Hi

I have a hearing check which says I'm hearing low frequencies very well but high frequencies are dropping off a lot.

My problem is with background noise I'm finding it infuriating to be in a restaurant of coffee shop especially if there's music in the background. I find it harder and harder to pick out the source I wish to concentrate on and when there's a lot of noise i actually get confused speaking.....must be some sound feedback thing. The telephone is likewise very problematical. Sometimes when a chair is screeched on the floor or the voice on the phone is loud it seems close to pain and I duck. I don't understand why if i have hearing loss I actually seem to hear too much.

OK I was consulting yesterday about a CIC aid. One thing struck me......the audiologist didn't seem to relate when I spoke of almost pain sometimes and perception of some noises as unbearably loud.

So my question is, is this sensitivity a normal part of the hearing loss condition?

I have worn hearing aids for going on 40 years, the problems you cite are common ones to a hearing aid user. I found that it is best to find a hearing aid with an on off switch and you turn it on only when you need to use it, I used mine mainly for work. Hearing aides amplifies sound, so my hearing loss is in the high frequencies, so when I put them on I hear everything I have not heard in years.

I get head aches from all the unwanted background noises, the sound that paper makes when it is crumple up, the chirping of birds the sound of traffic, the sound of the wind blowing past the aid, either look for a state of the art aid that filters out these unwanted background noises, they may work for you but have not worked for me.

Just wanted to let you know how I have dealt with my hearing loss and the problems I have with my hearing aides the only thing that worked for me is use them only when I have to and in an area with no background noises.

Hope that was a little helpful.

I've been toying with the idea of getting a hearing aid. Due to repeated and long-term exposure to an ambient noise, I've lost a significant % of hearing in a specific frequency range.

Do hearing aids target just the frequencies where the loss is, or do they amplify *everything*?

I also have tinnitis which I live with and it doesn't bother me. Only when I think of it do I notice it. Would my tinnitis be affected by a hearing aid?