Hearing aids and heat

[Clifton Tesh]

Hearing aids are pretty new to me. I got mine in December of 2023. This is my first summer wearing them and I have noticed that they do not like this 96 degree weather (35.5c for the rest of the world).

I wear a wide brimmed hat trying to keep the sun from shining directly on them and my hair is a military regulation haircut (faded from 0"-1") so I don't have hair covering them up. I'm guessing the ambient temperature is still too much.

Anyone have any tips or tricks for keeping them from overheating?

 

[LuvMyEAR]

DH is on his 3rd set of hearing aids and has never found actual heat to be a problem. However, hearing aids can be quite vulnerable to moisture. If you are really hot, sweat can be running down behind your ears. Make sure you bring along your drying beads! DH forgot his one trip and we had to go looking for a jar. Also, have a secure place, like your room or a locker, for them to stay if you are heading into a pool or water park.

We are currently in an intense heatwave, and he has found he is going to have to give up wearing his newest ones while playing tennis. While they are supposed to be more moisture resistant, they actually seem to be more affected by sweat. The other thing is that they need to recharge overnight, which is when they would also need to be in the drying medium. So… he will be struggling to remember to switch to the older battery-operated ones before hitting the tennis courts.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

DH is on his 3rd set of hearing aids and has never found actual heat to be a problem. However, hearing aids can be quite vulnerable to moisture. If you are really hot, sweat can be running down behind your ears. Make sure you bring along your drying beads! DH forgot his one trip and we had to go looking for a jar. Also, have a secure place, like your room or a locker, for them to stay if you are heading into a pool or water park.

We are currently in an intense heatwave, and he has found he is going to have to give up wearing his newest ones while playing tennis. While they are supposed to be more moisture resistant, they actually seem to be more affected by sweat. The other thing is that they need to recharge overnight, which is when they would also need to be in the drying medium. So… he will be struggling to remember to switch to the older battery-operated ones before hitting the tennis courts.

I was wondering about the sweat. I sweat like a fat man in a sauna...because, well, I'm a fat man and I live in the south and outside is pretty much a sauna.

I am not familiar with drying beads but I am going to go Google them right now.

I'm assuming it's just like the pack of chiclets (desiccant bag) you find in new electronic packaging?

 

[LuvMyEAR]

Yes, this is just a little jar of loose desiccant beads. They colour change, too, to denote that they are ready to use, or need to be dried/refreshed before use. This is done by popping them in the microwave for a few seconds, according to the directions - without the hearing aids, of course. Really doesn’t get much easier. They should be readily available wherever you bought your hearing aids. I am surprised that they were not mentioned to you, as most places are happy to sell any extras they can. You can also find them in a decent pharmacy, in Costco, and probably even on Amazon.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Yes, this is just a little jar of loose desiccant beads. They colour change, too, to denote that they are ready to use, or need to be dried/refreshed before use. This is done by popping them in the microwave for a few seconds, according to the directions - without the hearing aids, of course. Really doesn’t get much easier. They should be readily available wherever you bought your hearing aids. I am surprised that they were not mentioned to you, as most places are happy to sell any extras they can. You can also find them in a decent pharmacy, in Costco, and probably even on Amazon.

My hearing aids were provided by the VA fortunately.

I never realized how expensive hearing aids were. When people talked about the cost of them I always assumed they were a few hundred dollars, not the cost of a decent used car.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

You are fortunate indeed! DH’s new set cost about $5K (CAD) and our health insurance covered $500 of the cost. They are pretty amazing units but for some reason, he still can’t seem to hear me any better. We both love the Bluetooth feature that lets him clearly hear conversations on his phone and listen happily to his tv without anyone else needing to hear it as well. I hope yours will improve your quality of life. They certainly make a difference for DH, even though he will never have what would be considered normal hearing.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

You are fortunate indeed! DH’s new set cost about $5K (CAD) and our health insurance covered $500 of the cost. They are pretty amazing units but for some reason, he still can’t seem to hear me any better. We both love the Bluetooth feature that lets him clearly hear conversations on his phone and listen happily to his tv without anyone else needing to hear it as well. I hope yours will improve your quality of life. They certainly make a difference for DH, even though he will never have what would be considered normal hearing.

The day I got mine the first thing I did was come home and have a conversation with my son. He was 5 at the time and the frequency his voice is on is right in the zone that I couldn't hear. I have a hard time hearing female voices too. Fortunately my wife has been a good sport about it.

My wife and daughter (daughters a teenager) understand that I am hard of hearing but my Bubba couldn't understand why Daddy was "ignoring" him.

For the first time in my son's life I could clearly make out what he was saying and then I had to explain to him why daddy was crying.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

THAT was a teary moment, for sure! So glad you are able to hear your son. Your wife sounds like she has adjusted with good humour to what most men chalk up to “selective hearing”. That’s life. If it is important, we write it down.

It is very exclusionary when you are constantly missing the conversation, or chiming in with something that has already been discussed. Sometimes there are funny moments, but a whole lot of frustration. I keep reminding DH that is OK to mention that he is hard of hearing, particularly when there are directions or instructions being imparted. I try to provide as many details as possible by text for him in any situation. Even with hearing aids, he is unable to understand any sort of public address announcements. That’s kind of scary when he is out alone. Before hearing aids, he could not hear our smoke/CO alarm going off just outside the tv room door, when the door was open.

 

[SirDuff]

I live in South-Asia where it is hot and humid and haven't had issues with my hearing aids here.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

THAT was a teary moment, for sure! So glad you are able to hear your son. Your wife sounds like she has adjusted with good humour to what most men chalk up to “selective hearing”. That’s life. If it is important, we write it down.

It is very exclusionary when you are constantly missing the conversation, or chiming in with something that has already been discussed. Sometimes there are funny moments, but a whole lot of frustration. I keep reminding DH that is OK to mention that he is hard of hearing, particularly when there are directions or instructions being imparted. I try to provide as many details as possible by text for him in any situation. Even with hearing aids, he is unable to understand any sort of public address announcements. That’s kind of scary when he is out alone. Before hearing aids, he could not hear our smoke/CO alarm going off just outside the tv room door, when the door was open.

We text a lot of stuff in this house and my daughter is studying ASL. I have tried learning it too but arthritis makes it very difficult to sign anything.

I have the same problem with PA announcements. If I "hear" one I try to find an employee or someone who looks like they have good ears and ask them what was said.

And I have no problem letting anyone know I'm hard of hearing. It is better than possibly being put in a dangerous situation because I was embarrassed or something.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

I live in South-Asia where it is hot and humid and haven't had issues with my hearing aids here.

Which part of South Asia? My daughter is half Filipino and the Asian cultures have always intrigued me. I am currently studying Hmong cooking techniques.