Expert: Harriet B Jacobster, Au.D. - 7/2/2008

Question
This morning I had breakfast with my folks, and my step mom told me she
thinks my 86-year-old dad may soon need a hearing aid, and if so I'd like to
be able to help if necessary. I'm not really all that savvy when it comes to
such things but I understand there can be complications due to what's
happened with my father in law. You see, it's been more than a year (perhaps
even two) since his getting a rather expensive set, if I remember correctly.
And it seems whenever we get together his hearing aid occasionally starts
beeping away, which is somewhat annoying for me so I can only imagine how
much it must really bug him. But, having already gone back for
adjustments/replacements at least once, he now always seems to minimize
the problem, claiming fairly recently that it only happens in the car due to
conflicts with some of the auto electronics (which my sister in law later
claimed is not true and that the hearing aid excessively beeps on a regular
basis--and not just in the car). And for some reason my father-in-law's
daughters (my wife and her sister) have opted to let the matter slide. I
mentioned the problem to his son--who's incidentally an eye doctor--who
questioned his dad only to be apparently told there really isn't any problem.
So, first, can you help me understand why anyone forced to endure such a
problem is unwilling to pursue finding a solution? (He's not usually such a
submissive soul.) And assuming his doctors have been either unwilling or
negligent in fixing things, can you recommend what course of action we
might take to facilitate some kind of improvement? And is there some
strategy my dad can take that might minimize the chances he'll end up with
similar problems? Thanks for whatever insights and recommendations you
can offer!

Answer
Hi Evan,
You know the old saying: you can lead a horse to water... If your FIL denies any problem, then there really is nothing much that you can do.  And you cannot assume that anyone has been either unwilling or negligent.  If your FIL doesn't complain, then how does anyone know there is a problem? It is also very possible that he does not hear the beep, therefore it is not a problem for him, even though it is one for everyone else. Hearing aids beep for any number of reasons from poor fit to wax in the ear to over amplification to something mechanically wrong to a dying battery. As far as your father experiencing the same thing, well...that's up to him. He has to return to his audiologist, or whoever sold him the hearing aid, and let them know there's a problem.  Now, what you might try and do is this: when your father is ready to get his hearing aids, have your FIL accompany you to offer his "expert advice."  When you get to the audiologist, mention that your FIL's hearing aid makes a beep and have them check it out.  Unfortunately, we get this all the time.  We tell our patients to come in for check-ups, we make appointments for them...and they never show up. Then a year later they come to us to complain that the hearing aids were never good. Well, if they never came for a followup, how do we know there's a problem?  It's no different than, say, a car. If you don't take your car to the mechanic regularly for oil changes and the car breaks down, whose fault is it? So, the best strategy for your father is simple: go for regular checkups and follow-ups and let your audiologist know when there is a problem.  It's that simple.
Hope this helps.
Harriet B. Jacobster, AuD
Board Certified in Audiology