Ums and Uhs and other strange things

[lenarenee]

So, back to the hearing issues. My husband has pretty profound hearing loss. Before he got hearing aids, our daily conversations consisted of me saying something to him. Answered by "what?" Repeat what I said, a little louder. Answered by "what?". Repeat again, a little louder. Him guessing what I said. Wrong. Repeat what I said, still louder. Wrong again. Repeat again, louder still. Answered by "you don't have to yell at me!!". Or he would think he understood what I said, and later I'd get "but you said..." I couldn't win. Hearing aids have improved life around here immensely.

After he started wearing hearing aids, he was astounded by what he previously couldn't hear - the jingle of the dog's collar, how loud the tree frogs are in the spring, the timer on the oven or the coffee pot beeping. And yes, he was one of 'those guys' that drove with his turn signal on because he couldn't hear it clicking if it didn't go off by itself.

Good for him! Why it is that so many people fight using them, I don't know. I know they can be a bit of a pain - like eyeglasses - but it makes a huge difference in quality of life.

My boys' grandmother has used one for decades, but lost one. I didn't know until then that they aren't covered by most insurance! They don't consider them a necessity! If I were to go deaf tomorrow - my doctor could legally have me qualified as disabled. I lose one of my 5 senses. So...when someone with moderate to severe hearing loss loses a hearing aid how can that possibly not be important enough to replace when it restores a very important function??

 

[dibbles]

I think in some cases it is cost prohibitive. Hearing aids can be very expensive. I know that is the reason my MIL is delaying getting hearing aids even though she knows she needs them. She can still hear "well enough". In our case, we were fortunate that the hearing loss could be attributed to conditions on the ship when my husband was in the Navy, and he qualified as a disabled vet. So the VA covers the cost.

 

[earlene]

I am fortunate enough that our insurance covered 50% of the cost of my hearing aids. But once my husband retires and we only have Medicare, they will no longer be covered. Sad, isn't it? Dentures aren't covered by medicare either. Even more sad. One wonders why these two very important things are not considered necessary.

Not all hearing loss is equal. For some of us, hearing aids are a tremendous help. But for some, they don't help as well, sadly. That's partly why facing the listener while speaking is so important. We tend to learn to read people's speech much better if we can see them. Hopefully I won't be going blind any time soon.

 

[Dahila]

No insurance here, however every three years we get 500 dollars for each ear, it covers dispensing fee which in Canada is simply ridicules. The hearing aids (middle range) can be between 4-8 thousand. Thanks heaven for Costco and their re-branding a lot of good hearing aids. Life is different in hearing aids, but ladies and gents do not get me wrong, they are not comfortable. you know that something is in your ear. The world is very noisy, They help a lot. I am selling on Markets and without them I would not sell even one soap. Still I need the customer to look at me, I ask for it, no shame in hearing loss for me.......not anymore. This problem is worldwide right now, I do believe a lot of meds can cause it, aging menopause . I had listened the music so loud when young, it did not help either. Thanks to technology I am functioning in this world. So many of us have some diseases.they struggling with. Teresa you are not alone with brain fog, I suffer with a lot of anxiety, and get it too, menopause, does not help either, We all are surviving bunch of the nicest people.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

But brain fog happens to people that do not have dementia. Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and good old post-menopausal misery are all valid causes of brain fog. OH, and when they all get together, then you get to describe your way around that ONE MISERABLE WORD THAT IS ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE!

So true!

I'm still in 30s, there's is no way it's dementia (I hope ).
I've been like this for quite a while, worse since last year. I have lot of chronic pain, that can cause fatigue and brain fog as well.
It is also definitely worse with PMS, so it makes sense it gets worse after menopause. Can't say I'm looking forward to it!