Hearing but no aids

loony
loony Online Community Member Posts: 28 Contributor
in Talk about your impairment

How are people communicating on the phone with hearing loss? I don’t wear hearing aid I can hear sound but can’t make out words without facial gesture and lip reading. I’ve tried txt relay in the past but it takes forever, specially so called professionals don’t seem to understand the words email or text

Comments

  • dolfrog
    dolfrog Posts: 607 Trailblazing

    @loony

    Having problems processing words, the sounds of speech, can be due to the Temporal type of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD).

    I have the Temporal type of Auditory Processing Disorder, which is the underlying cause of my problems with rapid speech, and my dyslexia symptom

    The key assessment test is the Random Gap Detection Test which attempts to measure the size of gap between sounds the brain can process and identify. When i did the test in 2003 it did not include a gap between sounds large enough for me to identify.

  • loony
    loony Online Community Member Posts: 28 Contributor

    dolfrog, so any tips on using phone or a no go ?

  • SheffieldMan1976
    SheffieldMan1976 Posts: 726 Connected

    Way back when I first got a mobile phone (what the Americans call a Cell Phone), I had to have a special adaptor for it to work with the hearing aid, nearly 25 years later, I can mostly use a phone without the adaptors, it's just the annoyingly **** signal on my current Network, almost no signal in most of Sheffield.

  • dolfrog
    dolfrog Posts: 607 Trailblazing
    edited March 15
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1109416#Comment_1109416

    I have Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), and I am not able to process and identify some of the sounds I hear, which includes the sounds of rapid speech, and long conversations.

    I am phone phobic, as like you I need to visually lip read what a pe5rson is saying face to face. I was told by an audiology researcher that every one can lip read but until he told me, and later while i was watching a UK film on TV I turned the sound off, and there I was lip reading.

    I need people to communicate either Face to Face or using email. If there is a long email massage I can copy and paste it to my word processor where I can then start each new sentence on a new line, and then alternate the font colour between the sentences between green and blue. I also use a light blue or light green background colour to avoid using the standard white background.

    I also use graphics to help explain my issues

    2020 WLD Gaps in Sound.jpg
  • MW123
    MW123 Scope Member Posts: 2,057 Championing

    @loony

    Regarding your question about not hearing well on phones at the moment, you can always ask for other ways to communicate such as email, text or video call. Video calls can be especially helpful because they let you lip read, which you mentioned makes things easier for you. Most services are very willing to do this once they know it is a reasonable adjustment you need.

    I also wondered if it might be worth getting your hearing checked. As we get older, many of us lose a little hearing without realising, especially the parts that make speech clear. Modern hearing aids have improved a lot and are designed to make speech clearer rather than simply louder, which can make conversations easier when you cannot see someone’s face.

    You can have your hearing checked through the NHS, and in some areas the local health authority pays for places like Specsavers to carry out the tests for them. It does vary from place to place, so it is worth checking what is available where you live. Your GP can also arrange a hearing check if that feels simpler.

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