If you missed our September 2024 HOPE hearing loss online support meeting, here are the notes and some helpful links.

Notes from HOPE meetings are always available on our blog shortly after the meeting. You can read more about our HOPE program here.

Hearing Children’s High Voices

When you have a hearing loss, it can be heard to hear the higher voices of children, which can be especially heartbreaking when you are talking with your children or grandchildren. What can you do?

• When kids are old enough, you can “train” them, so to speak, to turn and face you
• Using a Roger Pen. You can get these on eBay to save money. You may need a telecoil in your hearing aids.

Appointment with Dr. Cliff Olson, Audiologist

One participant had an appointment with Dr. Cliff Olson, audiologist and YouTube creator. The participant is having problems the new Rexson hearing aid she’d bought at Costco. Dr. Olson recommended a new Phonak hearing aid that’s very popular, but hard to get.

According to Dr. Olson, an audiologist following best practices is ultimately more important than getting the best hearing aids.

Finding a New Audiologist or ENT

One participant noted she felt overwhelmed trying to find an audiologist or an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat doctor), and wondered what she should look for. Suggestions…

• Find an audiologist that uses best practices. Dr. Cliff Olson has a list of audiologists that adhere to these practices here; he calls them his Approved Provider Network. He outlines these best practices on this checklist.
• Ask others for a recommendation for an audiologist they like.
• Consider using both an ENT and an audiologist.
• Make sure the audiologist provides a Real Ear Measurement.
• Consider that you may need to get a second opinion or move on to a new doctor or audiologist.
• Remember that you may have to wait a few months to get an appointment–and to hang in there, because it’s worth it.

Television Captions for the Paris Olympics: Not Good

A participant noted that when she was watching the Paris Olympics on TV, they were ten seconds behind, and it was very hard to understand what was going on. The Paralympics were not much better, with a sound delay of about eight seconds. She filed a complaint with the FCC.

If you experience caption problems like this, we encourage you to file an FCC complaint.

Asking for Adjustments to a Hearing Loop System

A new participant has had limited success with hearing loop systems in a couple of performing arts theaters. At one venue, he was struggling to hear, so he asked the sound man–who said the loop was not turned on! Even with the loop turned on, due to the acoustics in the theater and changes in volume, he still did not fully enjoy all the dialogue. Later, at a larger venue, he struggled to understand through the loop, even with adjustments to his hearing aid and CI volume. Suggestions….

• Talk to your audiologist about your telecoil program. You need two telecoil settings: One blocks out background noise, and the other includes it.
• Bring this card with you to your audiologist or hearing aid dispenser. It explains how to program a telecoil and asks them to show you how to use it.
• Remember that acoustics aren’t the same throughout a performance. Sometimes they forget to mic all the performers, or the mics aren’t all good ones.
• Ask a venue to run a sound check through their assistive listening system before the show so you can make sure you can hear. It’s an extra step, but it’s worth it.

Appreciating Music When You Have a Hearing Loss

One participant explained that with her two cochlear implants, music doesn’t sound the way it used to, and she felt like she was stuck in a time warp, listening only to older stuff she already knows. She asked for recommendations on new music that she might enjoy. Suggestions…

• Spend money on a streaming service, like Amazon, Spotify, or YouTube. These services cost around $100 a year. You can stream these services through Bluetooth to your CI privately, so only you can hear. On Amazon, you can even see the lyrics while they’re singing.
• Techno music or other music with a strong beat can be good to listen to when you can’t hear the lyrics.
• Remember that the more you listen to music through your CI, the better it can get.

Hearing Access at the Buddy Guy Concert This Summer

An attendee reported that she enjoyed the Buddy Guy concert at Remlinger Farm in Carnation, Washington, this summer. Because she didn’t have a hearing aid, she couldn’t test the assistive listening device they offered. But she was seated about 13 rows from the stage, and after caption advocate Dean Olson asked them to move the captions nearer to the top, she could clearly see the captions.

When you benefit from hearing access like this, we encourage you to thank the venue and share your experiences so that more venues provide hearing accommodations. If hearing access isn’t available, ASK!