Your what is in your what?

October 8, 2007 6:55 AM

My grandmother is hard of hearing/deaf but refuses to wear a hearing aid. Conversation with her is becoming all but impossible. I'm thinking of giving her one of those old-fashioned horns, because although it will look a bit silly, it will at least be functional, and available to her when necessary. And it's not "some electronic thing" she has to "fiddle" with. My question is, where would you get one of those? Preferably not an antique.
posted by Skyanth to health & fitness (16 comments total)

and your grandmother will take kindly to this?
posted by mrstrotsky at 7:12 AM on October 8, 2007

I really think this is a bad idea unless it's been cleared with her doctor. Besides, increasing volume does not equal increasing comprehension. Has she been to an audiologist? They are skilled at dealing with an older population, so if you can get her in "just for a test," she might be swayed. There are many models of hearing aids that automatically adjust the volume so she won't have to "fiddle" with it, just take it out at night & put it in when she wakes. If you see her often enough, promise to change the batteries for her.

Her other objection to hearing aids might have to do with fear of what other people think. A horn is far more obvious and won't address her concern in that regard.
posted by desjardins at 7:33 AM on October 8, 2007

Yeah, is it really because she doesn't want to fiddle with something electronic or is it out of pride? I'm guessing it's probably the latter and she just uses the former as an excuse. Either way, giving her a horn would be insulting. And I don't think they make them anymore.
posted by katillathehun at 7:34 AM on October 8, 2007

Ditto on horn=insult, and that your grandmother is cloaking her anxiety and insecurity in a fear of technology.

We live in an age of completely bionic hearing. Getting her to a doctor for, as desjardins said, "just a test" is the best way to bring her toward a sound (ahem) solution.
posted by mkultra at 7:48 AM on October 8, 2007

It doesn't appear that ear trumpets are made any more and that you would only be able to secure an antique. And they are expensive. Here are a few.
posted by Sassyfras at 8:24 AM on October 8, 2007

A horn will be useless unless her loss is incredibly mild, in which case conversation wouldn't be "all but impossible". But do talk to an audiologist, or have her do it - modern hearing aids don't require much fiddling at all. For a loss like hers, you turn it on and away you go. And of course, you have to change the batteries every week or so, but perhaps you or a neighbor could help with that?

Keep in mind also that there may be other factors at play, with "fiddling" just being a convenient excuse. Frustrating though it is, there's not much you can really do there.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 10:11 AM on October 8, 2007

My 84-year-old dad is the same way; he's been fitted for hearing aids, but the only type covered by his insurance are the big, bulky type that squeal loudly if he forgets to turn them down before putting the telephone to his ear. He just finds them an annoyance for some reason (probably also some vanity in the equation).

I feel your frustration - having to repeat everything, having the HOH person talk too loudly in public places about embarrassing things because they can't hear themselves, etc. But I don't think an ear trumpet will do anything except really cheese granda off. It's best to humor her, and make sure you have her attention and are looking directly at her when you speak so she can read your facial expressions as well.
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:11 AM on October 8, 2007

i doubt she'll go for it. if she's afraid of technology, can you at least take her in for a consult where she can look at the hearing aids? at least find out how bad her hearing loss is--if it's really bad, she may be eligible for assistive devices like special telephones and other things, even if she refuses the hearing aid. also, maybe the doctor visit will demystify the hearing aids a bit and help bring that wall down.
posted by thinkingwoman at 11:54 AM on October 8, 2007

Hearing "loss" was actually a first signal that my grandfather was having cognitive impairment. (He could hear but not process what he heard well.) It turned out to be a lack of oxygen in the blood supply due to his myelodysplastic anemia.

I highly doubt that something so ridiculous is going on in this situation, but I'd agree that desjardins has the right idea, and maybe a basic primary care "well" visit would be a good idea, too. Just in case. An audiologist, I'm sure, has heard the anti-technology hearing aid ploy many times before and probably has a great many ideas up his/her sleeve. I find a lot of the time, going to doctors, that their level of helpfulness is all about choosing the right questions to ask.

