remember kids, wear your earplugs

[anotheranon]

Most of you who know me in person have probably run up against my inability to carry on a phone conversation and in-person conversation at the same time, or realized that the reason I sometimes fall silent at parties is because I can't pick out the different voices from the many.

For a long time I wrote this off as an unfortunate inability to concentrate on my part, but a few recent incidents have made me concerned that it's getting worse:

The "white noise" of the metro or heat coming on interferes with my ability to hear anything on my phone - yes, I've got the volume cranked up.

Sitting in a circle of ~4 people, I can't follow the conversation if there's ANY background noise.

Across a crowded room, shouting doesn't really reach - I need to be standing right there to distinguish what's being said.

So..

I'm going to an audiologist next week for a hearing test and try to figure out whether I'm genuinely poor at aural multitasking or whether my hearing is physically damaged.

I'm really irritated by this, because if EITHER case is true I'm not sure how to fix this. I love good conversation and it sucks when I can't keep up :(

Comments

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

[seamstrix.livejournal.com]

I too am finding that ambient noise levels make it difficult for me to distinguish what is being said. I can hear that the person is talking but the words are garbled/indistinct. It hasn't gotten to the point where I'm going to an audiologist, but it's noticable.

Getting old sucks.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

It may or may not be age-related...it could be something organic, as I found a few years ago...:(

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

I think you described it far more succinctly than I did above - it's ambient noise that's getting to be a problem. It's not that it seems louder, it's that the stuff I'm actually TRYING to hear blends in with it :(

Perhaps it is age; I strongly suspect at least some of it is due to loud concerts as a teenager. By college I was wearing earplugs most of the time, but these things have impact down the line :(

[hadesgirl.livejournal.com]

I'll be very interested to hear what you find out. Mikey needs hearing aids, he has what's called a cookie-cutter hearing loss. High and low end sounds are muddled, mid-range is ok. I've lost my high end hearing. If I'm not in my bedroom, I won't hear my alarm clock beeping, and I find I have to boost the treble on music and all, and I'm now having the same sort of white-noise effect you describe above.

Yeah, hearing aids for me too at some point soon. Irritating and quite disturbing, but there isn't much to be done!

One thing that I do now that the audiologist suggested: using earplugs whenever I use my hairdryer. The decibel level of a hair dryer so close to the ear is damaging.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

I really, really hope I don't have to wear hearing aids. I remember my Dad's and he was ever having to futz with fit and monitor the batteries for it to be effective.

Having said this, a silver ear bud or something with sleek, Apple-like design could have an interesting Borg-like cachet, but I'm not betting that such a thing is available :P

In all seriousness, much sympathy with y'alls hearing loss - it does suck rocks :(

[hadesgirl.livejournal.com]

It DOES suck rocks. DAMN that loud rock and roll... sure wish I'd turned it down a couple of dozen years ago, LOL.

Very, very sophisticated hearing aids are out there, ones that work very well, but OMG the cost... that for me, would be the true issue. But the digital ones, they tune to your specific hearing-loss frequency, and I'm told the results are quite good.

Still... disturbing. I mean... that's a sign we're getting old, isn't it??????

*runs screaming from the room*

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Getting old I do not mind - I'm far smarter/saner now than when I was young and dumb :P

But when things start breaking? Not so fun. First my feet, now this. What did my grandmother say? "Getting old isn't for sissies" :P