How do I addressed my loved one's hearing loss?
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Hearing Wellness Journey podcast, an exploration of determination, hope, self discovery, and triumph. We'll share the personal experiences of those that are living with hearing loss and provide a haven for their stories to show others that they are not alone in this journey.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: We do have a question from, um, someone who follows me on Instagram. She said, hi. I stumbled upon your page and I'm quite fascinated with all of your helpful information. One thing I was wondering [00:01:00] about was. Are there ways for me to locate tips or recommendations to approaching the subject of hearing loss with loved ones?

In my experience, people tend to take it so very personally and are offended when someone brings this concern to their attention. I believe it's not really something you can control per se, but so many seem to be in denial and do not want to get their hearing checked at all. It's similar to one of your examples in a video, if you have high blood pressure, seek help from a, a doctor.

But why is hearing viewed in such a shameful way? She asks, who wants to address this? I mean, we live this every day. Mm-hmm. It's society.

Lindsey Doherty: It's sad. Mm-hmm. So I was even just talking to somebody who called to schedule an appointment and. You know, the discussion of, ah, I don't know that I'm hearing as well.

And I said, okay, well, you know, the steps would be test your [00:02:00] hearing if we find a hearing loss. Are you interested in discussing technology? Because it is, I, I always ask because it is a touchy subject. Mm-hmm. Um, and then the, the patient I was intaking was like, oh yeah, I mean, my friend. He really loves his hearing aids that he just got.

So, I mean, I know that technology has changed and it's not the hearing aids my grandpa had.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: Hmm.

Lindsey Doherty: But you Yes. And I said you're correct. Um, so even him because he is younger and you know, doesn't want to feel old. Yeah. Um, and getting past that, they're not the same hearing aids.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: Right

Lindsey Doherty: from before and they're

Dr. Dawn Heiman: not getting old.

You're acting younger. Yes. You look old when you're not in the conversation. Right,

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: right. When you're saying what all the time that makes you seem groove, can we can go back. Did

Dr. Dawn Heiman: you just say beige bananas? Yes,[00:03:00]

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: I heard that term. Yes. They were. And they were behind your ear and Yes, they were beige bananas. Mm-hmm. A

Dr. Emily Johnson: hundred percent. Whenever I'm like, okay, well you have like hearing loss. We go through it. And we're like, okay, so let's discuss amplification technology, things like that. And we have demo hearing aids in our office and I'll put it on the table and they're like, that's it.

Mm-hmm. Like, yep. Like I know that you were expecting this ginormous, beige piece that's going to be huge. Mm-hmm. Back here, everybody can see it. And unfortunately for the most part, that's still how it's portrayed in. Social media. Yeah. Movies, tv. Mm-hmm. Uh, print

Dr. Dawn Heiman: ads. Yeah. Over the counter. They don't even have a picture of what it is that you're buying the PSO junk from, like Alibaba, but they put this big button, stock photo, and it's not even, that's not even it.

Is that what it looks like? It's crazy. We're like, when was the last time you ordered a button receiver? I bet the students don't even know what that is. Oh,

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: no, no,

Dr. Dawn Heiman: [00:04:00] no. But that's what's in the pictures you,

Dr. Emily Johnson: so I think. Step one and getting it less shameful to talk about is to talk about it. And I feel like audiology as a profession is fighting an uphill battle against mm-hmm.

The way that we're portrayed in media. And I get that for whatever reason, the character has a hearing loss usually to have a plot point or move the plot forward. And so they are using bigger devices to. Really amplify the fact that the person has a hearing loss, but that goes against how it actually is in practice today.

Mm-hmm. And so do your research, talk to us. We have demos, we have things in office that we can show you and guaranteed your friends or family member have hearing aids. Somebody that [00:05:00] you know. Ask 'em what they look like. And if you don't know if they have them, then your question is answered right there.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: Okay. I'm gonna flip this to Dr. Michaelides Stephanie Michaelides seems to have this gift of being able to go to a cocktail party or something and people schedule appointments, like what are saying to them. 'cause that's what she really wants to know. She's like, what do you say? So that it's like you reduce that shame negativity, and they're like.

You're right. Okay, fine. Let me, let me schedule an appointment.

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: Why are you saying these people? Well, I just see that when someone's struggling, you can just tell when they're, I, they're isolating themselves. Right? And I, you're right. I can just kind of tell like, what's been going on. And so it's just like, do you, if they, do you want to be part of this conversation?

