I’ve now had my hearing aids for a few months, and am getting really used to them. They are really good for speech, particularly in noise, and I really do appreciate the birdsong this Spring. Particularly in these difficult days of self-isolation, the sound of the birdsong round here is reassuring: Covid 19 is a problem for humans, not animals or nature. And they are so small and light, I hardly notice that I’m wearing them.
But back to the hearing aids: I’ve learned to take them off/turn them off before I start to play either the clarinet or the piano. The instruments sound different with them on, and they just don’t sound right! For purely listening to music, the sound isn’t quite right either, with a tremolo added that shouldn’t be there. When the music is really quiet, it’s less annoying, but when it’s louder (when will I hear a full orchestra live again?) it’s not so good, so I sometimes have to turn them off again.
However, for listening to speech in a room with lots of speakers, the aids make a huge difference. I can make out what people are saying much, much more easily, and hat has allowed me to take part in meetings in a way that simply otherwise couldn’t.
Of course, I worry about further deterioration in my hearing (I have expensive and powerful glasses too, multifocals as well), part of the gradual deterioration of senses that’s part of the gradual and natural deterioration of the body inevitable as I get well into my seventh decade. And the enforced walking well into the countryside near here mens yet more birdsong. But there is one downside: when Lussa (the dog) barks, particularly indoors, it’s very loud, very LOUD indeed!
[Deleted: depressing reference to CV19]
Still, given all things, it’s been a definite improvement in quality of life, and I’m very happy I went for these hearing aids.
Tags: Hearing aids
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