Hearing Aids Report #4 Data Usage Warning aka Good News-Bad News

You may find it helpful to read my previous articles about life with hearing aids, updates #1, #2, #3 plus mask-tying advice for avoiding COVID and loss of expensive hearing aids.

It has been awhile since I've written one of these reports about living with hearing aids. You probably thought that I had figured it all out and written all that's important; I sure did.

Recently my phone has been nudging me with these Data Usage Warnings, and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I hardly use any apps, just one game, which isn't very addictive. I even changed "providers" hoping that would help. It's now saving us money, thank Gd, but the warnings retuned.

I began to suspect that the "good news," one of my favorite things about using my hearing aids could be the cause. So I went to the phone shop that had recommended the new company and told the helpful young man working there that I had one of my "dumb questions." 

"Could my use of Bluetooth to hear my phone straight into my ears via the hearing aids be using up all the data?" I asked him, hoping/praying for a negative reply. 

I really enjoy being able to hear things clearly and not bothering others. Well, you probably guessed it. The "bad news" was that my suspicion was correct. The Bluetooth uses up a lot of data. 

Next year when I start negotiating with a "provider" for our cellphone service I'm going to have to try to triple the usage in the deal. 

And to think I had to replace a wonderful phone just because its Bluetooth wasn't compatible with my hearing aids.

Hearing Aids Report #1

 

I've had my hearing aids for almost a week, but I must admit that I skipped wearing them Friday and Shabbat. 

In all honesty, the first few days I wore my hearing aids, it was a relief to take them out at night. My ears had begun to hurt. Besides that, I had to keep checking where they were. I had discovered that they had "exited" where they should have been. Of course, bli eyin haraa the part with the battery was still behind my ears and under my scarf.

Friday morning I had gone to swim in the Ariel Pool and forgotten to insert earplugs. That's another new routine I must adopt, earplugs for swimming to keep my ears dry. So I just decided to take a break from the hearing aids. On Shabbat there was no real need to wear hearing aids. My study group was "cancelled for corona," and I haven't been to shul for almost two years. We also didn't have guests. My husband speaks loud enough. Besides that on Shabbat I can't turn off and on hearing aids, so they'd use up a lot of battery power. My ears definitely needed the two day break.

Sunday mid-morning I reinserted my hearing aids, and my ears felt better, though they still seem to pop out, though less. I made an extra appointment for tomorrow to check them out. One of the reasons I chose Medton Hedim is that they had promised I could nudge as much as I felt I needed.

Besides all that, you want to know:

Do I really hear better with my hearing aids?

1. I keep lowering volume when I have them in, the tv, my phone...
2. Suddenly I hear strange sounds. For some peculiar reason when my husband takes something from plastic bags from the kitchen, and I'm in the den, I hear what sounds like someone's grinding glass.  And even worse are the sounds that come out of his phone. I can't make out what's being said, but it sounds louder than the television. And this is when I'm in a different room.
3. 
   
   Inexplicably, one battery finished before the other. Due to the "magic" of Bluetooth communication before the hearing aids and my phone, I was notified that the left one was about to go "empty." So I changed that battery for a new one. So now the left is full, and the right at half.
4. Pre-hearing aids I always had to make the TV louder or I couldn't understand what was being said. I'd ask my husband: "Can you really hear that?" And he'd answer "Yes." Suddenly this evening I saw him grabbing the remote and pressing volume. "Are you really making it louder?" I asked in shocked surprise. He was, so I guess my hearing has improved.

Do you have any questions for me about my experiences with hearing aids? If so, please ask in the comments.