Join us this week on Sound Advice as we continue our conversation with Doug Leonard from Audiological Services of Iowa. We explore the ongoing frustrations faced by those with hearing loss and how a shift in mindset can make a significant difference. Doug shares insights into the limitations and capabilities of hearing aids, stressing the importance of accepting these challenges while focusing on improving quality of life through a positive outlook.
Last week on Sound Advice with audiologist Doug Leonard from ASI, Audiological Services of Iowa, we talked a lot about the frustration, the ongoing frustration with hearing loss and how it can be, you know, something that's not a problem one week, but frustration comes in the next week. And Doug, we talked about that, but let's talk about how you defeat frustration is really by having a positive mindset.
It is very much that. And, you know, this is going to be a little bit of rehash of last week. And that's kind of what we're going to talk about for all of February is how we deal with problems is our positive or negative outlook on it. If you have an illness that is not going to be cured, you've just got to accept that and you've got to work within the parameters of that and try to improve your quality of life as best you can. And hearing loss is certainly one of those things. One of the frustrations people can have with hearing aids is that they don't solve the problem or they don't correct the hearing. And it's kind of in the sense of glasses. I have poor vision. I see like 2,400 or whatever. But when I put my contacts on, I have 20-20 normal vision. That's because it's a focus issue. It's not a nerve issue with my eyes. I don't have macular degeneration or glaucoma or whatever. It's a fairly simple problem to fix. And people want that same thing sometimes with other prosthetics, whether it's bifocals or dentures or hearing aids. And they're not going to do that. They work with the capability of the patient. And you can either dwell on the fact that it's not perfect or you can see how much of a quality of life improvement that they do make.
One thing you can do that stops the frustration sometimes is just learning more about the issue, the problem, and saying, yes, okay, here's something that can help. It won't cure, but it will help. Knowledge is power.
Absolutely, and I love that phrase because people don't understand how many different things that we can do. to improve their communication ability. Yes, hearing aids are a big part of that, but if those don't completely solve the problem for patients, maybe they need to rely on assistive listening devices. Maybe they get a partner microphone or maybe they get an FM microphone. If they have trouble hearing the television, maybe they go to a TV streamer so the sound from the television streams directly into their ears. Maybe if they have a landline phone, they could get a caption phone so they can read what other people are saying. There's tons of great accessories and other ways to improve their communication ability besides just their hearing aids.
Yeah, and the other thing is stop buying into the stereotypes. You think, oh, I'm too young to have this. You have an issue that you're dealing with. Look at it that way rather than the other way.
Well, yeah, I mean, it's all about the concept of healthy aging, you know, and we don't. We don't like to think about that, but once we hit our 40s and 50s, stuff starts changing, and we have to deal with it. Oh, boy, does it. Oh, yeah. We have to deal with our arthritis and our hair loss or our vision problems or seeing up close, whatever. Attitude plays a big role in how we go through life.
Huge role. I mean, you run across positive people. You just want to be around them, and you know that they're doing things the right way.
Yeah, and I'm not going to say I judge my schedule by that day in and day out because I don't. I try to treat every patient differently. you know, with the same amount of care. You certainly know the patients that come in with that positive mindset.
Oh, absolutely. And again, they are the ones who do the best in trying to correct their problems. But Doug, what's the number here at ASI in case anybody wants to make an appointment, set up a screening, anything like that?
Yeah, we'd love to hear from them, John. It's 792-5933.
They're great folks. Go out and see them. If you've got questions, ask those questions you've got on your mind. Audiological Services of Iowa.
