What is an FM System? How Does It Work?

Off and on I talk about my FM system, a Phonak Zoomlink. It has the microphone and settings (surround sound or omni-sound, partial focus, and very focused (directly aimed at the speaker’s voice or object I want to listen to). This new receiver is custom-made for the Cochlear Freedom. It really puts the sound of the speaker, who may be thirty feet away, directly in my ear, as though as if I am standing right next to him/her. It is an assistive listening device (ALD).

Because I use an FM system, I know how it works and forget that some people don’t have a clue to what I am talking about, even those who have hearing loss and never used it.

Let’s get “clueful,” shall we?

(Source:http://www.phonak.com/consumer/products/fm/applications/whatisfmsystem.htm )

An FM system is a wireless system that transmits sound directly from source to ear. It consists of an FM microphone and one or two FM receivers. (This just means some people just use one receiver for one or two-one for each hearing aid/cochlear implant processor.)

The FM microphone is actually a microphone connected to, or inside, a radio transmitter. The microphone picks up the desired signal, which is often the voice of a person that you want to listen to. The transmitter then sends it via radio waves directly to the FM receiver. The FM receiver, in turn, is connected to the hearing instrument. The sound is delivered to the hearing instrument, the hearing instrument applies the right amplification and the voice can be heard as if the talker was speaking from a very short distance.

There are also Phonak FM receivers for cochlear implants and bone-anchored hearing aids. However, the basic principle remains the same.

In a previous post (Squeezed In), I talked about how I now have a new receiver for my FM transmitter(Phonak Zoomlink) because I only had one receiver for the hearind aid ear; I didn't have one for the new processor for the cochlear implant.

Here are some older posts I made about the receiver for my hearing aids:

My, What Big Ears You Have

The Boot

I hope this post gives you a much clearer understanding of how FM systems work.

Legally Deaf

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When I was growing up, I used to always say that I am hard-of-hearing (HOH) or just said I didn’t hear that well or had a hearing problem. I didn’t think of myself as “deaf.” I had classmates who were deaf and I knew I could hear better than they could. To me, “deaf” meant not being able to hear a thing. Nada, zip, zilch.

I had a really good friend who was Deaf (capital D-means part of the Deaf Culture). She did ASL and the whole bit. She spoke pretty well, I thought. She did have some hearing and called herself HOH, too, but couldn't talk on the phone that well. We lost touch when she got divorced and moved. We even worked together for a few years until her divorce.

Lately, though not consistently, I just cut to the chase and say, “I’m deaf.” I can’t really hear anything in my implanted ear. And before it was implanted, I didn’t get any use out of it. I heard very few loud sounds if they were low enough, but if you talked into my pre-implanted ear, with or without my hearing aid (HA) in it, I would not hear you.

By the same token, I know that I will still be deaf in my implanted ear when I take the CI off.

With the HA in my better ear, I can hear, but I do not have good hearing with it. I am “deaf” without my HA. I wouldn’t hear you talk into my ear, but with my HA on, I would hear you and maybe get a few words, but I won’t get everything. I even amaze myself if I can get through a conversation without getting a repeat more than three times.

So, out of habit, I seem to go back and forth with “I am deaf” to “I am HOH” or “severely HOH.” I feel like I am lying if I say, “I’m deaf” even though without my HA on in my better ear, I can’t hear.anything but loud noises. It's hard to label myself as "deaf" at times.


I am going to confuse myself once my brain gets trained to hear with the CI. Am I deaf or HOH?

When I talk about my vision loss, I tell people I am legally blind or that I don't see that well or even "I have tunnel vision."

I have less than 20 degrees vision. There's a term for it: Legally blind. Seems simple enough.


So, is there a definition for “legally deaf”? It would be so much easier to explain that instead of trying to explain “severely HOH" in one ear and deaf in the other.

Tubosclerosis

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Yes, I am playing with words. Tubo-sclerosis isn't a real word. It has nothing to do with TB.

