Sarah,
I wear hearing aids to compensate for hearing loss. I frequently do not wear
them, or switch them off, as I find it easier to understand a conversation,
particularly if there is a lot of background noise. In our local village
hall the reflection of sound from the walls is such that I can actually
understand what others are saying better without the aids, since they pick
up the reflected noise and are overloaded (painful!).
If I am doing manual work I often do not wear them as I am concerned that
they may be dislodged and damaged. I certainly do not wear them when I have
to wear hearing protection for three reasons. One is fit. In-ear hearing
protection cannot be used with hearing aids and external hearing protection
does not work very well. Secondly, since my hearing loss is at the higher
frequencies the hearing aids don't actually improve my ability to hear what
is being said when hearing protection is worn. Thirdly, where there is
machinery, quite often the frequencies generated can interact with the
hearing aids and the results can be quite painful and impair my ability to
hear what is being said.
My suggestion would be to carry out a test to see how well he can hear
information in those environments where he would not wear his hearing aids.
Can he understand information without the aids under these conditions (with
or without hearing aids where appropriate)? If the results are satisfactory
then I would suggest you do not have a problem. If they are not, then at
least you have information that you can used to persuade him of the need to
use his aids.
Chris
Chris Packham
FRSPH, FIIRSM, FInstSMM, MCMI, MBICSc
EnviroDerm Services
Unit 10, Building 11, The Mews, Mitcheldean, GL17 0SN
Tel: 01386 832 311
Mobile: 07818 035 898
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