Hello all! I just joined this group so I figured I’d introduce myself. I’m Rich I’m in my mid thirties and I was recently diagnosed with a mild to severe sloping hearing loss. I’m not too thrilled about needing hearing aids because I thought I was getting by just fine. I know that they will help but as a person who does a lot of camping and hiking I think I would be constantly concerned about breaking dropping or losing them. I joined this group to learn more about this stuff. Hope everyone is well.
Cheers, Rich
3 Likes
Welcome @Rich, you have come to the right place to learn… It is certainly a learning curve, but the folks on here will likely do their utmost to keep you from making the same mistakes, we all made! Good Luck, in your quest for better hearing… Cheers Kev 
2 Likes
I hike, camp, rock climb and go caving and wear hearing aids. I have yet to break or lose them. That said, sometimes I won’t wear them if I consider the environment risky for the hearing aids and hearing won’t be particularly critical. (I usually won’t wear them in a muddy, wet cave) Since you have relatively good hearing, you’ll also have that option.
I would encourage you to try hearing aids. Although you think you’re doing fine, I’m guessing there are people in your life who will appreciate you wearing hearing aids.
By the way, most new hearing aids come with a 2 year loss and damage guarantee so if you screw up, it won’t cost you much (perhaps a deductible) and you’ll learn to be more careful.
Welcome to the forum.
7 Likes
Welcome! I’m on the younger side here, and I thought I was getting by well enough until I got hearing aids and realized how much I’d been missing. It’s not just a matter of being able to hear more sounds. It’s so much easier for me to have conversations now, and I didn’t realize how much energy I was spending on trying to hear everyone else until I didn’t have to do it anymore.
There are plenty of ways to keep aids securely attached while you’re hiking or playing sports. When you know what kind of aids you’re getting, we’ll all be happy to help you out!
1 Like
Good afternoon , I am a student at the University of the Pacific trying to gain a primary resource from someone who is hard of hearing and enjoys hiking as a whole! My team and I have been putting in countless hours of research to find solutions and stories of people with hard of hearing and to create recognition for the community without auditory disabilities , finding this forum could expand our research and be a great deal of gathering information. If anyone can answer some questions feel free to reach out to this post or email me . a_khim@u.pacific.edu. Id be happy to ask some questions and hear everyones Stories!
Hello! I am new too, and young as well. I just have one aid and am liking it so far! I have been taking my aid out when I exercise, though I get hiking is definitely different. I’m mostly a couch potato 
1 Like
Not sure how much age has to do with any of this, it’s personal activity level. I have been wearing aids for 15 years, the last year with one HA and one cochlear implant. I have not had much issue wearing them for a variety of activities from functional training classes at the gym to hiking. I pretty much put them in when I wake and out when I go to bed. I’ve even falling and not had an issue. However, as is the topic of another post, my dog recently selected my hearing aid from my ear and chomped it causing me to need to replace it. I have also taking a dive into the pool or lake forgetting I have them on, but they are pretty resistant for a quick plunge. I’ve just purchased retention ear cuffs that are like earrings that attach to my CI and HA and help keep them in place. There are also inexpensive retention cords to wear when you are exercising - they connect behind the neck like eye glasses lanyards. Good luck with the journey.
Hello everyone, hope all are well! On Thursday I started a trial with oticon zircon ric hearing aids. I can say that overwhelming is an understatement! I had to take them off because the number of sounds was intense. I have been wearing them more and more every day and my biggest complaint is itchy ears and the plugged up feeling is a bit annoying. I’m currently using rubber dome tips and it just feels weird. I think these are the ones I will go with but at the same time I would like to try others.
I am also thinking about getting custom molds. Wondering if anyone has any preference one way or the other and why?
Hello Rich
When I first got my aids, I had domes. I tried everything anyone recommended, but in the end the itchy ears drove me mad. I was going to try slim tips, but when they came back, they had made me c shells as my ear canals were too narrow for slim tips. I have a large vent so I get all the low frequencies naturally. They are so much more comfortable to wear. Yes, there’s occlusion, but for me I can tolerate that better than the itching.
When I started using a hearing aid dryer that had a UV light in it the itching stopped in my ears. A quick clean of the domes every now and then with rubbing alcohol helped too.
Your hearing loss is worse that you realized now. All that overwhelming is from your hearing getting corrected by the aids. You can lower the volume a little rather than take them off for these overwhelming sounds. Just remember to get that volume back up where your fitter wants it when you can.
2 Likes
Hey Rich, I am a couple weeks late on this thread - and I can’t say I was off in the WOODS, however, I can totally assure you: you will be FINE out in nature with those aids, you BETCHA!
I’ve been hiking and camping with my aids for over 30 years. I’ve gone from ITE to RIE models, and short of wearing a face mask out among the bears, you’ll never have to worry about those aids falling out. I had a LOT more issues with the elastic straps on face masks, but ultimately mastered those, too.
Yes, there is the HAT, the sunglasses, but you deal with these day-to-day! The only issue I have NOW is that my Phonak Lumity Life aids are rechargeable, so I’d DEFINITELY not be camping for a week with them. I’d just wear my years older Marvel aids on 13 battery.
At night, I’d take my aids out, turn them OFF and put them in a small pouch inside a BIGGER one that’s easy to find. On occasion, I’d sleep with the aids IN if I was in a dicier location where bears or even buffalo (I kid you not) roam.
As long as you don’t think ANY aid is waterproof, you can go cautiously in canoes and kayaks, too, but YES, if you’re deaf as a cinderblock with no aids like me, you’d think twice.
Just be sure that if your ears are ITCHY it isn’t an ALLERGIC reaction! I am very allergic to custom molds made from hard acrylic (clear or pink-tinted, so-called hypoallergenic acrylic), also the firm silicone custom molds. I can ONLY wear the old-fashioned flesh-colored plastic custom earmold OR what I currently use: the soft, smoke topaz colored double domes that I buy at Amazon.
You’d probably benefit from a custom mold, but be mindful if your ears start to BURN or ITCH, and don’t stop trying other tips till you find one comfy.