In Medical Terminology (I LOVED that class!!-except for the pronunciation part-how can a severely hard-of-hearing person pronounce all these medical words? I had to really concentrate on them) atherosclerosis (ather/o=fat/plaque, -sclerosis= hardening) meant fat was thickening inside of the arteries, sometimes leading to occlusion or blockage. With "tubosclerosis," [the hardening of the tubing of the hearing aids (HAs)] the tube that connect the earmold to the BTE (behind the ear) model can get blocked if cerumen (earwax) gets lodged up in the HA tube. The sound can't reach the ear). Most of the time, it's just wear and tear. Regular cleaning of the earmold is important, though. About once a year or so, tubes get replaced.

It's just a matter of a few minutes of minor surgery to take the old tubing out and replace it with a fresh, flexible tube. It gets floppy, but it's better than having the hardened tube cause everything to whistle in your ear and affect the quality of sound coming into your ear.

I emailed my audie to schedule an appointment. She said that Hubby could drop it off and pick it up at his convenience if he wanted to. So he did that, and the appointment was canceled. I put my HAs in its special box and then put it in a plastic bag with my name on it. All he had to do was drop it off at the receptionist's desk on his way to work. One problem solved.

New Problem: I'm deaf. Sure, I'm not getting much out of the left ear at all anyway, but the HA helps the right ear pick up sounds I can't with the naked ear. I cannot maintain a conversation without my HAs. I know that everyone will get frustrated with me. (And I will be frustrated not only because I can't hear, but because I know that they are frustrated trying to talk to me. Make sense?) That sounds bad, doesn't it? There are only a few people who have a lot of patience. Anyone with hearing loss can attest to that. It's human nature. All I can say is: Learn some signs!! Or get some pen and paper. I try to lip read, but I am not an expert lip-reader. I relied on sound too much, I guess.

New Problem Solved: I have my old hearing aids. I usually always give them to the Lion's Club. They collect old and used HAs and repair them if necessary and give them to those who can't afford HAs. Just wearing it was little less frustrating conversation-wise for all. The tubing wasn't hardened at all. I guess it just wasn't exposed to the air. I kept it in its special container. :) It's my back-up.

Another Problem: Adjusting to listening with old HAs. Everyone sounds funny, farway-like. More "tinny" and hollow than usual. Brain retrain: Learning to hear-again.

Another Problem Solved: Getting my HAs back with its new tubing. Thanks, audie. Thanks, Hubby. Sounds great. Now things are back to normal.

On second thought, what's NORMAL?!?

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Angel (remember, don't let the name fool you):

"Mom, you matched up my socks wrong. I have a strawberry (design) on one pair of socks."

She got new socks. They are all white, some with yellow or pink edging. One pair has the strawberry on the side. When I folded up the socks, I always look at the edges to match them up and the plain white socks with the pink edges are the same as the ones without the strawberry on it. (I have been known to match up the wrong socks before.)

I look at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. Maybe you should start matching your own socks."

The look on her face was precious. It was like, HUH?

I could see the wheels going around in her head: Oh no. What did I just do? I just gave myself a new "chore." I should have kept my mouth shut.

*****

Upstairs hallway light: It gets turned on when one ascends the steps to get upstairs. It's supposed to be off when one gets up there. Key word here: SUPPOSED to be.

Many times, when the kids go to bed, they turn on that light. I can go upstairs without turning that light on. I just count steps. I get an idea of where I am. I guess I try to get "antenna" signals so I develop a sort of a sixth sense (to get around in the dark, I mean).

If both girls go upstairs, they argue. "She turned it on!" "It's her turn to turn out the light!" A parent's headache. Sometimes I don't notice the light's on. And get angry when I find out that the light's been left on.

The other night, I was tired and I wanted to go to bed early. Angel and I were going to bed at the same time. She suddenly "remembers" she has to go to the bathroom. You know the drill: Stalling tactic.

I decide to leave my bedroom door open to see if she'd turn off the light.

I feel her bounding up the stairs. Boom, boom, thud. Top of stairs. She gets into her doorway.

I holler, "Turn off the light!"

She stops in her tracks, turns off the light, and peers into my darkened doorway. As she proceeds to shut my door, I spy her hand reaching for the light switch.

Oh, no, you don't, I think to myself. "Leave the door open." Her hand drops as the other one pushes back the door. "'Night, Mommy."

Nice try. "'Night, Sweetie."

To Cane or Not to Cane

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That is the question.

