Thursday, December 16, 2004

Hearing aids...

Yea!! Nana has her hearing aids! Once she began wearing them she realized what a noisy world we live in. I don't know that it truly registered how much she has been missing. She would wear them until dinner at which time she wanted them taken out because the clock ticking on the wall was too loud, the silverware hitting the plate reverberated....the list goes on. So, I had to take them out at dinner and she wouldn't put them back in afterward. We go each week during this first month to have them readjusted but since I was sick I wasn't able to get her there any earlier which resulted in her not really wearing them at all for several days. Yesterday we did make her appointment and he turned them way down. He hooks them up to his computer and makes the necessary adjustments to each level or channel. She was able to wear them through dinner and I finally took them out when I got ready for bed. It makes such a difference when she is wearing them. In her mind, the "real" test will be when Bible study resumes in January. She has been very emphatic that she wouldn't have needed hearing aids at all if the ladies would only speak up and not tell so many "secrets." :) Anyway, I have high hopes for today that she will begin to wear them all day and then before long her brain will begin to automatically tune out the background noise. These digital hearing aids that have nine different channels which are programed are wonderful! I do believe that it is the closest thing out there to what our normal ears are like. No, it won't be 100% but it should increase her hearing to at least 85-90% which makes such a difference for us as speak and interact with her.

1 comment:

Magvou said...

Claire, I got your message about my baby and was wondering how exactly to respond to you. So I thought I'd just check out your blog. Interestingly enough, I too have a grandmother (well, I don't know if your "nana" is your mom or grandma or what, I actually call mine "nona" when we are speaking Italian) who wears a hearing aid. Her's may not be as high-tech as your nana's, because Grandma is always complaining that it echos. She can't understand anything when too many people are talking at once. She is very quiet at family gatherings because of this (we're loud and Italian :)) and we have to try to speak one at a time to include her in any discussion. By then, it has moved on to something else and she is sadly ignored. I seem to be the only one who is truly sympathetic to this. We are very close. And I ponder on how much we'll miss her opportunities to talk when she is gone. I know we will and should be taking advantage of her wisdom, wit and ability to contribute while she is with us. Maybe your hearing aids are better. What can you tell me about them?

I have to go eat dinner, but I'll write again about my baby. I appreciated your comments.