Thank you, Emily, for bringing up this important topic. Not just advocating for ourselves, but for the entire hearing loss community. My loss is bilateral, sensorineural, and is on the borderline of moderate/severe. Some of it is hereditary, some age related, but most of the loss is directly due to what I like to call, "being stupid." Mostly from not wearing hearing protection when I should have, and needlessly exposing myself to damaging levels of sound. I've worn RIC hearing aids for almost 7 years now. Two things come to mind in answer to your question on what we would like you to talk about. One topic would be getting Medicare insurance to cover hearing tests and hearing aids. Thanks to companies like Costco and for laws like the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017, the stronghold of the industry is beginning to break, and prices have plummeted, while technology has advanced. However, hearing loss is more than just an inconvenience. It has been linked to medical conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's. Medicare should cover a hearing test and at least a portion of hearing aids, at a minimum of every five years. Prices have come down, but are still in the ~$1500-$2000 range for top end programmable devices. Many elderly withdraw from society due to hearing loss and not being able to afford hearing devices. The other topic that comes to mind is the programming software used by retailers and fitters of hearing aids. This software should be available to the user at a reasonable price. Even a scaled-down version would be helpful. I know all the arguments against the user having access to this software, but even if the programming was messed up, a simple button click would restore all parameters to the original settings of the fitter. As it is today, if a user has a problem that needs adjustments, they have to make an appointment, sometimes weeks away, drive to the store/clinic, they make adjustments, then you have to go and see how the adjustments work in various venues, and if still not right, go through that whole process again. Being able to make adjustments or add programs ourselves, (within limits) would save much time, as well as allow for better fine-tuning and a more useable device. Thank you.
This is one of the hardest parts for me- people rarely expect younger people to be HOH. I wear pins on my cross body purse that say “Hello I’m hard of hearing” which a speech bubble “please speak up!” It helps me not always have to say this to clerks or waitresses
I'm all that. Bilateral, genetic, sensory neural severe hearing loss, with the most severe loss, bordering on profound, in the speech range. And I have a central auditory processing disorder that makes speech in noisy situations nearly impossible to process. Sometimes, I just stay home, hearing fatigue is real.
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Thank you, Emily, for bringing up this important topic. Not just advocating for ourselves, but for the entire hearing loss community. My loss is bilateral, sensorineural, and is on the borderline of moderate/severe. Some of it is hereditary, some age related, but most of the loss is directly due to what I like to call, "being stupid." Mostly from not wearing hearing protection when I should have, and needlessly exposing myself to damaging levels of sound. I've worn RIC hearing aids for almost 7 years now.
Two things come to mind in answer to your question on what we would like you to talk about. One topic would be getting Medicare insurance to cover hearing tests and hearing aids. Thanks to companies like Costco and for laws like the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017, the stronghold of the industry is beginning to break, and prices have plummeted, while technology has advanced. However, hearing loss is more than just an inconvenience. It has been linked to medical conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's. Medicare should cover a hearing test and at least a portion of hearing aids, at a minimum of every five years. Prices have come down, but are still in the ~$1500-$2000 range for top end programmable devices. Many elderly withdraw from society due to hearing loss and not being able to afford hearing devices.
The other topic that comes to mind is the programming software used by retailers and fitters of hearing aids. This software should be available to the user at a reasonable price. Even a scaled-down version would be helpful. I know all the arguments against the user having access to this software, but even if the programming was messed up, a simple button click would restore all parameters to the original settings of the fitter. As it is today, if a user has a problem that needs adjustments, they have to make an appointment, sometimes weeks away, drive to the store/clinic, they make adjustments, then you have to go and see how the adjustments work in various venues, and if still not right, go through that whole process again. Being able to make adjustments or add programs ourselves, (within limits) would save much time, as well as allow for better fine-tuning and a more useable device.
Thank you.
Thank you soooo much for watching and for the video topic ideas.
This is one of the hardest parts for me- people rarely expect younger people to be HOH. I wear pins on my cross body purse that say “Hello I’m hard of hearing” which a speech bubble “please speak up!” It helps me not always have to say this to clerks or waitresses
Way to utilize the pins to reduce the load of advocacy. I’m happy to hear those help.
That's not a bad idea lol
I'm all that. Bilateral, genetic, sensory neural severe hearing loss, with the most severe loss, bordering on profound, in the speech range. And I have a central auditory processing disorder that makes speech in noisy situations nearly impossible to process. Sometimes, I just stay home, hearing fatigue is real.
It is real. Way to take care of yourself. You’re not alone.
Hold up this needs more likes...Let me fix that!
Thank you!!!! 🙏
What is that tool called where you shave down the earmolds? Sometimes your ears hurt with new earmolds. And could I get one to keep in my house?
A dremel!
Where are your glasses em
I prefer wearing contacts when I film!