I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again. I have an on-going personal struggle with this topic. It takes an emotional and mental strain on a person to take up the cane. It's going to brand a person for life. I might as well slap a large sticker on my back for all to see. BLIND.

Once I start to "raise cane" (pun intended), it's going to be an emotional upheaval. I know I will feel angry and upset. I just don't like to call attention to myself.

I've spoken, or rather, I've written to on-line friends about caning. Many have had orientation and mobility (O&M) training with the white cane before they were legally blind. They needed to use it to safely navigate in the dark. Some took the training and then left the cane in the closet for a certain amount of time. It could be months or years before they decided to dust off the cane. Then some just carried it around with them, folded up in their backpacks or purses. It's a "baby step" process.

Many have said they'd wished they started using the cane earlier.

It is best to get O&M training while one still has remaining vision. And, there's even staggered O&M training as one's vision gets worse. The training is updated to fit one's visual needs. Listening skills are so important. Those with low vision/no vision listen for traffic, how the tap of the cane sounds (hollow, solid) that can tell the caner that he is in an area with tall buildings or open space.

But what if one has hearing loss? There are different methods in training. Mostly, hearing aids and FM systems are used to help the individual to hear the mobility instructor's instructions and listen for cues. If a caner is deaf, then it's all about the feel of the cane.

I am not an expert on this topic. I am jsut going by what I have learned.

Some caners prefer different kinds of canes: Folding, telescoping, or rigid canes with ball-tip, marshmellow tip, or regular tip. Then there's the length of the cane. Mostly, it's best to have cane be chin-length, though there are some that are at the chest level.

I toss the idea of the cane in my mind. I am scared to go public with a cane. It's humbling. I know I will have large lumps in my throat just knowing that people will be staring. I will have to develop a hard shell or just deal with it.

I still get around okay in familiar places, as long as there's no steps to look out for (wink). I tell myself that I don't need the cane. Maybe a cure will be found and I won't have to use it.

Sooner or later, I'll have to face facts. And convince my family that I will have to start caning for mobility, independence, and safety. I have to keep in mind that I am not the only one adjusting. My family adjusts with me.

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It's wonderful to see Onyx back to her old self again. She's eating. A LOT!! And drinking lots of water. Sometimes I check her water bowl and it's bone dry. As soon as I wash out the bowl and put fresh, cold water in it, I'll get an excited yip and a half-jump from her while I am standing by the sink. :)

I'll throw a plastic horseshoe outside and she's running faster.

I finally got the girls the swimming pool passes. :) They already went swimming. The breeze is cool, so I am betting that they want to stay in the "warm" water.

I found a parent who is willing to pick up Angel in the mornings for school. I just have to find her a ride after school. I have plenty of time. Summer's just started. For right now, I'm cooling it with the phone. I am not hearing so well on it due to a hearing aid maintenance need. I have an appointment next week that can fix the problem in a jiffy. Every time someone's on the phone for me (rare), I'd have to get one of the kids to interpret for me. When Hubby's on the phone, he'll talk to the kids or I will play guessing games.

Okay, this post is getting too long.

Later. OXOX

A Little Bit of Everything

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The last few days have been a whirlwind of activities. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get family swimming passes for the summer yet. The girls loved going swimming at the public pool last summer. Sure, it was crowded, but they had fun. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do that this week.

Flare played Four Square with the neighborhood kids. I told her I thought she only “hung out” with them. What do you call “playing” Four Square? Her retort? “Being bored.” LOL. (Refer to last post.) She even had “night games” planned, though it ended up being hosted by the kid across the street. She called a few classmates over to play, too. Her friend likes to poke her in the ribs because she liked to hear her squeal. So I teased her and started calling her "Pillsbury Doughgirl." ;) (Speaking of which, she did help me make lasagna for supper. Thanks, Flare.)

Flare picked up her new and used books for the upcoming school year via the Hubbymobile. Hubby went with her to select books with the aid of a knowledgeable helper. I couldn’t believe that the tally ended up close to 300 smackaroos (it sure made me feel like I was smacked by a few roos...). I was floored. I don’t even remember what the books cost when I was in high school. I do know that the books were more expensive for me at the college. I guess I just didn’t expect it to be that much at the high school level. Oh, well. We can resell the books if she keeps them in good condition and doesn’t mark it up. Thanks, Hubby, for taking her there and helping her. I appreciate it.

