[NAGDU] Hearing past noise

Tue Oct 31 21:29:03 UTC 2023

Melissa, my apologies for not reading more carefully.

-----Original Message-----
From: Melissa Allman <MAllman at seeingeye.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 3:24 PM
To: Richard <richard.petty at earthlink.net>; 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Subject: RE: [NAGDU] Hearing past noise

Hi Richard and others. Richard, this is a really thoughtful post. I do want to clarify though that I can take no credit for making good points about hearing aids as I know nothing about them, although I know more than I did before reading this post. I was talking about Bluetooth headphones that allow you to hear your phone if you are using it for navigation but don't obstruct your ears.

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard <richard.petty at earthlink.net> 
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 4:18 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Melissa Allman <MAllman at seeingeye.org>
Subject: RE: [NAGDU] Hearing past noise

Joy and Melissa, you both make good points about hearing aids. 

I've been auditioning Oticon hearing aids which are  provided through an audiologist. My primary interest is to improve my ability to hear conversation in crowded surroundings. The audiologist confirmed that it is harder to manage in these circumstances when we cannot read lips or see expressions and gestures. These hearing  aids address this problem by enhancing the frequency response in the upper ranges of the human voice.

The adjustment for speech does seem to help, although I want to make sure the hearing aids will do nothing to affect full coverage hearing while I'm out on the street. I fear I will be in greater danger. The audiologist is working with me to achieve this.

I am also auditioning an over-the-counter Lexie B2 set of hearing aids. They haven't arrived yet, so my success with them is entirely uncertain. They adjust frequency response through an iPhone, which will be fine if  the iPhone  app is accessible and if it reads with VoiceOver into the Bluetooth hearing aids.

The Oticon and Lexie units both are supposed to have sealed and open cones that insert into the ear. I believe the open cones are more of a mesh and have the advantages of blocking less ambient sound and allowing the ear more access to air. I've found the Oticons to be comfortable and generally successful, but I'm not yet certain I'm hearing absolutely accurate and absolutely unobstructed sound through them while on the street. They pair beautifully with my iPhone. However, they are  expensive. If I can find an over-the-counter hearing aid at a much lower price I will be happy.

I have been resisting hearing aids for years, even though I've been showing a moderate  loss in hearing tests. I made the decision to get hearing aids after listening to a TED Radio Hour NPR program in which the NPR reporter and program host Mary Louise Kelly spoke about the challenges of her own hearing loss. She spoke of how it seemed more and more people were mumbling when they spoke to her. She described trying to purchase medication at a pharmacy for her teenage son and having so much difficulty communicating with the pharmacist that she made the decision to do something. I've heard her interview world leaders  for years. Somehow her credibility pushed me over the threshold to hearing aids. That almost sounds silly, but somehow it pushed me forward. I imagine this is for the better.

We who are blind just have added challenges. I'm now sure I need the amplification for conversation and while I'm on the street. Yet, I'm certain the devices must be utterly accurate out on the street. Arguably my excellent guide dog Piper from The Seeing Eye would help me from making mistakes, but that's not a good plan for the dog or for me.

Best wishes that you both and others have the pleasure of hearing well and have safe travel experiences.

Richard

Richard Petty
Richard.petty at earthlink.net

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Melissa Allman via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 12:40 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Melissa Allman <MAllman at seeingeye.org>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Hearing past noise

Hi Joy. You've covered a lot of ground in this post and I want to thank you for being willing to share all of that. I will focus for now specifically on Bluetooth headsets. I have used Aftershokz bone conductor headphones and like them because they do not go inside my ears. I am very hesitant to use anything that goes inside my ears and may obstruct my hearing when I have to pay attention to traffic as opposed to lounging on my couch listening to a book. Not to mention of course the desire to preserve my hearing by being mindful of how long I have something in my ears transmitting sound. That said, either because I'm extra rough on them or because they're fragile, I've managed to break two pairs of Aftershokz trying to stick them into smaller spaces during travel than they want to go in. if folks are responding to other points in Joy's post and have suggestions about the ultimate awesome bone conducting Bluetooth headphones currently on the market that work well during navigation, I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

