Slept like a baby

Had a great weekend at a ball hockey tournament a week ago. Other than the sore foot and the minor Sunday hangover it was great to get together with the guys again.

The weekend also served as a reminder of one great benefit of being hearing impaired ... you can sleep through anything. I shared a room with someone who snores and while he kept everyone awake throughout the night I slept like a baby.

Now, sleeping through everything hasn't always been kind to others. Before I found the alarm clock with the vibrating attachment that goes under your pillow, I was one of the worst roomates ... just ask Chad. While my alarm clock went off at full volume I continued to sleep right through it. The only thing that would wake me was when Chad threw a shoe at the wall or yelled "Damn it Diehl, turn off your alarm" (I'm sure I'm leaving out some choice words in that sentence).

Finally!

After battling with the work phone for the past few weeks I finally referred to my audiologist about how I can get my phone program to stop cutting in and out during conversation. It turns out that the key to making it work properly is magnetism. After a bit of trial and error it appears I've finally found the proper number and locations for the magnets. I've been able to test it out this morning and everything is working much better. It really was affecting my ability to work efficiently because not all phone conversations at the office are appropriate for the speaker phone. The only annoying part is that I have to wait a second or two when I first put the phone up to my ear so the program has a chance to switch over. It hasn't led to any awkward moments of silence ... yet.

It is just a small victory but it's already helping a lot.

I have to admit, I'm a little worried about the magnets being that close to my head. Even though they are very small magnets I wonder if there are some potential health issues I should be aware of. I will have to do some research and see if I'm able to find anything that is concerning.

I continue to receive positive feedback on my blog, thanks again to everyone who is reading this. I hope you are all able to get something out of it.

Good Vibrations

For the first time since I have owned hearing aids, I'm happy. Besides the fact that things sound a lot better I am even more thrilled with the features they offer that are allowing me to live life a little bit easier.

I still can't express how much I love the bluetooth phone feature. I used to avoid talking on the phone at all costs. It was always a struggle to get the volume to a point where I could hear properly and I was always missing parts of the conversation. Now, the phone sounds fantastic and I am actually looking forward to people calling me. The only small downside is having to wear the streamer around my neck to get the best reception. However, the streamer is the size of an ipod and really isn't that much of an inconvenience. It is definitely a small sacrifice to make in order to get benefits I have received.

I have finally tested out the ipod feature too and the sound is good. It has two features for sound that I can use. The first allows me to hear background noise around me while it plays music much like having your headphones in and the other blocks out all sound except for what is coming through the ipod. I am going to try this out at the gym this afternoon and see how it goes. It feels like it's going to be a bit bulky to be comfortable to wear while working out but we'll test it out and see. It does have a wireless adapter that can be purchased that will make listening to the ipod a bit easier.

I Think I Found What I Was Looking For

After spending the past few months trying to find something to get involved with at The Canadian Hearing Society, I've given up. I was looking for volunteer opportunities within the organization in an effort to continue to do what I am doing through this blog and reach out to people who are struggling with hearing loss. Added to this frustration are stories from those connected to the deaf and hard of hearing community that keep telling me that the deaf community is not very welcoming to the hard of hearing who choose to use hearing aids. I do see their point and I respect where they are coming from but for someone who grew up as a hearing individual for a number of years and is still very active in the hearing community it's hard to give up my ability to hear when there are options available to me that will help level the playing field. I wonder if the blind community shares a similar opinion of people who choose to wear glasses or undergo laser eye surgery or is it somehow different?

Eventually, after searching through a number of hearing related websites I stumbled upon the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. Finally, this is a group that I felt instantly connected to. I've just started reading through the site but I find it very exciting that there is a group that exists locally that I can completely relate to. They only meet every few months but I think it's fantastic to know that this group exists and I'm excited to get involved!

I'm also very excited to have finally received the streamer for my hearing aids. This will allow me to have a bluetooth connection directly from my cell phone to my hearing aids. It will also allow me to use my ipod with my hearing aids. I'm really looking forward to trying this out and I will keep you all posted on how it all works out.