I got hearing aids this spring. Planning a September trip....debating taking them. I love having them. But taking care of them in the bush does concern me a bit. Have you done it? What was your experience?

I tried leaving the hearing aids at home a couple of times, but I missed the birds, my bowpaddler's coments , and soft conversation around the fire.

An outfit called ACCO sells several different types of security devices, like toddler's mitten strings, easing the fear of loss.

Most hearing aids are now rechargeable, an obvious disadvantage in the BW and Q. I intend to keep my battery powered aids for wilderness use if my next set of aids need to be rechargeable. I suppose a power brick can serve to recharge, especially if you need it for GPS, etc. anyway.

Take your hearing aids into the BW and listen to the "sounds of silence".

I don't recommend it. I didn't take mine to the bwca but did on a day hike and dislodged one taking off my sunglasses. At 4k+ I don't want to think about dropping one in the lake. Mine have batteries rather than rechargeables which is another consideration; how to charge them without taking a power source along.
I haven't figured out how to fashion a tether(sp) that works yet, any ideas?

The hearing loss In my left ear is "profound" Not my term. Right ear is slightly better. I have a charging box that helps when raining and it can easily be re-charged with a power pack. My bigger problem is just keeping them in my ears. My skin is oily and sweating does not help. My audiologist showed me how to to do it properly, I think she pushed them both in at the same time, and they only stayed in for a short time. Ad a pair of glasses on top of the aids just to make it worse. Bottom line.....Getting older is a pain in the arse.

I don't risk it. It's sad to miss out on sounds and conversation but the likelihood of loss or damage to something so expensive and so important is too much of a risk for me.

Yes, I use them in camp.

I take my old set. I've made about 5 trips with no problems so far. Although if I go bushwhacking looking for firewood, I leave them in camp.
They don't work quite as well, but are more expendable that my newest set. Besides the old set uses disposable batteries that last about 5 days vs the new set that is rechargeable. Taking the rechargeable ones would mean more charging logistics.

I didn't take them for a few years, but found I missed may too much conversation aroung the fire, loons, wolves etc.

Who'da thought there were so many of us :-)

ghamer: "


Who'da thought there were so many of us :-)"

Ha ha I figured there had to be plenty of hearing aid wearers on this site.
I'm leaning towards taking them. Mine are rechargeable but that is solved easily enough with a power bank. They actually stay in really well...they are the RIC type so it takes a fair pull to get them out. I do worry about getting them wet, although in 45 years of tripping I haven't dumped yet. Good point about taking them out to get firewood.

MossBack: "Bottom line.....Getting older is a pain in the arse. "

Yeah, it is, but I'm gonna keep trying to get older!

TZ

Yes, we will all still be trying to beat the odds until someone puts us on an ice flow somewhere. Thanks for allowing me to chime in.

Yes, I do. I worry about it, but not as much as I did at first. I insured them with a rider on my homeowners policy. I decided I miss too much and would need them in an emergency situation. I don't wear them when I sleep, but do the rest of the time. I only take them out in the tent.

My husband has a cochlear implant, and the processor is similar to a hearing aid. He doesn’t hear anything without it. So he does bring it. He attaches a thin rubber loop to it to keep it on his ear. He also wears a waterproof hat to keep it dry. If it is really windy with big waves he does take it off.

I left mine at home last year because they were brand new and I was worried something would happen to them. No problem on the trip as I just have "some hearing loss". And I was in the solo boat on a three person trip. So it wasn't a problem until I got to the restaurant for the final night dinner. Then I could barley hear half the conversation with the background noise.
This year I'm bringing them and will only use them around camp. Otherwise they'll be tucked in the clothes dry bag. They're the rechargeable kind and I usually go 5-6 days with the charge in the case. That's with a full days use(14 hrs?). If I only use them at camp that's only 4 - 8 hours a day. So 5 x14 = 70 hrs , 70 /6 hrs average = 11 days of charge. Thinking I won't need a recharge of the overnight case on a 10 day trip. They're waterproof so that's not a problem but I'd hate to lose one in the water. So not while traveling on the water but around camp with soft talking people, I'll appreciate having them. And I'll be able to hear the hungry bear or wolves coming first and I can let Darwin's law figure out who else will get eaten.