Melissa Allman

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Joy Relton via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 12:26 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Joy Relton <joy.relton at icloud.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Hearing past noise

Tracy Et Al,

I agree with all of your comments and questions. I have hearing aids and am still evaluating whether they are helping in the directional noise and sorting out background noises issues that I experience. (for those of you who are grammarians I apologize profusely for that last sentence).
My Starky hearing aids have settings that permit adjustments for background noise including my tinnitus. The problem is that it isn't that easy to adjust the balance of these things. More importantly I am not impressed with the way that they automatically adjust for background noise. I had one of those hours that seem to last a week yesterday. I wasn't scared or really in danger but I was frustrated. We live in a new development where there is much construction going on. So, we have very noisy street cleaning, jack hammering workers blocked corners and putting boards and obstacles to navigate over, around and through, saws and other noises from actual houses becing built and highway traffic and those darn airplanes overhead. Vicky was trying to tell me that we needed to turn at a corner that I couldn't detect because it was block off. So, we went a block further than we needed to. I couldn't hear my gps over the noise so I couldn't determine exactly where I was. Eventually, I managed to get my husband on the phone and asked him to walk to find me. I was more impatient about exploring an area with all that noise because I wasn't sure where I would end up. I do know that I have to practice all of the techniques that I have been taught through the years before navigating streets. I.e. Stop, look and listen; Make sure to hold my arm in the correct position and to position my body to line up to cross the street as straight as I can in these curving streets, don't panic and trust my dog. It gets more challenging every day. The one thing I do know, having temporarily lost my sense of direction due to a burst aneurism in my brain, is that not going out is not an option. I intend to consult my audiologist about these questions relating to location and directional sound, blocking background noise and, keeping the hearing aid sound loud enough to hear over the sounds around me. Thank God for audible signals and tactile strips at corners. Most importantly thank goodness for well trained guides. Vicky took me around several construction blocks and would not have taken me that extra block yesterday had there not been several trucks and construction equipment blocking the intersection where I needed to turn. I so wish that she could talk to me once and a while.

I like the idea of the ear plugs and have also been considering blue tooth head set with my iPhone to listen to the GPS rather than hearing aids. I'd love to hear about people's experiences.

Thanks.

Enjoy that autumn weather out there if you have it! Vicky and I are loving the fresh air and exercise.  the 

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jenine Stanley via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 6:24 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jenine Stanley <jeninems at icloud.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Hearing past noise

Tracy, rather than hearing aids, you may want to look into earplugs that, rather than blocking all sound, only block certain frequencies. They make these for musicians, hunters, and probably even landscapers. I believe you need to see an audiologist but such plugs can be really helpful. 

I have a pair of musician filter earplugs. They make a mold of your ear so the plugs fit well. The only issue for me is that they are not water tolerant. They do still allow for directional hearing but may decrease accuracy a tad. 

I know what you mean about the noise levels though. 

> On Oct 31, 2023, at 8:44 AM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I'm having some trouble hearing past noise.  I don't know if my 
> neighborhood is getting noisier (I think it might be), or cars are 
> getting quieter, or I'm just getting older.  Probably all these things are true.
> 
> There are jets flying over to a nearby small airport, a freight train 
> rumbling past a couple blocks away, and the dreaded landscapers from 
> Hell whose racket can drown out sound for at least a block.  Today 
> there's a big truck working on the road near our house.  I listen the 
> best I can, but once in a while Igloo still has to use his Seeing Eye 
> superpowers and stop to keep us away from a car.  Not too often, but I'd prefer next to never.
> 
> Do people have strategies for hearing past noise?  I don't think I 
> need hearing aids yet, but wouldn't they just amplify all the noise anyway?
> 
> Tracy
> 
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