The other day, we went out to a restaurant and had a sit down meal. Hubby had asked me what I wanted to drink. I said I would have a wine cooler. After we sat down at a table, the waitress stood across the table from me. I thought she was taking orders. She was looking right at me and talking. All I could see was the bright light from the window and her lips moving in wide, exaggerated movements. (Sigh. I am a poor lip reader, though I have been told that I was probably better than I thought I was.) Still, there are still a lot of people out there that think “fish lip” talking is better for a person with hearing loss to understand. I was lost. I looked at Flare and Hubby blankly. She was definitely talking to me. What do I do? Bluff? Guess? I caught “or don't you want anything else?” or something like that. So I said that yeah, I didn’t want anything else.

Hubby immediately said something I thought pertained to the order. So I said that yeah, I’ll have the usual. Hubby again said, “They don’t have the usual."

Huh? No Poorman's Lobster?

He said that they didn't have any wine coolers, what else would I want to drink?

Something that simple was so hard to understand? Ugh. Well, that doesn’t happen that often when we do go out to eat. We don't go out to eat that often anyway. Again, I thought it she was taking orders and it didn’t seem to fit. I always ordered Poorman’s Lobster at almost any restaurant I go to. That’s my “usual.” Not the drink. (Though I still don’t see why I would have to have a “drink” when I am not much of a drinker anyway. My siblings are beer guzzlers. I am around a lot of beer drinkers. I just don’t drink that much. Believe me, whatever I drink just buzzes to my head. I am perfectly happy if I never have another alcoholic drink again. I just feel obligated to have one. I’ll get amusing looks because I prefer water or a soda to alcohol. I do drink occasionally, but it’s probably only four times a year. I do like jello shots, but I am glad I don’t have them regularly. ;)

All I want to say here is that if any of you come across a person with hearing loss, don’t exaggerate your lip movements. Just talk like you always do, just a wee bit slower and clearer. (Not louder, please. It just increases the distortion.) If we don’t “get it” the first time, or even the third time, please just rephrase it another way. If I am stuck on a word, use a similar word. Words like "yep" and "nope" are hard for me unless the head nods or shakes to help me determine which word it is.

Yesterday, we were all going to a nearby family-friendly festival. To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to it. It was HOT and muggy. The last couple of years, I was bumping into people, even though I was being guided holding hands with one of the kids or Hubby. People just “expect” that you see them and move out of their way. Granted some were conversing with another person and wasn’t looking where they were going and WHAM, a shoulder is whacked or a heel is stepped on. Lately, the bright sun has really been bothersome for me. It hurt my eyes to look in the direction of the sun just to face another person. I would get intense headaches that would take the rest of the day to dissipate. So when I was asked if I wanted to go, I had the opportunity to say that I really didn’t want to go. All people do is walk around getting drunk or stand around chatting with people and getting drunk (okay, maybe not everyone is getting drunk) while the kids played on stuff like rock climbing, bungee something on a trampoline, face-painting, and so forth, all for *free*. There were some competitions going on with people playing volleyball, soccer, softball, etc. Bands were playing in stragetic locations for added entertainment. It was kind of like a fair, but the entertainment was free and there were no stuffed animals for prizes for games.

I was glad I got to say home. A couple of hours later I was really glad; we were expecting stormy weather. The others returned after an hour or two out there. So it was a short trip for the kids.

Onyx really surprised me. She was pacing a lot, but she didn’t really shake so much like she did the last time we had booming thunder. (It takes a really loud CRACK of thunder to make me jump, though.)

Now that Onyx is a year old, Hubby got her new dog food. She ate up all the Puppy Chow. The day after she got her new dog food, she was eating grass and threw up in the living room carpet. (She was acting sick before that happened, too.) The weather was ominous, and I wanted to be back in the house, ready to bolt for the basement.

I was wondering if the new dog food affected her system, but Hubby didn't think so. We were feeding her half a bowl of her new dog food at a time, because she woofed it down in ten bites. She really likes her new dog food.

