Questions and Answers

I received a comment from a reader asking if he could ask some questions of me. I said yes like the attention whore I am and he emailed a short list. I've since replied and I thought I'd post the questions and answers here too.

OK, so to my questions..What will you do if in a while you are told that ha's are not necessary for you by the NHS and a non-NHS ha dispenser?

I will be sad. If I can't acquire HAs at my upcoming ENT appointment I'll see a private dispenser for another assessment which I will try harder to fib on. Eventually persistance will pay off.

Are the hospital and the non-NHS ha dispenser far from where you live?

They're not too far away. Casey and I take a taxi there and home, though. We could probably walk to the private dispenser - it doesn't SEEM far.

If, after getting ha's, they are not what you thought they would be like, what are you going to do?

Not wear them? Buying them doesn't seem to imply that I have to wear them if they're not as expected. I don't think it would make me rethink my desire to be deaf, though.

Do you intend to wear a Walkman or headphones on top of any ha's?

That depends entiely on how they (HA+headphones) fit and the quality of sound. A friend of mine made induction loops for very little money that I might attempt to duplicate.

What will you do if you are told you can wear ha's but they are the smaller ones only?

Like ITE/CIC? I'd insist on BTEs (they are less expensive, too).

Would you be prepared to go to another town or city from where you live to try the non-NHS ha dispenser(s) there?

Yes I would.

Would you prefer to see an audiologist who wears ha's and why? Would you prefer to see a man or a woman and why?

I don't really have a preference on aided audiologists or not but I do prefer female clinicians and doctors.

What would your thoughts be if you were told you only needed one ha?

"Hmm... need to work on the other side."

Do you think you would be able to wear your ha's all day straight away? Apparently this (a) is highly unlikely and (b) inadvisable because you would be confused with the sounds of them in your ear straight away. (So I recently read.)

They would be on my ear yes but they may not be switched on - no sense in wasting battery life if I'm not in a situation which requires me to understand speech.

What is the likely reaction of someone you know seeing your ha's for the first time? Is this likely to be different from the reaction of your parents?

I'm not sure. My closer mates and family would probably have a lot of questions about how they work and why I wear them. This question requires speculation and if I could accurately speculate I'd have told Casey already! ;)

Do you know if anyone at your place of work wears ha's - and if there is, does he or she cover them with their hair?

I'm currently looking for work at the moment but in my past employments I don't believe anyone had a hearing aid.

Would you want a job as a receptionist at a non-NHS ha dispenser, and if you are not wearing ha's at this time, how would you reply to the question "Why should I employ you in preference to any other applicant?"

I probably wouldn't want a job as a receptionist but if I was to apply for such a position I would be honest about my application. Audiology fascinates me and being 'close' to it would be very motivating. I'd omit the whole deaf-wannabe thing... ;)


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Thanks for the questions! :)