My hearing aid is past it's warranty period and basically worn out. I have needed a new one for the past couple of years but I have been putting it off. With Covid-19 restrictions I wasn't going anywhere anyway and really only had one person to annoy by making him repeat eveything.
I found myself tuning into the radio news several times in a day to try to catch what was being said. I'm not sure if that's a hearing problem or if I have just lost my listening skills. I gave in last fall and went for a hearing test. That's when I found out things had changed. Not only had the prices gone up but the warranty period had dropped from five years to just three. You get a trial period with new hearing aids in case that style or model turns out not to be the right one for you. But I still was not getting to places where it could be tested properly so I decided, once again, to wait. I saw no point in wasting my warranty period when there was little to hear anyway.
But hey people, dispite the fact that there is a new Covid varient speading rapidly normal life seems to be making a comeback. I have been to visit family and friends and attended both the Legion Senior's Lunch and the Ladies Club dinner this past month. I couldn't follow conversations in any of those situations so I went back to the audiologist.
My last hearing test had apparently expired so I had to do it over again. There was no change and though I felt like I was not hearing as well, I just need to learn to listen again. People think that comes naturally but really, it's a skill. I need to practice.
I will be getting my new aid just in time for an upcoming event where I may get to talk more than I have to listen. There will be a small crowd there and I expect a lot more noise than at the meals I have attended. This will be an excellent testing ground to see what adjustments will be needed to my new assistive device. I do expect I will still need some people to repeat things but maybe I will at least be able to watch tv without closed captions. One can only hope....