Do you wanna hear what's going on? Do you wanna be here every, you know what's mm-hmm. Be able to communicate with, with everyone? Laugh at those jokes and all of this, as most of it's just being there, you know, by yourself. Um, or not choosing to go to the things at all. And we had one patient, um, who hadn't gone to the movies in [00:06:00] 12 years, and he did have a pair of hearing aids that just were inappropriately fit.

And he didn't actually go to an audiologist, which is another, probably another podcast. Um, and then once we actually fit him appropriately and did, um, you know, really, or, and all those other things, and all of a sudden he was hearing and he went to those restaurants. He went to those other places and he was just like, I, this has changed my life.

Yeah. You know, he said he saw a movie that he didn't really like, but that's, that's besides the point, you know, it's like he just, for the first time in 12 years. I mean, that's just, I mean, hearing loss can be so isolating. Yeah. And you can kind of tell, you know, um, I

Dr. Dawn Heiman: had a patient once who said, the reason why I'm here is because I really, you know, I'm at that stage in my life.

I wanna hear what the pastor's saying, and I, I wanna hear about, you know, what the stories are. 'cause I'm, I'm just sitting there, I've no idea what he's saying. And he comes back two weeks after being fit with hearing aids. He goes, I'm like, so are you hearing? He goes, great. Found out I'm not missing anything in church.

I was like, my pastor can't tell a story for the life of him, but at least now he can choose to stay awake or not. Right? But, but [00:07:00] you, that's what you wanna do is choose, am I in this conversation or am I not? And then if people are laughing around you, that's where the high levels of paranoia kick in.

Mm-hmm. You, if they're laughing at you, you don't know what they're saying.

Dr. Emily Johnson: Yeah. I think it also comes down to how it's phrased for each specific person. So if it's like, oh, well, like you'll be able to hear better at restaurants, you'll be able to hear like in your home, and they're like, well, I don't wanna hear in my home.

Right. It's like, okay, so then where do you want to hear better? Yeah. What's important

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: to you? What are you

Dr. Emily Johnson: having difficulty in? Mm-hmm. Right. And catering. To that specific need. Maybe it's something super niche that I had a patient come in, they're like, I think I hear fine, and 95% of my life. And I'm like, well, what's that 5%?

And it was going over to their adult child's house to interact with their grandchildren. And they're like, that's what I care about. They're like, [00:08:00] I don't care about my friends and restaurants. I've known them for 20 years. What else do they have to say? But it was the fact that they couldn't communicate with the grandchildren.

They felt like they were missing out on that 5% of their life. And it's like, okay, then let's zoom in on that and make an improvement in that aspect of your life. And so I think that also stems to, to hearing professionals and how we counsel

Dr. Dawn Heiman: Yeah. Figuring

Dr. Emily Johnson: out what is that 5% for most people.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: I had a guy, so I I, we, we fit demo hearing aids, like you said.

And so I was able to go into data logging and I would help them choose the right technology based on their lifestyle. And, um, it was like. 2% of this man's two weeks. He may gone like three weeks, something like that. Um, that he's in noise and I'm like, well, clearly, you know, you don't need the high end technology because.

You're not really annoy set that much. He's like, no, stop right there. Once a month I meet with this group of guys and we go to a restaurant. He goes, they are my lifeline. [00:09:00] I live for that one day a month. Don't tell me that. That's not, I don't care what your computer shows me. He's like, that's why I am here.

Mm-hmm. He wants to be a part of the group with those guys and, and rightfully so. So we can't, we, we try to guesstimate, but. So what they're all saying is find out what that one person's why is, or what it is that they are no longer doing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And try to have a conversation about that and be like, I really care about you.

Mm-hmm.

Lindsey Doherty: Absolutely. And we have people who are in maybe Bible study groups together, or just like a women's or men's group. And then we have multiple people from that group come to our office because they're talking, because they see that their friends, mm-hmm. Are. Suffering and or, or withdrawing or whatever it is.

And then they say, oh, hey, I think you should go see my audiologist. Um, and that, I [00:10:00] think, like Dr. Heiman said, when they're having that struggle and you're seeing it on their face, you're reading it in their, their disposition, that's when you should, I don't wanna say strike while the iron's hot, but like that's when you should say, Hey, I can see this is affecting you.

And I mean, honestly, we have people come in gently though, right? Gently. Gently. Yeah. But we have people come in and it's not a significant hearing loss. A lot of it's wax, you know? And that could be an issue. Maybe they've never seen an audiologist before. Maybe there's something else going on. Um. As well.

