I had the pleasure of meeting a woman a few weeks ago and hear her story about hearing loss. She has 2008 behind the ear hearing aids from a retail hearing chain in our area. She has never been happy and can’t enjoy life, she is a young 60 and very outgoing. This is all starting to change because of her hearing loss. She was referred to our office from a patient and I happened to be there that day when she came in to talk with one of our dispensers. I introduced myself and sat with her to talk about the results of her hearing evaluation and what her life is like.

She is a music lover, a people person and loves to have fun. She says “my hearing loss is getting in the way of enjoying everything life has to offer”. She has a lot of trouble at her meetings that she attends. “I just sit there and pretend I can hear what is said and yes I do have my hearing aids on.”

I looked over her results and thought to myself this is going to be a challenge, but I love challenges. I explained to her about the new products that Phonak has and how it is changing people’s lives. The dispenser that was working with this patient recommended Exelia Art behind the ear hearing instruments. I thought that would give us enough tools to really help her in some of her tough environments. In addition it has sound recover which will give her better word recognition. I am a big fan of sound recover, if not the biggest.

She decided to go ahead and we were all excited for her, but she was very nervous. On the day of delivery she kept saying how nervous she was, and I have to admit I was also a little nervous. But I have great faith and thought “she will be just fine”. The delivery went very well and her word recognition went up quite a bit. But the real challenge would be out in the noisy world we all live in. By now you are probably saying what does her hearing loss look like? She has a 70db average slightly sloping hearing loss with a word recognition score of 40%. Well after we were finished she seemed much more relaxed and was ready to get out and give them a good test.

So the day of her first follow-up visit I was excited and nervous to see how her first week had been. I looked at her and asked; “How did you do?” I paused and followed with “let’s start with what you don’t like.” She looked up at me, smiled and said “I don’t have any complaints.” She said “I could understand what my friends and family are saying now.” “I can hear my friend on the phone in California and did not have to have her repeat one word.” She goes on by saying that her meeting she attended last month she couldn’t hear anything they were saying. She said at this meeting “I could understand everybody, I am so happy!”

I am so thrilled for her and extremely happy that she is able to enjoy everything she loves once again. Awesome!

Love, Marriage and Hearing Loss: Listen to me Dear!
Monday, August 24th 2009 Contributor
Carolyn Smaka Au.D. Associate Editor, Healthy Hearing

Article from Healthy Hearing
http://www.healthyhearing.com/articles/41667-marriage-and-hearing-loss?utm_source=Healthy+Hearing+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0b94a27fa4-HH_Update_Sept3&utm_medium=email

Ask any happy couple what are the secrets to a successful marriage, and chances are that “communication” will be on the list.
That’s because communication allows both partners to convey their thoughts and emotions to each other – a very important aspect of a healthy marriage. Take away this ability to talk, hear, and respond and the relationship is bound to crumble.
Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t always. If one (or both) partners have untreated hearing loss (choosing not to wear hearing aids), the notion of communicating loud and clear bites the dust. And, this happens more often than you think.
Alarming statistics re: hearing loss and marriage
A recently released British study demonstrates that relationships are failing because of unmanaged hearing loss. The survey, of 1,500 hearing-impaired people over 55 revealed that:
Almost one in two (44% of people) said that relationships with their partner, friends or family had suffered because they can’t hear properly.
A third (34%) have lost touch with friends, and in some cases seen marriages fall apart, as a direct result of the breakdown in communication caused by hearing loss.
Two thirds (69%) said their hearing loss seriously hinders their ability to take part in everyday conversations with friends and family, causing 52% of those surveyed to feel left out and ignored in social situations.
Women (72%) were found to be more affected by social exclusion because of hearing loss than men
Almost half (49%) said that losing their hearing is the worst thing about growing old.
Marriages in peril

If you believe that statistics from across the pond don’t apply to Americans, think again.
A U.S. survey of baby boomers carried out in 2007 by Energizer Battery Inc., indicates that hearing loss harms relationships on this side of the Atlantic as well. In fact, nearly half (48 %) of those surveyed said their marriages have suffered because of their spouses’ hearing loss.
More than half (57%) feel their spouse is reluctant to get a hearing check, and 46% believe that denial is the main reason.
Even more respondents (65%) indicated they feel annoyed when their significant other cannot hear them.
Interestingly enough, although 45% indicated that their spouse doesn’t appear to hear chore requests, 78% are sure the hard-of-hearing partner can hear them fix a snack just fine!
Talk about selective hearing loss!
Seriously though, there is a fairly simple way to make sure your communication with the person closest and dearest to you doesn’t suffer.
Hear and be heard

Give your marriage a treat by treating your hearing loss
The best way to treat hearing loss is, of course, with hearing aids. With the wide availability of many technologically advanced digital hearing aids currently on the market – and new ones being developed all the time – there is no excuse not to get tested and fitted.
Let us guess: you think a hearing aid is unsightly? Not so – new open-fit hearing aids are sleek, tiny and allow natural sounding amplification.
Maybe you believe hearing aids will make you look old and / or disabled? Nothing can be further from the truth, since able-bodied people of all ages (including children) can have hearing loss.
Or perhaps you feel that the cost of hearing aids – ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 per hearing aid – is prohibitive? That is a valid concern, but if you calculate the initial price of a hearing aid over the three to five years an average device lasts, you come up with a totally affordable $3 a day.(But can you really put a price on improved quality of life?)
And then there is denial. The “I can hear just fine” argument can only go so far when it is obvious that you have to strain to hear a conversation. Denial is a powerful deterrent, and you should never give in to it, especially when your health and well-being are concerned.
Added bonus
So now you know that there is no reason why you should not use hearing aids, and plenty of reasons why you should.
Being able to communicate with your spouse is certainly worth getting tested, isn’t it?
But a happy marriage is not the only reason why you should get treated (though it is certainly a very important one.)
Numerous studies have demonstrated that hearing aids improve the overall quality of life by allowing the user to interact socially and emotionally with those around him.
Just remember, a happy marriage, good quality of life, and hearing aids go hand in hand!