Hubby rented some DVDs. Hubby set up Spiderman 3’s close captioning with the TV’s. I don’t like the DVD’s closed captioning. Sure, the words are bigger on the screen, but there’s no black background. I see the movements in the background; it’s harder for me to read it. (Remember, I have depth perception problems.) Thanks, Hubby for setting it up that way. Then today I watched Love Actually. Unfortunately, Hubby couldn’t set it up with the TV’s captioning. So I had to deal with dizzying captions. (Hey, Beth, when the part where Hugh Grant did his dance routine came on, I got up quickly to do some serious boogie-ing and guess what? Angel was out on the front porch talking to two of her friends. They could see me through our picture window. Needless to say, I was one “hot” mama-redfaced. LOL!!)

When we had relatives over to visit, I moved the dining table around and put the side up that was lying flat against the dining room window/wall. The way we had it set up, only five people could sit there. This way, with it all out in it’s glory, we were able to seat six people. I started to really like the table like that. It opened up the dining room in a way. I wasn’t looking forward to repositioning it back to it’s original location. Today, Hubby put a leaf out of the table (it has two leaves/sections to make the table longer) and put one end back down, but left it there. Yay. Did he know that I liked it that way or did he just decide that for himself? In any case, I’m happy with it.
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Yesterday, I noticed two things: One, I set the timer because I had something baking in the oven. I took the timer with me so I could always hear it go off. (If I leave it by the stove, I never hear it unless I am in the kitchen.) I had to be told that the timer went off. That’s strange. I usually hear the timer buzz.

Two, I usually can hear Onyx bark. Again, I was told that she barked. Huh? For some reason, yesterday was just not a good “hearing” day for me unless I was just too busy concentrating on my thoughts or the TV.

We had relatives visiting on and off this week. It was great seeing them
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That’s it.

Later.

OXOX

2007 Recap

2007

Reading the paper the other day, they always recap the top stories of the year. Wildfire in California, Bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Virginia Tech, and on and on.

I thought I would go filter through the blog and find what I thought were my "best stories" of the year. Some were pretty recent (in December) so I skipped those. If you don't have time to read it all or if you remember some of these posts, that's fine, skip them. You won't hurt my feelings. :)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star This is about how I remember seeing stars when I was younger and how I miss seeing stars.

The Nothing -Growing up and having RP slowly eat away my vision.

How Do You Do? Shaking hands is polite, but what if you didn't see the extended hand?

Adventure at the Lake A funny day at the lake.

Invisible Disability Don't judge people.

Sign Language How signs can be different.

Artifical Vision The research that is going on to find a cure for eye diseases.

A Day in My Life A typical day in my life and what I do or avoid or look out for.

You Just Do How do I deal with Usher syndrome?

Talk to Me My audiogram (recording of what my hearing is at) and what I can hear.

Service Dogs and At Your Service This is where I talk about guide dogs for the blind, deafblind and some tips when meeting a guide dog team.

Thanks for stopping by. XOXO

Talk to Me

This was my audiogram results last year. You can click on it to get a bigger picture.

To understand how to read an audiogram, click here.

The "rollercoaster track" lines with the "0" is my right ear-the good ear. The ones with the "x" is my left ear. I really don't get much use out of that ear. I feel vibrations in that ear, though.

As you can see, the hearing loss sharply slopes to the right. I hear low sounds better than high sounds, which is typical of those with Usher Syndrome Type II. (This website has a table-you'll have to scroll down a little- showing the differences in hearing loss in each Usher Syndrome Type-Those with US Type II: "Born hard of hearing with a sloping sensorineural loss from mild loss in low frequencies to severe-profound loss in high frequencies"). I want to point out that everyone is different. There are some people with US Type II who are profoundly deaf. Some have cochlear implants that help. It varies.

To get a better understanding of certain sounds that can be heard at various decibels, click here.

Anything below 70 dB is quiet. With my hearing aid, if memory serves me right, I am in the 40 dB range. That's how much a hearing aid can help me.

Some people are amazed at how well I do with the hearing I do have. I speak orally and clearly. I do best in a quiet environment. If someone else is talking in a group, I don't do as well. Anything I hear in the background overpowers any conversation I am making or being made to me.

