My New Toy

Fandango

Before I tell you about my new toy, I first have to set the stage. About two and a half years ago I had to have surgery on my left ear to remove a non-cancerous growth in my middle ear. The growth was successfully removed. However, by the time the damn think was excised, it had consumed the tiny little bones inside my middle ear that connect my eardrum to my inner ear, therein rendering me profoundly deaf in that ear.

My inability to hear out of my left ear created a problem for my wife. First of all, she had to speak very loudly when she was talking to me so that I could hear her and not be constantly saying “what?” But also, whenever we would watch TV together, which is almost every night, I had to turn the volume way up in order to hear the dialogue. Plus, I’d turn closed captions on. Neither the high volume nor the closed captions pleased my wife.

So I bought noise canceling Bluetooth headphones that I could don when watching TV, and they worked great for me. But any time my wife wanted to say something to me, she had to wave or shout at me to get my attention, since I couldn’t hear her when wearing my headphones.

Earlier this year, the hearing in my right ear started to deteriorate a bit, and my ear doctor suggested that it was time to consider hearing aids. Three months ago, I did, in fact, get hearing aids, as I described in this post, and they helped with my hearing in general. But when watching TV, it was still a bit challenging to make out dialogue. So I would turn down the volume on my hearing aids inside my ears and place my headphones over my ears.

A few weeks ago, when I had a follow up appointment with my audiologist to check my hearing aids, I mentioned that I was wearing headphones over my hearing aids while watching TV. That’s when he told me about a TV adapter device specifically made for my hearing aids.

My new toy

The device connects to my TV’s audio output and wirelessly sends the audio signals to my hearing aids, and it works great. The dialogue is crystal clear, as it’s being pumped directly into my ears. I can adjust the volume for each ear from an app on my iPhone and I can even hear some sounds from my left ear.

And best of all, my wife doesn’t have to wave or shout at me if she wants to get my attention. Win-win!

25 thoughts on “My New Toy”

  1. ladysighs July 14, 2022 / 3:21 am

    That’s really amazing and happy it is working for you.

    I was going to suggest standing on your head might be worth a try…..

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. Nope, Not Pam July 14, 2022 / 4:19 am

    What great news, I hope this features on who won the week 😊

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. Taswegian1957 July 14, 2022 / 4:27 am

    That’s great. Technology has made life so much easier for the hearing impaired these days.

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. Maggie July 14, 2022 / 5:10 am

    I am facing the likelihood of hearing aids sooner than I thought. I appreciate all the info. I don’t think Medicare covers the expense though, so there is that to look forward to.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Fandango July 14, 2022 / 2:20 pm

      No, sadly Medicare doesn’t cover the cost of hearing aids. Another reason to vote for Democrats.

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. Paula Light July 14, 2022 / 5:49 am

    YAYYY! Great news 🥳

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. JT Twissel July 14, 2022 / 1:13 pm

    I wish I could get my husband to have his hearing tested. You’re a good man!

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. Irene July 16, 2022 / 1:38 pm

    That sounds amazing, technology can be so helpful!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. Esme upon the Cloud July 16, 2022 / 4:53 pm

    I have this! It makes a huge difference and is a bit like having your own personal cinema experience I find. It’s such useful technology.

    – Esme waving her ear trumpets at him upon the Cloud

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