Dad just got hearing aids. Now the TV is twice as loud as before, and he's not participating in conversations like before. Advice?

There is actually a PROCESS to learning HOW to BENEFIT from hearing aids.

I know this sort of program exists, because a cousin of mine got hearing aids a couple years ago, in her early seventies, and has been wearing her aids and benefitting from them ever since.

She did go to work with her audiologist/provider at least a few times, and was highly motivated to succeed.

I think I’d start with the provider who sold you the hearing aids, but first I’d develop a list of Dad’s complaints AND your observations about specific issues such as continuing wanting to set the volume on the televisions, and his diminishing desire to communicate with others.

Your FATHER’S observation that he can hear himself chewing is a particularly astute concern on his part, and hopefully may indicate that he may be able to learn to use his aids more to his advantage than he is at present.

If possible, I’d try to get him to his HA PROVIDER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, because his frustration tolerance at his age is probably already pretty stretched.

Unfortunately hearing loss is a pretty complex process, and the solutions may not always be direct or easy.

You’re a good advocate for him. Don’t give up!

Have to tell you a story to better understand how the new hearing aids are working for your dad. Many people in my family are hard of hearing - commonly the men. I talk very loudly because I've been around this all my life. So, one relative buys some hearing aids. He hates them and passes them on down the line. I tried to tell them you don't just pass them around - they need to be fitted. Oh well. This inheritor of the hearing aids wears them all day. Constantly testing them by asking us to talk softer and softer. He is totally amazed. We have a cookout that afternoon. He comments on bird sounds and even tells one or two they are talking too loud. Now we're all impressed. As dusk approaches, he keeps asking what is the noise he hears. It's an irritating noise. He pulls the aids out, puts them back. Still the irritating noise. We finally pinpoint what he is hearing - the locusts in the trees!!! He had not heard a locust in years! He finally pulled the hearing aids out, put them in his pocket and said - who in the h*ll wants to listen to that noise? He never wore them again.

Your dad is probably being irritated by sounds he hasn't heard in years. Ask hearing aid company if they can be adjusted. Or adjust when he wears them while getting used to them. You might want to buy some TV ears so that he can hear, but sound can be controlled for those not wearing the ears.

Dh dropped $6K on the most expensive HA's he could have gotten. He was very hit and miss with wearing them and now doesn't even try.

I shout all day long and it drives me bonkers. He's perfectly happy to sail through life missing all the sounds.

TV is on bluetooth and most of the day he wears his headphones. What a waste of money. He was not willing to do the 'work' of adjusting to ambient sounds.

To give you and idea: we went to see "Kong vs Godzilla" in an IMAX theatre, it was so loud my fillings were buzzing. He fell asleep.

I have totally given up.

My husband has worn hearing aides since he was probably 5. You need to get Dad back for an adjustment. There is something wrong if he still needs the TV so loud. I would also ask if you could be present.

For years my DH has complained about the digital. He prefers analog but those are no longer being made. He recently had to change providers and we finally got an answer why he doesn't care for digital. Main reason, the sound is more mechanical. The voices u hear are not like what a normal hearing person hears. The brain needs to adjust to the difference.

If you have never worn a hearing aide before you are not going to understand what needs adjusting and what doesn't. Sounds to me Dad has no idea how to adjust the volume in his aid, or that needs adjusting. With digital its all adjusted by computer to the persons hearing level. The volume is set within certain parameters. The person is asked if these are comfortable levels. These levels may need adjusting. There is a lot of tweaking with digital. I would call and get him in to see the audiologist. Maybe write a note explaining the problems he is having.

Besides speaking with the audiologist.. try headphones for the TV. Cordless bluetooth type - he can get the sound closer to his ears that way.

These have saved my marriage 😉

Set up the TV's to use Bluetooth speakers as output. If they are not "smart tv's" you can convert them with a Bluetooth transmitter. When the tv's output is set up, you can use small speakers to position next to his good ear.

I just got my first hearing aids. I've had them a week and already went to have them adjusted. I too have the Bluetooth and iPhone capable HAs. There are settings for, watching the TV, outdoor noises, music, hearing people with masks on. I'm also in my 70's and I know it's going to take time getting used to the HAs. Found an article by Johns Hopkins that states hearing loss can cause your brain to shrivel up. The brain needs stimulation. It can also lead to dementia and Alzheimer's. This is one thing I'm trying to prevent! Good Luck!!

So many people give up on hearing aids because they go from hearing nothing to hearing too much when they start using them and it is so disconcerting. My grandmother's audiologist said they basically have to relearn a large number of words because they have been missing so much of what was going on around them for so long. You may need to take him back for the "adjustment" speech from the audiologist now that he's had them for a bit. Go through the manual on the adjustments for different settings and find the best one for a 'regular' situation like watching tv. There are so many types of hearing aids and so many settings it can be confusing, and if they aren't sitting just right in their ears they can be painful and cause the sound to be off.

Sometimes with my grandmother it is almost comical in a sad way and she has gotten to a point where we whisper around her because we never know if she is wearing them. If she is she can hear every word you say now!!

Are you saying he is turning UP the TV after getting hearing aids? Is it that he never watched before and now he can, so there are loud TVs on everywhere? I guess that would mean TV is limited to "his room" only and there must be an agreement on that.
Hearing aids are not for everyone. For some people they are a torment, and people will often tell you that at parties and so on they cannot separate out the noise that "comes at them" from everywhere, and that cannot be divided into what is close conversation and important and what is not.
Wishing you good luck with this.

My mom had the "old style" hearing aids (not digital) and when she went into the NH, they were always falling out of her ears so I ended up getting her a set of mesh-type hair bands (at Rite-Aid) to "hold" them in. My mother (when in her 60's) got very adept at reading lips, however, as she aged, her eyesight decreased so we would still have to speak loud. My father started to yell at her when she began to lose her hearing and for 20 years that's how he communicated with her. ALL. THE. TIME. She had profound hearing loss so hearing aids didn't really help so her daily life was being yelled at by my father. He was always angry because he had to constantly repeat himself if she was in the kitchen or wherever where she was out of his lip reading range.

I felt so sorry that she lived her golden years being yelled at by my father all the time. I swear she purposely turned her hearing aids down so she wouldn't hear my Dad yelling a her every time he spoke to her. He mercifully died 10 years before her. Unfortunately, my brother lived with them so after our Dad died, my brother just continued this yelling. It was abuse. I knew to get my mother's attention and have her look me in the face before speaking.

The sad part about hearing aids is they are so expensive but end up in the trash after their death. My 80-year old at the time MIL refused to get fitted for hearing aids. She "tried" wearing HER mother's hearing aids and didn't like them. Said they didn't work. Ya think??? They were 30 years old and HER mother's!! Plus they would never fit her ears! So she refused to get newer modern ones. Therefore, whenever we went over to MIL's house the TV volume was turned up to 80 and my FIL (bless his soul) was either in the basement or out in the garage puttering around. His hearing was fine. Imagine his life. I gave him a lot of credit. I would have lost my mind with the volume of the TV up like that all day long.