Hearing Aids Report #6 Two Years Later-- A Few Tips and HUMOR 😅😊

You may find it helpful to read my previous articles about life with hearing aids, updates #1,  #2, #3, #4, #5, plus mask-tying advice for avoiding COVID and loss of expensive hearing aids.

pre-bedtime routine
glasses and hearing aids

It's hard to believe that over two years have passed since I first got my hearing aids. My audiologist had sent me out that day with them in my ears claiming that there's no gradual getting used to them, but to be honest it did take me quite a few months. During those first few months I returned to the clinic for quick visits, help, different size domes etc. Also, I'd go days without wearing them and find them uncomfortable by the end of the day.

I can't say exactly when things changed and wearing them daily until bedtime became routine. Of course, I wasn't under a lot of pressure to rush it, because I do hear, though not perfectly. Generally I don't put them in until I'm leaving home, or if I need the Bluetooth in order to listen to things when I'm not alone.

One of the The best thing about wearing hearing aids is no longer interrupting people with "What?" or "I couldn't hear that."

A few weeks ago I made an appointment at the clinic where I had bought my hearing aids to see if there had been any changes in my hearing. The audiologist who helped me then had be promoted to head a different branch, so I had someone else. She tested my hearing and adjusted the hearing aids to their new requirements. No complaints.

Our healthcare provider gave lots of choice in places to get the hearing aids but first required an exam by an ENT and a proper hearing test. Every three and a half years we, here in Israel, can buy a subsidized pair.

*****

Following are a couple of funny things concerning my life with hearing aids. My hearing may be faulty, but not my sense of humor. What do you think?

Has this happened to anyone else?🙃 Tell me in the comments.

1-I sat down by the computer in the den after being in the kitchen and suddenly realized I didn't have my phone, though I could hear it through the Bluetooth. 

So I went back to the kitchen and looked all over. I couldn't find it. 

My husband decided to be helpful and "dialed" me, but of course that didn't help, since the ring is via Bluetooth. I heard the ring through my hearing aids.

So I took out my hearing aids and opened the battery case to turn off the Bluetooth. 

Suddenly sounds came out of a cabinet. Yes, I had placed my phone in a kitchen cabinet. I took it out,  turned my hearing aids back on and returned them to my ears.😉

2-One morning my phone refused to make any sounds. I tried everything, turned it off. Restart didn't help. I psyched myself up to prepare for a trip to someone for repairs. 

Before leaving, I took my hearing aids to insert in my ears and... discovered that I hadn't turned them off before going to sleep. There wasn't anything wrong with my telephone's sound. The sound had been going into the hearing aids which had been in their box. The only thing I hadn't tried was to turn off the Bluetooth. 😏

Hearing Aids Report #5, Just Because The Battery Works Doesn't Mean It "Works"

You may find it helpful to read my previous articles about life with hearing aids, updates #1,  #2, #3, #4, plus mask-tying advice for avoiding COVID and loss of expensive hearing aids.

For many reasons, I've really been enjoying my hearing aids, and not only because I hear much better. I love the fact that Bluetooth streams music, lectures, phone calls, etc. directly into my ears, and I can also control the volume and check the battery percentage via a simple Oticon app on my cellphone. At least I was able to do it until a week or more ago. 

Suddenly one day after I replaced a dead battery the phone and hearing aids stubbornly refused to "pair." I tried everything I could think of, following the advice on the Oticon app, including turning on and off the phone, Bluetooth, WIFI and putting in fresh batteries.

About batteries...

Just when I got my hearing aids I was offered some unused, though old hearing aid batteries of the same size, but an expired date. I showed them to my audiologist who said that as long as they're clean I can use them:

"They may not last as long as new ones, but they won't damage the hearing aids."

That was good news for me, since they didn't cost me anything. And not long after I got those, someone else offered me a few packets with a much later expiration date, also for free.

This morning when my left hearing aid began that "all out of juice" tune in my ear, I replaced the battery with the very last one of the "expired" ones. Before reinserting it in my ear, I noticed that the "light" hadn't gone on. So I opened and closed the battery yet again. Still dark. So I opened a card from the newer batch. You can see the card in the photos above. 

Again I replaced the battery, but this time with new one. My phone had been on the table with the Oticon app open. Imagine my surprise when suddenly I saw it announce that phone and hearing aids were pairing. Quickly, I replaced the other hearing aid's battery with a new one, too, and like magic, the Bluetooth connection had come back to life.

Such a relief. I feel grateful and also dumb. Shouldn't I have thought of that solution much sooner?

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.