I just got home from 2 weeks in Manitoba and I wear a cochlear implant with a paired hearing aid in the other ear. I take them out and safely store them while paddling. On this trip I mistakenly left the extra batteries for the implant in my car at the flight service. So for the first week I was mostly deaf until I had the bush plane bring my extra batteries in when two departing partners were flying out. During the second week I could fully participate in the trip because I had restored hearing.

I was afraid to take them and lose them, so did not for years. I had to get new ones last year. My audiologist encouraged me to wear them. The new ones don't dislodge as easily. I still am concerned, because with more headgear (glasses, etc.), it ups the odds of them dislodging. I wore them and was glad. Except for paddling in wind, then it's totally irritating. I'd bring a good case, in something waterproof, to take them out on windy days. I was happy to be able to hear my canoe partner, along with birds, etc. I would bring a hat that has a brim all the way around, so if you have them in and it rains, they don't get wet. I brought spare batteries, but since I put fresh batteries in just before leaving, did not need them.
My hearing is compromised to the point where the scales have tipped, and it's now worth the risk of losing them to wear them and reap the benefits of being able to hear.

chessie: "I was afraid to take them and lose them, so did not for years. I had to get new ones last year. My audiologist encouraged me to wear them. The new ones don't dislodge as easily. I still am concerned, because with more headgear (glasses, etc.), it ups the odds of them dislodging. I wore them and was glad. Except for paddling in wind, then it's totally irritating. I'd bring a good case, in something waterproof, to take them out on windy days. I was happy to be able to hear my canoe partner, along with birds, etc. I would bring a hat that has a brim all the way around, so if you have them in and it rains, they don't get wet. I brought spare batteries, but since I put fresh batteries in just before leaving, did not need them.
My hearing is compromised to the point where the scales have tipped, and it's now worth the risk of losing them to wear them and reap the benefits of being able to hear. "

Sounds like you are doing all the right things to protect your aids. I have some small clips with a fine line on them that I can attach to my devices and then clip the other end to my clothing. But I have rarely used these and don't feel I have to worry about losing them. I have been wearing aids for 30+ years and the cochlear implant for the past five years. I really wouldn't want to lose the cochlear device since the audiologist told it was $23K to replace it.

My hearing loss has spanned many years. One of the audiologists gave me a nice color tri-fold brochure explaining how not wearing my hearing-aids would lead to much higher chance of dementia. My wife has already declared me as there.

Has anyone tried buying a pair of the inexpensive ones, just for canoe tripping? When I got fitted for my everyday hearing aids, I test-drove a pair of waterproof ones, but they were bulkier and less comfortable. So I opted for the more streamlined pair. What I was thinking is either just wearing them on land, or purchasing the big-box-store discount pair of basic amplifiers to wear on the water.

For security, google "hearing aid accessories" to find effective, simple attachments (at least for over-the-ear types of hearing aids). Mine has two "socks" on a string, like a child's mitten string. It also has a clip that connects the string to your collar.

I will be getting new aids soon, and looks like most are now rechargeable. I will hang onto my present battery powered aids to use on canoe trips. A couple of pencil eraser size batteries are easier to pack than a power brick for recharging.

marsonite: "I got hearing aids this spring. Planning a September trip....debating taking them. I love having them. But taking care of them in the bush does concern me a bit. Have you done it? What was your experience?"

I'm 63, have played in bands my entire adult life, and have the hearing loss to show for it. I got my hearing aids in 2019, they're the mid-range Oticon (don't remember the model #). I wouldn't do a trip without them, I love cranking up the gain on them when I'm sitting in camp at night, there are so many sounds out there that I'd never be aware of otherwise. I don't wear them when paddling/portaging; as someone else pointed out, the wind noise out on the lakes is annoying and they don't add much to that experience. It's just the night sounds at camp, that's supreme entertainment for me.