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  • DesertBerean
    replied
    Ohhhhhh yes. This is very common for hard of hearing folks (me included)....they just can't shut the background noise off. It doesn't matter if you gradually lose hearing or lost it because of rock music or whatever. There are aids that CAN be programmed to screen out background noise.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cerebrum123
    replied
    Originally posted by QuantaFille View Post

    I'm the same way. My brain is processing every source of input all the time. I can't just stop listening to any particular thing. It gets overwhelming. When I was in school it was very difficult to do homework with the TV on, and my mother always had the TV on. She "needs" the background noise and nowadays it drives her crazy when I come over to her house and the first thing I do is turn the TV off. I'm like, I came over to talk to you, I can't listen to the TV at the same time. That baffles her. I have only in the last few years discovered that I have ADHD and that my problems in school were due to that. I have not outgrown it unfortunately.
    I don't have ADHD, but I have sensory overload and some other atypical traits I'm just now finding out aren't "normal". I do prefer background noise at night as a cacophony of noises makes it difficult to sleep otherwise. I should probably get a machine that generates it.

    Leave a comment:


  • Christianbookworm
    replied
    Don't think my brain does that too well.

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  • QuantaFille
    replied
    Originally posted by Cerebrum123 View Post

    I'm wired differently than that. I hear all of the stuff all of the time. None of it really gets "filtered" so a lot of the time I am overloaded. And yes, it can certainly be maddening, especially if you are stressed in any way already.
    I'm the same way. My brain is processing every source of input all the time. I can't just stop listening to any particular thing. It gets overwhelming. When I was in school it was very difficult to do homework with the TV on, and my mother always had the TV on. She "needs" the background noise and nowadays it drives her crazy when I come over to her house and the first thing I do is turn the TV off. I'm like, I came over to talk to you, I can't listen to the TV at the same time. That baffles her. I have only in the last few years discovered that I have ADHD and that my problems in school were due to that. I have not outgrown it unfortunately.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cerebrum123
    replied
    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

    That would drive a sane person nuts. My wife has the habit of trying to talk to me while the TV is loud, and sometimes (when she has the remote) I have to ask her to pause or mute the TV so I can hear her.
    I can say that it is certainly frustrating. I guess I just learned to deal with it since it is normal for me. The noise cancelling headphones I wear are helpful for this and my painful reaction to loud sounds.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by Cerebrum123 View Post
    I'm wired differently than that. I hear all of the stuff all of the time. None of it really gets "filtered" so a lot of the time I am overloaded. And yes, it can certainly be maddening, especially if you are stressed in any way already.
    That would drive a sane person nuts. My wife has the habit of trying to talk to me while the TV is loud, and sometimes (when she has the remote) I have to ask her to pause or mute the TV so I can hear her.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cerebrum123
    replied
    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

    As an aside, one of the tests we had in the police academy was sitting in an audio booth listening to multiple audio sources - all speech - a politician's speech, a crowd like in a cafeteria, an air traffic control audio, a police radio conversation, a talk radio station.... all simultaneously, then take a test that asks questions about the multiple narratives. Initially, you're overwhelmed by the multiple sources, and don't do well on the test at all.

    It was explained that our brains are wired NOT to accept all audio input, but to REJECT all audio input that is not harmful to us, but allow audio input that is beneficial to us. If our brain were to process all of the audio all of the time, we would go crazy. Like a super heterodyne radio receiver -- it's designed to reject all signals not desired.

    The classic example is the bell at the gas service station (nobody gets this one anymore) where you're having a tire fixed, and the guy fixing your tire is right next to the bell that rings every time somebody drives over the rubber hose by the gas pumps --- and the guy doesn't even hear it. You ask "doesn't that bell bother you?" and he responds "what bell?"

    As the class progresses, you take this "multiple audio input" test several more times, and you begin to realize you're actually programming your brain to weed out all the distractions except those pertinent to your job. It doesn't take long to do the same multi-source radio test and answer the questions pertaining to your job.

    How the brain handles 'information overload' is pretty amazing.
    I'm wired differently than that. I hear all of the stuff all of the time. None of it really gets "filtered" so a lot of the time I am overloaded. And yes, it can certainly be maddening, especially if you are stressed in any way already.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by DesertBerean View Post
    Welp my creds don't include going deaf since I was born deaf, but I can share my experiences on pretty much all else...

    Speech recognition has always been key in evaluation of hearing. I hadn't read in depth the reports linking recognition to dementia but I can believe it. If you can't distinguish words your brain won't be stimulated. When I had infections or my hearing aid broke and I didn't get a loaner, it had a pretty profound effect on my emotions too, so I'd say the psychological effect can be a factor.

    I went from body aid to a behind the ear (BTE) model and now my aid is adjustable by computer. I tried a totally electronic model but it didn't work for me since I had severe bone damage as well as neural, so I need power more than anything else. The latest models have better bluetooth capabilities but I will need more pennies before I get one - insurance covers up to $2500.

