Last month, Mark learned about a place that could help with tinnitus. The place’s name is Hearing and Brain Centers of America and it’s up north of Phoenix. He’s had tinnitus constantly for many years, so he went in and got tested and found he has Stage 2 hearing loss. They said that tinnitus comes from the brain, not from your hearing, and that it can also lead to Alzheimer’s and dementia. He was given something that is kind of like a hearing aid, only not. They set it at the lowest setting and told him to return in a week for an adjustment.

After his next setting, we were having lunch at Panda Express one day, and all of a sudden, he put his hand on one ear, then the other, and turned his head toward the kitchen. I asked him what was going on and he told me that not only was he not hearing the tinnitus, he could hear everything going on in the kitchen as though it was right next to the ear facing away from the kitchen. A man at a table across the room from us unwrapped his food and Mark could hear the crumpling of the paper sharply. When we left, he could hear the crunch of the leaves under his feet. He was very excited and I was envious. That clearness went away shortly thereafter, but it gave him hope that he could eventually hear that crisply. I noticed that he heard me better when I talked.

Last week, he had an appointment with an audiologist at the VA and he took his test results with him. The audiologist said that the VA can do the same thing for him for free. When Mark told me that, I asked if he thought I could get his “hearing aids” when he gets his new ones from the VA. He’s not going to get his new set from the VA until the 23rd, but he took me up for the appointment that was set for him today and was willing to let me have his current ones before he gets his new ones.

They did some tests on me and then showed me the results:

I also have Stage 2 hearing loss even though I haven’t been aware of it as constantly as Mark has. My scores were quite a bit different than his. My scores were worse in some areas and she recommended that I go to my primary care physician and see if he would refer me to a cognitive specialist.

Then she took Mark’s “hearing aids” and adjusted them to my smaller ears and set them to the lowest setting again. She taught me how to take them out and put them in. They are very light-weight and hardly show at all. Here are some pictures I had Mark take:

Other than kind of hearing my own voice as an echo, I’m not noticing much difference yet, but I’m looking forward to my next adjustment!