8O year old husband does not want to use hearing aid, any advice?!
Question: Our daughter bought my husband a very expensive hearing aid. It has been adjusted twice and he wears it for a few days and then gives up. He is doing himself a dis-service because he does not fully hear conversations, ask continually for whoever to repeat things. I feel like I am wasting my breath when speaking to him, because he doesn't hear me, I either have to shout or keep repeating myself over and over again.
If he did not have an aid I could understand it, but he has something that could help him. I have suggested he use it just in the house with just the two of us, so that he can used to it, if that is what is borhter him, but he won't do it. He is not a miserable man, everybody loves him, but at home with him continually having to shout, repeat and suffer the t.v. up soooo loud, I am getting so frustrated. I would like to find a way, a positive way, to get him to use it so that he would be able to get used to it. Any suggestions?
Answers: Our daughter bought my husband a very expensive hearing aid. It has been adjusted twice and he wears it for a few days and then gives up. He is doing himself a dis-service because he does not fully hear conversations, ask continually for whoever to repeat things. I feel like I am wasting my breath when speaking to him, because he doesn't hear me, I either have to shout or keep repeating myself over and over again.
If he did not have an aid I could understand it, but he has something that could help him. I have suggested he use it just in the house with just the two of us, so that he can used to it, if that is what is borhter him, but he won't do it. He is not a miserable man, everybody loves him, but at home with him continually having to shout, repeat and suffer the t.v. up soooo loud, I am getting so frustrated. I would like to find a way, a positive way, to get him to use it so that he would be able to get used to it. Any suggestions?
The above suggestions seem very reasonable. I hope they work. Of course they may backfire, and he may start isolating himself more. I hope not.
I suggest that you talk with him to find out exactly why he stops using the aid. Is it pride, ego, the implication of getting old, or is it an auditory problem.
Often people dislike certain background sounds amplified. Sometimes they have trouble disriminating speech (with the aid) because of all the background noise that they can't block out. Normally, without aids we can hear all that but over time we have learned not to register the "noise," unless its very loud.
Some of the modern aids can be tuned to make some frequencies soft and others loud. Like your voice can be made louder than other sounds, so he could hear you well but not pots and pans banging or dishes clanging. If the aid has that capability, you or the audiologist could quiz your husband to find specifically what sounds or frequencies are disturbing, and fine tune the aid, and also your voice frequency could be amplified.
Or it could be that over time his auditory processing will adjust so that he hears what's important and hears less of what isn't. The brain can and does do that. If that is the case, then perhaps a whole family conference discussing the problem with him may be motivating for him to continue wearing the aid. Perhaps he would be willing to set a specific goal, e.g. he promises to wear the aid continually for one month, except when sleeping. That would be an excellent trial to see if his brain adjusts to the aid.
So I suggest you consider these approaches, and I truly hope some of these suggestions work for both of you.
Good Luck Maureen!
Pat K
Maureen, stop repeating yourself. If he ask's why, tell him nicely. Regarding the TV, go into another room and watch it. When he ask's, again explain the problem. good luck.
Don't let him read this untill you solve the problem.
Make ALL your talk to him so low that he hears NOTHING you say and try to get everybody else to do the same. He'll either get so pissed-off that he'll withdraw into his 'shell' or surrender and accede to your request that he use the damned hearing aid.
You make it sound as if he is a reasonable man so he'll probably come-around. G'luck.
you've honestly gotta think of why you're doing it. are you doing it because he should here better or you don't like to repeat things or talk louder or get embarassed when he constantly asks to repeat things...is this hearing aid for you or him.