    I worked in a very industrial place for many years. Short story, whenever I entered any noise area, to have a plug in my totally dead ear and turn off the hearing aid in my one functional ear because I refused to remove it and put a plug in. Take the aid out risking a megabuck loss if it breaks...nope ain't happening.
    As an aside, one of the tests we had in the police academy was sitting in an audio booth listening to multiple audio sources - all speech - a politician's speech, a crowd like in a cafeteria, an air traffic control audio, a police radio conversation, a talk radio station.... all simultaneously, then take a test that asks questions about the multiple narratives. Initially, you're overwhelmed by the multiple sources, and don't do well on the test at all.

    It was explained that our brains are wired NOT to accept all audio input, but to REJECT all audio input that is not harmful to us, but allow audio input that is beneficial to us. If our brain were to process all of the audio all of the time, we would go crazy. Like a super heterodyne radio receiver -- it's designed to reject all signals not desired.

    The classic example is the bell at the gas service station (nobody gets this one anymore) where you're having a tire fixed, and the guy fixing your tire is right next to the bell that rings every time somebody drives over the rubber hose by the gas pumps --- and the guy doesn't even hear it. You ask "doesn't that bell bother you?" and he responds "what bell?"

    As the class progresses, you take this "multiple audio input" test several more times, and you begin to realize you're actually programming your brain to weed out all the distractions except those pertinent to your job. It doesn't take long to do the same multi-source radio test and answer the questions pertaining to your job.

    How the brain handles 'information overload' is pretty amazing.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cerebrum123
    replied
    Originally posted by QuantaFille View Post

    Lol, I don't mean quite that loud. We actually have a guy from maybe OSHA or somewhere come out anually to determine if our work environment is loud enough to require hearing protection, just because we run machinery. It has never been found loud enough, and I think it's by quite a margin. I just can't understand what people are saying four feet away from my face. It's also a problem on the phone, because I can't read lips over the phone. But at home, I can understand just fine.
    That might be more of an overload on your senses than a volume issue. I know I have issues understanding people when there are multiple noise sources, but I have sensitivity issues and can be overloaded easily.

    Leave a comment:


  • DesertBerean
    replied
    Welp my creds don't include going deaf since I was born deaf, but I can share my experiences on pretty much all else...

    Speech recognition has always been key in evaluation of hearing. I hadn't read in depth the reports linking recognition to dementia but I can believe it. If you can't distinguish words your brain won't be stimulated. When I had infections or my hearing aid broke and I didn't get a loaner, it had a pretty profound effect on my emotions too, so I'd say the psychological effect can be a factor.

    I went from body aid to a behind the ear (BTE) model and now my aid is adjustable by computer. I tried a totally electronic model but it didn't work for me since I had severe bone damage as well as neural, so I need power more than anything else. The latest models have better bluetooth capabilities but I will need more pennies before I get one - insurance covers up to $2500.

    I worked in a very industrial place for many years. Short story, whenever I entered any noise area, to have a plug in my totally dead ear and turn off the hearing aid in my one functional ear because I refused to remove it and put a plug in. Take the aid out risking a megabuck loss if it breaks...nope ain't happening.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
    I keep a little bulb syringe in the shower and wash out both ears a couple times a week. For me an ear infection can get serious.
    Is it the brightest bulb in the shower?

    Leave a comment:


  • rogue06
    replied
    Originally posted by The Melody Maker View Post

    Many many years (in my early 30's or so, if I remember right) I thought I was starting to go deaf because I was gradually having a hard time hearing. I went to see our family doctor about it, and as it turned out I only had a good build-up of wax in my ears. Once the wax was flushed out, it was so good to suddenly be able to hear those rich bass and crisp treble sounds anew.
    I keep a little bulb syringe in the shower and wash out both ears a couple times a week. For me an ear infection can get serious.

    Leave a comment:


  • rogue06
    replied
    Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

    That's why I think it's so valuable in communication to avoid contractions, particularly can and can't - would and wouldn't --- opposites, but often incorrectly heard.

    (Maybe that's why I liked Ziva on NCIS -- she never used contractions! )
    IIRC Star Trek used that to identify the real character since he never used contractions but the copy did.

    Leave a comment:


  • Cow Poke
    replied
    Originally posted by mossrose View Post
    It would seem correct that the correlation is between losing the ability to process speech, which is why the focus seems to be turning toward speech recognition rather than hearing loss.
    I had a very good friend who was deaf, and she had to go to speech therapy from time to time because her speech would "drift" -- since she couldn't hear herself speak, she had to have a "tune-up" once a year where a speech therapist would help her pronounce words and "relearn" vowel sounds, diphthongs, and stuff like that.

    Leave a comment:


  • mossrose
    replied
    Originally posted by The Melody Maker View Post

    Many many years (in my early 30's or so, if I remember right) I thought I was starting to go deaf because I was gradually having a hard time hearing. I went to see our family doctor about it, and as it turned out I only had a good build-up of wax in my ears. Once the wax was flushed out, it was so good to suddenly be able to hear those rich bass and crisp treble sounds anew.
    I wondered about wax buildup yesterday but she told me that my ears are really clean, so that's not a problem with me.

    I also have really healthy eardrums.

    Leave a comment:

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