Vanity at 94

Steve's sisters indicated they were having such stress trying to carry on a phone conversation with his Mom, that they asked us to see what helps were available.

After numerous emails and phone calls, I found a state funded center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville. They consented to come and bring various assistive technology. After we got the visit arranged, I started asking Alda why she didn't use her hearing aids. I really hadn't realized how little she uses her hearing aids. It appears it is less than ten times a year. I asked her why she didn't wear them. She said they really didn't help much, and she didn't like the feeling of something stuffed in her ears. She said, "At church, I still can't hear the speakers." I reminded her that she wasn't going to church these days, so how something worked at church wasn't a huge issue.

I asked her why she didn't use the T.V. ears she had been given for her birthday. She said they really helped, but then she couldn't hear the telephone ring as well. I reminded her that she had flashers on the telephone. Of course, since she naps a lot during the day, she won't see the flashing with her eyes closed. I also doubt she hears the telephone very well with the volume on the TV turned up to jet engine level.

Then, I started to worry that I was having a woman travel from Taylorsville to give us suggestions when Alda wasn't even wearing hearing aids.

We contacted USU and made an appointment to have her hearing aids checked. The intern said that hearing aids have changed so much in ten years that it was like comparing a Model T to a Jaguar. Alda had significant wax blockage (which they removed) and significant hearing loss, but they were quite sure hearing aids would make a huge difference. The question is, "Would she wear them?" They said she could try the $3000 hearing aids for a month, and would only pay for the $200 fitting charges if she decided to return them.

I tried to get her to commit to wearing them. She said things like, "I do pretty well without anything." ARGG!! Anyway, after three hours of testing and talking, we ordered them. They should be in sometime this week.

We went ahead with the appointment with the assistive technology person. We ordered a "free" phone that was adjustable to 50 decibels. In addition, the woman had something called a pocket talker or a mino personal amplifier that we could try for a month or two before buying one. I was amazed at how well Alda could hear with it.

During the two hour appointment, we said such things as, "Which would you rather have, the amplifier or the volume on the TV turned up loud?" and got definitive answers such as "I don't know". We tried to show her that she could both hear the phone and the doorbell better with the amplifier. The woman explained that hearing is NOT going to be like it was at twenty; you have to expect differences. I explained that turning the volume way up wasn't an option if she had other people around and that you couldn't turn the volume up on dinner conversation. The woman explained that its "Use it or Lose it! Communication occurs in the brain. When we lose our ability to hear, the ear stops sending needed information to the brain, effecting the ability to understand what is being said." We gave it our best sales pitch, but by Friday she had given up on the personal amplifier saying, "It messes up my hair" or "I don't like the cord that connects the headphones to the amplifier."

Other than her weekly dinner with Norm/Deb and a trip to our house for Sunday dinner, she rarely leaves the house - yet having her hair unsullied is paramount.

I guess we'll hope the hearing aids turns out better.