4/27/2010 - Howard Mudd, professional Indianapolis football coach and former offensive lineman wears Oticon Dual Connect XW hearing aids.
1. How long would you estimate you have had some degree of hearing loss?
Beginning 10 years ago I was aware that I had constant ringing which my Dad had as far back as I can remember. My mother “made” my dad get hearing aids 40 years ago but were discarded because they “made my hearing worse” so my mother just bitched.
2. Do you have an idea of what might have contributed to your hearing loss? (environmental, recreational, etc)
I know there is a genetic component [my dad]. He was a factory worker and there was a lot of noise which he [and my mother] claimed caused his deafness. Hmmm, I wonder?
I have had the crowd noise in my headset for 36 years. The speakers in our headsets are way more quiet than years ago. I would have a head ache after games that were loud.
3. What situations did you find particularly frustrating prior to having hearing aids?
I was very challenged hearing with background noises like trying to carry on a conversation on an airplane or in a crowded place. It was very difficult talking and hearing on a cell phone in a moving car. I would have to have the TV much louder than after the hearing aids. I felt I had to talk real loud in these situations in order to “hear myself talk”. I would frequently ask others to repeat themselves – HUH?
4. What was the turning point that caused you to seek out help for your hearing loss?
After my wife and adult children complained for so many years I began to listen to a neighbor extol the virtues of her hearing aids. Her husband told a compelling story about how much better life was after she got them. He was much less irritated.
5. Did you find the process of adjusting to amplification a difficult transition?
Absolutely not. It was as if I could literally hear a pin drop. I could hear my footsteps on a rug. At first there were certain loud noises that “startled” me but that was minimal.
6. What is the biggest change(s) since getting your hearing aids?
I don’t feel my hearing loss is an irritant to others. I can be in a room and have the TV on a normal setting without being challenged. I know I don’t talk as loud in situations where background noises compete with me. I don’t have the constant “ringing”.
7. What would you say to someone who is on the fence about getting a hearing aid?
It has made a big difference in normal every day living. I especially notice the difference when I have taken them out and participate in those “normal” situations without the hearing aids. Wow, what a difference – everything is muffled and a strain to hear “little” things that go on.