So it's not just, oh, the second you walk in here, you're gonna wear this monster of a device. But that, but that's, that's

Dr. Dawn Heiman: the common thing. Like, so I That's the stigma. It's the, it's the stigma. Exactly. So I teach a class at Rush and oral rehab, and the first like chapter is all about like oral rehab, rehabilitation, like, you know, helping someone do the best they can with what they [00:11:00] have.

And, um. What they found is that, especially when they were looking at putting together like group therapy, um, it all drums down to bullying. It drums down to like society's, um, portrayal of if you have a hearing loss, you must be deaf and dumb, or Disney with Dumbo and dopey and all these characters where people just made fun of them.

So if somebody was. Um, someone who bullied, someone who had hearing loss, they're the most likely to be the ones who will not address their hearing. Mm-hmm. Because they go, I know what's gonna happen. These people are gonna make fun of me. And so they wanna avoid that pain because they were the perpetrator.

And now suddenly tail the, the tables are turned and they're like, I'm not gonna admit that. Mm-hmm. No way am I gonna do that. But if, I mean, let's get out of middle school. You are worth it. Mm-hmm. To do something about yourself. And if somebody's gonna make fun of you, they're not worth [00:12:00] being around, quite frankly.

And so many people come in so worried they don't wanna schedule the appointment. Someone dragged them in here and then they leave with this relief. So many times they start crying in the office because it's just built up. It was psychological. And then when they finally start treatment, they're like, why didn't I start this sooner?

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: Yeah. I don't think there's any patients that were like, oh no, I wish I never, I didn't do this. Yeah. Mm-hmm. You know? Ever, ever. Yeah.

Dr. Emily Johnson: Like, I

Lindsey Doherty: wish I put this off for five more years. Yeah, yeah. No, and the response that we get is, I wish I would've done this five years ago. Right. Yeah. Usually.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: Yeah.

Because it starts, it's when it's that bad, it's too bad. Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. And the speech understanding ability is not like it should have been. Like we have patients that are in their, that were in their, like late teens, early twenties, when their hearing suddenly changed and now they have, let's say a flat, moderate to.

Moderately severe hearing loss, but they have a hundred percent speech, understanding ability, [00:13:00] because once their hearing changed, they were sent to a doctor 'cause they were young and the doctors treated them. And because when you're younger, everyone seems to think this is important. Mm-hmm. Once you hit a certain age, the doctors are like, whatever, just put you out to pasture.

Why? I don't know. Go to Costco. Like they, they don't think it's important. Like I've had, there was an oncologist that sent a guy to Costco. 'cause he's like, she goes, where do you live? This was at. Um, um, a big university hospital near here. Um, he had had cancer treatment and he said, my, my ears are changing.

And she goes, oh, you live in the suburbs, you're in Downers Grove. Oh, just go to Costco and I wanna call her and say, oh, you, oh, you live in the suburbs. Maybe you should just do mail order, go to Canada to get your, your cancer treatment. Like this was a big deal for him. Mm-hmm. It was actually an auditory processing disorder that Costco referred him to us because it was outta their realm.

Don't assume that the hearing is so simple and that, or that someone doesn't deserve to hear. And how about cost? Can we just [00:14:00] talk into about that real quick? Like someone, people are like, well it's because it's so expensive. There are so many levels of technology. Mm-hmm. There are so many things to be done.

There are over the counter devices and we even have, um, a nonprofit that we can help people. Mm-hmm. Like there, there should not be a monetary excuse, we'll call it an excuse. Yeah, because

Lindsey Doherty: barrier,

Dr. Dawn Heiman: barrier, barrier is an excuse,

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: I think. I mean, but you're buying two computers, really. Right, right. So it's like true for your ear and you're wearing them all the time.

So this is something like 365, 12 hours a day, you know? So as we think of like the, the cost and the worth of that, um, you know

Dr. Emily Johnson: Right. You're investing in investing in,

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: yeah.

Dr. Emily Johnson: Your own. Health and, and

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: happiness.

Dr. Emily Johnson: And happiness. And quality of life. And quality of life. All the things, all the side effects of hearing better and having that stimulation to your brain and Costco is a fantastic option for a lot of [00:15:00] people.

Lindsey Doherty: Yeah.

Dr. Emily Johnson: And if cost is a big inhibiting factor, and for whatever reason you don't qualify for our nonprofit, it's where you wanna go. You have friends who have been successful there. Great. Check out their options. But if you're looking for, I say that we're boutique hearing and like very nation specialized.

