Recently I was back at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital for a follow up appointment at Audiology.
I had been previously for a hearing test and had some moulds taken.
I went to the wrong reception desk but finally checked in and it wasn’t long before Claire arrived and I was seen.
The previous moulds weren’t big enough, so I had to do some fresh ones first and it would be a few more weeks before I could try out the hearing protectors.
In the meantime, Claire asked me to try out some pink noise therapy, to see if it could desensitize my hearing and reduce the Hyperacusis.
She played some white noise through a speaker and then some pink noise, The white noise seemed a harsher sound so I agreed to give the pink noise a go.
The therapy uses a digital hearing aid but with the hearing aid part switched off and she showed me how easy it was to change the settings on a digital hearing aid. Claire then turned on the pink noise in the device with it set at a low level to start with..
Next Claire measured my ear for the right length tube and fitted the hearing aid to my ear.
I could just about hear the pink noise but it wasn’t distracting and Claire offered to do the same for the other ear.
I wasn’t sure about have one aid in each ear and opted for an additional tube so that I could swap ears every few days.
Claire gave me some spare batteries and a card if I need to get any more and we were done for a few weeks and I made my way home by taxi.
I am due back at Audiology in February and you can see the article here
Note to Medical Professionals
Poorly adjusted digital hearing aids can lead to people living with Dementia not wearing their hearing aids and also appearing confused when they are not or having uncharacteristic emotional responses.
It is simple for Audiology to adjust a digital hearing aid and can be done by trial and error if there is a communication problem.
Not referring a person with Dementia because they wouldn’t understand is unacceptable.
When The Fog Lifts 