I wear hearing aids. It's just a tool to amplify sounds. It does not make me a "hearing" person. It doesn't automatically make me hear everything that a person with normal hearing can. I still need repeats. I could be wrong, but I am sure cochlear implants are the same way. It helps you hear better, but it doesn't make you "hearing". When you turn it off, you're still deaf.

As long as I am wearing my hearing aids, I can hear the phone ring. Sometimes I understand the speaker on the phone, sometimes I don't. I can hear dogs barking, birds chirping, kids giggling, paper crinkling, TV or radio, but environmental sounds are easier for me to hear than regular conversation.

I just want to say one thing, and I am sure I speak for everyone with hearing loss, please don't yell when we don't understand you and you have to repeat yourself. Yelling just increases the distortion. At least for me it does. I can only make a few words out here and there over an intercom or answering machine message. If I try to increase the volume, it only makes it more distorted. (I just don't understand why some people can turn on their car radios so loud that the whole street vibrates-do they really "hear' it? It's just noise.) Just speak clearly and paraphrase what you said if you have to. Change a few words if we don't get it the first or second time around. Just because we are the ones with the hearing loss doesn't mean we have to do all the work when it comes to communication. We get frustrated, too. Remember, communication is a two way street.

So next time you visit your grandmother, your elderly father, a relative, friend, or co-worker (even your spouse) who may have a hearing problem, talk with them-patiently. If they need repeats, don't raise your voice at them. They aren't doing it on purpose.

The Boot

No, I didn't give anyone the "boot".

I mentioned earlier that I couldn't find the boot (or commonly called "shoe" or audio shoe) for the hearing aid in a previous post. It also has a link to a video (Oticon AP700/FM7 input shoe) to demonstrate how to put it on correctly. (Shoes get broken easily if you aren't careful.)

Oticon Audio i/p Shoe AP700-standard

This is the boot I use for the receiver. It just slips on the battery door and then the receiver is plugged into the bottom of the boot. I wish I caught this sooner. Better late than never, huh?

Another Update on the New Hearing Aids

I am definitely getting used to them now. I still get a strange echo when the toilet flushes or when the microwave dings. The sound kind of lingers. More feedback.

The doorbell is much clearer. The doorbell for the front door has a different sound than the one for the back door, but I keep forgetting which sound is which so I always get the wrong door.

I can hear the phone ring.

Other than that, the girls' voices are getting familiar again. I can hear the voices on the TV when I am not looking at it or reading the closed captioning. I could have the TV behind me and I could make out what they are saying. Not 100%, but more than usual.

I still cannot localize traffic. I hear vehicles, but I don't know which direction they are coming from. I have to scan for them. Sometimes I hear a car and then see it going in the opposite direction and wonder where it came from because I know it didn't pass me. (Unless it came out of driveway behind me and turned in the other direction.) But because one ear is almost deaf, I don't think that it would ever change. I would always hear with my good ear and think everything I hear is on that side.

I am just glad that the girls' voices sound like, well, like them.

As I am sitting here in front of the computer, I can hear the TV in the next room. I couldn't do that with my old hearing aids.

Now, how about retina aids?

More Updates

Well, I am surprised that it's taking longer to get used to the hearing aids (HAs).

I am, for the most part, used to the environmental sounds. They are still somewhat tinny.

The voices are still lower to me with that funny "echo." I can't wait to go back to get them tweaked a bit to listen to things better.

As for the bad ear (the left side), I can hear the "ding, ding" as soon as I turn it on. I didn't mention this before. The HAs have this feature that when you first turn it on, it goes "ding, ding" then the sounds kick in. There's also a new feature that will "ding" when the battery's low. Kind of like when the smoke alarm battery gets low. Then you are more prepared to change the batteries. I like that.

Anyway, as I was saying, I can hear that start-up "ding, ding" and some sort of static, but I don't get any useful sound out of it. Sometimes that staticky (is that a word? If not, why not?) sound stays with me. Again, it's probably as good as it's gonna get. I will see what the audiologist has to say about it. Like I asid before, maybe there's another hearing aid I can try. Or maybe there's always the cochlear implant (CI).

I am always hearing sounds more, but I am not getting the location. I cannot tell which direction the sound(s) is/are coming from.

Yesterday, I made a concious note to listen to sounds as I walked to the school yesterday to walk my youngest home.

