This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Sarah said: "Seriously, I know an elderly woman with Alzheimer's who was = recently fitted=20 with a hearing aid. The device (one ear only) has been checked, = rechecked,=20 and re-re-checked, and it functions as it should. Even her psychometric = test data confirm this. Although she can now understand us when we are=20 speaking, she complains that ALL sounds are obnoxious to her, including=20 anything with frequency components that were in her hearing deficit = range=20 (e.g. onions frying in a skillet). She is happiest with the hearing aid = turned down or even off (serving as an ear plug). Because her sensitivity curve changed with her hearing loss, she became=20 accustomed to hearing the world in muted tones. The "normal" sound of a = piano, for instance, would be very muffled and heavy on the bass, = probably=20 including a spinet. (Think of one of those booming, consumer-grade, = muffly=20 stereos from the early 1970's.) When you change that sound envelope by=20 restoring higher frequency hearing (the range most frequently lost), = sound=20 becomes tintier (as it normally sounds to someone with healthy ears). = Thus=20 higher partials, buzzes, rattles, etc., etc. -- sounds with higher = frequency=20 components -- sound obnoxious. So the problem isn't Sir John's spinet, per se <cough, cough>, but the = fact=20 that he is now hearing this magnificent instrument as it normally sounds = to=20 the rest of us. He may in fact have preferred the spinet's sound to a=20 larger instrument's sound because of its relatively greater emphasis on=20 higher frequencies. That would enable him to hear the melody better, = for=20 instance. Now that his "tone control settings" have been diddled with, = he=20 doesn't like the sound. Ask him to listen to a larger, better piano and = see=20 if he likes that more. In short, he's going to have to accept that the world sounds differently = from what he's previously experienced. Peace, Sarah, I just spent the better part of an hour, typing a response to your = comments. Damned 'puters! grrrrrr! Damned thing froze up on the last = sentence! grrrrr! Anyway, I'll try again. All of what you have written is true. However, there is far more to = this, than any can know. I've given classes on The Stigma of Hearing Loss, with a teaching = partner who is a highly respected Dispenser. During our first class, we = started by showing everyone the proper way to insert foam plugs. As we = spoke the plugs expanded and most all, attending, were told that they = now heard how I hear w/o my hearing aids. About midpoint through this = segment, one gentleman jumped up and, (literally), slammed out of the = class. I was startled, as were most in attendance. My teaching partner = gave me a knowing look and continued on with the class. After the class = was over, I brought up this incident. He told me he has seen this = before. In all likelyhood the gentleman had a serious hearing loss and = had come to the class seeking some kind of panacea. When he inserted the = plugs, he no longer could hear ANYTHING and became frustrated/angry. = Hence his reaction. To this day, I wish that I could have had a private = conversation with him and told him that he wasn't alone and there likely = was help avaiable for him. That never happened and I'm sad about it.=20 Many technicians have approached me with questions, regarding hearing = and their hearing loss. Many have been steered in a good direction for = help. Some cannot be helped as they have a different type of hearing = loss that aids, (at this time), will not help their situation. It is = unfortunate that hearing is the least understood of the medical sciences = endeavors. Although, technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, there = is, unfortunately, MUCH to be learned and understood in this regard. One of the problems, in our industry, is that "we" make our living with = our ears. "We" have set ourselves up as "authorities" on sound. Our egos = get in the way of common sense, in this regard. Guys are definately = worse at dealing with this than the Ladies!=20 I strongly urge you all to : HAVE YOUR HEARING CHECKED AT LEAST ONCE A = YEAR!!!!)<g> (Hopefully, you must realize that I am not "preaching", but = rather just giving you all that "nudge" to do it.<G> Finally, Diane Hoffstetter is becoming a knowlegeable advocate for us, = in this great/odd profession. It is my hope that others will follow in = her footsteps and make more inroads to discovering what can Really be = done to help us. If any of you suspect some hearing loss, pleeeeeese, = get yourself checked. My hearing aids have suppressor circuits in them. = When I subject myself to LOUD sounds, they simply diminish the amount of = sound that reaches my ears. This feature, hopefully, is saving what = little hearing I have left.=20 Another part of the equation is that the Research costs a whole lot. = Inroads and discoveries are being made almost daily. Because of the = costs of Research, high-tech hearing aids are VERY expensive! There is = no "cheaping down" as in computers, etc.! If a person has hearing aids = that are more than a year or two old, they have really OLDE technology. = The epitome of the "Catch 22"!!!! Not many of us can fork out $5k-$10k = every few years, so we muddle along with the OLDE ones. I know this is very long, but I consider this subject tatamount to all = tuners in NEED TO KNOW!<G> Regards, Joe Garrett, R.P.T. Captain, Tool Police Squares R I ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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