’ll answer for myself after the questions and a brief explanation of what I’m wondering…)
Second - how many of us have used something other than traditional hearing aids and have the differences had an impact?

Thanks in advance and now here are my answers:

  1. Yes, in almost every way possible. My right ear lost only 10 to 20% of its ability to hear. My left ear has done the following, I have lost 40 to 70% of the hearing in that ear depending on frequencies. When I can hear out of that ear, the best description is an “Alvin and the Chipmunks” show played on one of those really old transistor radios. In addition to that, the tinnitus in both ears went up. In the right ear, it maybe is 1/4th louder. In the left ear, it’s 3 to 4 times what it was - loud enough that often it prevents my right ear from hearing. Oh, and I am now extremely sensitive to loud or high pitched noises. So yes, you read that right. I can’t hear hardly at all out of the left ear, yet it can hear the noises in my head (it actually changes pitch sometimes) all the time.

Question #2 - The only thing that I’ve found that has made a difference is musicians’ earplugs - sometimes just in my bad ear (my left one) and sometimes in both. These earplugs reduce the hearing by anywhere from 15-34 decibels and focus on varying sound levels, frequencies, the need to communicate with someone next to you and such. Do they help? Yes, sometimes they help in a prevention way. As in, wear these earplugs before you get into church won’t give you a headache. Sometimes they help in that by reducing sound levels, that appear to “calm” things down and that helps with the headaches.

Are they the answer? No, not by a long shot. But they do make enough of a difference that I’ll keep working with them. Yes. They work best when you are in a louder environment but don’t have to carry on conversations. Subway, bus, yard work with power tools and so forth.

Okay, one more question - does anyone have experience with the Bose or Apple, I believe they call them, “hearables.” I have been fortunate that I was able to inherit a pair of fairly good regular hearing aids, but there are still gaps in the way they work and that’s why I ask.

Thanks for your input.

Thanks for being part of “us.”
TJ