Tanya Misenas
Vallejo, CA
“Never be afraid to reach out to the hearing aid specialist because
they are here to help you and others to live their best life.”
How and when did you first realize you were experiencing hearing loss? What problems was that causing in your day-to-day life? Did you hesitate to seek care? Why or why not?
I have been wearing hearing aids since I was a toddler and now in my late 40s. I depended on lip reading a lot to get through my daily communication as best as I could. As I got older, I found that closed captions helped a lot with the phone conversations or the conference calls I would have. I always have a hard time with those since I literally would either put it on speaker or press the phone close to my hearing aid or even use a headset to listen to music. I have never had a problem visiting with my hearing aid specialist or audiologist.
Based on your experience, do you have suggestions for others on how and where to start? Any other important things for them to consider?
Never be afraid to reach out to the hearing aid specialist because they are here to help you and others live their best life. A lot of times people are ashamed to acknowledge they have hearing problems, which keeps them from getting help.
What was your biggest concern about hearing aids? Did that turn out to be true? How have hearing aids changed your life?
Since I have had hearing aids since I was a toddler, I always felt they were my ears so I would never go anywhere without them and would never bring them in the water and would be very careful when I did anything that may jostle them out of my ears. My family never treated me any different than a normal hearing person. I was raised with my sisters who were younger than me and they did not have any hearing loss like me.
What would you tell someone who is considering hearing aids?
Just do it and give it a try. Don’t worry about what people will think or how you look because I have learned now that a lot of people never know I was deaf until I disclosed it to them.
Which ReSound Hearing Aid(s) do you have?
Who is your hearing care professional?
Phillip King of Kaiser Permanente