In January, and at my audiologist’s suggestion, I began a thirty-day, free trial of a pair of hearing aids with artificial intelligence. By months end, I was hooked on this new technology and traded in my Oticon OPN aids for the OPN S aids. Those of us suffering from sensorineural hearing loss have difficulty hearing… Read more »
Author: Linda Bilodeau
I’ve grappled with hearing loss since 1978. Through it all, I’ve faced periods of denial, acceptance, curiosity, trust and hope. But more often than not, I’ve felt annoyed, angry and frightened. I’ve encountered despair, loneliness and envy. I’ve experienced panic attacks. I’ve met understanding people, kind souls who helped me a great deal and others who thought I had nothing short of an invisible plague.
As a way of coming to terms with my hearing loss, I’ve decided to put my feelings about my disability down on paper. My hope is to better understand myself and perhaps you’ll find a little something in my meanderings that will help you, too.
The Relunctant Hearing Device Wearers
When I meet a new person with hearing loss, we generally end up talking about our mutual problems, how it is hard to hear in noise, how we miss too many words, the difficulties we face when conversing. We might say that living a hermit’s life is not so bad. In the end, we decide… Read more »
Overcoming Hearing Frustrations
I’ve watched my husband converse with our friends and noticed their conversations flowing from one topic to the next, without a hearing incident. It seems he catches every word, even in noise. My dear man answers questions or throws in a comment or opinion, without worrying about being off topic. Like most people with normal… Read more »
Exiting The Hearing Shell
I’ve had interesting conversations with friends and acquaintances regarding hearing loss and sheltering. Most of us have stayed home for a number of weeks and adopted a lone-wolf lifestyle, family and roommates only. Some are saying that they prefer solitary living, even though everything around them is opening up. My sheltered arrangement included only my… Read more »
What Does Hearing Loss Look Like
We all know what hearing loss is, but what does it look like? I’m often asked how I feel about my hearing loss, how I treat it, and how I cope. Truthfully, I ignore the fact that I don’t hear normally, slap in my hearing aids, and hope for the best. Yet, there are days… Read more »
