Unentitled to anything

How do you clean your bte's? I've looked online and all I see is a soft cloth? I have a brush with a metal pick at the end, the audiologist showed me how to use it. I have a wire to thread through to clear it. I'm asking how to you clean the outside of the slim tubes???

I was about to murder. My roommate/best friend had always had this unnatural habit of sitting at a computer desk with a hair dryer on and blowing on her. It's a comfort thing. With my hearing aids it was all encompassing noise. I couldn't get away from it. I went to wash my face, took my hearing aids out and relief washed over me. I snipped at her to turn it off for a few seconds when I came back down, left in a worst mood driving hearing this awful loud truck. I was convinced noise was incredibly stupid. After getting things done at work, in the quietness of the conference room I went outside for a smoke. There was a bird in the trees making a gorgeous melody. I took my hearing aids out, and I couldn't hear it. Nothing. Put them back in and the melody returned. I'd either gotten used to, or was never aware of the bird song. I could always hear cardinals cause of their loud CHEEK but bird song I've missed out on. I told my roommate next time, I'll just pop my hearing aids out and apologized for snipping at her. I don't really care now if someone has to repeat. I don't care I don't hear the gossip. But I really missed bird singing. Or my coffee sizzling in the pot. Or wind through the trees. I really missed that and now I got it back.

One thing I love, at night listening to my fan. I can here the electricity? It sounds metallic? And then I take my hearing aids out. And it’s a wonderful fuzzy sound again. Instead of this angry fan of redemption, it’s my wonderful fuzzy white noise. And I sleep.

And I found it. Perfect fit for all my hearing needs.

I had multiple ear aches, surgeries as a child. Two sets of tubes. I had a speech impediment on not hearing words correctly and was in speech therapy from first to sixth grade. I didn't really notice the problem until after my child was born in 2006. I was twenty-two. I was at my child's father mother's house. So Grey's grandma. I was nervous, she kept saying something and I kept reacting weirdly I guess? She repeated herself four times before I finally understood what she said. I went to a technology school for surgical tech and everyone pretty much noticed. That was in 2007. I went to my doctor, who referred me to an ENT. I had a hearing test and was told I had forty percent hearing loss in both ears. (I know percentages are wrong now but that was literally told to me) I cried. They tried steroids and I react really bad with steroids after a while with panic/anxiety attacks. I was told hearing aids were my only option and the price was astronomical for someone not working and on assistant services(ie: food stamps, families first ect) I tried multiple avenues to get help, however the fact I was living with my mom put me at a disadvantage because the avenues mainly helped people who had nothing. I was already a hardship on my mom, and I could deal with my hearing loss. In 2009 I started a job working for Human Services and they had a program called Vocational Rehab that could help me. During that process they tested me to see if I was hard of hearing and my IQ. Well I was pretty smart with a disability in math( kinda funny ) and yes hard of hearing. They didn't have funds at the moment but I could stay on the waiting list. That lasted about a year and a half were they kept asking me every three months or so if I still wanted to be on the waiting list. Finally I said no to get them to stop calling. Now we are present time. So about six years later, I changed jobs and just dealt with my hearing loss. Embarrassing, degrading, and sometimes sweet moments. I finally told people of my fear of going to audiologists. I hated hearing I was damaged. I hated the test that I failed over and over again. I hated the salesman quality of the doctors. And I hated that I may not have the money to do it. Two doctors later, first one was nice-ish but I was on an anxiety wave and cried through out most of the appt. He felt like a salesman. Second one was actually the first one I had seen in the beginning. He explained the process of gradually bringing my hearing to normal. Gave me a better price for the aids and extra lost/stolen/destroyed insurance. ( Hearing did get worst. They said about 10-15% worst. His words. Moderate to moderately severe) I'm pretty sure the first one would have made me optimal hearing in the beginning. I saw one of his clients a year before with one hearing aid and she looked in pain from all the noise. I was worried about that. I've embraced my hearing ability the best I could. And just tried to deal with what I had. Now I have the income to do it, and possibly the feeling that I'm not damaged. Yes I need assistant devices. Yes I'm hard of hearing. I'm trying to find the positive...

Definitely not itching. However my right ear it almost feels like it's going to far? Went to two different restaurants yesterday: one extremely noisy, the other quieter. Extreme noisy restaurant: my friends voice sounded "tinny" or what I would presume "tinny" every now and then. Going to bring that up to audiologist at next appt. I had to step out from the restaurant mid way cause it was so loud. Obviously quieter restaurant was wonderful. I want a case for my cleaning things for hearing aids and batteries for my purse. I'm on the hunt. My best friend had said she would like to try on my hearing aids, I'm still on the fence. I know she's thinking it is to fully understand, possibly to embrace me. However it's extremely personal right now. I'm already guarded and expect the saying "are your hearing aids in/on?" when I don't catch what someone says. I wish for patience right now.

Thank you! If it gets to be a problem I will look into that. Also always assume I don't know the terms, this is very new to me. So I appreciate you clarifying 🙂

No one said how itchy it would be. Like in your ear canal, the little wire is so itchy. It went away yesterday, but this morning it was back. I even plugged up the hole in the wire that transmits the noise. The way he showed me to relieve the itching a little is moving the wire at my ear back and forth to relieve it. I think I’m going to do q-tip sweep every morning for assurance.

Last day to be hard of hearing. The world is very loud.

A WIP is a progress that you work on. But do you leave it alone and then work on it? Half now done, and now for the rest of the story...