A number of people asked me to post a brief summary of comments received in
response to my query on hearing aids and contesting(now a week or so
ago). Thanks to everyone who took the time to write.
All of the responses (about 10) were positive - several commented on how
much their general quality of life had been improved by hearing aids, and
nobody reported any particular difficulties of the sort I envisioned. One
did comment that behind-the-ear hearing aids defeated the noise cancelling
of his Heil noise-cancelling headphones - I have never used the Heil units,
but suspect from the pictures that they probably sit on top of the hearing
aids in such a way that the hearing aid microphones are exposed to external
noise.
Most people seem to be using in-the-ear hearing aids and reported no
problems with headphones. However, in my case the audiologist is
recommending behind-the-ear aids with open transducers in the ear canal -
these are very small speakers that do not obstruct the canal. From what
she tells me, these are recommended in cases with moderate hearing loss to
counter the "boominess" of one's own speech that is otherwise caused by
blocking of the ear canal. I'll have to experiment.
By the way, one advantage that the audiologist claims for hearing aids is
that about 85 percent people with tinnitus - high-pitched ringing in the
ears - report that it disappears when hearing aids are used to counter
high-frequency roll-off. Appears to be something about the ear/nerve
system reverting to more normal operation. I know that in my case the
tinnitus has come on over the last few years, presumably as my
high-frequency roll-off became more pronounced, so I'm hopeful I'll get
this benefit.
My appointment for fitting of the hearing aids had to slip until July 17
due to summer vacations (mine and theirs) so I'll know more after that. In
the meantime, if anyone wants more detail on my conversations with
hearing-aid-equipped hams, or the messages I received, feel free to contact
me directly. For those who wrote or spoke to me privately, be assured that
I will *not* attribute anything you told me to you by name or call.
73, Pete N4ZR
The World HF Contest Station Database
Full details on 3300 contest stations
Updated 5/5/07 http://www.pvrc.org/WCSD/WCSDsearch.htm
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