I’m just coming up to a year from the day I started wearing hearing aids. For a couple of years my family kept hinting that it was time to do something about my hearing and I fought against it. After all I was only 75. I know!
I knew I was having problems hearing and I know I started tuning out when I couldn’t understand conversations that were going on around me.
I actually began to feel cut off from the family, missing important information because I didn’t want them to know how bad my hearing had become. Sometimes it was a bonus not to hear. Sorry Gordon.
Going out to restaurants and family gatherings was a nightmare. When in the middle of a group discussion I would smile, nod my head and agree with whatever was being said. Goodness only knows what I agreed to or with.
TV was a challenge. I couldn’t make out what was being said and if I was on my own the sound on the tv could be heard at the end of the road.
So last August after a series of tests and fittings and a considerable sum of money I was fitted with my new hearing aids. Suddenly I could hear sounds I hadn’t heard for years. I could follow conversations, watching tv was such a more pleasant experience. I could even use them to listen to my iPhone and answer the phone.
So if you’re feeling at all isolated and reading lips because of your hearing, go and get tested and get hearing again.
Being isolated through poor hearing can lead to dementia and depression as the brain becomes lazy and loses the ability to to function properly.
You may be entitled to get them on the NHS but there is a waiting list, so if you want to be part of the conversation, put your name down sooner rather than later. If you can afford it, go for it.
CHATTER 