[HappyMartin]

Thirty seven years ago I suffered quite severe hearing loss due to close proximity to explosions. I never did anything about it until this year. I found as I got older my inability to hear people led to me being considered either rude, simple or arrogant. This drove me to seek a solution and I now use a hearing aid.

The device is an absolute revelation. Unfortunately I have had such poor hearing for so long that my brain has begun to lose the ability to make sense of sounds. No matter how much the sound is amplified I can't always figure out what the word is. This is a diagnosis from the audiologist.

I am hoping to be able to effect some kind of rehabilitation by listening to audio books. I am able to stream sound from my phone, iPad, computer to the hearing aid. It's really a lovely feature. I asked the audiologist if listening to audio books would help my brain improve its ability to understand speech. She unfortunately has no idea. I was wondering if anyone else on this forum uses a hearing aid for audio books and perhaps has any information in this area. I have not been able to find and helpful information.

Anyone that has problems hearing I would encourage to get tested and fitted with a hearing aid if necessary. The devices are almost invisible and easy to use. The long term consequences of not sorting out a hearing problem is not pleasant. I was totally unaware of the consequences of going untreated. If I had known that I would lose the ability to understand speech I would have done something years ago.