Can You Hear Me Now?
What you can do about your hearing loss
By John Addyman
“Here’s a statistic,” said Art Maurer. “One out of 10 people in the United States who need hearing aids actually have them.”
Maurer, 84, was sitting in his dining room in Penfield. Next to him was Sue Miller, 85. They both have significant hearing loss. And with their 40-year-old chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America, they live to help others.
It’s possible that you’re one who could benefit from that help.
Do you have stress in your living room because you want to turn up the volume on the TV but your spouse says, “No! That’s too loud!”
When you’re at a social gathering, do you have trouble understanding what your friend nearby is saying because there are people around the two of you and you can’t pick out exactly what’s your friend is saying?
Have you ever given a talk and had to ask people to repeat their questions because you “didn’t quite get it”?
The Rochester Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) can help you.
In many ways.
“Our organization makes it safe,” said Miller. “One of our goals is to make it safe so you don’t feel stupid, you don’t feel ignorant in saying to people, ‘I can’t understand you because I have a hearing loss. Please slow down. Please look at me when you speak. Please raise your voice a little.’”
Is that person you? Do you have a hearing loss?
Let’s be frank: many of us get to a point in our lives when someone we love and respect asks, “Are you having trouble hearing?”
Or your spouse lays it on the line: “You should look into a hearing aid.”
“We provide support, education and advocacy,” said Maurer, who is the retired president of the HLAA. The Rochester chapter has 300 paid members and 600 people on its newsletter list. It’s the biggest chapter of the HLAA in America. And for good reason.
“We help people who are thinking of getting a hearing aid or, according to their caregivers, ought to be thinking about getting a hearing aid,” Maurer said. “We can help them understand how to go about getting a hearing aid, because a hearing aid is one of the hardest things to buy — people don’t know anything about it when they start. Nobody knows the manufacturers, who to talk to. They don’t know the features available…but they do know that hearing aids are very expensive.”
HLAA can really help with seasoned advice and hands-on demonstration. The group has a three-hour course, “How to Buy a Hearing Aid” available through its website — HearingLossRochester.org — and its free. “We also have a course on “speech (lip)-reading,” Maurer adds.
Want to see what’s available to you in hearing assistive devices (you may need something, not a hearing aid), HLAA hosts a “Demo Center” at Lifespan on South Clinton Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month, September through June.
“That’s a walk-in,” he explained. “We will greet people. We get to know them a little bit. We’ll ask, ’What brings you here?’ What we have is over 30 assistive listening devices laid out around the room and they are all working. Depending on what the person’s need is, we may steer them toward thinking about an audiologist, or we may help them get an assistive device that will help them immediately. None of these devices can be bought locally — it’s all mail order now. The beauty of it is that people get to try something out before they order it.”
And the Demo Center is free, manned by volunteers — many of them engineers — from HLAA.
Miller, who is coordinator of the administrative division of HLAA in Rochester, notes that “We do not demonstrate hearing aids at the Demo Center. People may come in thinking they’re going to see hearing aids. We do not have them.”
“We don’t dispense hearing aids at all,” added Maurer. “We don’t have the professional credentials to do that. However, we do have a kiosk, an ‘Express Hearing Test.’ In five minutes, we can have a person do an assessment of their hearing which would indicate, ‘Should I see an audiologist or not?’
“Anybody who’s thinking of buying a hearing aid, whether from an audiologist or over-the-counter, we tell them: ‘Get tested by a professional. You’ve got to know your level of hearing loss.’ The new over-the-counter devices only work on mild to moderate hearing loss; if you’re beyond that, you need a regular hearing aid. We don’t sell anything. We don’t represent any manufacturers. We just help people realize what’s available and how to get it. That’s why the Demo Center has become quite popular.”
Learning More
If you’re ready to start your journey to better hearing, consider attending one of the monthly chapter meetings which run October through June on the second Tuesday of the month, at 11 a.m., in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 22 Westminster Road in Rochester. Those meetings are followed by a presentation at noon, and are preceded by a smaller group that meets at 10 a.m. downstairs – HOPE (Hearing Other People’s Experiences), which is run by audiologist Joe Kozelsky.
The noontime speakers hit common topics like tinnitus and at least once a year there’s an “Ask the Audiologist” session with a presentation then a long question-and-answer session.
Maurer and Miller say HLAA is on top of the rapid changes in hearing-assistive technology, like the over-the-counter mail order hearing aids we all see on TV. The chapter has published a “tip sheet” about things to know and consider when you’re thinking about an OTC hearing aid.
First, OTC hearing aids are intended for mild-to-moderate hearing loss. To be clear about what kind of help you need, get tested by an audiologist first. If you buy an OTC device, be sure it includes a 45-day trial period and can be returned for a full refund.
“The rule of thumb right now,” says Maurer, “is that if the OTC hearing aid you’re buying is less than $800 to $1,000, be very, very careful.” He adds that there is “some quality stuff coming from known manufacturers who have some experience with speaker systems, like BOSE. Those are $1,200 to $1,500 and the results are pretty positive as long as you’re in the (hearing loss) range for an OTC device.
“If you have a profound hearing loss and the audiologist gives you a hearing aid that’s capable of really offering you the power you need, he can’t turn that thing on full power when he gives it to you — he’ll ramp it up over time. And a good audiologist will tell you that you don’t need a hearing aid.”
Maurer said the more powerful, audiologist-prescribing hearing aids start at $2,500, with $4,000 the mid-range and $6,000 the top. These aids come with a three-year warranty. And three years of support and service.
Don’t Need a Hearing Aid?
That Demo Room showcases more than 30 assistive devices, things that boost sound. For instance, there’s a TV Listener, a wireless speaker that provides clarifying sound for someone without the blaring volume.
Maurer said when he and wife Ellen were having trouble negotiating a shared level for TV volume, HLAA engineer Lorin Gallistell suggested they test a TV Listener system available on Amazon for $130.
Setting the system up, Ellen and Art were happy within five minutes.
“Ellen said to Lorin, ‘You should be a marriage counselor,’” said Maurer.
There are also devices for people who have hearing aids but need some help, like when there’s a conference table and everybody’s speaking. A small portable mike put in the middle of the table picks up what people are saying and it feeds into the Bluetooth connection in your hearing aid.
So, if you’re having trouble hearing some things and have questions and concerns, the HLAA is all ready for you.
Membership in the all-volunteer HLAA gets you access to everything for $10 a year, including the newsletter and everything available through the website, plus the company of many who have shared your experience.
HLAA advocates hearing-friendly environment in theaters and restaurants and at the airport, which has a wired system to help those with hearing loss. Miller especially advocates for self-advocacy, helping people say those uncomfortable things: “I can’t hear you. I have hearing loss. Please speak up. Please look at me when you’re speaking. Please slow down.”
“We make it safe for people who don’t hear well,” she promised.