I can hear a car. I still have to look for it. It's a lot clearer, though. As usual, the newer models are quieter. (Is that better to have a quieter car if no one can hear you?)

Voices are still the hardest to understand. If they are too deep or low, I don't understand them too well. If they are too high, I don't understand them. I can't expect everyone to talk in monotonous voices, either (Snore, snore).

It makes me wish I could get the HAs adjusted earlier. I have to wait till next Monday for the tweaking.

Will keep you posted on more updates.

Saved by the Bell

Or rather, Saved by the Whistle!

When I started dating, I found I had a built-in alarm that “protected” me from guys. I told my dad about it and he liked it that I had this “alarm.” This was better than keeping thirty-five cents (to use on a pay phone) in my pocket in case of emergency. (My dad liked to make sure we were okay.)

All my date had to do was get too close to me. If we danced, my hearing aids would whistle.

It’s not something you expect to happen when you dance with someone!! My dancing partner would jump back in surprise when that “Don’t Get to Close to My Daughter” alarm went off. (I am sure that a father invented the hearing aid for his daughter. Okay, I'll get serious.)

Anything that would get within close proximity to my ears would cause it to whistle. I could be brushing my hair near my ear or get too close to something. And off it goes.

There’s another “alarm” system in place with the hearing aids. If I got too close to the wall or a door or something, it’s like “feelers” or antennas-it would whistle, especially when the tubes that connected the ear molds to my hearing aids get too old and hard and need to be replaced. It would keep me from adding more dents to my skull. (Of course, it doesn't always work if I am moving too fast. Wham! Head meets door.)

It all has something to do with the feedback and air blockage or something that causes my hearing aid to whistle. It does get annoying. I did mention in a previous post that if the ear molds don't fit right, they will whistle.

Hmmm, I wonder if I could come up with something for my girls when they start dating? Some kind of built-in alarm that would warn the guys not to get to close? Well, a mother can dream…what about those cellphones? No need for keeping change for pay phones.

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Plugged In

I had an appointment with my audie (audiologist).

Before I go on, I want to stress the importance of seeing an audie if you think you have a hearing problem. I do not recommend going to a hearing aid dealer/specialist (to me, they're nothing more than glorified [hearing aid] salespeople working on a commission). Audiologists have the training, the credentials, and advanced knowledge about what hearing aids are right for you. They work with you. I feel more comfortable, too. Sure, hearing aids (HAs) are not cheap. The last ones cost $1200 apiece. HAs have an average lifespan of 5-7 years. The ones I have now are about 5 years old. It gets expensive to get HAs replaced every 5-7 years, but it's worth it.

Here's some interesting facts: Just like fingerprints, every ear is different. What's more, the ear changes its shape every few years-even two years. so sometimes it's necessary to replace the earmold because they don't fit anymore. Otherwise pockets of air get in there and it whistles in your ear (very irriating!), not to mention how damaging it is to the ear.

My hearing dropped since the last time I got new HAs. I am in the process of getting new, more powerful HAs.

I had to get new earmolds for my new HAs. This is common. This was the reason for my appointment.

The audie tied up a small piece of cotton with a string and pushed one gently into each ear. Then she filled each ear canal with a thick, pliant material (think silly putty but more waxy-like). She leaves it to set for about 15 minutes. It feels cool and well, ...there. I don't chew gum that much, but I wished I had some gum to release the plugged in feeling, but then again, that could affect the molding process.

She returns and pulls them out by the sting and then checks each ear for anything that may have gotten stuck in there.

She tells me that my earmolds will be bigger than the ones I have now. This is because my new HAs are going to be more powerful. This helps to avoid the feedback or whistling problems. (I always wondered why some of the hard-of-hearing or deaf people I knew had bigger earmolds than others. I just didn't question it because I thought every audie's specification was different.)

I have a new appointment in three weeks. I will be getting new HAs!! The only downside is that the brain needs to adjust to the new HAs. So things will sound different until it adjusts to it. The sounds I hear are always hollow-like, kind of tinny or metallic. A dropped coin sounds "rattlely." It's pretty much artificial. Most of the time, it only takes about a few days to a week to retrain the brain to get used to the HAs and the sounds.

I will post an update on that once I get the new HAs.