I'd also address the actual procurement of a horn now if that's what you decided you still wanted to do, but it appears Sassyfras may have found your answer on that.
posted by RobotHeart at 12:00 PM on October 8, 2007

Any 'bell' shape will do the trick. A piece of paper rolled into a cone, a funnel - you get the idea.

Hearing aids are undoubtably rather snazzy these days and I wouldn't be surprised if they also thought to make them user friendly to their main market?

Avoid the word electronic :) and point out it's the same as wearing glasses which does not require and sort of fiddling :) ...you just wear them.

(I'm picturing her running away from you, no shoes, with the dog - both covered in mud and going "No! I shan't wear it and you can't make me!!") Goodluck with your rascally nanny!
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 12:35 PM on October 8, 2007

Oriole Adams: The aid should have a button on it for telephone use. It's called a T-coil and makes talking on the phone wonderful because it amplifies the phone and dampens environmental noise. Also, in-the-ear aids are similar in price now to the bulky ones (though I'm surprised your insurance company covers any kind of aid; most don't).
posted by desjardins at 1:12 PM on October 8, 2007

If she wants to hear, Granny would have to pick up her ear trumpet and fit it to her ear. But I'm guessing Granny doesn't particularly care about what's being said -- seems to be a bit of a stereotype about the elderly; but in your case, if she really wanted to hear you, wouldn't she have taken some sort of action already?
posted by Rash at 1:39 PM on October 8, 2007

Desjardins: Thanks for the info, I'll have to take a look at Dad's aids and see about that button. I know his other complaint was that the batteries wore out so fast. I wonder if that has been improved upon in recent years?

Insurance-wise he is very fortunate. He retired back in the 1970s (his union had a "30 and out contract," so he was able to retire while in his early 50s) with an excellent benefit package courtesy of the UAW. Folks that have since retired from his company in the 90s and beyond have had their bennies toyed with and seriously reduced, but his contract is apparently iron-clad. He has many benefits that the rest of us only dream of ($2 co-pay on prescriptions, for example.)
posted by Oriole Adams at 2:14 PM on October 8, 2007

Hearing aids aren't like glasses - they tend to take a lot more adjusting and don't "correct" most hearing problems nearly as well as most glasses correct vision problems. A lot of people don't like them, not just because of vanity.

I agree that a professional recommendation would be best, but there are a lot of personal amplifiers that you can get without seeing a doctor, and that would be a lot more effective than an ear trumpet. She could try one, and, as you say, at least have it around when needed. They're electronic, but the fiddling tends to be just a volume knob.

Here are a few sites you could look at:
Active and Able
Active Forever
EnableMart

I don't hear well, and yes, I'd be pretty offended if someone tried to give me an ear trumpet.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 4:52 PM on October 8, 2007

Skyanth, did you ask Granny directly if she'd get a hearing aid and did she flat-out say, "Algernon, you twit, I ain't going to wear an electric gadget in my ear." Is it possible she can't afford a hearing aid? (I'm 60, have dreadful tinnitus in my right ear, recently was unemployed, now have a job that pays half what I used to make and no health insurance. I WANT a hearing aid, I just can't afford it. Is her scenario similar?)

And, man, I'd kick your bottom if you were my grandkid and got me an ear trumpet. How gauche!
posted by Smalltown Girl at 6:51 PM on October 8, 2007

First of all I'd like to address the issue of "insulting" - I have a wonderful relationship with my granny and I'm completely and utterly sure that she would not be offended, at all - though I understand that none of you know either me or her and so I would still like to thank you for pointing out the possible insult.
Second, she actually does have a hearing aid. It's not a money issue. The aid is in her drawer, I think. She doesn't want to wear it. She says this with pride. "Rascal Granny" is a very good description. We're not going to force it on her, obviously, but it's just frustrating to not be able to have a normal conversation with someone who is otherwise in great health, both of body and of mind. You have to holler everything you want to say to her, which tends to make you distill every sentence to the bare essence and kills any nuance in the dialogue.
posted by Skyanth at 12:33 AM on October 9, 2007