Sound Advice by Ruth D. Bernstein
I celebrated the fifth anniversary of my cochlear implant recently. These five years are filled with personal and technological highlights for which I'm truly appreciative. Let me share them with you, starting with a few personal milestones.
Personal Milestones
I am grateful I survived COVID. Although I was briefly ill each time I was vaccinated and had several mild flu-like bouts of COVID, I was never seriously at risk from the disease.
I turned 90. That occasion was celebrated with my post A Q&A with Advocate Ruth Bernstein in Celebration of Her 90th Birthday.
My Growing Family
My four grandchildren married, adding lots of in-laws to my expanding family.
I now have three great-grandchildren. If all goes well, I will become a great-grandmother again in February and March, 2025.
Participating in Research
In 2019, I received the Spirit of HLAA award for my advocacy work at the HLAA Convention, where I learned about a National Institute of Health genetic study for people with familial hearing loss, for which I qualify because I have five generations in my family. I contacted Dr. Chien and volunteered to participate in the CRISPR study you can read about here.
My visit to the NIH was delayed until August, 2023, because of COVID. I spent a day there taking physical and audiological tests. The NIH provided me with a captioner so I did not miss a word. They pay all expenses for you and a companion for the trip to Bethesda. On the way home the next day, we stopped at the National Gallery, one of my favorite art museums. If you are interested in participating in this research, please contact Dr. Chien at wade.chien@nih.gov.
Advancements in Hearing Aids
Technologically, a new hearing aid was programmed remotely by my CHC audiologist during COVID. That was a first for me. When the hearing in my right ear deteriorated again, I received a more powerful aid that uses a charger instead of a battery for power. My arthritic fingers appreciate that change. Other advanced features in hearing aids include Bluetooth, "find my hearing aid," directional microphones and sensors that detect falls.
I started wearing hearing aids in 1964. They were analog and almost the size of the first joint of my index finger, had solid earmolds and wide tubing. The assistive listening system I used was the size of a pack of cigarettes. Today, aids are digital and have shrunk to the size of my pinky nail. The earmolds are tiny and the tubing is almost invisible. Some assistive listening systems look like small buttons.
A new category of hearing aids—over-the-counter hearing aids—can now be purchased online and in a variety of outlets, including drugstores and big box stores. As a former speech pathologist, I recommend people check with a licensed audiologist before they buy OTC hearing aids. If you're interested in learning if OTC aids could be right for you, CHC-NY offers a free 15-minute phone consultation. To schedule one, submit this form and be sure to select "OTC Free Hearing Aid Phone Consultation" as the appointment type.
Apple has just released AirPods Pro 2 which has the capability of functioning as an OTC hearing aid. They come with an online hearing test. That may be a good place to start if you have a mild to moderate hearing loss and are thinking about trying hearing aids for the first time. You can learn more here.
New Ways to Connect
Zoom and Google Meet captioned meetings are an integral part of my life. During COVID, I attended art and exercise classes, participated in a book club, visited museums and was able to enjoy concerts online. I continue to participate in many of those events online and go to in-person painting classes.
HLAA-New York City Chapter meetings are online. Attendance over the past five years has gone from 45 people in person to 100 people connecting remotely from all over the country. Auracast and the Future of Hearing-Assistive Technology was the subject on November 19, 2024. You can register for future meetings and view past recorded meetings here.
DOROT has programs I enjoy regularly which you can learn about here.
The Art of Looking at the National Gallery in DC is my favorite. Twice a month, groups of 25 to 30 people from all over the world, discuss one painting in depth for an hour, guided by NG staff.
My iPhone is an ongoing source of help in keeping me communicating. Email, texts, Apple Live Captions, InnoCaption for phone calls and the Otter and Ava apps
for transcriptions are all useful.
Connecting at 36,000 Feet
In June I flew to Israel to attend my grandson Aaron’s wedding. While we were flying, I was able to use the plane’s Wi-Fi to text my son Danny in Austin, Texas and Aaron in Tel Aviv. The plane was 36,000 feet in the air, and I was thousands of miles away from both of them! Although Wi-Fi technology may be old news to people who travel frequently, I was amazed I was able to do that, as were Danny and Aaron, when they heard from me. Technology has progressed a lot since my last trip to Israel, eight years ago.
Five Years with My Cochlear Implant
The CI implant in my left ear is a very special addition to my life because I am deaf in that ear. The Med El Rondo 2 audio processor allows me to hear in normal situations. In noisy situations, I add a remote mic, which makes it possible for me to hear. My physical stress level is much lower because my brain is not working overtime figuring out what it is hearing. I will be receiving an upgraded Med El Rondo 3 audio processor in a few weeks. I am looking forward to that because it will work with my hearing aid. Up to now, my marvelous brain has been processing sound for both devices! I will report about this new experience soon. Here’s a link to learn more about the Med EL Rondo 3.
There has been a lot for me to celebrate in the past five years both personally and technically. I look forward to enjoying and sharing the amazing progress that continues to be made every day in the field of hearing loss with you.
Ruth D. Bernstein Hearing Access Ambassador