We have the appointment times to take care of you and figure out what makes you you. Yeah. What is your quality of life that you are trying to get back to, and we have the time and ability and the skillset to make that difference in. Your life and we have plenty of people who've come from Costco and we've tuned up what we can.

Yeah. And it makes a big difference. And I actually had a patient who, she's actually gonna go through our nonprofit, but so she found us online after Googling [00:16:00] audiologist best practices, things like that. And she comes from far away, but it was really important to her to get high quality hearing healthcare.

And so she was considering going somewhere else for insurance purposes and closer to home, but she asked her mom, can I still go there because that's the level of quality I wanna receive when it comes to my ears. And I think that that makes the difference of you're investing not only in the product, but in the quality of hearing healthcare that you're gonna receive in our office.

And we can only speak to what we provide, and we know that we provide. Excellent hearing healthcare and that's gonna be consistent across the board, whoever you see in the office.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: And there's offices like us all over the country, you know, absolutely private practice audiologists that are using best practices that are, um, taking the time to do the full history to create the right.

Prognosis and [00:17:00] treatment. And then make sure that, um, there are no corners cut to make sure that you have what we would call audibility to start. So that like the bottom line is like so many studies show that when you're with your friends or after you've been with your friends or your besties or your kids or your grandkids, you're happiest.

You don't wanna be isolated and a number, we'll call it another, I'm calling them excuses guys. I'm calling 'em what they are. They say, well, I can just turn my TV up. That's the only thing I wanna hear. Like, okay, great, but. Let's say you, you see the neighbor and you really haven't seen them in a while. You can't turn up the volume of your neighbor.

Mm-hmm. But we give you the ability to do that. Or even there could be an in an app. I don't know. I just, I know that even introverts like to be connected. So to answer that question, just let that person know that you care about them and you want them to not miss out on life. We didn't even talk about the positive effects of hearing music.

Well, and how it just stimulates your brain, makes you so happy. You can learn new [00:18:00] things. There's so many great positive reasons to have better hearing. Your life's just easier if you can. Some people they have a sudden hearing loss and it broke the, we can't bring back the speech. Understandability, or their hearing just keeps declining and we send them for cochlear implants and we're doing the best we can.

Mm-hmm. And helping that person. But if you ask that person. Do you wish you could get your hearing back? Mm-hmm. For sure. They're gonna, they're gonna encourage all day long that you try as best you can to keep that brain stimulated.

Dr. Emily Johnson: Yeah.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: Agreed. Any

Lindsey Doherty: closing comments? I just really liked it how Dr. Johnson said, like, to help you be you and who you were and who you want to be.

Yeah. Um, but, uh, hearing loss has, you know, made you shift. Um, I think that's a really good. That's the reason.

Dr. Emily Johnson: And I think it's something like it's seven [00:19:00] years from the time that somebody notices that they're hearing Oh yeah. Is mm-hmm. Not what it used to be, to actually pursuing help and treatment. And the thing with hearing loss is we don't know what we don't hear.

So even if it's uncomfy, even if it's maybe not what you'd usually do, if you could start the seven years. Now. Yeah. Rather than five years from now, you're like, well, yeah, I've noticed this for years about you. But maybe they didn't notice how much they were isolating. They didn't notice how much they were pulling back and missing jokes.

Mm-hmm. So I think if you bring it up in a gentle, tasteful way, if you can get that ball rolling earlier, you are gonna be the person that was the catalyst to them getting their quality of life back. And I think that's a very important. An emotional person to be in that person's life.

Dr. Stephanie Michaelides: But I do feel that when the patients come in for the first time, it's usually because a kind loving family [00:20:00] member, their spouse, their children, or somebody did mention that.

Like, I don't think that you're doing as well as you used to do. Like, there's always some person that kind of gives that catalyst. So, you know, so you, yeah, like you just said, you could be that person for that loved, loved family member. Um, yeah. Or friend. You know, so to get them to come in. 'cause they always, someone always has said something.

It's not necessarily them always doing, I need to do this on my own. It's like other people noticed it too. Mm-hmm.

Dr. Emily Johnson: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Dawn Heiman: Absolutely. All right. Ask us more questions if you have any, um, put some, um, responses in the chat. Um, if you wanted to be on our podcast, if you know of a person who would like to be interviewed and tell their story, we would love to, um, interview them.

But have a great day and happy hearing. Bye.

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Hearing Wellness [00:21:00] Journey podcast. For more information about what we do and the services we provide, please visit our website@hearingwellnessjourney.com slash podcast. Where you can find more resources based on today's discussion, as well as request to be a member of our Hearing Wellness Journey community on Facebook.

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