Hearing Loss

[Joe Garrett]

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Sarah said: "Seriously, I know an elderly woman with Alzheimer's who was =
recently fitted=20
with a hearing aid.  The device (one ear only) has been checked, =
rechecked,=20
and re-re-checked, and it functions as it should.  Even her psychometric =

test data confirm this.  Although she can now understand us when we are=20
speaking, she complains that ALL sounds are obnoxious to her, including=20
anything with frequency components that were in her hearing deficit =
range=20
(e.g. onions frying in a skillet).  She is happiest with the hearing aid =

turned down or even off (serving as an ear plug).

Because her sensitivity curve changed with her hearing loss, she became=20
accustomed to hearing the world in muted tones.  The "normal" sound of a =

piano, for instance, would be very muffled and heavy on the bass, =
probably=20
including a spinet.  (Think of one of those booming, consumer-grade, =
muffly=20
stereos from the early 1970's.)  When you change that sound envelope by=20
restoring higher frequency hearing (the range most frequently lost), =
sound=20
becomes tintier (as it normally sounds to someone with healthy ears).  =
Thus=20
higher partials, buzzes, rattles, etc., etc. -- sounds with higher =
frequency=20
components -- sound obnoxious.

So the problem isn't Sir John's spinet, per se <cough, cough>, but the =
fact=20
that he is now hearing this magnificent instrument as it normally sounds =
to=20
the rest of us.  He may in fact have preferred the spinet's sound to a=20
larger instrument's sound because of its relatively greater emphasis on=20
higher frequencies.  That would enable him to hear the melody better, =
for=20
instance.  Now that his "tone control settings" have been diddled with, =
he=20
doesn't like the sound.  Ask him to listen to a larger, better piano and =
see=20
if he likes that more.

In short, he's going to have to accept that the world sounds differently =

from what he's previously experienced.

Peace,
Sarah,
I just spent the better part of an hour, typing a response to your =
comments. Damned 'puters! grrrrrr! Damned thing froze up on the last =
sentence! grrrrr!
Anyway, I'll try again.
All of what you have written is true. However, there is far more to =
this, than any can know.
I've given classes on The Stigma of Hearing Loss, with a teaching =
partner who is a highly respected Dispenser. During our first class, we =
started by showing everyone the proper way to insert foam plugs. As we =
spoke the plugs expanded and most all, attending, were told that they =
now heard how I hear w/o my hearing aids. About midpoint through this =
segment, one gentleman jumped up and, (literally), slammed out of the =
class. I was startled, as were most in attendance. My teaching partner =
gave me a knowing look and continued on with the class. After the class =
was over, I brought up this incident. He told me he has seen this =
before. In all likelyhood the gentleman had a serious hearing loss and =
had come to the class seeking some kind of panacea. When he inserted the =
plugs, he no longer could hear ANYTHING and became frustrated/angry. =
Hence his reaction. To this day, I wish that I could have had a private =
conversation with him and told him that he wasn't alone and there likely =
was help avaiable for him. That never happened and I'm sad about it.=20
Many technicians have approached me with questions, regarding hearing =
and their hearing loss. Many have been steered in a good direction for =
help. Some cannot be helped as they have a different type of hearing =
loss that aids, (at this time), will not help their situation. It is =
unfortunate that hearing is the least understood of the medical sciences =
endeavors. Although, technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, there =
is, unfortunately, MUCH to be learned and understood in this regard.
One of the problems, in our industry, is that "we" make our living with =
our ears. "We" have set ourselves up as "authorities" on sound. Our egos =
get in the way of common sense, in this regard. Guys are definately =
worse at dealing with this than the Ladies!=20
I strongly urge you all to : HAVE YOUR HEARING CHECKED AT LEAST ONCE A =
YEAR!!!!)<g> (Hopefully, you must realize that I am not "preaching", but =
rather just giving you all that "nudge" to do it.<G>
Finally, Diane Hoffstetter is becoming a knowlegeable advocate for us, =
in this great/odd profession. It is my hope that others will follow in =
her footsteps and make more inroads to discovering what can Really be =
done to help us. If any of you suspect some hearing loss, pleeeeeese, =
get yourself checked. My hearing aids have suppressor circuits in them. =
When I subject myself to LOUD sounds, they simply diminish the amount of =
sound that reaches my ears. This feature, hopefully, is saving what =
little hearing I have left.=20
Another part of the equation is that the Research costs a whole lot. =
Inroads and discoveries are being made almost daily. Because of the =
costs of Research, high-tech hearing aids are VERY expensive! There is =
no "cheaping down" as in computers, etc.! If a person has hearing aids =
that are more than a year or two old, they have really OLDE technology. =
The epitome of the "Catch 22"!!!! Not many of us can fork out $5k-$10k =
every few years, so we muddle along with the OLDE ones.
I know this is very long, but I consider this subject tatamount to all =
tuners in NEED TO KNOW!<G>
Regards,
Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
Captain, Tool Police
Squares R I
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